ratman

I have used many types of decoys over the years, the old flexicoys used to be the rage at one time. I still have some but I don't rate them so much these days. I think if they made them in a feeding position instead of all heads up it would help. I have shells, sillosocks etc and they will all work on the right day. I tend now to use dead birds only. I have a second hand freezer that I keep the birds in. I select a dozen good conditioned birds from the days bag and take a small crate to keep them in to avoid them getting duffed up amongst the other gear in the back of the wagon. Once home I tie them in pairs with a thin string around the neck as you would gamebirds. I then carefully place them full length out on their backs in the freezer in a wire basket tray. This is important so as the birds do not get caked in ice etc as it will make them look shabby when you thaw them. The morning before I am going shooting I remove the decoy birds from the freezer and hang them in pairs by the strings so as they can thaw out and what little ice they may have picked up in the freezing progress can run off and this keeps the birds in top condition and dry. When they are totally thawed they are put in the crate to transport to the field. It sounds a bit of poncing about but it is worth it.I see people put them in carrier bags etc and they end up soggy and shabby looking, The most natural decoy is a real bird and in good condition there is no better. Another tip is to clip off the feet with a sharp knife or scissors, this makes it easy to recognise the already frozen birds when picking up at the end of the day. If the conditions are right you can get two or three trips with the same birds. I also do similar with the pair for the magnet. I am probably preaching to the converted but in case a novice should read this, another tip is to track down an old bicycle wheel and remove the spokes, these make great pegs to prop up the birds head, by pushing one end under the birds chin and into the head it will hold the head nicely and allow you to present a good realistic decoy. Despite all this, as it has been said many times on here, the fieldcraft in finding the flightlines and setting up in the right place is the most important factor to a successful day. Good Shooting All.

I have a cheap s/s non ejector that I would take a hundred quid for. I am in Surrey

You may find that taking all the decoys in and just using the magnet may help, also was the magnet shining in the sun ??

I suppose he did rescue that mange ridden creature he lives with so he has some experience. I have listened to my last queen record chaps

So he was quite happy to make his fortune with someone who was dropping anchor in poo bay and died of aids, yet his kind call us perverts :blink: This may interest you as well http://web.orange.co.uk/article/news/fox_a...=1#newscomments Mr Bryant also runs an animal detterent business, if you look at the address I have posted in the comments section on the news tab and read his profile you will see he was leader of the LACS etc.

You can shoot over rape at any time, obviously if and when the pigeons are on it. This time of year they do tend to turn their attentions to clover, and newly drilled crops and the large winter flocks of a couple of months ago will disperse to allow for breeding. I have shot good bags over tall rape but mainly because there was a flightline over it, the pigeons that were feeding on it were tight to a hedge where the rape was much shorter. The secret is being able to make your decoys stand out over the top of the crop, a magnet is a good start and I also use Chris Green floaters which will stand out and bob and weave above the crop. One very important thing to take into account is collecting the dead birds, are you going to cause more crop damage than the pigeons by walking about in a standing crop ?? A farmer will soon revoke the permission if he can see damaged crops caused by trampling around looking for birds. The next best time to shoot these fields will be at harvest time, often my best bags have been the day after the field has been cut, pigeons seem to hit fields hard in this area as soon as they are harvested and then move on. It is not always the case and some times it can benefit to leave the fields a few days to let numbers build up. As always it is best to spend time watching the fields to work out flightlines, it soons becomes obvious when the pigeons are moving most and from which direction

I have caught a weasel in a mole trap and a grass snake on a line of mouse traps screwed to a plank of wood. They were in a swimming pool pump shed behind closed doors.

I do use the Chris Green floaters occasionally. I tend to put them a long way away from the pattern as purely an attractor. If I am off the flightline then I will put them in the most prone positon so the pigeons see them and at least show a bit of interest. If I use floaters near the pattern then I will always put them at the rear of the decoys to simulate a bird flying in to land. I do have reservations about flappers though and will only use them if there is a good breeze. Nothing looks more suspicious than a pigeon 4ft of the ground and not moving I reckon.

I have caught 52 since christmas. I am a professional pest controller and most of the mole work I get tends to be odd ones in gardens etc. I do a lot for local authorites in schools, parks etc and now the snow has gone that number will rise dramatically. I have one area to clear where I estimate there are somewhere in the region of 40 moles. It is over 25 acres of pasture land and has now thawed out enough to start playing.

I love my cocker bitch, she works all day and retrieves well. She is very steady and a pleasure to handle. The only fault I would have with a cocker is if you are looking to pick up regularly. Mine will retrieve pheasants to hand out rough shooting and when we are picking up but you can see her tiring as the day goes on. The shoots I go on tend to kill 250 - 350 bird bags and when you take into account the weight of a good cock pheasant pro rata to the weight of a cocker it is no mean feat for them to have to do all day. Partridges, no problem and I use mine pigeon shooting always. I shoot large numbers of pigeons and she will run all day picking them up. She hunts cover really well and will work the thickest brambles, tending to duck her way under them as opposed to jumping over. I guess if I could have a dog the size of the cocker with the strength of a springer that would be the ultimate dog for me, but above all the cocker fits on your lap better in the evenings,

I shoot a lot of pigeons over decoys each year and have several thousand acres to protect. My last 4 days have both been in excess of a hundred bird days, the best being just over 200, and all to the same decoy pattern. I favour a small clump of decoys, seven or eight is ok. Place them 15 yards to the left of your hide and 25 yards out. Place the magnet on the right hand side of the clump and don't forget to angle the birds wings inwards slightly to represent birds landing. To the right around the same distance out and again 15 yards to the right of the hide, place a larger clump of decoys. I normally put 20 or so dead birds or rubber decoys to start with If I have no recently shot birds. The pigeons will head towards the magnet and see the larger clump which entices them straight across the front of the hide towards them, intending to land on the inner edge of the larger pattern. You effectively have a 30yard gap in the middle which is the killing ground. I add the shot birds to the right side pattern and slowly decrease the size of the killing area, this usually forces them straight at you. I speak from experience and hope this helps.

Isle of Wight and Browsea Island are two places that spring to mind. I was asked to clear an area of squirrels in Hampshire as they wanted to try and establish red squirrels. I pointed out what a waste of time it would be as the area was surrounded by areas heavily infested with greys and it would be a no win battle against them. Shame but reality unfortunately.

Why do these jobs never come up in the South

A mate of mine has a bloody good way of getting rid of them at night. He went to a local disco sales shop and bought a blue fuzz light and connected an adaptor so it can be plugged into his cigarette lighter in his landy. Now when he sees their lamp shining round he gets to a good vantage point where they will see him in the distance and plugs it in. You see how quick the lamp goes off and how quick the pick up leaves the field I expect you could get a cheap fuzz light on ebay or somewhere on the net

Well done mate, nice to see people helping our feathered friends during the hard times. I have just spent a small fortune on feed for our garden to help them along