Farcombehall Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 On one of my perms they are planting Lucerne next month as they have a problem with black grass, having never shot over it or know much about it other than its used for fodder will it attract the pigeons, your knowledge will be a great help many thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony G Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 You may well get some shooting over Lucerne See my story Bit of action at last,further down this page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerboy Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 Lucerne( aka Alf Alfa) is harversted up to 4 times each year. You will get some very good shooting over Lucerene especially just after it has been cut, don't forget this could be 3 to 4 times each year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deny essex Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 Got one field of lucerne myself , not seen any birds on it yet a little early methinks. Maybe worth a check with your farmer about what cartridges to use as one of my farmer's insists on felt wads as the crop goes for animal feed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaunda Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 Very GOOD POINT about FELT WADS - unfortunately many shooters do not know what lucerne is used for. Freshly cut lucerne can also provide good opportunities for corvid control,they being after all the bugs and etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 I have shot over Lucerne a number of times thanks to Terry (AKA Bakerboy) and the pigeons definitely like it. I'll never forget my first ever red letter day on there, I picked up 127 before running out of cartridges and the birds were still pouring in trying to land as I was packing up; It was since that day that I never go out with much less than 500 cartridges because you just never know when your day will come Like Terry has said, they harvest it a number of times throughout the year and the birds love it. It's also a nice short crop so even at it's longest it isn't too high making it a pleasure to shoot over. Cos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerboy Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 (edited) I believe we should use felt wads no matter what we shoot over. Any grazing animal can choke on plastic wads. Cosd, I can still remember talking to you on that momentous day "Buzzing" was the word that came over time and time again. Lucerne is on the move now and good shooting is just around the corner, 92 on Good Friday and 85 last Saturday, I will be out this Sunday. Edited April 17, 2015 by bakerboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 I believe we should use felt wads no matter what we shoot over. Any grazing animal can choke on plastic wads. Cosd, I can still remember talking to you on that momentous day "Buzzing" was the word that came over time and time again. Lucerne is on the move now and good shooting is just around the corner, 92 on Good Friday and 85 last Saturday, I will be out this Sunday. Fantastic bags mate, good luck on Sunday too!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon controller Posted April 18, 2015 Report Share Posted April 18, 2015 I the past we have shot Lucerne and Typhon during the early summer and had some very good sport from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenholland Posted April 18, 2015 Report Share Posted April 18, 2015 I always shoot fibre wads no matter what the crop is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebarrels Posted April 19, 2015 Report Share Posted April 19, 2015 Shot a few today over Lucerne not big numbers yet but I know they will build up over the next few weeks the birds I shot were stuffed to the gills with it BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick miller Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 I'm with Ken, I hate seeing plaswads everywhere, very bad form. We have loads of lucerne here, simply brilliant for pigeon and corvids, plus it tends to stay in for three or four years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerboy Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 I'm with Ken, I hate seeing plaswads everywhere, very bad form. We have loads of lucerne here, simply brilliant for pigeon and corvids, plus it tends to stay in for three or four years. Lucerne is very often a 5 year crop and can last up to 10 years. The root ball goes very deep and brings nutrients to the surface. When the crop has finished the soil is very often in a very good and rich condition. One of my Farmers is about to plant a second field of Lucerne, but is waiting for rain before proceeding, the Lucerne crop I shoot over at the moment is 6 years on and it has been estimated to last a further 4/5 years. Each year the Harvest has improved on the previous year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffjjack Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 I believe we should use felt wads no matter what we shoot over. Any grazing animal can choke on plastic wads. I always shoot fibre wads no matter what the crop is. +1 Plastic doesn't degrade... keep the plastic wads for the contaminated clay grounds and not the open countryside IMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 +1 Plastic doesn't degrade... keep the plastic wads for the contaminated clay grounds and not the open countryside IMHO I have shot many thousands of plastic wad cartridges over one particular field I used to shoot. I bet if I walked on it now I wouldn't be able find a single wad. I have never heard of any grazing animal choking or dying as a result of plastic wad ingestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebarrels Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Lucerne is very often a 5 year crop and can last up to 10 years. The root ball goes very deep and brings nutrients to the surface. When the crop has finished the soil is very often in a very good and rich condition. One of my Farmers is about to plant a second field of Lucerne, but is waiting for rain before proceeding, the Lucerne crop I shoot over at the moment is 6 years on and it has been estimated to last a further 4/5 years. Each year the Harvest has improved on the previous year. The farmer I shoot for gets quite a few cuts each year,and then it grows back rapido you also get quite a lot of clover growing amongst it which draws the pigeons in BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman Mike Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 (edited) I always shoot fibre wads no matter what the crop is. I find it fascinating that shooters worry about fibre or plastic wads...both generally non hazardous...when, if they shoot a particular area regularly throughout the course of the year could spread 25 -50 kg of lead on the ground. Not trying to be confrontational, just a bit perplexed. I did some contamination tests on a field purchased from a farmer for development about 5 years ago...he was 92 and he reckoned it had been regularly shot over as long as he can remember . The lead concentration in the soil samples were over 50 times higher than the contaminated land trigger level.. I wonder if that lead was being absorbed into the cereal crops and livestock and subsequently into us. The soil was classed as hazardous and we spent a fortune remediating the site. I would imagine more lead has been scattered far and wide on agricultural land than anglers ever lost in water. Food for thought ? Edited April 21, 2015 by Fisherman Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 (edited) Has anyone ever had any first hand experiance of livestock choking or getting any problems from plaswads. I shoot over clover ( for grazing and silage ) for pigeons with cartridges supplied by the farmer and they always have plaswads. Edited April 21, 2015 by anser2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerboy Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 It is not an every day thing but it can and does happen. Where you have Sheep. Lambs and Goats, the smaller grazing animals, it is a concern for some of my permissions. The lead will always be a concern and probably more of a long term worry than the plastic wads, but we can do a little to help by using fibre. I am not trying to be an evangelist on this or wanting to start a long winded debate but just felt (sorry for the Pun) it was worth a mention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harnser Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Has anyone ever had any first hand experiance of livestock choking or getting any problems from plaswads. I shoot over clover ( for grazing and silage ) for pigeons with cartridges supplied by the farmer and they always have plaswads. I carnt imagine live stock choking on any type of wad . Possibly they could ingest a wad from grazing on a field that's been shot over . I don't know what problem that would cause the beast ,proberbly nothing and it would proberbly pass it through . My farmer friend used to be a big beef cattle man and I have shot over all the fields that the cattle grazed on . Never had any problems with any cows ingesting wads . Harnser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerboy Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 I carnt imagine live stock choking on any type of wad . Possibly they could ingest a wad from grazing on a field that's been shot over . I don't know what problem that would cause the beast ,proberbly nothing and it would proberbly pass it through . My farmer friend used to be a big beef cattle man and I have shot over all the fields that the cattle grazed on . Never had any problems with any cows ingesting wads . Harnser. Maybe choking was the wrong word, ingesting, as you correctly state word have been a wiser word to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick miller Posted April 22, 2015 Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 Fine, if you use plaswads. But why bother picking up your empties? Surely simpler to leave them littering the place as well and less to clear up when you're done. I don't do it for cattle, although the lucerne here goes to feed animals at zoos up and down the country, but rather from a 'not wanting to leave my plastic **** behind' perspective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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