Continental Shoot - Sporting? Fun?

J

jonnyB

Well-known member
A friend invited me to a Continental shoot, it goes like this: position shooters in a big circle, yards apart. Find a central location in the center of the circle. Release live birds from the center of the circle - pigeons, pheasants, ducks, whatever.

The "shooters" kill them as they attempt to fly to freedom.

You can learn more about this (sporting event?) by googling Continental Hunt.

I declined the invite...your thoughts?
 
jonnyB said:
A friend invited me to a Continental shoot, it goes like this: position shooters in a big circle, yards apart. Find a central location in the center of the circle. Release live birds from the center of the circle - pigeons, pheasants, ducks, whatever.

The "shooters" kill them as they attempt to fly to freedom.

You can learn more about this (sporting event?) by googling Continental Hunt.

I declined the invite...your thoughts?
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I would have declined that also. That is a shoot not a hunt, I like to hunt.
 
murder

long lost years ago live pigeon shoots were the rage, mostly in europe but also occurred here, they didn't always have clay pigeons to shoot at, in fact ms. oakley used to shoot at target balls and for affect, they loaded the balls with either sawdust or chicken feathers, and by the way, here famous rifle used to do this was actually a smooth bore and shot pellets, maybe it even sounds like a field of 20 guys shooting at a poor rooster

cheers
 
fourtrax said:
Sounds rather unsafe to me. Stand in a circle?
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It's basically an english tower shoot. Not something I would want to do either. If it is practice I need I would just shoot some clays and pick a nice free range chicken up on the way home. Tastes better anyway. Jonny doesn't need any practice:)
 
There's a club that emails every year for these type shoots. Though it's a tower shoot. Most of the time they use such events to sell off remaining-left-over birds. Other times they hold these shoots because members enjoy them.

I've never been apart of one, nor have nothing against them either (tower/continental).;)

These birds are raised to be shot. If not a tower/continental shoot, it's someone dizzying birds minutes before a dog stumbles onto them, then often (in the late-season) kicked/forced into a flush. From what I've heard, tower and continental birds are harder to hit due to the height and speed gained prior to coming into the shooters zone.

As for safety, the point is to shoot the bird not the other shooters. Ever hunt a block/drive through a corn field with a numbers of other hunters? Did you shoot anyone? Despite not being able to see the blockers through the corn stalks you knew they were there, therefore you didn't shoot in their direction/zone.

No different with tower/cont. shoots:)
 
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Major Ave Gun Club (Glencoe) has a tower shoot, similar to the Continental shoot described previously. They use an abandoned silo. The circle of shooters seems to vary - approx 150-200 yards in diameter, not sure what the distance is between shooters.

This shoot (Continental) was a bit pricey for me - $200 plus bird cleaning. Think I'll stick to sporting clays!
 
sporting clays club does it here with pheasants,and they intermingle feral pigeons,alternately.the pheasants are collected and split among the group.
dont know what happens with the pigeons.the shooters alternate positions every 15-30 minutes. the pigeon shooting would sharpen the eye
i havent been,just had it explained to me.
i dont have any critcism of the practice,pro or con,its probably a hoot
 
It's designed to be a continental hunt, there they have drivers drive the birds over you, sometimes at a frightful distance, you shoot full flight feathered birds usually in an area where they have been aclimated too. Shots are challenging. Drivers do not participate, bag is the estates and is sold commercially, a brace or so go to the shooter. This tower" is an approximation of the true version. In Europe game is commercial, we have had a different ideas here. But a we are coming closer together, in Europe, they were wild bird killers until they could not supply the birds, now the shoot pen raised birds to uphold the tradition. Here we have preserves, hunting clubs, with extended seasons, and cage raised birds. If you harvest a pen raised bird, what difference does it make in the dispatch? The Europeans choose the sport as a the challenge of shooting a downhill full bore pheasant. We accentuate a bird put up by a dog, or a suspiciously driven bird, put to flight by an army of driven blockers, not unlike the European shoots! In essence, a pennie is a pennie, it might not appeal to every body, but it might be in the future, arguing about the purest white in the wedding dress, make little difference here. I would do a tower shoot, better yet an honest driven shoot, but I would distingish between the that, and a winner take all foot hunting wild pheasant hunt on pulbic ground. I'd eat both, and probably enjoy both, but quess which bird would be on my wall:).
 
IMO, I would say sporting in the art of hunting=NO.

Sporting in the art of shooting=YES.


I never participated but watched and those shots looked very demanding.

Comes down to different strokes for different folks.
 
The British can't believe there are those in America that will head out one man one dog into a quarter section of heavy cover to hunt pheasants.

(sometimes two pups in a section or more):thumbsup:

If I had to hunt the British way, I would hang it up.:(
 
tower shoots

from what i have read about the english and their driven and or tower shoots, most of us would not get to feel bad about killing the birds. most of the birds would fly by us with no harm done in as much as most of us couldn't shoot well enough to hit them. when was the last time you really bagged a cross shot at a true 50 or so yards with a full bore gun and with the birds going 40 plus mph. it would humble most of us, certainly harder than our flushed birds we go after planted or wild. if i had several thousand dollars and could get the invite, i would go in a heart beat, would also love to see the dogs work on clean up, some of these stuff ol' farts know what's up

cheers
 
I have never participated in a Continental/ European/ Tower shoot. If you belong to a hunt club, have e-mail, you receive offers throughout the season. I hunt because I have dogs...period!
Me + my dogs = hunting
Me - my dogs = no desire to hunt
The only dog work involved with these particular shoots may be in retrieving. I don't see how you would have the ability to shoot, and, work your dog for retrieves as quick as they toss the birds out. They throw out up to 500 birds in about an hour and a half, plus the fact that there is time out as they rotate shooting stations. One benefit to these shoots is booking a field the day after, they don't hit them all. Perhaps shorthairs4life could post a picture...:cheers:
 
Sounds like a war zone, or the grand finale on the 4th of July! Ever been on a line hunt where someone shoots a bird, while 2 -3 others in the party are still shooting at the bird as it is falling to the ground? Multiply that by perhaps 3, up to 15 rounds per bird. Mmmm...lead.
My advice...buy stock in Federal, Remington or Winchester shells, the more they miss the more you earn.
 
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birddog456 said:
Sounds like a war zone, or the grand finale on the 4th of July! Ever been on a line hunt where someone shoots a bird, while 2 -3 others in the party are still shooting at the bird as it is falling to the ground? Multiply that by perhaps 3, up to 15 rounds per bird. Mmmm...lead.
My advice...buy stock in Federal, Remington or Winchester shells, the more they miss the more you earn.
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There is decorum there! You are placed in butts or stakes, you shoot in front in back and either side for around 40 yards or so, you do not take another stations birds, period. Puts you the bird and your lonely qualifications against a downhill bird at what speed and geography it can muster. You'll get hundreds of shoots, maybe bag 15 birds in 8 stations, having seen 250-500 n range, ( thats a british thing, that means every bird taken as they come). Shall we tell about our dove hunting prowess under similar conditions? Earl De Gray has witnesses and as he shoot 5 pheasants dead in the air at the same time, he used 3 gun loaders, and 3 identical Purdey double guns. bgs were literally in the 1000's. Different game there and here. Neither disadvantages to either. I am sure Lord De Gray would be unchallenged by a pointed bird shot. Personally, I am challenged by the cost! The 3 consecutive Purdey's, and my personal gunbearers. The dog and auto, seem cheap. Besides I don't think I could get my wife and the teenagers to be beaters!
 
there was an article by a man named Ken Roebuck,who was a spaniel trainer,i think he specialized in english cocker.
he was american ,but spent some time as a"game keeper" on an english estate.he wrote once of having to take his spaniels out and the drive or herd the pheasants back on to the estate ,every day so that they want to stay bonded to the lord's estate and not take up residence at the neighbors.i always kind wondered what that meant.this keeping the pheasants on the land seemed to be one of his daily duties
i know the driven shoots arent the same.just saying they,the europeans have ways of propogating wild game for their sport were not familiar with.

as far as the retrieving goes,i would imagine either here or in europe there is going to be a handler/s with pretty good non slip labradors or other breeds and all they'll do is pick up birds.
there should also be snacks and drinks.soft drinks before the shooting,your choice when the guns are cased. i bet it alot of fun
 
Here's the most recent photo that birddog456 was referring to.

This is the best part about a tower shoot. Hard shots=lots of birds in the field the next day. No fee to shoot more than you release.
 
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