The tried and the trusted
Tom Sykes is out and about with a favourite old gun chasing crows with Goose
Ihave always had a love for older guns. One of my favourites is the Remington 1100. We have had Remi 1100s in the family since before I was born. Two of the family Remingtons were Trap models.
There was also an old Magnum that was my gun of choice as a teenager before I bought my Beretta AL391. That fondness for the 1100s stuck with me, and I was amazed to see one on the gun shop shelf in great condition with an inviting price tag of just over £200; certainly too inviting to ignore.
The gun in question is a 2.75in chamber field version with a 28in barrel and fixed half choke. The gun has that trademark chunky feel to it, looks beautiful and rugged combined with a point ability that felt instinctive with all those years of muscle memory locked into my subconscious.
Eager
I was itching to get out with it. I loaded the car up with some decoying essentials and headed to the estate to find some crows.
After a quick scout of some interlocking roads when I arrived, I came across a sheep feeder on the edge of a belt of trees with plenty of birds milling around. I sat in the gateway to observe the general movement and patterns and soon had a plan of action.
Adjacent to the trees was a hedge. This was probably once part of an old boundary fence that had been removed, and it offered the perfect location to set my ambush.
The position of the hedge meant the hide could be erected with a great view of incoming birds flighting up the wood, and the decoys would be the lure to pull them into the field to provide a perfect arc of fire.
I lugged the gear down the hedge and began to put the plan into action. I decided to utilise a homemade hide constructed from sturdy green netting, old camo netting offcuts and a mishmash of other materials to give a three-dimensional effect.
The basic idea of the extra materials came from crafting homemade ghillie suits over the years. The random pattern helps to break up the outline and help with concealment. The hide was supported by a handful of garden canes that threaded through mesh. With the net rolled out and in place, I moved to conceal Goose. His hide was easy to build and provided perfect cover as well as a cool shady place for him to relax.
Last but not least, I set the decoys to complete the set-up. I used a mixture of Sillosocks and full bodies.
The Sillosocks were scattered around the open area of the field with a couple of Hypa flappers thrown in to add variety.
The full bodies were added to the top of the feeder and on hangers in the surrounding trees and hedge to complete the look and replicate the natural pattern I witnessed on arrival.
Wait
With the stage set, I retreated to the hide to organise myself in preparation for the first birds. I loaded the gun with some rather punchy but effective 34g 5s to ensure that all birds that ventured close enough would be dealt a swift and clean blow from the old Remington. I could soon hear the distant calls of approaching birds.
I hunkered down below the net and waited for them to close the distance up the spinney. The first pair of crows had read the script and swung perfectly out over the field towards the far side of the decoys. A couple of shots put the first two birds in the bag. The Remington made light work of the targets and it was clear we were going to work well together. The gun took the heavy cartridges in its stride and I hardly felt a thing.
I ventured out into the decoy spread to place one of the birds onto my flapper to add movement to the spread.
However, despite bringing a ton of gear with me, I had missed adding the ground stake to the bag. I therefore had to find a small branch and do a little whittling in the hide to fabricate my own.
My impromptu woodwork project was abruptly interrupted by the steady stream of birds committing to the decoys.
I must have had another three or four birds in the bag before I could finally get the flapper up and running. After a quick tidy of the decoys, I then added a bird to the flapper and set the motion to long steady flaps with a short break.
This added movement that was particularly eye-catching for any birds flighting across the bottom end of the field, which in turn was helping to pull more birds my way.
“The first pair of crows had read the script and swung perfectly out over the field”
Effortless
The homemade hide and added leaf suit provided excellent concealment as most crows had no idea I was there.
I simply waited for the birds to turn out over the decoys before I slipped the gun into my shoulder and took aim. Even the odd bird passing at range without decoying were no match for the 1100 and big shells. Long shots seemed to be as effortless as ones hovering over the decoys helping me to build a good bag throughout the day.
As always, some of the best action and challenging shots came in the form of jackdaws. The little aerial acrobats and their jinxing flight patterns kept me on my toes.
This was especially true when taking on small bunches. The first shot would ring out and I would need to swing the brute of a gun to catch up with the next target doing everything in its arsenal to evade the gun.
Once again, the Remington seemed to instinctively find its mark on the most challenging shots from the day and the heavy cartridges meant I had plenty of time for the bead to get on target before the birds were out of the danger zone.
As the action began to wane, I decided to give Goose a leg stretch and help with the packing up.
He seemed to have had an enjoyable afternoon watching the action from his hide, but was glad of the work as a highlight to his day. I was confident that all the crows were cleanly despatched and happy for Goose to sweep up a lot of the outlying birds to save my legs. We soon had everything packed up and cleaned from the field.
I have to say that the Remington proved to be well worth the investment, and was an absolute steal for the money. There are some great bargains to be had, and the old guns can certainly keep up with the new kids on the block.
The added nostalgic value is simply icing on the cake for me. There is just something about the big and chunky workhorse that just feels right in my hands. I can’t wait for future adventures on the crows and ducking in the season.