Starting a few days in Norfolk with a better shooting lesson in Thetford and then to the Fakenham Road in Norwich to view the short-haired pointer puppies and reserve one of them, a dog with kennel name Broadland Teal.
A busy session at The Harnser, sanding away at the woodwork and then applying a coat of combined undercoat/gloss which took until 1.00am to complete!
I was going to pack a lot into a few days in Norfolk, but after I had only just crossed the border my first port of call was the shooting school at Thetford. I arrived early and had time to stop for a morning drink on what proved to be a very nice dry and sunny day. I asked the instructor to provide plenty of cartridges and we set off four boxes in the end ranging over the full variety of skeet or game clays. First the crossing birds from easy and then progressively harder angles; then the driven birds coming towards me at various angles from ground level and then in a typical butt. A walk into the woods to take several birds coming up and over the top.
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These proved to be my favourite but the next ones, the going-away birds, as always were the most difficult. I did better than last time though and actually managed to hit some. In all, I hit perhaps a quarter of the shots but I still had trouble mounting the gun consistently and need to practice much more often to prevent the barrel waving about as I track the bird. Although I was wearing ear defenders, my ears were left ringing by a hundred explosions - the most I had experienced in one go. At least the gun repairs were proven with not a single misfire to interrupt proceedings. On to Norwich and then out on the Fakenham Road to visit the kennels that have bred the Short-Haired Pointer/Retrievers.
I spent an hour with the owner discussing the breed and my requirements and concluded that it was the one for me. I took a couple of looks at the puppies and, from the two dogs still available, chose one of intended formal name Broadland Teal who was quite big. It was a bit subdued having been kept with its litter mates and just fed and cuddling up in the kennel to keep warm but it was very affectionate when it got to know me; looking up, pointing its nose and drinking in my scent as I fondled it. The dog had been well bred and I was shown the Sire on this years Jarrolds Dog Calender.
I left a deposit of £50 against the purchase price of £250 and went on my way. A very late lunch of salad at McDonalds and then a little time in Wroxham stopping at the Noah's Arc pet shop where I bought another book on Shorthaired Pointer/Retrievers and chatted to the lady assistant about food and bedding. A busy session at The Harnser, sanding away at the woodwork and then applying a coat of combined undercoat/gloss which took until 1.00am to complete!