GREAT AMERICAN SHOOTING SERIES: Pheasant Hunting on Monkton Farm
Babbin, Jed
THE GREAT AMERICAN SHOOT: io 6 SERIES Hunting for Pheasant on Monkton Farm by Jed Babbin OGEY WASN'T NEARLY THIS LUCKY in Casablanca. Ilsa came back to me. My Ilsa—a Purdey shotgun owned by my...
...On the trip out, I was a little sad, believing Lloyd and Matt who'd told me that Richard hadn't come this year: no Richard, no Ilsa...
...Had to get into the rhythm...
...The bird wasn't going far...
...Ilsa fell open with a touch of the lever, ejecting spent rounds...
...Or was it Matt...
...Overseeing all of this is the shoot manager...
...And that's only the beginning...
...When they reach the tree line and can't run in cover anymore, the pheasant take to the air...
...On David's instruction we'd each move up two numbers on each drive...
...I can't wait...
...z Jed Babbin, a former deputy undersecretary of defense in the first Bush administration, writes the "Loose Canons" column for the website of The American Spectator...
...Some of the hunters bring an assistant, called a "loader," whose only job is to keep the shooter's guns—usu-ally a pair—clean, loaded, and reloaded through each drive...
...It was only getting worse...
...Drive 2 was in another still-foggy field at least a quarter-mile wide...
...This time it was champagne and homemade sausage, courtesy of David's wife...
...All you need for a pheasant hunt in the States is a couple of hunters, a guide, and three or four dogs...
...Nick's hunts are blessed with the presence and direction of Mr...
...It was for me, five years ago...
...We stood in the trees, and as the pheasant broke, they went for altitude, weaving around the tall cedars and hardwoods...
...My guess was far less than the actual number, 375, which included three grouse and at least one pigeon...
...Ready immediately, gentlemen...
...Handshakes and much kidding all around...
...Barbour is a brand of waxed cotton coats that are wonderfully weatherproof...
...Shoot, reload, shoot, reload...
...Cecil B. DeMille never directed anything with more moving parts...
...At the invitation of my generous friend Nick, every November I travel to the UK for a driven pheasant shoot...
...Then panic set in...
...Babbin and birds 54 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR FEBRUARY 2004...
...Try explaining that to your HMO...
...Pegs, please, gentlemen," said David, holding out a pouch of flat gold sticks that look like collar stays...
...A small gray bird was rocketing across the line, headed right to left...
...Then David was there, smiling at the gathering of usual suspects...
...David Steele...
...Inquiries at several of London's fashionable men's stores revealed no answer...
...Simple, right...
...My left hand found shells two at a time, and reloaded quickly...
...Now we were getting warm again, dozing and thinking about shots made and missed, and about next year...
...David and his partner Martin Bishop run the hunts on the two Winchbottom estates, and I've shot on both...
...The pheasant began breaking at the other end of the line...
...May I?" sez FEBRUARY 2004 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR 53 THE GREAT AMERICAN SHOOTING SERIES me...
...I regained my composure and got into a smooth loading and shooting rhythm...
...They are in beautiful, rolling hills, part forest and part open moors...
...A "spotty dick" tie is one that has too much bright color and confusion...
...Those two are world-class shooters...
...The first time the birds broke cover, I got flustered...
...After Drive 3, it was back to the cars Nick shoots, same perfect form for a break...
...Of course," says he...
...On drive #2, I'd be at peg #1, and so on...
...Some end up in the hospital, injured seriously...
...Mount the gun ahead of another bird, missed again...
...It's a combination of pomp and ceremony and some of the fastest wing shooting you can find anywhere...
...May I help...
...We took our stations in a field where the tree line stopped on a hill above us, meaning there would be a lot of high birds...
...What's perfectly scary is that I'm starting to like it...
...It quickly became, "shoot, eject, drop new shells, grab three instead of two, load one instead of two, shoot, eject...
...I responded immediately, shoving a few Paul Garmirian cigars into his vest (which are as good or better than Cubans, and don't put any Yankee dollars in Fidel's coffers...
...That bit of coaching was all I needed...
...A "drive" consists of about ten or 15 minutes of furiously fast shooting, the product of the beaters having herded hundreds of pheasant through the woods...
...Behind the shooters are more people, the "pickers up," who with their dogs retrieve all the downed pheasant and grouse...
...We'd had another perfect day, thanks to David and his expert crew...
...We wear briar britchesthornproofs—orange hats, and whatever else makes us warm, comfortable, and visible...
...Arriving in London a couple of weeks later, I looked at the ties my wife had packed for me, judging that they went well with my outfit...
...Soon the birds were flying again, and David yelled, "Grouse...
...He had a big day planned for us...
...Finally one of the gents in the Holland & Holland gun room eased my mind...
...Each had a number on the back...
...A high one, missed...
...Next, knee-length pants called "plus-twos...
...For those who haven't had the pleasure of sloe gin, think about Vicks Formula 44...
...N NOVEMBER 28 the cars picked me, Lloyd, 0 Matt (and his gal Barb, along to observe) up at the hotel for the drive to Monkton Farm...
...There are dozens of "beaters," who go a mile or two out on each drive and walk back through the forest, tapping bushes and trees with sticks, whistling, and herding the pheasant toward the shooters...
...The other part—Portman Burtley—is owned by Lord Portman...
...In about ten minutes, it was over...
...Above the plus-twos, there's a "country shirt"—a light-colored dress shirt in a plaid pattern, and a necktie...
...It was the least I could do in return for his father's loan of Ilsa...
...First, the cigar exchange...
...Butt, belly, beak, bang...
...You can sell game to restaurants and markets in the UK...
...Two of my friends, Brian and John, are transplanted Brits with lots of shooting experience...
...Turning away, his Scythian barrage was: "Whatever you do, don't wear a spotty-dick tie...
...No whistle today...
...Reload, shoot, reload, shoot...
...Normally, a whistle would signal the time to load and stand ready...
...1 VEN THOUGH MY NECKTIE JITTERS had been settled, my first day on the shooting line began A tensely...
...That's how the beaters and pickers-up make their money...
...For a rookie Yank, it can be a nervous day...
...My Ilsa—a Purdey shotgun owned by my pal Richard—was once again in my hands for what is always one of the best days of my year...
...It didn't get past Duncan...
...On the ride back to the hotel, our gang was quiet...
...Over it all goes a shooting vest, a Barbour, a waterproof hat, and a "speed bag" (a purse-like cartridge bag worn over your shoulder that allows the shooter to reload quickly...
...I chose what turned out to be #7, and would start at that peg on the first drive...
...The whistle sounded, signaling time to unload and case the gun...
...A driven shoot is a complex event, unlike anything we do in the States...
...The birds are three or four pounds in weight and are flying at about 40 miles an hour...
...It was shoot manager David Steele, who served as loader for this rookie Yank for a few minutes, shoving shells into my open gun as fast as I could shoot...
...Richard got one, then Matt doubled—one with each barrel...
...Instead, it was get to your peg, and get ready to shoot...
...Then pheasant everywhere...
...A mist still hung over the field, making visibility a little iffy...
...Then, suddenly, the shoot was over...
...Matt and Lloyd were snickering behind me...
...A gentleman can't show up at a driven shoot in a camo Gore-tex coverall...
...They are strong, fast birds and they can get very high very quickly...
...They gave me a lot of advice...
...Many hunters are struck by falling pheasant every year...
...After another few minutes David patted me on the shoulder, said, "I think you have it now," and strolled off...
...One of the traditions of the Brit shoot is that on the between-drive breaks, you get a snack, usually a miniature mince pie and sloe gin...
...Before Drive 4, I tried to coax Richard's son Harry to take my peg...
...Not something I'd wear anyway...
...All the pomp and ceremony of the Brit shoot is part of what makes it fun...
...My brow became fevered before I even got out in the field...
...To take driven pheasant, you need to be smooth, consistent, in a rhythm...
...B ACK TO THE GAMEKEEPER'S LODGE for a late lunch and a wager on the day's bag...
...The birds would be sold to a game butcher and on London markets and restaurant tables the next day...
...It landed next to me with a loud thump...
...Into the cars, please, gentlemen," said David...
...If it had gone my way, it would have had a better chance...
...I shot one, and it fell straight at me...
...Start from the ground with waterproof boots, a.k.a...
...After about five minutes of this, a calm bass voice behind me said, "You seem to have a little problem loading...
...Shoot, eject, reload, shoot again...
...For a Brit shoot, you have seven or eight hunters...
...What in God's green earth is a "spotty dick" tie...
...There was Richard—son Harry in tow—holding one hand out to greet me, Harry holding a case that could only contain Ilsa...
...Drive 3 was in a wooded area...
...Then John threw a monkey wrench—sorry, "spanner"—in the works...
...John kidded me about it, and wished me the best of luck...
...Duncan—one of the best shots I've ever seen—reached out to shake hands, and stuffed a few Cuban cigars in my vest pocket...
...Everyone put in a ten pound note...
...I may be the worst golfer ever to disgrace the links, but I can shoot pretty well...
...Monkton Farm is a part of the Winchbottom estates owned by former NATO General Secretary Lord Carrington...
...Shoot well or you're David Steele, shoot manager, leads us back from a drive 52 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR FEBRUARY 2004 JED BABBIN not likely to be invited back," quoth Brian...
...As soon as we arrived, the traditions took hold...
...About six drives, instead of the normal four or five, so we gladly hustled back to the cars...
...I said I'd load for him, but he declined, so it was back at it for another drive, then another break (This time the sloe gin was unavoidable...
...On to business, and we were changing into our wellies, sorting out guns and ammunition...
...No problem...
...I step aside while maintaining the shooting rhythm...
...No problem there either, as mine—having been worn for years in pursuit of ducks and Duncan shoots perfect form geese—looks like it's been dragged behind a semi half way up Route 95...
...wellies...
...And never show up with a new Barbour," he added...
...From then on it has been all smiles And good jokes, good cigars, and some really fabulous shooting...
...No matter...
...Damn...
Vol. 37 • February 2004 • No. 1
