Outdoor & More Youtube Channel

I have recently started making some footage and posting it on Youtube of my outdoor trips and have started my very own Youtube channel. The Youtube channel is called Outdoor & More and below is a link to it. If you have Youtube please subscribe and you will get notifications whenever I upload my latest videos.

Driven Pheasant Shoot

Here is a few drives from a pheasant shoot I took part in on Saturday. I was using my Midland Gun Co 12 bore/gauge over and under, doing this is a great way to see where you're shooting. Footage was taken on a GoPro Hero using a head mount. 

Clay Shooting...Norfolk Style

This weekend I took full advantage of the gale force winds and took the 12 bore/gauge out with my friend Penny. He was using the Hatsan Escort semi-auto and I had the Midland Gun Co over and under. We were shooting random targets all different sizes to see how we got on with the conditions.

Rough Shoot - Pheasant And Pigeon Dec 2014

Earlier in the week I decided to go for walk around some farmland with JC for a spot of rough shooting. This also gave me the opportunity to take my GoPro out and have a play. We bagged serval birds but I must apologise for the bad language and some of the terrible banter between myself and JC. JC was using his 12 gauge/bore Miroku and I was using my Midland Gun Co 12 Gauge/Bore.

Below is link for youtube where I have started a Outdoor & More channel so hit subscribe :)

Tom

Outdoor & More

Pheasant Shoot In Norfolk 29th November

Last weekend I attended a shoot in the  picturesque countryside of Norfolk at a small village called Stoke Holy Cross. The shoot had 8 drives positioned all around the farm with woodland and brush. The day started with bacon rolls and coffee then onto the field for the first 4 drives. I draw to start on peg 4 and each drive I moved up 2. I definitely had one of the busiest pegs and was kept on my toes all day. Here is a few photos form the day.

Woodland drive

Its always a pleasure to watch gun dogs working

All the participants of the shoot

The total for the day was 72 birds, myself personally got 17 but could of been more. I was using my Midlands Gun Co over and under with Gamebore 'Clear Pigeon' 32g. I don't usually use these for pheasant shooting but I've got hundreds of them left over and couldn't get down to my local gun smiths to pick up.

Overal a fantastic day which was ran by some brilliant hosts, the hospitality was outstanding and really made me feel welcome.  I'm really looking forward to coming next year!

Thank you Adrian, Robert and Donna

No copyright intended

Pheasant Shoot This Weekend

I'm really looking forward to this weekend because I've been fortunate enough to be invited to a pheasant shoot in Norfolk on Saturday. I've had the gun out tonight giving it a clean ready for the big day, I feel like christmas has come early. The shoot is on a farm in Norfolk near Stoke Holy Cross situated a stones throw away from Norwich.

I will be using my Midland Gun Co over and under which is a 12 Bore/gauge. It's a lovely gun but I am looking for a replacement. As you probably are aware buying a second shotgun in the pheasant season is quite hard due to the high demand and there aren't as many nice guns to pick up. I will probably hold out until the end of season because then you find some real good buys. 

Fingers crossed I can get some good photos at the weekend and hopefully a few birds.

Outdoor & More

Clay Shooting In Beeston, Norfolk at Fair Clay Targets

I do enjoy clay shooting but unfortunately struggle to find the time to go, the shoot we go on is in a small village called Beeston in Norfolk. The day is ran by a company called Fair Clay Targets and it's a very popular trap venue which is ran every two weeks.  The shoot offers a variety of locations such a woodland, quarries and open land where they set up various layouts.  We done a 100 bird shoot with some of the guys getting some good scores but I will reveal the results at the end. Here is a few photos from the day:

Jonny with his Miroku

Open traps

Quite the audience

Beautiful Norfolk countryside

Beretta semi auto

Doddy with his Nikko 12 gauge over and under

Taking aim

Woodland trap

Glenn with his Beretta Silver Pigeon

Woodland edge

Well the results are as follows:

Glenn: 77/100
Jonny: 76/100
Doddy: 64/100
Myself: 60/100

Not the best day I've had in terms of results but I've not been for a long time and I started off very slow ..well that's my excuse anyway. I was shooting with my Midland Gun Co 12 gauge, she's a bit of a golden oldie and never skips a beat. For clays I use the Gamebore 'velocity' cartridges they are 28g and cost around £39 for 250. For clays I don't particularly think it matters what cartridges you use and usually just go the cheapest and the Velocities come up best for price.

Tom

Outdoor & More

Morning Wander In The Fog

Last night I had spontaneous moment and decided to get up early to go for a walk around some land I shoot. The land is nicknamed 'The Hill' for obvious reasons, it has a large area of over gown rough with a woodland which is heaving with pigeons, pheasants, magpies and the odd rabbit. I like going there because you never know what you're going to come across and it offers a great variety of game. Today I brought my younger brother along who hasn't shot very much and is more of a fisherman, but I think he enjoyed himself.

Can't beat taking a flask out on these cold days

I was shooting my Midlands Gun Co over and under whilst he took the Hatsan semi auto both 12 gauge. Due to the thick fog the visibility wasn't great but I think it helped because the quarry couldn't see us as well.  The only trouble was we didn't have as much time to react to them.

My brother 

The first hour was very quiet with only a few pigeons but as the day went on it started to pick up a lot more. We were using Gamebore 'clear pigeons' 32g cartridges which I have mentioned previously in my blog but they are fantastic cartridges and would recommend them. 

Gamebore 'Clear Pigeon'

Beautiful morning

Using straw bales as cover

Taking aim (to miss)

Tea break

After shooting for 3 hours we managed 17 pigeons and 2 rabbits which in the conditions wasn't bad going but to be honest we did have a lot of misses. Whilst we were there the game keeper was at the bottom of the land  also pigeon shooting and he got 11 so not a bad total for the day. 

My Guns

I wanted to give a small overview of the guns I use and what I use them for. At the minute I hold 3 guns. A semi Automatic shotgun, Over and Under shotgun and a Under lever Air Rifle.

Hatsan Escort 12g

The first thing i can say about my Escort is wow. I brought this gun for around £250 and it was 3 years old. Ive had it for nearly a year and never looked back. In terms of value for money its amazing. It has never let me down, easy to clean and maintain and isn't cartridge fussy which can be a problem for most semi auto shotguns. I wanted to find a semi auto that I could just take and the field and get knocked, bumped and occasionally dropped and still function fine.

I did look at getting a Berretta A300 which was priced at £850 but I'm so happy with the decision i made. A lot of people would turn there nose up at the Hatsan because it not as a sought after gun. But Hatsan have done a great job with unbelievable value for money. The gun comes with 5 chokes and choke key which are all the standard sizes.

To conclude the gun has great value for money and perfect for those rough shooting days out where reliability is essential. And just proves that cheap doesn't have to be nasty. Also new, the gun comes with a 3 years manufactures guarantee. 


Midland Gun Co Model 502

This gun was given to me by a friend and was my first Over and Under. To be fair its a nice looking gun and I'm not sure the age of it. Its Italian made and very well built. I'm looking to swapping her soon for a Browning 725 or 525. I mainly use it for clay pigeon shooting and occasionally take it pheasant shooting. 

All round not a bad gun but I am looking to upgrade it.

Air Airms Tx200

I used to be really into my Air Rifles I've had springers, pcps and co2's you name it I've fired it or owned it. The only one I've kept over the years is my Air Arms, its reliable and never skips a beat. It has a lovely stock and really pacts a punch. I mainly used it for rabbits which I never had a problem with from 35 yards. Its an under lever which is great in a air rifle because the barrel is parminatly fixed unlike a break barrel. Combined with a 3-9 x 40 Golden Antler scope it hold its zero very well. I brought the gun for £200 which in it condition i think was a very good deal. Brand new i think they are around £400.

  Overall would highly recommend this beauty of a springer, you don't have to worry about dive bottles or pumps you just go out and shoot. I recommend H&N Field Target Trophy pellets for best results.

No copyright intended

A weekend of Sporting Clays

It's been a while and I'm really excited to get in the traps! The clay shoot I will be going on is in a small village in Norfolk called Beeston. Its a 100 bird shoot with 10 traps and the pressure is on because there are 3 of us going and we are all very competetive. The Shoot is ran by a guy called Alan and he runs a really good day. It doesn't matter about ability or experience everyone is welcome.

I will be using my trusted Midlands Gun Co over and under 12 gauge, I've had the gun for years and its lovely to shoot with. Its not the cleanest gun because I take it out for rough shooting quite regularly and like most of my guns they do get a bit of a hard time.

Midland Gun Co Model 502 12g

For clays I using GAMEBORE 'Velocity' at the minute. These are a great little cartridge and they are priced very competitively. I personally believe that for clay shooting unless you're a competitive shooter the cheaper cartridge will do the job and you don't need to spend the world but you don't have to sacrifice quality for it with these.

Gamebore 'velocity'

Below is the link to the Clay shoot website. Highly recommend them and Alan does a great job.

Fair Clay Targets

no copyright intended