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| How did you start shooting? |
| Parents/family |
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14% |
[ 2 ] |
| Lived in countryside, almost unavoidable |
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21% |
[ 3 ] |
| Through work |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| Self-starter (lessons/club) |
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35% |
[ 5 ] |
| Something else |
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28% |
[ 4 ] |
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| Total Votes : 14 |
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Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism
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pricey
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Posts: 6444
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 Posted: Fri Apr 22, 05 12:54 pm Post subject: |
 
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I was lucky enough to have my great uncle Harry. He was head gamekeeper on a large estate just outside ringwood, so from a early age Iwas there seeing what & how to do things. Least fav job being de-ticing the dogs, I learnt what to do with pests what was food how to look after the land, and when I was old enough how to shoot. By the time I got to 16 I didn't think about going into gamekeeping though i had the chance to( more into bikes + girls). iv'e kept on shooting & fishing though, I only shoot for the pot to feed me and my freinds, never get a chance to sell any to the butcher. rabbits, pigions, squirrel although the later are very time consuming. I used to do pest control for a pig farm, go there midnite shoot all the rats mice etc... and he let me shoot the fields for any thing that was there. THIS is a good way for people to start get a air rifle iv'e got a bsa bunnystopper with a 10inch barrel, its all I can use where I am it being a holiday park h7s and all that had to do a risk assesment as well ie. dont shoot at caravans, chalets or holiday makers  . You need to be a fairly good shot, but practice in the back garden with targets is always a good idea iv'e taught 2 mates and now there doing well. know your limits with a air rifle though dont think oh yer I can hit that rabbit 60 yards away and only maime it, know the limits of the gun. Practice with targets at different distances I use a penny and some blue tac. OK im stating to waffle so im off hope this helps someone. Steve |
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sara jane goodey
Joined: 12 Apr 2005
Posts: 45
Location: north wales
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Bugs
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744
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joker
Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 188
Location: hiding
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Wombat
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 396
Location: SW Cheshire
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hils
Joined: 08 Mar 2005
Posts: 568
Location: Nottingham
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cede
Joined: 25 Mar 2005
Posts: 62
Location: surrey
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farmwoody
Joined: 19 Mar 2005
Posts: 98
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Lloyd
Joined: 24 Jan 2005
Posts: 2699
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| Posted: Sun Apr 24, 05 12:21 am Post subject: |
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As far as I can remember, I've always shot. I started with airguns, and bows. Hunting with bows was made illegal so then it had to become airguns only.
At about age 18 or so I got an FAC rated pre charged pneumatic air rifle, a Titan MC010, then a few years later, my first proper firearm, an Austrian .22 semi auto, which I still have. I then got a .17 hmr, (lovely flat fast trajectory), and a 12 bore.
I'm currently applying for a .243 to control deer in the wood, and may part with either of the two smaller calibres. I shoot almost daily, bunnies, woodpigeon, etc.
When I used to help local farms in Hants with pest control, I would sometimes shoot up to 50 bunnies a night, so would sell most to local butchers, and cook a few for teh dogs, and freeze the best ones for us. These days, maybe being older, I'm happy to get half a dozen on a good night, and give teh dogs the old ones, and the best ones for us to enjoy with friends. |
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Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism
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Lloyd
Joined: 24 Jan 2005
Posts: 2699
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Guest
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Gervase
Joined: 17 Nov 2004
Posts: 8655
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| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 05 9:55 am Post subject: |
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I started as a youngster plinking at tin cans in a friend's garden with an air gun, and took up the shotgun after beating on a shoot and getting some lessons from the keeper in my teens.
I bought my first shotgun at 18 and have been pot-hunting pretty much ever since.
I've been a member of a fully-keepered syndicate and a guest on some large shoots, but these days I'm uncomfortable with the intensive scale of some shoots and am happier trudging up the hedgerows.
Fowling is one sport I love, having started doing it illegally when I lived in Suffolk and got a taste for foreshore mud, sleet and wind! I was a member of Chichester Harbour WFC for a few years, but the harbour now suffers so much from light pollution that a lot of the fun has gone from it. I'd love to get back into fowling now we're in Wales, but it might mean driving down to south Pembrokeshire to find some decent foreshore that I can shoot legally (that's the trouble with being married to a solicitor - I have to do everything by the book these days!).
For anyone looking to get started in shooting, beating on a shoot is still one of the best ways in. You'll meet people with all kinds of experience, and most of them are more than happy to pass it on and welcome you. Field sports are under such a state of seige at the moment that newcomers who can help the sport prosper and stop the spread of ignorance are particularly valued.
If you want to find out some shoots near where you live, look in the small ads at the back of the Shooting Times and contact BASC. In fact, if you're into any form of shooting, even with an air rifle, you should be a member of BASC, if only for its insurance and legal advice. |
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Uncle-silas
Joined: 20 Apr 2005
Posts: 10
Location: Lincolnshire
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); (b) the neighbours already disapprove of us enough with our chickens and our vegetable and our lack of weed killer, mulch and gravel...I'd give about 8 minutes from one of them seeing any sign of an air rifle to the armed response chaps popping round for more than a cup of tea and a chat.
No probs, TD. Will do
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