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James Dixey

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  1. I am an experienced pigeon decoyer; but no longer have the time to do all the vital recce, even on 'my own farmers' land. I will offer £100 a day cash for every day's pigeon shooting found and organised for me and a mate anywhere in Kent. Any day, any month, regular supply of days needed! We are addicts! James Dixey Mobile: 0784 1646887 Email: james@jamesdixey.co.uk
  2. Thanks for your encouragement to keep looking! What were those 000's you spotted feeding on and where are you? I want to find out how far pigeons will move from where they were born to find food James Dixey
  3. Thanks for responding My house is equidistant from Rose and Duke William; so I have a wonderful choice! I will buy you a pint if you fancy a wander back to your ole huntin grounds! I don't buy the line "wait until the right feeding turns up" If the birds are not in our areas, where have they gone? They still have to eat and need an awful lot; they have to eat their own weight every 36 hours is what a Min of Ag scientist told me 10 years ago They have gone somewhere and are feeding as they always have We just have to find out where and on what!
  4. I have shot wood pigeons for 30 years in East Kent; and have access to over 100 farms between the A28 and A257 south of Canterbury, down to the coast between Folkestone and Sandwich Used to get regular bags of 50-100 in a day with a record of 284 on newly sown near Bridge, just o/s Canterbury Took a bit of a break over the last 3 years through work Have now been back out looking for 4 whole days and haven't found a single decent flight line or more than the odd couple of birds on the odd field or two. Am I just looking in the wrong places or have the big numbers just disappeared? I notice more and more woodies in domestic gardens; is this a trend? Please advise/all help and advice will be acknowledged James Dixey Ickham
  5. A superb performance from obviously a very skilled decoyer! Many farmers ask me why some of their Rape Fields are hit some years and others not. I wonder if there is anything in what your farmer said about the type of Rape? I would be very grateful if u cud let me have the name of that seed next time u speak to that farmer James Dixey **********************
  6. I have been so encouraged by the response to my last Topic on how to kill large numbers on Rape, that here comes another! I want to learn more about Flight Lines and Roosting Woods so here are some questions 1 An experienced Pigeon Shooter told me 25 years ago that there were historic flight lines across Kent, which were similar to 'Motorways' for us car drivers which Pigeons use all the time and then branch off from those 'Motorways' onto the smaller 'A and B' roads to get to their feeding grounds. He said they used tall navigational points to get from point to point. This sounds an attractive idea but I have never found the Motorways in my area (East Kent), so remain unconvinced that I am looking for something that is there to find 2 Does a Pigeon use the same limited number of Roosting Woods or does his choice of Roosting Wood entirely depend on where he is feeding? Will they prefer to go back to their favourite wood if it is not too far? And how far is too far? 3 How far will pigeons travel from where they were born? Has anybody any real evidence from ringing young birds? I have heard all sorts of theories but no concrete evidence. 4 Does anybody regularly use the tactic of getting to the Roosting Wood b4 dawn and then following the flight line out of it to find the preferred feeding grounds? Again, sounds a very sensible thing but I have tried it twice, got very cold and obviously chose the wrong woods to watch! Advice and experience of this would be much welcomed. 5 What are the characteristics of the best Roosting Woods? (I have managed to get permission in 2 small ones on drained marshland where they are the only woods for miles; I have been killing 30-40 per roost out of about 500 that came in each evening. Is this good? I have no idea of what is possible shooting a really good roost) I hope the above will start another good thread and we will all learn James Dixey East Kent
  7. I have been very interested by the replies to this question that I asked and am very grateful for all the knowledge that I have gathered! So Far, the following are my Definite Learning Points for getting bigger bags on Rape, as there seems to be complete agreement on these: 1. Thorough recce; do it properly! 2 Cover all competitor fields with Bangers or other shooters; dont be afraid to leave field and put out more Bangers if necessary during day 3 Movement amongst pattern is vital. Beware setting up in sheltered spots, thus reducing movement 4 A good breeze is essential to keep birds moving, reduce shot noise and provide movement in pattern 5 Set up where the birds are feeding; not necessarily where it is most convenient for you 6 Ensure ur set up is far enough away from their digesting wood/trees; so that they can go back and sit there and then drift out again when hungry 7 Try to find situations where there is regular movement in and out of the field, rather than one static flock 8 Be there set up B4 dawn 9 Keep as unnoticed by the Pigeon as possible, so dont waste shots on chance birds and only pick up/put out shot birds when u have to, if e.g. a bird is belly up The points where there is not universal agreement are 1 Whether there are regional variations in how pigeons behave during the Rape Season 2 Whether to shoot or not at Large Flocks I shall resummarise in a few days if we get any more postings to this thread James Dixey East Kent
  8. Tried the tactic of being all set up by dawn. We were, good pattern, well concealed hide; they started to come in beautfully; a few shots and then they stopped coming. My analysis of this failure was that despite 7 string bangers on local fields, there were still some fields where they could feed in peace. However, all of the 20 we shot, had nothing in their crops, so..? I am at a loss James Dixey
  9. How to kill large numbers on Rape I want to set up an info exchange amongst experienced Pigeon Shooters about how to consistently kill large (50+) numbers on Rape My proposition is this: With decent field craft, good reconnaissance, and the right decoy patterns, anybody who can shoot straight can consistently kill good numbers (50+) on stubbles, clover, newly drilled corn, lucerne, peas, beans, blown corn. Very few pigeon shooters can consistently kill large numbers on Rape every time they go out. We all have our Red Letter days when we get a really good bag on Rape (by good I mean in excess of 50). Then we have a series of days when we only get the odd few. What I want to do is to get the experienced amongst us to analyse the reasons why, when we have had a good day on the Rape; and to then summarise and share that thinking with the rest of us. In this way our combined levels of skills will go up; and we will be able to kill more pigeons and provide a better service to our Farmers. I believe there are answers to why we all find it difficult to consistently kill large numbers on Rape. The purpose of this info exchange is to find those answers. I shall start off: Last Tuesday, 9th Dec, new farmer called. 5,000 swamping his Rape. Field unshot so far this winter I decided to concentrate on being completely hidden so I set up in a ditch under an overhanging tree and I added a roof to my hide and created a window to shoot thru. Nothing of me or my hide was above ground level. I put out 30 decoys and dead birds and an electronic flapper. Every bird that came in did so without any hesitation whatsoever; they completely committed and not one veered off all day; and most of the birds that came into the field came into my pattern. I have never had this before on Rape. I think it was due to my hide being so well concealed and unobtrusive. Tomorrow, I am going to try another experiment for me on again a new field and that is to be on the field all set up as dawn breaks; my hope is that they will come in individually as they wake up and I can prevent the huge flocks building up and behaving as tho they were one bird. We will see. I shall report in over the weekend. James Dixey East Kent
  10. Why not glue real pigeon wings onto the shells? What is a silo sock? James Dixey
  11. Have seen/heard of none so far on Rape in East Kent Hawthorn Berries and the last of the stubbles Dont expect it will be long b4 they hit the rape James Dixey
  12. I have just bought a Magnet with the 2 arms containing 2 solid decoys with wings that spin as it rotates. My guess is that real pigeons will pull more effectively than the supplied decoys with spinning wings. Therefore I am looking for a way of supporting 2 dead pigeons on the arms in a lifelike fashion. Has anybody produced one that I cud buy or has anybody got a diagram with instructions as to how to make such a cradle? Many thanx for any help James Dixey East Kent
  13. The question is simple In East Kent, some fields of rape get hammered, and others dont get touched? Discounting the obvious of nearness to sitting out and roosting areas, is there something in the soil that will make some fields tasty and others less so? I wud really like to know!! James Dixey
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