Thread: Brace Yourself

With all this talk and pics to verify the stories I thought I'd give this bird shooting a go. So several $K and some later I'm the proud owner of a new Benella M2 12g, a couple boxes of shells, a permit to hunt quail and pheasants in the local pine forest and last but not least a game licence.

Several sightless pheasant trips and a lot of walking in the pines later I decided I might as well shoot some hares, or something with a heartbeat. A trip to a local property had me searching for the elusive winter hare from the heated comfort of the Hilux. Suddenly, after cresting a steep rise on a lush green paddock, there was a beautiful big cock pheasant some 30m in front of me and some 300m from the nearest cover. Holy Moly! Scramble to get the M2 out from the back seat and load it while pheasant calmly walks over the hill. Close the bolt slowly as to not alert my prey and a little stalk over the rise and whoosh! Off goes the cock flying directly away from me about 25m distant. Up comes the gun and a perfect sight picture down the rib. Squeeze the trigger and nothing happens, safety must be on - it's not. Bird is now 45 odd metres away and making every post a winning one. Another squeeze on the trigger and nothing.

Of course, I stuffed it up; the bolt hadn't locked up completely because of my silent closing technique. This bird hunting is not as easy as it looks on You Tube I suppose I'll have to invest in a gundog of some description.