motty

Another 39 on peas for me yesterday. Not a great bag, but it did cheer me up getting 3 pigeons for 2 shots - not done that for a while. Going to be putting a few of the birds on the barbecue tonight. Total - 11828

Great bag. Haven't had a 200+ this year. Got my eye on a bean field which might produce one. A while to wait, though.

I normally keep an eye on how many birds are feeding in the standing rape from about a week or two before i expect it to be cut. If there are hundreds on it then, i normally expect a good shoot immediately after it has been harvested, as the birds are well used to coming to the field for a feed. Reconassaince is important, though, as i once went to shoot on a rape stubble on a field known to produce big bags, the day after it had been cut, without keeping an eye on it. The bag was around 12. I returned a week later and shot 102.

I've shot big bags of pigeons on wheat and rape stubbles. My advice- shoot both fields.

When did i say i used steel for pigeons? I have respect for my quarry and i usually achieve clean kills when i pull the trigger. I used mostly 28gm 7 1/2 in lead on my two most recent 100+ bags on pigeon in the last week. I took some truly spectacular kills. If this is such an ineffective load, then why do some top shots use exactly the same or very similar. And do you also think then, that it is wrong to use a 28 gauge or .410 for pigeon shooting, as these have much smaller loads, often 19gm 7's or less?

Shot another 116 on the same pea stubble as last week. No rain this time but a lot of birds were going on to nearby wheat. Still, a decent bag considering the birds were reluctant to decoy at times. Total - 10,635

All of my best days pigeon shooting have been when i've used a magnet, sometimes two. This includes a few 200+ days. The first time i used hypa-flaps i shot 202 last year on wheat stubble. Though you don't NEED to own one, i personally would always carry one in the truck so i have the option to use it.

Another 120 to from me over a pea stubble, today. The day was blighted by three big showers. If these didn't occur, i'm sure it would have been close to a 200 bag. I hope to return next week, as there were hundreds and hundreds around. Total - 10,368

What are you talking about?!! It's not at all irresponsible to be using & 7 1/2 28g steel loads on duck over a flightpond. I wouldn't take them onto the marsh (unless i was shooting wigeon over a splash) but inland they are mustard.Because it's steel and the shot is relatively small you have a huge number of pellets in the pattern, thus ensuring clean kills if used at a reasonable range of around 30- 35 yards and you can shoot straight ( i think i can). If i wasn't getting regular clean kills at these ranges i would stop and use something else, but why bother when i get good results? And just for your information, i only use 8 or 9 shot when i've got the odd few left over from clay shooting, and these ( in lead) kill pigeons at over 30 yards just fine. And i do kill a fair few pigeons.

Well, i CAN shoot pigeons with these loads. I'm sorry that you can't. By the way, i'm talking about using 8 or 9 lead loads,and not necessarily out to 40 yards.

In no way is 7 1/2 shot too small for ducks or pigeons. I shoot a lot of pigeons with 28g 7 1/2( Lead) and find they kill pigeons cleanly beyond 40 yards. I demonstrated this at the weekend. I have killed plenty of ducks with the same load in steel at about 35 yards on a flight pond and don't feel i would need any more. However, when i go for a flight on the marsh i take at least a 36g 4 or 5 as the ranges are likely to be more. I would even take 8 or 9 shot for decoying pigeons, though.

I have no problem with this cheap but totally capable shell ( kent velocity 28g 7 1/2). I can regularly kill pigeons cleanly at all sporting ranges with them.

28g clay carts are also ideal for pigeon shooting or game shooting, killing cleanly at 40 yds+.

Stealth netting is fantastic, one of the best on the market. I have killed several hundred pigeons from behind just one of these hides on it's own. I don't believe pigeons ever see me.

Total - 10,216

110 more to add from me. After not wanting to set up on a fresh pea stubble (not enough around to warrant setting up), i decided to go back to a place where i shot 3 on friday afternoon. I packed up there (fri) as the birds were all going down on the middle field of a group of 3 small pea fields. Yesterday ( 11 am-ish), i set up where i'd seen them going the afternoon before. Although i expected to shoot a few (maybe 30- 40), i was pleasantly surprised to finish at 5pm with a bag of 107.

Another 18 over peas in a couple of hours after work, today. Total 10,055

Nice Shooting! So annoying when you have to pack up when birds are pouring in. What an AR*E!!!

Hope they Do come to me. I'm not chasing them round the field!

Another 54 this weekend for me, over peas. Total 8634

I have permission to shoot over 120 pea fields. some have had a lot of pigeon damage, some have been barely touched. It depends on where the pea fields are as much as anything else, as to whether pigeons will hit them. Several 100+ bags have been taken over these fields in my patch.

There is no need to hide a hide! I have shot several big bags over the years with hides completely out in the open with no additional branches or leaves etc. I could have killed many birds with a tennis racket, that's how close they came to the hide on their way to the decoys .Blend your hide in if you can by all means, but it's not essential. Your problem, herbman, could be more down to other reasons, like the field being shot too often. I had exactly the same problem last year, when the peas in a certain area were being shot around 2-3 times a week. You would be lucky to shoot 5, as the birds were so wary. This year in the same area, the pigeons have been left alone far more and i've shot a bag of 93 there and another bloke shot 73 there on friday. Just a thought.

Personally, i wouldn't bother shooting on the field if the pigeons aren't feeding there and causing any damage. I shoot a fair few on flowering peas, and had a nice little bag of 35 on some, just a few hours ago.These are vining peas, though, and don't grow much more than a foot tall. Yours sound like harvest peas, growing that tall, and trying to find any birds amongst them would be a nightmare. I witnessed the damage someone and his dog once made after shooting a good bag and trying to pick all the birds - it was probably more damage than he prevented. Your best bet will probably be to wait until the plants are brown and the pods start to split, spilling the peas.I'm sure the pigeons will be on there, then.

I shot a nice little bag of 35 between 4.30pm and 7.30pm today. Shot on peas. So, 39 to add since last post. I've already shot more pigeons this year, than i did in the whole of last year. Total -- 8376

Pigeons are feeding as much as they do at any time of the year. How else are people like myself and MerseaDavid shooting decent bags? There were maybe 1000-2000 pigeons flighting onto the peas i shot on the other day. If you have the right crops and pigeons are in your area, then chances are you can make a good bag.