Dave Carrie has posted a highlight reel from the various estates he visited in 2018-2019 and it is worth your time to see. I particularly enjoyed the pheasant doubles. Almost all shots are at extremely long range and way above my skill level!


Carrie Highlight Reel

Didn't know a pheasant could fly that high.

He deliberately chooses the most difficult shots, passing up the easy low flyers. Those cartwheel drops are incredible!

Doesn't seem much like any pheasant hunting I've ever seen.

Nor is it representative of any driven pheasant shooting I've done. What you're seeing there are highly specialized shoots which require the right terrain to put birds that far above the guns, and tailored to shooters who have the right equipment (mostly heavy OU's, much like sporting clays guns) throwing far heavier shot charges (and larger shot) than what is used in a more typical drive. Remember that Lord Ripon shot at least one trio of guns that were all straight cylinder. That's not what you'd want for the birds in that video. And until you've tried the more typical driven shooting--where a 40 yard bird is a "tall" one, and most are in the 20-30 yard range (and can still be missed)--that's not the kind of driven shooting you want to try first.

I've had the pleasure of shooting with a couple very good shots who also pass up easier birds and challenge themselves on the higher ones. But again, we're talking higher as being relative, not so high you can kill them by cutting their oxygen hose!

Also remember that bird shooting on video always looks exponentially farther than it is. Having killed, and having seen killed, many doves and crows at extreme ranges I would have to see the shooting in person to be impressed. Video is amazingly deceptive.

SRH

Based on the time it takes for the dead birds to fall and the amount of lead the shooter is adding, I have no doubts those birds are "out there aways".

Dave has some video on his site where he shows his set up for practice, so that viewers can see that it’s not fake, or staged.

He’s down in a quarry an easy hundred feet below where the manlift is placed, and the manlift is a 100 footer or maybe a 125. The camera is well back from where David is shooting, and the length of time between the puff of smoke from his shotgun and the breaking of the Clay is substantial.

Also, in the comment section on some of his YouTube videos, he points out that the films are edited to show the dramatic kill shots. Because nobody would want to watch his videos if they saw him Firing off a mountain of shells for a 10% ratio of success.

He explains his use of tight jokes, large shot size, huge payloads, to accomplish his goals in a couple of his videos.

The line that he shoots in, is well known on the high bird circuit, and birds are pushed off mountainsides specifically for them. I forget what they’re called, it might be the “Magnificent Seven”, or somesuch.

Curious, as I read that Lord Ripon often used a trio of hammer Purdey 12 bores ( and 2 loaders)-- as to how you determined that those London Bests were straight cylinder bored-- wonder what loads he used- and how it was that he got incomers close enough for a spread load of shot- he also shot hares (rabbits) and red grouse- did he use the same trio of no-choke guns for these as well as on pheasant? RWTF

The choking of some of Ripon's guns is noted in various writings about him and his life. Remember, RWTF, that Ripon began keeping his game logs at the age of 15, in 1867--at which time choke boring was still a very new concept. According to Dig Hadoke in his book on hammerguns, Horsley of York (Ripon's "local" gunmaker) made him a pair (probably his first pair) in 1866. Unlikely they would have been choke bored.

And you also need to remember that what you see in the video is not driven shooting in the late 19th-early 20th century. There wasn't the mania for ultra-high birds back then--which require the right kind of terrain (hills, valleys, and trees), which you don't have everywhere. Otherwise there's no reason for the birds to fly that high. And they can be plenty challenging without being that high.

Also worth remembering that cylinder is a different animal than many people assume. While you don't want it if you're pass shooting ducks or geese, it will put 70% of its load in a 30" circle at 25 yards. (And 60% at 30 yards.) Bob Brister points out that it's more efficient at 25 yards than full is at 50 yards. And a 25-30 yard bird is going to be well over the tops of some pretty darned tall trees . . . and offering very sporting chances to the guns standing in line awaiting the birds to be driven over them.

And Ripon had a lot of guns. I don't think anyone could state that they were all cylinder bore . . . but it has been reported that at least one trio of Purdeys was choked that way.

Clapper Zapper, in which of Dave's videos does he discuss loads, shot sizes, and chokes for the tall ones?

Thanks, wondered about that. Only 2 shotguns I own with an imp. cyl. bore (right hand barrel) are the 20 Fox Sterly, and my Dad's M21- both guns have 28" barrels, ejectors, sp.forearms, and the left barrel in the Fox. is mod., in the M21- also Mod. (Thanks to WRA and their wise decision to mark their chokes on the barrel- or barrel flats-whatever.

As I only hunt upland birds now-a-days (once a year on my birthday, on a preserve/pen raised pheasants, over a rock-solid GSP named "Hildy", I use Dad's M21- 7&1/2 shot 1&1/8--- imp. cyl. barel, and the same load but with no. 6 shot in the left-- I couldn't begin to estimate what the patterning or range at which I drop rooster pheasants flushed over her solid points) and at almost 78 years of age, I am not as fast to get onto flushed birds as I might have been 30 years ago--but your points are well taken.RWTF

I've seen one Dave Carrie video where he offered the load he uses on these shoots. It was a 42 gram (1.48 oz.) load of #4's. I'm guessing velocity of 1300 fps or a hair more. Brutal recoil in even a 9 lb. o/u, and I doubt his Miroku weighs over 8.5. How he handles a 100-round day of that is beyond me.

No thanks.
JR

Bill, I’m out of town.

Dave is very good about answering comments about his videos.
His explanations about cartridge ratio and video editing are in the comments section.
They are easy to scroll through.

I going to give a high bird shoot a go hopefully later this season.