Normally meet about nine o'clock
for a bacon sandwich, everybody gathers together all the guns
there's eight of us shooting today, so we'll will start with breakfast
then we'll move onto our first drive of the day by ten o'clock
lovely okay we'll get away
Any sliding scale of forfeits or punishment or anything have we?
should shooting isn't just about chasing the birds obviously
it's about keeping order and today there have been a few fines that have been
allocated for bad behavior poor shooting
to be honest with you they kind of make it up as they go along
It's probably one of the last traditional links that most people will
actually have with the wild countryside in this country, shooting get's people out
get's them to understand a little more about nature
the environment great thing with the shoot
it doesn't to start on the 1st September or 12th August or whatever
the whole thing about the shoot is it starts
at the end of the season catching up your hens
starting to repairs
tidy up you carry on feeding throughout the
the tail end of the winter then the spring, you create habitat
keep the predators down, so your days shooting that you might have in October
November
has actually been in many many months in preparation
when you understand that sort of thing it does give your
a much greater much deeper knowledge of the countryside
Come on bring it here, clever girl, come on. When your friends start being nice to you
That's when you need to start worrying
no we have a great time
and its people that make the shooting
always will be
Winwood shoot offs, I've shot here a quite a few times over the past 3-4 years
it's nice and relaxed is very friendly not that any of the other shoots
aren't relaxed of course
lovely rolling hillside some quite strange
topography, its kind of strange that the hills are rolling up
not particularly steep cliffs but they still produce some pretty phenomenal birds
what I really like about this when you get into that shoot hunt
at the end of the day and you've got a few whiskeys inside you and start telling tall
stories it's such a relaxing place almost like being in a lounge
I've got some great friends, Alice Fellows who was a very good friend of mine who's recently
Past
God rest his soul sits at the top of the table telling dirty jokes and
this is the sort of place even can be friends and really enjoy yourself
not just the shooting but also because of the atmosphere and I think I such an
important part is shooting
not just the birds in the sky and what it means is a social occasion
but really a good time to connect with friends that you don't
at any other time during the year
Oh my goodness that's a cold wind
For me, shooting is such an important part of my winter
it's getting together with friends or not seen for a long time
its coming to beautiful estates such as this
I practically live on pheasant and venison from mid-september
through until the end season and then pigeon thereafter so for me its a great
food source
but you just really enjoy the occasion education, fantastic birds being presented
some great shots, outstanding hospitality
it's a partially sporting partially social
more importantly you know this is a great day out where else could you want
to be in life
then stood in the middle of a field in with a bunch of nerduels and repudiates?
shooting a few birds and having a great time, we're very very fortunate
well they say shooting is a
60 percent banter and 50 percent or 40 percent that doesn't add up does it?
crack and we had great cracks in them and it's all about like-minded folk
getting the field in
just enjoying the day with with common interests really
Won't shoot those, too close
Less accurate as you want to shoot a good bird
you want to have one or two really good shots during the day and we've had some great shots today
but you're trying to steal someone else's bird for fun and you know just
as he's about a shooting it
you knock it out of the sky, nothing finer, particularly with Ian's birds then that's
even better
shooting isn't just about
skilled sometimes it does come down to luck
and I'm quite a superstitious shot
unfortunately for me I went away to Tony's at the weekend
preparing for the shoot, as we normally do, watching rugby and having a few beers
and he requisitioned
small stuffed rabbit toy
for a little pixie little one-year-old pixie
it's actually the it's not a rabbit's foot is a little a little toy rabbit
about an inch-and-a-half tall, which I stole from my granddaughter when
Ian was round
and told him that without this he would miss every bird that he shot at in the future so
he has to carry this rabbit with them
it his lucky rabbit's and he suggested that rather than my outstanding shooting
ability
fantastic shotgun and great ammunition I should rather rely on luck
and he gave me this small rabbit is a token of esteem
and I think you slightly saying to me that I can't shoot
huge number of arguments as to what good shooting does but
you can see for yourself without shooting on this estate for example
half the woodlands would be knocked down because
there's no reason to keep the woodlands because they
at best provide wood but they'll be much better off
to feel so without shooting you wouldn't have woodlands
again, it's all about you know camaraderie in the country where
life but for sure if
if shooting was ever ban it would be a disaster the countryside
because they not only feed the pheasants, but they feed the squirrels
and all the other little birds
that live in the forest
It's a day out in the field with some nice people and even if you've never met
before you find
you go on shoots and everyone is much the same
they're all here for exactly the same reason, it's a day out to have fun