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Extreme pigeons.


JDog
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During my fledgling pigeon shooting career I have been lucky enough to see some magnificent flight lines. Talking to other shooters I get the impression that some of them have never really seen one which is a shame. Three years ago I had a line out of a wood which travelled a mile to spring rape and I shot three consecutive bags of over 200 on the same field. Two years ago a friend and I shot 229 pigeons over a field of whole cropped wheat on which they were not feeding. Last year with Agaman we shot 157 in a field where the pigeons were just passing over. A month ago I was privileged to see an amazing line in the company of Muncher, Motty and Farma Geddon when we picked 251. Again pigeons just passing over the field to feed elsewhere.

 

Today I saw a pigeon extreme line in the company of Agaman again. He kindly asked me over the Humber bridge to some of his land on which the wheat had been harvested only yesterday. By special request Agaman asked the farmer to bale down the middle of the field so as to leave some round bales to make a hide with. The straw in the rest of the field is still in swaths. We rolled some bales together and made two hides 50m apart and set out two rotaries and dead birds on cradles. This field was directly under the line.

 

It was slow going at first and it soon became obvious that the birds on the line had largely gone up the line and away to feed in the distance before we got there. Only odd ones came to the decoys and they were dealt with. After a slow hour Agaman left his hide to talk to me to explain that 'it wasn't like this yesterday when I was watching the field'. It never is, but we both knew that the best was yet to come.

 

When it started the return line was a spectacle with pigeons coming back down it at anything between 60m and 150m high. The average height would certainly have been 90m. There were hundreds of them and almost all were out of range. Only the odd one came close enough for a shot with a realistic chance of a kill. It was nevertheless a sight for sore eyes.

 

Whilst Agaman stuck it out in his hide I spied a point where the birds on the return line lost height and I raced over there into the next field with two hide poles and a bit of net which I erected between to rolled-together bales. Sure enough they were within reach of my limited abilities and I shot a fair few. At 6:45 I returned to my hide and was joined by my companion and only then did pigeons start to decoy and they did so until 7:30 when Agaman received a text from his wife with a picture of his dinner on it and at that stage we just had to pack up.

 

We picked over 50 pigeons. Those shot on the return line were full of rape seed, those shot going up the line at the end were empty. What a time we had.

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sounds great that does, we used to shoot a well known flightline in summer at the face of a very tall wood with 2 hides 100 yards apart ended up with anything ranging from 20 to 100 many times and every shot was a memorable one you just can.t beat that kind of sport

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It was a great afternoon. Yickdaz you are spot on , you can't beat this kind of sport.

I had hoped the birds on the return line would have been a bit lower and provided us with some testing driven style birds, but they were just too high, even motty and muncher would have had difficulty with them.

 

As it turned out we had some good sport and killed a good bag. As always JDog and i had a great time out, plenty of shots fired lovely weather and some like minded banter.

 

I will return with the dogs in morning to pick a few more.

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Top drawer day out and a very generous invite. It was mentioned on here recently about the cost of pigeon shooting. If you could guarantee a day like that, how much would it be worth?

We all like a day when they are throwing themselves into your pattern but flightline shooting is the cream of our sport.

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what a wonderful sight too see, i have only ever experienced one day similar to that jd, the air was blue and not just with pigeons may i add!

 

I released a quite a few shots as i remember and only a handful down, the birds were simply out of my abilities and i sat and watching them drift over as if on some magic wind.

excellent write up as always, sounded like some capital shooting.

 

atb

7diaw

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You and aga man done well in finding a good flight line with all the food available at the minute , for the last 3 or 4 days there have been three combines down the marsh cutting Wheat more or less non stop and now there are 100s of acres of stubble for pigeons , although the cultivators are going on the fields as soon as the combine is off getting the field ready for next years rape , so enjoy while you can.

 

Mr JDog , you do a lot of traveling for your pigeon shooting , have you worked it out how many counties you have shot pigeons in , it didn't take me to long in my case as the answer was two :yes:

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Marsh Man, it was Agaman who spotted this line. Finding lines like that is his speciality and I have been fortunate enough to be called over the Humber to shoot them on more than one occasion.

 

As for how many Counties I have shot pigeons in the answer must be getting on for twenty or so. I have lived in eight counties and shot pigeons in many more. Cambridgeshire was a new one for me this year firstly with Fenboy then with the Mottley Crew comprising Muncher, Motty and Farma Geddon and having sneaked away from my wife for an afternoon whilst we were on holiday I shot pigeons in Norfolk for the first time with Harnser.

Edited by JDog
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I think you're due a visit to Herefordshire jdog

Agreed. Shooting with you two years ago was my first time in that county and very good it was too. You are the Herefordshire equivalent of Agaman in Humberside, flight line specialists.

Edited by JDog
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Ah Mr Wilksy, how are you? My understanding is that if you hadn't been away for yet another holiday it would have been your turn with Agaman not mine. You missed a real treat.

 

As for East Yorkshire not Humberside I couldn't agree more. Humberside didn't exist when I was born in Yorkshire in prehistoric times.

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Now then mr JDog! Great write up by the way! Haha! Tis true I was galavanting up in the north of gods own country and agaman has worked hard to get me a day on the stubble with him,but it wasn't to be! But I'm glad you were able too as I would not have done the day justice,or delivered such a cracking write up as yourself, painting a picture with words!

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Thanks for the kind words gents, i am not really a specialist, i am just lucky that a lot of my land borders a city full of stoggies! Couple that with this obsession i have been infected with for 25+years and finding pigeons comes fairly easy.

 

Wilksy our day in the hide will come! I am a man of my word.

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Marsh Man, it was Agaman who spotted this line. Finding lines like that is his speciality and I have been fortunate enough to be called over the Humber to shoot them on more than one occasion.

 

As for how many Counties I have shot pigeons in the answer must be getting on for twenty or so. I have lived in eight counties and shot pigeons in many more. Cambridgeshire was a new one for me this year firstly with Fenboy then with the Mottley Crew comprising Muncher, Motty and Farma Geddon and having sneaked away from my wife for an afternoon whilst we were on holiday I shot pigeons in Norfolk for the first time with Harnser.

Very interesting Mr JDog , it might be easier if you said the counties you haven't shot in , then you might get some invites from the kind hearted members who shoot pigeons in the remaining areas you haven't had the good fortune to help to reduce there pigeon population . :good:

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