Camo, is it to hide or mental..?or both

CAMO, Love it or hate it, its here to stay. Camo has been here for a good many years, filtering down from the wars etc. to the weekend warriors in the hunting world. Does it really hide you the hunter or doesn't build a bit of mental confidence or does it give you the "ten foot tall and bullet proof" feeling. You now see in every magazine, when people are hunting, every spare inch of the body is covered with camo, from head to feet, even the boots. But do we really need that much? or would just drab looking clothing do the trick? Should camo be left for the urban streets? I think a bit of both..I know I go back to my uncle on hunting, he never had camo, and he was the best hunter I have ever known, he used drab clothing and used great field craft in his hunting techniques. His most common techniques was, being quite and still, since deer are colour blind and notice moverment, if you never move, or move slowly, deer will not see you. So does the camo help the hunters that figet? What about your hands and face? OK, but does it need to be camo? I think you see where I am coming from, Camo is a huge business and they have used some very high profile people saying that Camo is the end all be all for hunting... For me,

I wear some camo and some not, its more about no sticking out like s sore thumb, my gloves, they are a pair my mum bought me 20 years ago, but they work. I have a hat something to help mask my face, but for me I was lucky and had Uncle Ralph on my case about being still, taking your time, walk a little look a lot and being still. Love it or hate it, its here to stay, if you like it wear it, wear it from heat to toe. If you don't, remember drab clothing to match the surroundings, wear a hat and gloves and be still...

Its always new, never used!

Always New: I just read a hunting report. It made me laugh - the guy was using a pair of binoculars that cost over £2000. The rifle he was using cost over £2500, the scope was around £3000, the bullets were around £5 apiece. No, he wasn't in Africa or anywhere like that. The camo jacket and trousers were over £700. Oh, the case for the rifle was £400, the boots £500, and the gloves £50 yadaa, yadaa. I know that this is one way some kit makers use for advertising, and of course the article was written so that all the equipment appeared AMAZING. Kinda like Edith Bowman of Radio 1, in that every band on her show is amazing. Come on, the total price for the kit was over £10k, yes £10k. The hunt itself was only about £3,000....What am I getting at? Why doesn't anyone ever review USED equipment or an update on the kit that has had some life, that has been rained on, been dropped etc. and still works just as good as the day they bought it. They do a used CAR review, why not a used hunting gear review. They review used shotguns, especially the good ole English ones at that. But have you ever read where someone said, "I am going to start from scratch and I only have £700 for everything, rifle, scope, bins, camo and kit". I have yet to read in this country where someone says, " I bought this Tikka 65, Rugar M77, Sako, etc. etc. for £400, then I bought a Weaver Scope, for £160, Scope rings for £75 and the bins I bought are used for £200, The bullets I am using are...." You know, not everyone wants to spend over £10k on a rifle and some kit. I personally think it would be much, much harder to do an honest review on previously used kit, and tell the truth...if it's crap, say it's crap.If it's great, say it's great. Kinda like Top Gear do when they have to buy a car under a certain budget and then 'ring it's neck'. Could be wrong, but I think the person writing the article has to say the kit is amazing or they don't get a cheque at the end of it. Come on, let's have honest articles about new kit, and let's re-test used kit, to see if its really worth the investment!

BUCK FEVER!

Any body that says they have never had it is a liar, end of story, yes, some have it worse than others. You might ask, what is Buck Fever? Its really your bodies way of releasing some energy from Adrenaline. Your muscles become very tight, in some instance they are super strong or super weak. But almost always you end up with the shakes. You never know when its going to show up, it usually shows up when a nice buck walks out that you have been trying for years to find....and all the excitement takes over, your heart starts racing, you become dry mouth, your hands are sweaty...As you can tell I have been there before. Its not fun, but you struggle to control it, it has its own mind. Every body handles it differently, oh a tell tell sign is when the hunter starts taking deep breaths and blowing out air...The way I was told to control it was, think if i don't control this shaking that deer is going to ram you. It made me focus on the sights and BINGO....deer down. Some say, look at the does, and then back at the buck for the last second shot...Here at Sportingagent.com, we have had hunters with loads of time in the field suffer from this. Some say get the hunter closer to the deer, today we was 40 meters, last week we was 80 meters...you really can't get any closer. As soon as the hunter misses, they always start blaming the scope or the rifle or the wind or the wife, the girlfriend everyone but them selves...hey it happens, its part of hunting. Before you go out hunting, think how are you going to control it...oh the guy this morning was saying, that he could see the deer on his office wall, instead of focusing on the shot....and that undid him, and the shakes started...

For you hunters thats looking for a Full Day of Sport, its nothing new but super fun! We have all heard of the Scottish Macnab, 1 salmon, 1 brace of grouse and a Red stag in a day! We want to bring something similar to the hunters who don't wish to go North! A MacNelson at Sportingagent.com >Roe or Muntjac buck >Brace of Wild Brown trout in a stream on a dry fly >15 Wood pigeons All in one day! What do you get: All equipment, fly rod, flies, rifle, bullets, shotgun cartridges transport in hunting area, permits, guide,any size Roe or Muntjac buck,all pigeon shooting equipment, 1 night in local Pub, picnic lunch...in short everything, making this as hunt 100% hassle free! If you wish to use you own guns/rods etc. not a problem. And a great time! All less than 2 hours from London...in the heart of the Norfolk countryside. £750 per person for the complete day!

Thanks for your time hope you have enjoyed the read, if you have any comments, fire them across! j. Bryan Nelson Sportingagent.com

FREE SALMON FISHING

FREE SALMON FISHING, offered to you by SPORTINGAGENT.COM, on the famous Moy river in Ireland, stay in local accommodation, just meters from the river. Moy river has a great reputation for a Spring run river...free fishing until the end of the 2nd week in June...If interested, give us here at www.Sportingagent.com an email, info@sportingagent.com, we would be more than happy to help! I was speaking with a fellow wingshooter from the states, and we was discussing what things where like in Europe, he asked is it still 400 head days etc. It only took about 10 minutes to set him straight....I told him, ya, those days are there, but there is also smaller driven days, plus Woodcock, Partridge, Pheasant etc. using spaniels for less than a 1/2 day Bobwhite hunting..He couldn't believe it...he thought that unless you shoot 100's pheasants, that there was no other bird hunting in UK. But after that 10 minute talk he is planning a trip to UK for some winter wingshooting. Then he said, the gun laws are just to strict in UK, I asked, who told him this, he said thats what everyone says...again 10 minutes later he understood what the deal was with UK law...in a Nutshell the law is, "WHO OWNS THE GUN? AND PROVE IT" not a receipt from a gun shop, but a proper form with the police...and thats all we need to get a UK VISITORS permit. So the hunters of UK, we have something pretty special and we need not forget that, and the guns from around the world, ya at times it can be wet, and windy, but we do have some great wingshooting...and the deer hunting is amazing... I read an article from Scotland this morning, well not an article but more a paragraph....it was a Kids Fly fishing club on the Tweed! one word...AMAZING!! A day on the river beats years on the xbox! the guys on the boarders, Well done, that is what we across the the rest of the UK need to do, not just fishing but anything to do with the outdoors! Its another wet weekend, it has rained everyday since April 1, and there doesn't seem to be a rest bite in sight.

A Good day out!

One of the reason we started this business, is because we also enjoy a great day out in the country side. Or should I say a good day of Sport, doesn't have to be Hunting, it can be fishing too! ( my first love of the outdoors is fishing) But what does that really mean? A Good day of Sport, does than mean you caught loads of fish, or you shot very well or you was with friends or you bagged that big buck? I kinda look at it the way my brother in law looks at certain holidays...My brother in law goes camping as much as he can, we 2 girls and his wife with and with out friends. By the end of the trip he has made friends with them. But the way he looks at it is, he knows he could stay at a travel lodge or rent a villa etc. and don't get me wrong he has stayed in the hotel etc. When he does that unless something really really special happens, its just another night in a hotel, but camping...He and his kids can remember almost every trip and to a point, almost everyday of each trip! Saying that, I can almost remember ever camping trip I have been on, but no way can I remember staying in a hotel, only when its something special....I know your thinking, the kids must hate it?? We no, they ask when they are going camping, and request for birthdays and the such to go camping, because they will always remember it... Shouldn't we look at sport in the same way, shouldn't we look at a day in the countryside as something special, instead of counting how many we shot or how bad I shot or didn't see enough etc. Yes, I know more than any on certain days, there is a bit of expectation and we have to meet that expectation, but still there needs to be a bit in all of us that says, " What a Great day this was! I was out in the countryside doing something I love to do, with some great people...and how lucky I am!" So the next time you are out shooting, fishing, etc. doing something you enjoy, always remeber, "A BAD DAYS SPORT IS BETTER THAN A GOOD DAY AT WORK!

Rough shooting vs. Driven shooting

Love them or hate them each style offer the game shooter some great sport!
Which do I like most?

DRIVEN SHOOTING:
*The title of this is correct, it is shooting, its about being in some of the worlds best countryside, having a team of people working extremely hard to get Game birds to fly over the guns, hopefully at a certain height. The team that Push the birds over the guns get paid of small amount of money and sometimes get paid nothing. The wage is small, like just enough to cover the petrol and lunch(you usually have to bring your own) We do it because we love the countryside, working the dogs and meeting the different team of guns coming to the estate.
The rotation of pegs, so that all guns get a fair crack at the hot seat during the day. You are then fed lunch/dinner with wines etc. It is a great day out, the social aspect of the day is always second to none, the challenge of the birds is always a challenge.
You always more or less know what the bag will be at the end of the day!

Rough shooting:
**Get ready of lots of walking, plus a couple of mini drives...
If you have a working gun dog...this is where they come into their own..I have a little working cocker...I must say, this should be titled Rough Game bird hunting, cause that is what you are doing is working your dogs, and shooting the birds that they find. Sometime you get a bird high coming over, but not usually, the birds are usually medium height, going away or crossing. You must use a totally different style of shooting than with Driven...Driven is all about lead and angle..Rough is lead, angle. safety of what's around, trees, etc. so much more in the day than driven...Lunch is usually in the field, on rough shooting days, you really never want a big lunch, just one with lots of energy. Beverages, a cold beer is always nice, but is usually good ole water.
The bag is always a mix of Pheasant, Woodcock, Pigeon etc....

If I had to pick one way to shoot all year, what would I pick....
Probably Rough shooting..It might be because I have my gun dog. He is made for beating not a peg dog...and I love working my dog, shooting a few birds and having a great time in the field.

Driven..which do I look forward to the most...Driven everytime...it is always such a special day, always with great friend and always a great day....
So the truth I love them both, but the spaniel swings it slight for the Rough shooting

Summer, but you would not know it!

It hard to believe this coming weekend is the Game fair. I remember the first time I went to the CLA was outside of Leeds, it was warm and sunny. Looking at the forecast for this weekend looks a bit pants. Very cool, of as Liz would say,"Cold." showers etc. Just like the past 3 weeks. I knew we had summer back in May. We can't control the weather so we need to just get on with it.

Speaking with the fishing guys and girls its been a great summer for the rivers. Plenty of fish entering the rivers and some rivers have had their best summer for many a year. Fingers crossed it can continue until the autumn, the fish not the weather.

Pigeons have started, and Sportingagent.com have some super happy customers. Over the past couple of weeks, thousands of cartridges have been fired with plenty of good sport! We still have a few days for August open.

If you have not looked at Sportingagent.coms Buffalo offer, Please have a look, this buff was shot last week in Tanz. Our partners will be there until Nov. yes it will be the summer, but still amazing hunting...

For those that want to try Deer Hunting, but don't want to take all the courses etc. to see if you like it or not. Let Sportingagent.com help, we supply the guides, we have the land, we have the gun and the deer, you will be out hunting with the guide, shooting the rifle all great fun. For only £230 a day, even includes lunch!

Fingers crossed the weather picks up for this weekend, if not, oh well another jacket.

Look forward to hearing from you soon!

J. Bryan N