Air Arms Owners Club

So what is the appeal?
Despite being a country man I just can't understand the sporting aspect! Birds are reared at great expense, fed to keep them in one area, cossetted and cared for, guarded and treated like pets.
Then they get chased through the woods and made to fly (slowly) over a line of mainly elderly blokes with expensive guns who will unleash loads of lead skywards. What is remotely sporting about that? If you want sporting shooting go after clays! Oh hang on, that means walking doesn't it, most of the old duffers can't walk without sweating and farting like a broken winded horse.
Real sport is going out without beaters to try and bag a wild bird, not a dopey overfed chicken with a long tail.
Breed and nurture the birds just to drive them over a bunch of Hooray Henrys to settle their bloodlust!
People moan about Halal slaughter methods, double standards or what?

couldn't have said it better myself.
daz

horses for courses i suppose. i am no lover of football, but others eat,live,sleep and breathe it. whos right? back to the topic, i suppose the toffs need a pastime too.

Enter kj and patg.......timmy is back:lol:

eboswan wrote:Enter kj and patg.......timmy is back:lol:

Well this place needs a shake up!

Spot on tt! One could argue that cattle and poultry for mass human consumption by normal folks is deliberately reared and force fed of course. But the difference there is that the animals are killed outright in a slaughterhouse under humane conditions. Sure there have been some reported breaches recently in slaughterhouse procedures and in house cruelty but given the numbers involved that is a pin prick. Game shooting is far crueller and involves real fright and suffering.

Yes you are right, The rearing and shooting of game birds is just to feed some perversion and boost some egos so boastful stories can be told of how I did for this or how I swung and bagged that. Of course it's not just the hooray henry's is it but "ordinary" folks getting above their station in life? Then there is this daft "tradition" for getting dressed up like some Blimp caricature to "show respect for the game"! Respect it by not shooting it?

As you say and know walked up shooting etc is so different.

Katzenjammer wrote:Spot on tt! One could argue that cattle and poultry for mass human consumption by normal folks is deliberately reared and force fed of course. But the difference there is that the animals are killed outright in a slaughterhouse under humane conditions. Sure there have been some reported breaches recently in slaughterhouse procedures and in house cruelty but given the numbers involved that is a pin prick. Game shooting is far crueller and involves real fright and suffering.

Yes you are right, The rearing and shooting of game birds is just to feed some perversion and boost some egos so boastful stories can be told of how I did for this or how I swung and bagged that. Of course it's not just the hooray henry's is it but "ordinary" folks getting above their station in life? Then there is this daft "tradition" for getting dressed up like some Blimp caricature to "show respect for the game"! Respect it by not shooting it?

As you say and know walked up shooting etc is so different.

It's not just the shooting though, the whole etiquette thing is so bloody false, some guns are frowned upon, clothing has to be right, beaters have to be subservient, keepers tugging forelocks or doffing caps to some old duffer who wounds a bird with a lucky shot and then relies on a dog to get it back when it struggles into the undergrowth to die. I've had 2 opportunities to give it a go and turned them down, I can get more birds, humanely and quietly by being in the right place on shoot days and there's bugger all they can do about it!

Have you ever been on a driven shoot tt?

Kev Todd wrote:Have you ever been on a driven shoot tt?

As a beater yes, I wouldn't shoot out of principle despite having the chance.

I shoot and beat on two small shoots, and neither are anything like you say.

Don't tar us all with the same brush.