daithi Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 (edited) first of all id like to say a big thanks to all the members here.. for all the help and tutorials that are spread out over the forum and replies to previous threads ive posted... so anyway it was our third time decoying.. but the first time doing it correctly.. having had time off over the christmas i trawled through this forum gaining lots and lots of info for a days decoying with a friend.. so after almost two weeks keeping an eye on a rape field due to this **** weather we finally got a break in the weather where we could do a days shooting on new years eve.. we hit the field at ten after i dragged the buddy out of the bed lol.. carried in the gear and the buddy started on the hide and i started on the pattern.. one thing ive learned and to all other newbies is make your pattern very big.. the first two times we did it was two small.. granted a pigeon is tiny but when 10 or 12 come together they cover quiet an area.. so anyway i put out 12 decoys in a horse shoe pattern and it was about 20 yards wide and 10 or 12 deep we had two floaters on either side of it and kept it simple after all it was a learning process,,, after everything was setup and we sat in the hide for 10 minutes looking out at the pattern we soon realised we needed to move as the wind was cutting us in two through a gap in the hedge.. so we relocated about twenty meters up the ditch where we were nice and cosy.. we werent in the hide 5 minutes when birds started coming we were so excited "its some buzz" to see your efforts pay off.. we missed a lot of birds due to the fact we were so excited and inexpierenced..we were shooting at them to early and we werent focusing on one single bird.. as when your peering through the net you see 3 or 4 coming but when your come over the net to shoot sometimes there was 8, 10 etc so after wasting the first box and a half of cartridges we settled down and got the hang of it.. let the bird come in and commit to the decoys and it was so much easier.. we had a right days shooting and are truly hooked thanks to the advise from members here if there is any advise i can give any newbies reading this post is dont rush out and start putting out the decoys and expecting big bags read up on this site and look at youtube clips..." i spent hours doing it and can see where to improve now on our next outing" study the field you will be hunting and even walk it study the field again practice setting up gear in your garden.. "dont take it for granted you no like we did" birds need to be 2,3 yards apart not 2,3 feet like we did the first time take pics of these decoy patterns on your phone http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/topic/153348-setting-a-pigeon-decoy-pattern/ we used this pattern with two floaters to the rear on each side,, wind and hide were in the same direction and place and heres a pic of the sucessfull day.. the brain is going non stop now with new ideas and how to improve on things Edited January 3, 2016 by daithi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaunda Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 Please pick up that orange cartridge case at lower centre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westley Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 Bloody Hell ! is that a bayonet on your Beretta auto ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belly47 Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 good write up, well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daithi Posted January 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 (edited) Please pick up that orange cartridge case at lower centre. if you have nothing positive to say in relation to my posts then dont bother commenting on them in the future .. we cleaned up the place when we were finished the automatic spits them everywhere mine were nice and tidy in the hide .. were not idiots Edited January 3, 2016 by daithi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 all the reports from ireland are usually about shooting rooks ...so its nice to see you do actually have pigeons too...well done .. you will have to take a bit of cheeky ribbing tho....as you are doing better than most of us over here...so we are pee green and jealous.............most of us havnt had the chance to decoy proper in quite a while....so you are going to take some stick... ......... good proper write up...........keep it coming.. ditch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bala Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 Good detailed write up lads, sounds like you really enjoyed your day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 A nice result and it sounds like the start of many more. Keep the reports coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 Well done , you will be well and truly hooked now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul taylor Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 Good read and you sound as though you've caught the bug,very enthusiastic! Well done lads keep it up👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aga man Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 Good results lads, well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon controller Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 Well done on your entry to our sport, you read and learnt from the forum and the end result was an honest report . It's true you see people set up with the decoys too close and when confronted with five to ten birds over your pattern it is difficult to select one,two or even three to shoot at. Keep reporting on your progress . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxwell Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 Well done lads, I could almost feel the enthusiasm as I read your report. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 Well done on starting on your pigeon shooting journey. One piece of advice I will give, is to not think that there is only a certain way to go about it. You mention that decoys 'need' to be 2-3 yards apart. I don't believe this to be the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 A good effort and a good write up. Now that your decoying is under way you will find that sometimes it will be better than that and other times it will be worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oowee Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 A good right up well done lads. So impressed you got out over the break. Here I was limited to a walk round on the pheasant as its been too wet and windy to decoy for me. I use a semi and like to have bright colour cartridges to make them easier to collect i cant believe that they still make shell cases that are so difficult to see in cover. If we shoot in pairs we almost always set up separately and use radios. Its more fun in the same hide i think but chances increase with wider coverage. Keep up the great work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dad Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 well done lads make sure you dont over shoot it. i used to holiday close by in athlone and shannon harbour fishing, went every year for 30 years, pigeons were quite rare at the time, only used to see a dozen at the most, not much in the way of crops grown in the shannon valley then farm we stayed at grew about 10 acres of rape for cattle feed that wasnt untill the 90s looks like its improved a lot how big was the field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daithi Posted January 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 Well done on starting on your pigeon shooting journey. One piece of advice I will give, is to not think that there is only a certain way to go about it. You mention that decoys 'need' to be 2-3 yards apart. I don't believe this to be the case. ya i no it can vary a lot.. found that out reading about here lol.. i was just trying to get the point across to other newbies like me to not be afraid to spread out the pattern as we were the first two times.. well done lads make sure you dont over shoot it. i used to holiday close by in athlone and shannon harbour fishing, went every year for 30 years, pigeons were quite rare at the time, only used to see a dozen at the most, not much in the way of crops grown in the shannon valley then farm we stayed at grew about 10 acres of rape for cattle feed that wasnt untill the 90s looks like its improved a lot how big was the field. its two long but narrow fields of 40 acres.. almost a kilometer long.. there could of been just as many pigeons at the far end i dont no lol there is a lot of crops planted about now must of changed.. saying that we are not beside the shannon and are in a very good tillage area Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 Well done lads hope your enthusiasm keeps going, pigeon shooting is a great sport and you never stop learning. Tip, when you get a few birds coming in let the first few land, then stand up take a bird in flight, then be ready to swing onto the birds departing your decoy pattern. Do you take it in turns to shoot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daithi Posted January 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 Well done lads hope your enthusiasm keeps going, pigeon shooting is a great sport and you never stop learning. Tip, when you get a few birds coming in let the first few land, then stand up take a bird in flight, then be ready to swing onto the birds departing your decoy pattern. Do you take it in turns to shoot? no we were shooting together but i think it would be better one at a time more room to maneuver... would of shot more this way i think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 some people are against shooting 2 to a hide ...as they think it is an accident waiting for a happening..................for me i prefere it....if you lay down ground rules and stick with them...its fine......it also teaches you patience........example: if you have 2 or more birds coming in on your side....wait for the first ones to go thro' for your buddy and take the tail end charlie's.............also it can be of benifit to put a stick up between the 2 of you ...and that will be the limit of the swing of the barrell.............. on a good day ...sitting next to your shooting buddy can be the best fun going....and serious crack... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 some people are against shooting 2 to a hide ...as they think it is an accident waiting for a happening..................for me i prefere it....if you lay down ground rules and stick with them...its fine......it also teaches you patience........example: if you have 2 or more birds coming in on your side....wait for the first ones to go thro' for your buddy and take the tail end charlie's.............also it can be of benifit to put a stick up between the 2 of you ...and that will be the limit of the swing of the barrell.............. on a good day ...sitting next to your shooting buddy can be the best fun going....and serious crack... Yep. It does happen but is rare we shoot alone; there is usually two of us. Most we've ever done is four, but on a strict rota. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocknee Posted January 5, 2016 Report Share Posted January 5, 2016 What I do when shooting two to a hide is toss up at the beginning to see who has first shot and they continue to have first shot until they miss it tends to make you concentrate somewhat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted January 5, 2016 Report Share Posted January 5, 2016 I prefer two hides even if they are close together. What is amazing is that my shooting partners find it difficult to count to two. After their turn they invariably have another go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted January 5, 2016 Report Share Posted January 5, 2016 no we were shooting together but i think it would be better one at a time more room to maneuver... would of shot more this way i think If you are not experienced at shooting in the same hide I would suggest you take it in turns to shoot, this will also let the other shooter swing onto birds to his right or left without worrying about his mates barrel swing, or the words, 'I thought you were going to take that one' shooting from the same hide is great fun and you can have a chat (or a fag if you smoke) during the lull in shooting, (take plenty of fags) don't like the idea of putting a stick out as a boundary mark as it can mess your swing up on crossing birds, keep it one at a time for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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