Whitebridges

Lander, damn cold here in Norfolk today. Snow, strong North easterly wind in theory Ideal for pigeon shooting. On reflection I probably went to the wrong roosting wood but managed four with a couple of crows and a jackdaw thrown in. Birds were racing past at a fair speed and weren't pitching in. An enjoyable few hours nonetheless. There were obviously a few other guns out and by the sound of things they were doing rather better. Are there any other Norfolk shooters posting on this forum?How's it going?

Salopian, not so sure messrs Coats et al worried too much about where the ammo was stored. In the "big day" Archie used to nip back and get another 250 from the office. No one cared where they were stored and rightly so.Today were we have a manic attitude and a general lack of understanding, it easy easy to see why carts are percieved as dangerous don't you think? Lets educate the uninitiated and advise them to put their shells somewhere safe, preferable well away from the gun.I see everyone who posts on this forum as a shooter and by god we need as many people doing it as possible.I hope Marco thinks shooting folk are friendly and helpful?

If you do it a lot it comes naturally as they say. I find if i'm not thinking about it i'm dropping birds. After a bad spell a few years back when I couldn't hit a barn door at 20 yards I learnt the wisdom of increasing the lead as personally when I miss it is usually behind. Also I'm pointing the gun rather than swinging it. Another key thing is to think about the distance you are away from the target and adjust your lead accordingly. I hope you've got the hang of it by now, practice makes peerfect.

Shot 6 Saturday 12th Feb. Location Nr Holt Norfolk 2 empty 1 few bits of maize and half full of rape 1 stuffed with maize (local game cover crop) 1 stuffed with corn ( from a hopper presumably) 1 1 acorn and about half dozen ivy berries. When I arrived at the wood a few birds got off anf old tree covered in Ivy, maybe they were feeding on the berries? Birds tend to feed hard on the ivy when the weather is cr*p and there is nothing much else on the table in my experience. Hope this helps.

If you are shooting just pigeons a .177 running at around 18ft ( like a Air Arms Elite or HW80) is a very good weapon. You can take 'em with breast/body shots and not suffer with overpenetration. Use a fairly heavy pellet (bisley Magnun) if they suit the individual gun. I wouldn't use such a tool on "fur" quarry though, not enought stopping power. I've used a Falcon FN19 running 28ft lbs in .20 calibre and this was a brilliant all round gun for rabbits and pigeons. Very accurate because of the flat trajectory. Overall a Theoben R7 in .22 doing 34ft lb with crossman accupells was the best I've used for rabbit and pigeon control.

My Beretta Tekyns sporter, best auto i've used. Tend to use an open choke but sometimes go to 1/2 depending on how the birds are coming in. Love my old AYA Yeoman SS n/e. Had the choke take down from super full and 3/4 to imp cylinder and 1/4 which helps. Paid more for the chokes to be opened up than I did for the Gun!! A real plus is being able to lift out the empties and stick 'em straight in your pocket rather than having to fish 'em out of the brambles.

Hull Cartridge High Pheasant 30gm 7's Plastic wad take some beating, but they are a bit pricey. Otherwise the Hull Special Pigeon 32gm in 6 shot, go nicely in my S/A. When the AYA game gun is out I like the Express Standard HV 28gm in 7's.

Theoben make the "eliminator" in .25 cal. It's a break barrel gun that does about 35ftlb which is plenty for vermin at about 60 yards or so. If you look around they are advertised regularly secondhand.

I bought a secondhand Teknys sporter about two months ago. Definately the best auto i've used. The 303 wasn't bad but this is something else. A great pigeon gun that will handle heavier loads when those birds are a bit further out.

Very good, What's all that bit about showing the woodies open flesh wound. Do you use a slg instead of shot?

There seems to be less birds about this year but there isn't a lot of food crops in the area I shoot. I only got 6. A mate further in land got 17 and his friend 46 but the wood they shot in was close to a rape field that was being hit hard by the pigeons.