MAJ

We did a few on Monday evening. 4 guns - 32 rooks, all de-breasted and in the freezer.

I still believe that these corn circles are the work of aliens, and only a fool could think they are caused by tractor drivers who are deliberately laying on Nitrogen in an effort to improve their pigeon shooting.

I promise fellas, I didn't post this. Just wait till I get my hands on her, she won't sit down for a week!

We're on them tomorrow, the thirteenth. Quite a tradition in my family. This year looks good, there are plenty of "perchers", and I shouldn't have a problem harvesting 4 and 20 for my rook pie. Out of interest, what gun(s) do you folks use for "perchers". We usually end up with a good selection, from .410 to .22 LR, my favourite being the 20 bore, 6 shot.

Hi Andy. Like you, and no doubt many other shooters, some of my land is criss-crossed by footpaths. The law states that you cannot discharge a shotgun within fifty feet from the centre of a public right of way, so setting up fifty one feet away and shooting towards the footpath, as long as there is no danger to the public, is technically legal, but certainly not recommended. Signs put up warning of "Shooting in progress" might help, but ideally you need to give the footpaths as wide a berth as possible. Try "bagging" the area near the path to keep the birds away. I must say though that the pigeons will see a walker on the footpath long before you do, so the chances of you getting a shot as someone walks by are fairly remote.

In response to Yorkshire Puddings signature regarding women and 4 x 4's, Mrs MAJ, who is the font of all, would like to ask What is the difference between a hedgehog and a 4x4 full of pigeon shooting men?

They all seem to be pre-occupied with procreation around here. The few I've encountered have all been on the clover, and they're not in huge numbers. Managed to bag a couple today, but they were "extras". I was actually after the maggies and put out two pigeon deeks just in case.

I usually wear surgical gloves when gutting rabbits to prevent the smelly fingers that seem to pong for days. However, today I had no gloves and so tried out a little tip that I was given a while ago. After gutting and skinning the bunnies, I washed my hands with a good dollop of Tomato Ketchup, and then in normal soap and water. Guess what........ no smelly digits.

Somewhere in my collection of videos I have some dated footage of one Jasper Carrott. He gives some excellent advice to the amateur mole catcher, including the windmills,but comes down heavily in favour of the shotgun. A word or two of warning - don't sit on a revolving bar stool to shoot, and notify the local constabulary. Seriously, I have it on good authority that rose clippings (or any thing prickly - barbed wire etc) pushed into the runs will drive them away quicker than anything.

Columba palumbus?

I always put out a full bodied crow decoy, purchased from my local gunshop - cost about four quid, when I am decoying pigeon. I reckon it gives the pigeon a bit of confidence, and almost every outing I manage to bag a couple of crows and the odd maggie as a bit of a bonus. The addition of a road kill or a broken egg adds to the attraction.

I always carry a priest, (a cosh, not a bloke in a frock). Hold the wounded bird / animal in the left hand, a quick bludgeon on the back of the head, and that's that, end of chat. Incidentally, the best priest I've ever had, and the cheapest, was made by cutting the end ten inches or so off of a draining rod, leaving the brass end piece on.

I've got two permanent hides in the hedge of a particular clover field that is usually very productive. I've made up a bench in them with a length of scaffolding plank about three feet long, and the camo net is stock fencing that is staked up, with weeds and ivy being trained up it. It's a good thick hedge, and provides me with a nice canopy. These hides are brilliant for a short session, gun, ammo, and deeks are all thats needed. Best of all, the farmer assures me that this field will never be put under the plough, so I'm hopeful that these hides will be of service to me for a while yet.

Brooktrout - go for it. I've got a lurcher myself who isn't bad on the lamp. Lamping has to be one of the most exciting forms of dog work. Best carried out on a wild, windy, moonless night, just you and the dog. To get clued up on the subject I suggest reading books by Brian Plummer, Jackie Drakeford, or Frank Sheardown. And don't let the threat of a hunting ban put you off. As far as I am aware, the proposed ban will not affect rabbiting (I just know somebody will put me right on this) and if it does, longdogs make brilliant pets. My personal opinion, for what it's worth, is that the collie/greyhound first cross takes a lot of beating. Very bright, and therefore easy to train, and hard enough to take the knocks. I'm no expert, but the one piece of advice I will give to anyone who is training a pup is - work on the retrieve.

I always look forward to the clocks going on an hour. It means if I pull my finger out and finish work at a reasonable time, I can get a couple of hours of shooting in the evening. Those couple of hours can be very productive. In the past I've bagged as many as forty between 5-7 p.m. High hopes this year as one of my farmers is drilling beans this weekend. Roll on monday.

Anybody know how to knock up a cheap live trap for Charlie? I've seen them advertised for £125, but for a one-off this is a bit beyond my means. Due to the presence of cats, snares are out of the question. I've tried sitting up at night with the fox call and shotgun, but he doesn't want to play.

Hammergun - I read about this formaldehyde method in Archie Coats book. It looked straight forward enough, but I never got round to trying it on account of the fact that I couldn't get my mitts on any formaldehyde. Somebody told me to try the local undertaker, but I bottled out of that one. Let me know if you have any joy acquiring the stuff, I am convinced that decoys from dead birds are the most realistic and therefore the most productive. The only drawback may be transporting the things, I would imagine they would damage easily.

What does LOL mean?

A lot of my shooting is in Red Kite country, and they will often glide over to take a peek at the decoys. I've never had one try to take a deek , or a dead bird, but as they are predominantly carrion I wouldn't be amazed to witness a "strike" on a dead bird. One thing I have noticed about the kites is that they take very little notice of gun shots. It's no wonder they were made extinct. If I were a nineteenth century gamekeeper I would have several on the gibbet by now.

Judging by recent results (for me) the reduction of rape acreage and the increase in set aside would actually be beneficial. In my last six outings - 3 on rape, 3 on set aside, the rape has come a very poor second. Admittedly we haven't had a severe bout of weather, but it seems that the set aside and the weed seeds are more attractive to the pigeon. I think we all agree that they will turn to the rape as a very last resort. From the farmers point of view, I hope the subsidies continue. Heaven knows the poor b*****s have had a bad time in the last couple of years, and the last thing they need is another kick in the goolies from Europe.

Apparently the ravers in Yorkshire are now crushing Ecstacy tabs and rubbing them in to their gums. They call it "E by gum"

I think I've mentioned this before. A chap I know has decoys that are made of grey halfround guttering, cut to the profile of a pigeon (as seen from above) with a couple of splashes of white paint for the wing bars, and a dab for the collar. They work. With regard to the rag decoys, didn't somebody recently post an idea for crows that used a piece of black cloth and a tennis ball?

I've got to say the ballistics thing is over my head, so I do what every other less than adequate does. Draw a lifesize pigeon on a sheet of wallpaper, stand back 30 (or 35 or 40) yards, and let him have it. Doing this, I have yet to find a more even distribution pattern through my Citori than the good old Gamebore Clear Pigeon. Surely a lot depends on barrel length as well as choke. NGhost - thanks for the site. I'll give them a try and see if I can save a pound or two.

Never shot them myself, but I once missed out on a chance. A mate of mine was asked to shoot the herring gulls that were decimating the baby carp in a fishery stock pond, and I didn't find out until after the event. What is the law regarding lead free shot on gulls?

Like you, Yorkshire Pudding, I swear by the Clear Pigeon, 6 shot - 30 gram - fibre wad. They give a good pattern through my Browning Citori, 28 inch choked 1/4 & 3/4. They kill clean up to 40 yards (above that I don't take the shot), and have the clout to stop crows dead. They are not, however, the cheapest cartridges around. I'm paying about £110 per thousand.