Read the small print

It’s been a long time since I accepted an invitation to shoot pigeon with my old friend and great expert Archie Coats. In the past I used to be a fairly regular member of his ‘B’ team. His ‘A’ side are far too expert for the likes of me. Nevertheless, I have shot my share with him on many occasions.

This time I took an American friend who had met Archie several years before when making a film about him. I told my friend that he could expect to see pigeon pouring into a cunningly set decoy pattern. We might have to move once or twice but in the end the