Catamong

Yes, as Motty says, these are not Vining Peas, but Marrowfat Peas which are grown specifically for canning, (so I believe?), there are no Vining Peas grown in our area. They are harvested in Mid August, and are bone dry by that time, (I think they are sprayed with a dessicant, as they do with the Rape?). Back in the 70's and 80's the birds would be on the peas from the day they were drilled until the stubble was ploughed back in, but nowadays, their feeding habits have changed over time, and they will move off them for a few weeks as soon as the Winter Barley starts to ripen, as is happening now. I checked a large Pea field last Saturday, and there wasn't a bird on it, so I concluded that they'd moved onto some nearby Barley, which turned out to be correct, so I set up there for a few hours on Sunday and picked up 38. The birds were pitching into an area of laid crop, which was right next to a main road and therefore not safe to shoot, so I had to draw the birds upwind across the field using a rotary and flapper which worked well, also was very pleased to see that the Farmer had planted some very short, strong stemmed Barley, and I managed to pick up every bird that went down into the crop, real result.! Cat.😎

Hi DP, Peas are a good draw for Pigeons, but in our area, (St Albans), the birds have just started to move off the peas and onto the Winter Barley, which is starting to ripen fast. They will come back onto the peas after the Barley is cut, normally late July / early August time. The peas have now reached their maximum growth height, and they will be cut around mid to late August time. Pea stubbles can be very attractive to the birds, so keep a good look out, as a lot seem to get spilled during the combining. Good luck, and keep some space reserved in your freezer.! Cat.😎

I've always rated Wiltshire as the "Carlsberg" of pigeon shooting Counties.! Sadly, numbers continue to decline year on year in Herts, some say it's due to the vast increase in Red Kites, I'm not so sure, all I do know is that numbers are declining. Cat.😎

Agreed that the decline in Turtle Doves coincided with a big increase in the Collared Dove population, but they too are now on the decline in these parts. Swallows appear to be arriving later each year, and numbers of Swifts appear well down year on year.? Cat.😎

Yes, they were a common sight around here back in the 70's, but have gone into decline since. I was heartened by the large numbers of birds in the Hawthorn scrub at a big Clay shoot I attended in Northern France back in July 2010, but when I went back to the same ground last year in July, there was hardly a bird to be seen, very sad. Is this a natural decline in species, or is it the effect of them being shot in big numbers over North Africa or the Pyrenees as they migrate Northwards? On the other hand, I was amazed to see about a dozen White Storks sat in a stubble field just off the motorway between Boulogne and Calais last August, an incredible sight, I never realised they came so far North? Cat😎

I'm now lost on this one I'm afraid, anyway, I'm off out to shoot some Munty's with Steel balls from a catapult, do I need to "put the shot upfront"..? Cat.😎

Yes, **** law says that the birds are normally feeding on bare patches that are at the farthest point away from your motor, it pays to travel light, static decoys are just extra deadweight to carry. Cat.😎

I've found that, generally speaking, the further North you go to shoot Clays, the cheaper it becomes, but the quality of the targets suffers. Northerners tend to focus too much on the cost of each clay, not the quality of the layout and the skill of the target setter. I haven't shot Grimsthorpe for probably 15 years, but it used to be a superb ground, and I do believe it's improved somewhat over the years. I would rate it in the top 5 grounds in England for Sporting. If you're a discerning Southern Sporting shooter, you won't be disappointed. Cat.😎

As always, the subject soon goes "off topic", please enlighten me, what has shooting Duck & Geese with 32g 4's got to do with shooting pigeons over decoys with steel..? Cat😎

I can well understand the comments that PPP has made, as his findings using Steel are pretty similar to mine. When I switched from Lead to Steel a few years back I was given a slab of "big bomber" 36g 4's on the cheap to try, but I was very disappointed with the results, even close birds were not being killed cleanly, and those that were killed were literally dripping with blood when I picked them up, I concluded that the pellets were, in many cases, going straight through the birds. I well remember dropping a young bird about 20 yards out, it came down apparently stone dead with wings folded like a brick, I went out to pick it up and it jumped up and flew away, this happened on more than one occasion that day. This would have been a very rare occurence using a comparable lead load, (I used to shoot Winchester Western's a good few years back, I think they were 34g 5's, a cracking if somewhat expensive shell, but it would poleaxe long birds with very few runners). I then switched to 32g 5's and 6's with pretty similar results, and mentioned to a clay shooting friend of mine, (Oliver Wilde, he now coaches at High Lodge, but was then full time keepering), he suggested I go down to a 28g 7.5 trap load. I was sceptical at first, but my ratio of clean kills improved significantly, and they are now my "go to" load for all shooting over decoys. Of course sometimes I will miss birds, (as Motty has witnessed..😧), but I do have quite a bit of experience using Steel for both Pigeons and Clays and I would recommend anybody looking to switch to Steel for use over decoys to give smaller shot a try. The photo was taken exactly a year ago at the "Classic Steel Challenge" in Holland, I won second in my class and picked up 750 Euros, a great weekend..! Cat.😎

Westley, Some good advice given above, I would recommend a magnet from Shootwarehouse, with a 17ah battery. Don't bother with a 3 arm version, as the extra weight of a 3rd bird on the arms will dramatically reduce the battery life in the field. Batteries and chargers tend to be cheaper when bought from Battery Specialists online via Google, so purchase them separately. Make sure you get the correct charger to suit the battery, otherwise you'll cook it.! A hide seat is a must, I use the Bergara seat as sold via Teal on the forum, (with added padding as recommended by everybody that's bought one), don't go for a small fishing stool or something similar, they are too low to shoot from, you need to be reasonably upright to be able to take shots at incoming birds, not slumped down on a lounger.! I would also purchase a Clicker, (counter), as you need to keep a tally of birds downed, also a dozen or so spikes for dead birds are a must, all obtainable online. Flappers are also useful, my favourite is the FF5, (which I believe has now been replaced by the FF6?), together with a smaller 7ah battery and random timer, (don't get a push button remote as you'll be forever fiddling with it as birds are coming in..!) As for decoys, I don't bother with Crow or Magpie decoys, I use mainly very old HH or Flexicoy decoys, but if I am shooting over Winter Rape, I generally don't bother, as I find a magnet will draw the birds in well, and every bird that's shot is added to the pattern, either on a spike or a floater, (which is also worth investing in). Now that the drilling has finished, the only crop to shoot over currently will be peas, (in my part of Herts), they will be on the peas generally up until late June when they will switch to Barley that has begun to ripen and get laid, the problem with shooting over laid barley is that you will lose so many birds in the standing crop, which is never a good thing. As ever, doing a good recce the day before is vital, you need to find out exactly where the birds are feeding on the field, and if possible work out where to locate your hide, having regard to the wind direction on the day, position of footpaths, boundaries, adjoining horse paddocks etc, it ain't easy but it will come with experience. All the best. Cat.

If shooting over decoys, 32g 4's are overkill, the shot will frequently pass right through the bird and you will tend to get more runners and pricked birds that will often fly a long way before dropping dead. My preference is to use a 28g 7.5 Gamebore Supersteel, or equivalent, through no more than half choke. Cat.

Yes, a sad loss to the Shooting community, sincere condolences to family and friends. Cat.

Thanks to all fellow PW members for your kind words and support, I hope to be able to come back to you all at the end of June and confirm that the treatment has been successful. All the best, Cat.😎

Well, I've had to pull out via a text message I sent to John Dyson today. My 35 year old Son was recently diagnosed with cancer and has started a course of intensive Chemotherapy which will last for 16 weeks. The Chemo treatment will reduce his immune system considerably, so we are avoiding all contact with other people wherever possible, as far as I'm concerned all clay shooting is on hold. This could not have come at a worse time for us.! Good luck to all who are shooting. Cat.😎

Am doing it on Wednesday, 9am start on the Red, hope to see you Guys there.? I would imagine it must be pretty soggy underfoot there at the moment, but, hopefully things will change and the ground will stiffen up a bit..? Cat.😎

Having endured some serious damage to both our Maize cover crop and our Pheasant feeders from the Grey hordes, I've been keeping a record of how many tree rats I've disposed of since 22 September this year, my totals so far are 15 in Fenn traps, and 15 using my trusty 12g Benelli Supersport Semi. The very few ones that remain on our small shoot are now extremely wary, and trap shy, but I will continue to keep at them. I've also taken out 9 in my back garden using a peanut feeder and my BSA Ultra .22 PCP, absolutely lethal at around 12 yards..! I reckon I've now cleaned out the local population, as I haven't seen one for nearly a month, but I've kept the peanut feeder going, and I never realised just how much Woodies like peanuts, I've got a regular family of 6 birds emptying the feeder on a daily basis..! Plus a few Jays and the odd Woodpecker..! TOTAL NOW 2014 Glad to have helped contribute to taking the total above 2000, happy hunting to all in 2020..! Cat😎

Yes, Mustard, but it will probably be ploughed in by Christmas as it's a break crop, the farmers in my area normally drill peas on these fields in late March, so worth keeping an eye on..? Cat.

I don't think that video had anything to do with the NSCA revising and re-issuing the results of the shoot, in fact I don't believe it wasn't even taken at that particular shoot where the infringement took place, which was near Chicago..? As ever, there's two sides to every story, it will be interesting to see the result of any appeal by the shooter concerned, only then can we all pass judgement..? Cat.

A good few clay shooters have no interest in ever shooting any live quarry, so they can hardly be called "short sighted" as it clearly won't affect them. Of some concern to me, as a clay shooter who does shoot live quarry, is where is this going to end up, Game shooting must be next on their list of priority targets..? Cat.

I'm not referring to recent statements by BASC after the revocation of the General Licence, but in the run up to the action by Packham & friends prior to 23 April. Did they not know that Packham was preparing a case against the shooting fraternity, surely they must have been aware..? Cat.

I'm not sure that the Legal Profession would agree with your broad interpretation of these new rules, as Section 8.a) states : Shooting...."Only as a last resort to prevent serious damage". It will be very interesting to see if there are any prosecutions in the near future, and what action BASC etc will take to support the individual(s) facing prosecution..? Cat.

My thoughts entirely, those notes on "scaring & deterrents" have clearly been written by somebody who knows little about the habits of Wood Pigeons. As I see it, these new rules effectively outlaw shooting over stubble, roost shooting, and arguably flight shooting as well. I'm very surprised BASC didn't see this coming..? Cat.

I've used Icarhireinsurance in the past, they were the cheapest I could find. I had this e-mail from them last week, it looks like premiums have gone up significantly..? Your iCarhireinsurance.com policy is due to expire in 7 days on 16-04-2019 and it looks like you haven’t renewed yet. Last year you purchased: Excess Europe Annual Van and Campervan - Upgrade Total paid: Excess Europe Annual(£48.07) If you decide to renew your policy today, the total price, including will be: £77.98. Not travelling for a while or going somewhere different? You can defer the start date of your next policy by up to 6 months, and if you’re planning to travel to a different territory this year you can change your policy options within our renewals portal. As ever with insurance, loyalty doesn't pay, so shop around..! Cat.

I shot today, it was good to see a good few longstanding PW members there bright and early, I did a 91 on the Red and and an 89 on the Black, if I was being ultra critical I'd have to say there wasn't a decent long crosser on either layout, but, all in all I'd have to say it wasn't a bad shoot, and, as usual it ran pretty well, with no mega queues on any stands. The very best of luck to all who are shooting over the next few days, I hear that there are c.2400 entries, still the biggest shoot in Europe, possibly the World..?, it's just a pity they can't post nightly scores so that everybody knows how they've done..? Cat.