Bobba

I invariably put out some FUD crow decoys to one side of my pigeon decoys and if I shoot a crow I place it face down with wings spread out as far as possible. This can get them very curious.

Maybe it's not a question of which gun but whether she is mounting and holding the gun correctly? If she was wary of the gun or a little timid and held the gun loosely then perhaps the effect of the recoil was accentuated. Before spending money on guns the first step may be a good coach with a selection of guns and loads so that together they can determine what's right for her. Good luck.

I made my own. Full bodied decoys with jack pyke wing sets painted up to look like pigeon wings (in my view the colours of the standard wing sets do not look like wood pigeons!) To fix them to the rotary I bent standard wing spreaders to match the body contour, the screw end facing to the rear and held in place with cable ties, and I drilled a hole under the tail to take the rotary arm. You can also mount them on 18" rods as Angels / Landers and also as floaters. They do not flap. But then, neither do dead birds.

I use six crow FUD's + 1 full bodied decoy (adding dead birds to the pattern) + primus crow caller ( You tube has plenty crow calling "lessons" many not too good but it gives you some ideas). The FUD colours seemed somewhat blue to me so I sprayed all decoys with car bar matt black. When I have shot a crow I lie one face down, beak in the ground and wings fully spread out as wide as possible. Seems to increase their curiosity and works for me. A good hide is essential as crows are far more wily than pigeons. Bob

Exactly what I did when I broke the tip off my Buck. A very fine wheel and mug do water for dipping as you grind in small bites. Almost as good as new.Bob

I suspect there's no real answere to this but opinions would be welcomed. Crow shooting with my buddy the other day we discussed ways of attracting crows. I mentioned a post on here some time ago about the use of mirror balls, that they were thought to do the trick, and the fact that an Act (countryside and wildlife??) prohibited their use added credibility to their possible effectiveness. His response was "How does that make sense?" People put shining CD's on stings in gardens and allotments to scare away birds which has the opposite effect of attracting them in. So, there seem two possible uses for mirrors. An attractor or a repellant? Any folks have any views? Is there any evidence either way? Bob I hasten to add, either way, I will not be using one.

In case I drop or lose my SGC I keep a copy in the pocket of my gunslip and the original at home. I have blacked out the address on the copy in case I lose it as I don't want the finder to know where guns are kept. And if stopped by the police I can produce my driving licence with address and matching mugshot. Some may criticise this practice but I'm comfortable with it. And, as far as copyright is concerned, I recall reading somewhere that you can take one copy of a copyright document for personal use.

I have often seen advice about keeping a distance between the two types of decoys but as I mainly shoot pigeons I have never thought about varying the day. The other week I shot with a friend who is 70+, was brought up on farms and has shot for almost 60 years. I was surprised to see him add crow decoys close to his pigeon decoys. When I commented about keeping them separate and at a distance his advice was that I could learn a lot from observing what happens in the field. We had an interesting day shooting a mix of pigeons and crows. Yesterday I decided to try it for myself. The day was overcast, extremely windy and with blustery showers. I set the pigeon decoys in a large open "U" pattern with a floater to the rear and placed three FUD crow decoys either side in the front of the "U" (6 in total) and about 6 feet away from the nearest pigeon decoy. An interesting four hours. High winds meant that those pigeons which were around were extremely fast in the air. The result was 18 pigeons and 8 crows. I think I may keep using this pattern and mix for a while to test whether or not it was not just a lucky day.

Two weeks on. Did anybody do anything in this case?

I have often read the "keep them separate" advice. But the other day went shooting with a chap in his early 70's who grew up on farms and has been shooting almost 60 years. By experience he sort of mixes them. His pigeon decoy pattern was two groups of pigeon decoys about 15 mtrs apart, the gap being the killing zone. On the outer edges of the pigeon decoys he added about 4 crow decoys to each group. We had an enjoyable few hours with 20 pigeons and 10 crows. Mixing seemed to work on that day.

He must be a lawyer. They don't punctuate legal docs. That way they can mean all things to all people requiring lawyers to interpret them.

This how it is with my 20 bore Miroku MK60. Safety off and fire under under barrel. Switch safety on then select over barrel. Safety off and over barrel will fire.

Clearing out the loft I came across an Acvoke air pistol in a box of my late fathers effects. It seems to load and attempt to fire OK but when loaded the breech does not seal properly resulting in air loss and no pellet projection. Does anyone have please drawings / diagrams or ideas which could help me restore life to the pistol which, I understand, was made between 1945 & 1956 Thanks Bob

First posted 4 Aug and both the Landlord and Manager seem to have known about the problem before then. Now 10 Aug. Has anyone made a decision, one way or another, or does the dithering continue?

Thanks chaps. Looking forward to a change from pigeons. Need practice on my borrowed primus caller. Still sound like Donald Duck with laryngitis!

Pigeons wouldn't play yesterday so in desperation (as I was out for the day) I replaced decoys etc with six crow FUD's a mate had lent me. Great afternoon for a first time crow shooting.10 in total. So, a couple of queries. Are there decoy patterns recommended as in pigeon shooting to draw the crows to a killing zone? Mine was a random group in front of the hide. And, do you increase the pattern with dead birds or recover them? My hide was ok as none flared off but any other tips to increase the edge would be appreciated. Thank you. Bob

I see you're in Glos area. I shoot north of Bristol and my experience is similar to yours. Last year shot quite well to mid Sept when they all but disappeared. Certainly no numbers on winter rape as previous years. This year a 70, 50, 30 over the last three weeks on rape and barley stubble and they're gone again. Yesterday just very small groups speeding through the skies but couldn't be persuaded in. Put out a few Crow FUD's and had 10 in the afternoon. My permission started the wheat yesterday but rain stopped play. Fingers crossed for next week

My permission (to the north of Bristol) was hoping to start wheat 1 Aug but rain stopped play. Looking at the forecast next week will problematical too. All rape and Barley in. Some sport on stubble.

+1

I also had my MK60 multi choked by Nigel Teague plus a slight cast on the stock. I subsequently had Nigel match the stock on my Beretta SP to the Miroku. Both good guns but without doubt for me the balance of the Miroku makes it my favourite gun.

Even worse would be if he took a cartridge from his pocket and loaded the gun and..........................?..........?

Don't we know it!! Have sat there watching them,sky high, on a mission to elsewhere. Anywhere but where you're sat.

"Cartrages" !!! "cotswoulds" !!! If you take as much care in your shooting as you do over your spelling then god help the pigeons.

The silence from David is deafening. The reply the OP has received from BSAC does appear to be somewhat at odds with David's previous comments and perhaps that is why.

There are grey flocking kits (for car dashboards) on fleabag for £20 and grey flocking fibres for about £10. But if you are refreshing plastic decoys which have gone shiney then you could mix fullers earth with your acrylic paints. This gives a good mat finish which doesn't shine in sun or rain.