KillStone

only had her for 4 days she is 9 weeks and very good ( I think so anyway!!!) i just hope i can train her to her full potential as a gundog.

19 roost shootin total: 7544

40 in afternoon on rape

most of my sticks that i use are between 25and35cm high and the triangles average at about 30cm long, there isnt really much need to face them as they will blow with the wind anyway mate but they will work best if the stick is upwind of the wrapping obviously. they also work well if no wind as long as you manually spread the wrapping to allow the crows to see it at the beginning of the day. have a go and see wat works for you i am talking from my own experiences only and have no doubt many of u are better at decoying things than me as ever trial and error is the way forward.

about 1 month ago i was shooting on rape when all of a sudden out of nowhere a buzzard came and knowcked a decoy over at full pelt then moved to another then ******** off. i have also seen them havin a go at fully grown partridges and wild pheasant poults. I think this is a classic case of being overprotective and having too many of them in the area, too many scavengers and not enough roadkill etc they aint gonna starve without trying to kill first are they!?!

well i usually put 2 full body crows out 1 at furthest point and 1 where i reken they will try and land then the bale wrap deeks on sticks and my hide. as ever keep down till last minute or when they are on set wings looking to land then....well....then its u and ur gun!

if the crows havnt really been decoyed previously u will get away with randomly putting them out, however for best results use a U shape pattern but covering a good area as if u watch a flock of crows they tend to spread, note tho to never put the furthest decoy any further than 10yds within ur max range as the ******* can sometimes reach ur outer deek and either flare or try and land even further back making it impossible to kill. Really glad to hear a good result as i have told a few people to try these before and they have dismissed it out of hand saying how can i know more than them as i am only 18 but well done on ur shoot glad to hav helped!!!

yes and yes. black bin liners would do exactly the same and youve got it!

certainly doesnt seem to if they not quite coming in then do as u wud normally change the pattern a bit if u really want to put a dead crow on a bouncer or flapper also use a call if u got one to hand. all helps and the farmer will be pleased i can almost promise.

here you are some from the wind today to show the movement yeah defo try these ******* before you fork out for "professional" ones!!! you could very well be surprised i have used them for years and have never had any problems other than wat i wud expect. you can carry anything up to a hundred in a largeish bag and this pattern only takes on average 2.5 mins to set up leaving more time for the hide and shooting....perfect!

I will have a look for my camera tomorrow and try and post some pics of these simple deeks and also will lay out a pattern and show you what the crows see!

well i dont know as to wat u have seen previously but all i did was cut a triangle around 30cm in length from the bale wrap then seperate the layers so that each triangle only has about 4/5 layers. then i make a crude peg out of t a stick or pigeon stakes attach the wrap and stand it in the ground so that the top is about 35cm up to allow it to blow around in the wind. cost=0 time per 10=around 10mins results=test them and u tell me!!

went out on the spring barley drilling yesterday afternoon, put out 30 of my black bale wrap crow deeks and a couple of full bodied nonflocked along with 6 full body pigeon deeks and settled into the most basic of hides against a bank. started shooting at 1 and finished at 4.30 the crows came in all of the time except for when it started drizzling. was only using 28g 7.5s but if u keep ranges reasonably short then they do the trick as almost all of the birds were dead in the air. Final tally for the day was 70 crows (jackdaws, rooks, carrions) 1 magpie (not shown as was in the top of the hedge!!) and four pigeons ( one flew at least 150 yards then spiralled down dead and i collected it as i walked off the field)!! all in all a good afternoon even if pigeons were hard to find, also good to be outwitting the birds with nothing more technical than bale wrap on sticks and a couple of stationary full bodies!!! great fun!

not really surprised it wasnt happy at being gutted!!!

I personally love a day starting with a morning decoying geese then walked up rough shooting then an evening flight at ducks with me and dad! However my favourite has to be inland duck and goose shooting.

Well i dont really know but got lucky with my new lab pup that i pick up in 12 days (not that im counting!!). in 5 generations she has 31 FTCH!! So hopefully i will get on really well!!! personally i can see that the genetics could have a large effect however behaviour isnt all from breeding and so i would also believe that a good trainer would be able to train a pup of non-working heritage. so u choose wat u want to believe.

i was asking a similar question on here a couple of weeks ago. i too thought i wanted an ESS however i was informed on here along with the guidance from the parents that i should consider a lab. as a result i have bought a lab as of sunday (!!!!) and think it will be perfect. the reason for this is that i was told reliably and consistently that both dogs are capable of all the required jobs but that the ESS would be too hard to handle for a novice i.e. me or u! It's entirely up to u obviously but pls pls pls think of other breeds other than ur first idea as although i found it hard i realised the arguments weighed them up for my circumstances and have-hopefully-made the right decision!! gd luck watever u choose.

yup outside from day 1 (she will be 9 weeks wen i eventually get her!) we are building an insulated kennel such that she will be able to get out of the draft and i will be putting several toys and loads of blankets in there as she is only young! also will try to get an old tick tocking clock to put in there for her as apparently a great dog trainer sed that this really helps them settle in. oh of course i may well have to go and see her when i get back from work at nights etc!!! there will still be more than enough bonding/cuddlin time! hahahaha! im just a big softee at heart!

went up to North Yorkshire today to look at some pups - black labs working stock of course! anyway 3.5hr drive led me to viewing them and i had two bitches to choose from. i was instantly drawn to 1 and after a little while made the decision to have her. at 7 weeks although the breeder said it wud b fine to take her i have no kennel for it quite ready so sed i wud leave it there for at least another week. paid half the money as deposit and drove home now i am having to go back up there either this coming weekend or easter sunday to pick her up!! she looks and seems a cracking pup the mother was extremely gd temperament wise and i just cant wait to get this sodding kennel and run ready and go get her!! Am sooooo happy to know that she will b mine tho as this is my first gundog!!!!

well i think it is fair to say it was a humane dispatch!!! the power of ammunition never fails to amaze me and it is good to show people just wat devastating weapons thay are using to remind us all to be extra vigilant.

roughly when would these puppies b ready to go to homes? am interested! pm me if u like

did anyone ever give these a go as i would really like to know how u got on!?

hi all again i thank everyone who gave me their thoughts on the earlier ostof lab or spaniel but having seen the perfect dog i decided on a smallish type black lab! Now i really need some help how do i find a good puppy (bitch, black) from decent working stock. I dont even know where to start so any advice would be brill! i live in Buckinghamshire if tht makes a difference?!?

bloody pc is useless sorry guys

I was fishing on the 17th and ****** me if very first cast of the new season i land my first ever brown trout! it weighed 2lb 1oz both me and dad caught our 4 fish limit with rainbows from then on smallest was 1lb2oz biggest was 1lb10oz, they wer rele gd fighters tho! i had forgotten wat a great day out fishing is! p.s the brown was caught on hares ear as well. Well done on that fine catch, how heavy was the bigger one at the back?