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Joined: Feb 2010
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Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2010
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Joined: Jan 2003
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Sidelock
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Sidelock
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Nicely done. Looks like fun. Thanks for sharing.
OWD
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Joined: Jan 2009
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Sidelock
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Sidelock
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Tim,
Thanks for the links. This is on my bucket list.
John
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 11,372 Likes: 103
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 11,372 Likes: 103 |
Neat stuff.
For those who haven't shot driven birds previously, my advice would be to shoot "standard" driven birds before you try the really high birds. There was an issue of Shooting Sportsman fairly recently, I believe last year, which contained a couple articles by Chris Batha and Vic Venters on shooting high birds, and the guns and loads that are used. (Anyone recall the specific issue? I think my copy may have gone missing in the course of a move.) The experts will tell you that high birds really aren't a sxs game. Or at least not your standard sxs game gun. Most of the shooters who are high bird specialists use heavy, long-barreled OU's (think sporting clays guns) shooting heavier charges of larger shot than are used on a more typical driven bird shoot.
You won't find really high birds just anywhere, for the simple reason that it requires the right environment (tall hills and trees) to put them over the guns at 50 yards elevation or more.
Last edited by L. Brown; 02/13/15 09:21 AM.
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Joined: Feb 2003
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Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 286 Likes: 6 |
A good tightly chocked pass shooting double like a Fox HE with the lighter frame would work if it was stocked a little high. Also Smith or Win 21. Actually there are/were probably more American guns made like this than English/European.
West Side in Houston has a 100 ft. tower that throws this type of target and they are a real challenge to hit. They are sort of like high speed asprin tablets at 40-50 yds.
W. E. Boyd
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Joined: Feb 2010
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Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2010
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Over and unders are just more prolific and available. However, one of the reasons for the popularity of good condition live pigeon/wildfowl/magnum SxS doubles by good makers over the last decade has been demand from those guns shooting high birds with bigger loads who appreciate (or are more used to)SxS doubles.
The UK shooting magazines have now got into an annual ritual of having a 'Top 20 Guns' style feature, with nominated shots being interviewed and their choice of game gun, choke and cartridge listed.
If you want proper high birds, you have to go to proper high bird shoots, like Warter Priory. Most are in Yorkshire, Devon/Exeter and Wales. The 300-500 partridge day at Warter probably cost 2,500-3000 per gun, which is around $3,850-4,620.
I do like my partridge shooting!
Tim
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 11,372 Likes: 103
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 11,372 Likes: 103 |
I found that I copied and saved the SSM articles by Batha and Venters. Venters' article makes reference to an article in Fieldsports magazine, which included a survey of "Britain's 15 best driven game shots". 12 of them shot OU's, and one of the 3 sxs shooters stated: "If you want to shoot seriously high pheasants, then use a heavy OU and big loads." If you're shooting only partridge (which would be the case in September), I expect you can get by with both smaller shot and lighter loads, although still probably heavier than the 1 or 1 1/16 oz loads of British 6's used on driven shoots that don't specialize in very high birds.
Venters' article points out that the definition of a "tall" bird has changed in the last century or so: "When Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey published "High Pheasants in Theory and Practice" a year before the First World War, a 30-yard bird was described as "tall", one 40 yards overhead was only occasionally killable, and anything taken much higher was purely a victim of bad luck on the pheasant's part." From what I've seen, that's still a pretty good description of driven shoots that don't specialize in high birds.
In the concluding paragraph of Batha's "Hitting High Pheasants" article, he says: "Still, for us mere mortals, a clean kill on a 40-yard pheasant is an awesome shot to pull off." I'd add "amen!" to that.
Last edited by L. Brown; 02/13/15 12:05 PM.
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Joined: Feb 2010
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Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 593 Likes: 12 |
Yep, I'd agree with that. I am very pleased to pull down a 40-45 yard bird today with my 1920s English SxS.
I would say that these days high birds are in the 45-60 yard zone in general. My understanding is that they are killable at that range, provided one is using the right hardware and ammunition.
I've not been on a really high bird shoot, but have friends who have. Like them, my concern would be with pricking birds. Just doesn't sit right with the way I have been bought up to shoot. I understand that the day after a high bird shoot, the keepers are out again with their dogs to 'hoover up' the birds that were either missed or died later under some cover, often many hundreds of yards behind the gun line.
Tim
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 2,169 Likes: 35
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 2,169 Likes: 35 |
I think I'm with Tim on this.... I spent yesterday shooting long ranges clays in a stiff wind and with trap springs wound pretty tight. Based on the way my targets broke I'd probably be a bit hesitant shooting game at those ranges. A was using pretty stout loads too.
Dodging lions and wasting time.....
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 452
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 452 |
"The experts will tell you that high birds really aren't a sxs game".
Guess they never shot a Parker.
Boats
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