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Decoying standing crops


Redditch
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So, a big problem with Decoying standing crops, is the fact that the birds can't see your decoys until they are almost on top of them.

As a cure for this, I bought 4x 2.10 metre plastic covered metal tube carden canes from b&q, and cut these in half, giving me 8x 1.05 metres.

I also bought 2x 1 metre lengths of 20x20mm light angle iron, and 8x 1" dia jubilee hose clips.

Then I cut the angle iron into 8x lengths each piece of 25cm and use these on the bottoms, attached to the tube with a single hose clip each. These will then push into the ground, giving a stable footing for the stake.

Then at the top, I used silicone glue to fit a decoy stake into the top of each and allowed this to dry.

 

Now when I have standing crops, I can have 8 decoys stood out of the crop where all the birds can see them, drawing them in to see the bigger pattern, and hopefully to a range I can shoot them at :)

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I tend to cut right back on the decoys over standing crop, just my magnet in a tram line and a couple of floaters or flappers out along the same line, always with dead birds, the birds fly in along the line looking for a landing place and bingo, only thing is I dont like walking in standing crop, even though the farmer says its ok, and I dont have a dog, so I shoot very little until harvest, then get stuck in on the stubble, but good on you for trying out ideas, you never know what will work until you try it , keep it up, :yes::yes:

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It sounds like the idea will work, but is over complicated and unnecessarily expensive.

Normal garden bamboo canes will do the same job. Either fit a full bodied decoy to the top, or insert a cradle to the cane and add a dead bird or as i often do, just simply insert a 4-5 ft bamboo cane up the backside of a dead bird up into it's skull, then push into the ground at an angle.

You can spread the wings by pushing a 8" stick through the body under the wings and nottching the flight feathers into the stick, but it's normally not necessary to spread the wings.

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It sounds like the idea will work, but is over complicated and unnecessarily expensive.

Normal garden bamboo canes will do the same job. Either fit a full bodied decoy to the top, or insert a cradle to the cane and add a dead bird or as i often do, just simply insert a 4-5 ft bamboo cane up the backside of a dead bird up into it's skull, then push into the ground at an angle.

You can spread the wings by pushing a 8" stick through the body under the wings and nottching the flight feathers into the stick, but it's normally not necessary to spread the wings.

Not that expensive really. A bunch of hose clips is about £4.00, the canes about £10.00 together, and the two bits of angle iron about another £5.00 (the decoy sticks I already have, and the silicone I already have too. The bamboo canes cost as much as the plastic covered metal tubing )

Using dead birds is a good idea, BUT, you have to shoot some first to use them, and getting them in range to shoot some is what this is all about LOL.

I don't usually shoot standing crops, but if the farmer says he's having problems, then I shoot them or I lose the permission

Edited by Redditch
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  • 2 weeks later...

It sounds like the idea will work, but is over complicated and unnecessarily expensive.

Normal garden bamboo canes will do the same job. Either fit a full bodied decoy to the top, or insert a cradle to the cane and add a dead bird or as i often do, just simply insert a 4-5 ft bamboo cane up the backside of a dead bird up into it's skull, then push into the ground at an angle.

You can spread the wings by pushing a 8" stick through the body under the wings and nottching the flight feathers into the stick, but it's normally not necessary to spread the wings.

 

I tried out the bamboo canes with full body decoys yesterday afternoon in a high oatfield, also placed a floater/bouncer a bit back to imitate a incoming bird. I didn´t manage to get in my hide before the first bird was coming in and I shot it hiding in the high grass. More pigeons was coming in, fooled by the decoys on the bamboo sticks and in a short time I shot a good bunch of birds. The son was with me and he got to see daddy shot pigeons for the first time. So thanks for the tip about full body decoys on bamboo sticks, worked perfectly.

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Always shoot standing crops starting with just a rotary with 2 dead birds on (from the freezer), adding 1-3 floaters and/or possibly a flapper on floater.

That's all you need really, unless there's a small flattened spot for dead birds on cradles.

Do you use all those decoys on poles over a rotary?

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I use a rotary on a flat spot, (and then two flappers when I've shot some), and 8 full bodies on poles.

The only time I use a "full layout" is on freshly sewn crops, or freshly harvested crops

Sometimes I will bang in 2-5 bouncers around at a fair distance from the pattern, as if heading in to join them

Edited by Redditch
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Personally I'd say the 8 full bodied deeks on poles could be left in the car if you've got a magnet and 2 flappers, but that's only what I've found.

I like to carry as little as possible that I don't feel I 'need' when I'm shooting standing crops.

Everyone has their own opinions and what works for them, I'm sure the decoys set above the crop add something to the effectiveness though once the birds are committed.

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Most of the "flattened areas" are very near to the gates generally. The great difficulty is the fact that the"rows" (tramlines) are NOT visible from the flight lines, the fields are small and mostly surrounded by trees, so the only way to get any movement is to have decoys standing ABOVE the crop.

Even the magnet at full extension doesn't poke above the crops, and that would leave me with just the two flappers, for which I FIRST have to shoot 2 birds to put in them.

I don't have a freezer or fridge spare to put shot birds in, so that's not an option

 

And it's not pigeons that are attracted to the odd one or two on a crop, these are for 95% corvids, and they like numbers before they are interested in taking a look generally

 

But, it does work, and on freshly sewn barley and wheat I've had days of 800+ birds with a mate on two adjoining fields. The more birds the better with corvids, they can't seem to resist large numbers

Edited by Redditch
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It's 95% corvids to 5% pigeons here on the north west coast (I imagine the north west coast of Scotland would be similar)

It seems the corvids thrive better in the cold and wet than the pigeons do, and it rains w lit here.

The North East has about 50%-50%, and South has more pigeons than crows generally, much like the mainland UK.

Most is either jackdaws, rooms, or carrion/grey back crows.

We have a fair amount of Ravens, but they are protected, and we have the odd jays, also protected.

What we also have in my particular area, never seen any where else here, is a cross between a raven and a carrion crow.

It's the six of a raven (50-60 inch wingspan) but calls with a carrion crow call, not with the raspy croak of the raven.

Not sure on the legal status in those, so always leave them to go on their way. Seem to be restricted to about a six mile area around here.

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