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Is it worth going out decoying in strong winds?


camojohn
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pigeons love high winds

Do they? How do you know?

I get my best bags on wind days, dont like hot still sunny days, birds seem to be on the wing more on a wind day, but there`s no guarantee with birds so one tip IF you don't go you will hit sweet fa,

I find the opposite is true for me.

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I get my best bags on wind days,

 

I dont. I find if its very windy the hide is a nightmare and any birds that see you can use the wind to their advantage.

 

But i will be out in the morning and try to find a spot out of the worst of the rain and hope it don't rain either. I have to be out as the local farmer called and i want to build the contact otherwise would stay in.

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I love windy day shooting as the birds tend to commit to the lower flight lines or valleys and if you position you hide in the right position you can get high crossing shots and lower passing shots as they pass below you. As we use real birds as decoys they tend to be robust enough to stay put in the wind but the angels have to be tethered. A spooked bird in the wind can be a tremendous shot that you will take to your grave .

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2 things high winds do 1 is split the flocks up a bit 2nd it keeps them on the move well that's my opinion of course

it can be too strong at times as jdog said and its impossible to keep a hide up

So how do you keep your hide up in strong winds?

 

If the wind is behind me I use a ground sheet and attach it to the back drop (hedges etc.)

This does two things, stops the wind blowing through the hide, it also keeps the wind off your back ,and keeps you a little warmer.

 

Peg the front of the hide with bailing string and tent style pegs, and a couple of Thumb sticks inside the hide at an angle into the wind, either taped to the hide pole's or the height adjusters.

 

I am sure others will have more suggestions, these can only help all of us so send them in and let us all see what we do to overcome this most annoying of problems.

Edited by bakerboy
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So how do you keep your hide up in strong winds?

 

If the wind is behind me I use a ground sheet and attach it to the back drop (hedges etc.)

This does two things, stops the wind blowing through the hide, it also keeps the wind off your back ,and keeps you a little warmer.

 

Peg the front of the hide with bailing string and tent style pegs, and a couple of Thumb sticks inside the hide at an angle into the wind, either taped to the hide pole's or the height adjusters.

 

I am sure others will have more suggestions, these can only help all of us so send them in and let us all see what we do to overcome this most annoying of problems.

Guide ropes and supports between the poles, works a treat

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When I started pigeon shooting I read every scrap of article and books I could get my hands on, three things have stood out for me as very different to my own findings.

 

1) You can easily find out what birds are feeding on by opening the crops

I found birds crops almost invariably empty :hmm:

 

2) Birds often alight on nearby trees surveying your pattern before gently swooping in all of a sudden

do they b........

 

3) Windy days are better as it keeps the birds low

not in my experience, I've had my best days on relatively still days, some wind is better than none but strong winds are horrible to set up in, horrible to keep decoys tethered and horribly difficult to shoot. I have also often found birds are stratospherically high !

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When I started pigeon shooting I read every scrap of article and books I could get my hands on, three things have stood out for me as very different to my own findings.

 

1) You can easily find out what birds are feeding on by opening the crops

I found birds crops almost invariably empty :hmm:

 

2) Birds often alight on nearby trees surveying your pattern before gently swooping in all of a sudden

do they b........

 

3) Windy days are better as it keeps the birds low

not in my experience, I've had my best days on relatively still days, some wind is better than none but strong winds are horrible to set up in, horrible to keep decoys tethered and horribly difficult to shoot. I have also often found birds are stratospherically high ![/quote

 

My experience

1) Opening the crop does indicate what the bird is feeding on but not where!

2) they do alight into nearby trees and survey the pattern but then usually fly off in the opposite direction

3) Windy days are better than still days because in gives movement to the decoys which is important. However if blowing a gale it can be difficult

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I was thinking of going out shooting tomorrow but they forecast 17 mph winds with gusts of 28mph. Is it still worth a try or should I just leave it for another day?

I should have gone another day. Stared badly and didn’t get any better. I text the farmer who was late getting back to say it was ok to shoot. Then found I’d forgotten the big battery for the magnet. Sat and waited for hour, not one bird came in, they’d all gone to another part of the field. Went and put out some flags, which didn't help much as they just when anywhere else except where I was set up. So my grand total for the afternoon was 1 dead 2 missed. I shot the same field on Monday and shot 25. The only good thing was the weather men got it wrong and the wind was not half as bad as they forecasted. It’s days like that when I could of just walked round the field and shot more.

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I went out and sat in the landy looking at the field drinking my coffee and thinking ............ is there enough action to venture out?? After 30 mins drove back home. Hoping that the weather is better in the morning and the birds are back. I have a field just planted with winter wheat (very late) and I think the birds are on it as its a fresh till rather than for the seed. On all my fields with the new growth the birds are not holding.

If there are no crows or its raining then I will take the air rifle round the barns.

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