Cranfield

My battery came with the rotary device. Its a "Yuasa 12V, 7Ah, valve regulated, sealed lead-acid type,rechargeable battery". I have mentioned elsewhere on the Forum, that its important to check if, or what, battery comes with your rotary device when buying one. I have heard stories of some of the really cheap rotary devices coming with very poor batteries, some lasting only 2/3 hours. I saw some Peckers at the Game Fair today. Quite impressive, but a massive difference in the prices and I couldn,t see why. The cheaper ones looked and seemed to work, as good as the expensive ones. Perhaps you are paying for the marketing and advertising of some of them. The N&S ones looked good (and cheap), I don,t use crow decoys, but their crow pecker could change my mind.

Welcome to the Forum Gary, The point you mention about, "losing" the moulting adult birds, has always intrigued me. An old Pest Control Officer friend of mine (long dead, unfortunately), always made this comment about September time. Where do they go ? Do they stay in the woods with limited flying requirements ? Can they still fly ? How long does the moult last ? These are all questions I wished I had asked him. Does anyone have any theories on this subject ?

The Organisations that are objecting to foxhunting are not called The Anti-Fox Hunting Association ,or something similar. They are called The League Against Cruel Sports, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, etc. These Organisations have a wide brief, they are very well funded, with full time staff and a massive publicity machine. If foxhunting is banned, these Organisations will still need something to "feed on". They can,t stop,they are like some great machine trundling along. I think Game Shooting ,with birds purposely bred and released, the very large bags shot on some shoots, the "upper class" image, etc, is an obvious target. As is Angling. It amuses me to read on Fishing Forums that there are too many people fishing to ban Angling. The Enviromental Agency sold 1.3million licences last year in England and Wales. That is not a lot of people. Livebaiting for Pike and Perch has already been banned in the Lake District. Whilst this has been done to prevent the spread of fish disease and unofficial stocking of fish (unused bait fish released), it has drawn a large spotlight on a rather "cruel" aspect of Fishing. Don,t forget the PETA poster of the labrador with a big hook in its mouth, the caption was something like "You wouldn,t do it to a dog, then why a fish?" Wood Pigeon shooting is vermin control. Its the only realistic cost effective way of doing it. We also view it as a "sport", but it is first and foremost, vermin control. Times they are a changing.

Went to the Midland Game Fair today and was very impressed. The 3 mile queue on the A41 was a nuisance, but the Show was superb. They should put toilets nearer the carparks, after that queuing there were quite a few people hobbling in to the Showground searching for them (including me ). There was something there for everyone. Gunmakers Row, ferret racing, shire horses, a big Fishermens area, Airguns and loads of demonstrations, competitions, shooting ranges etc. Not to mention the big clay shooting tournament. I met Deako, Dad and pals. We arranged to meet under the Airgun World banner. I got there and saw a very handsome bloke, male model type, standing there. "No", I thought "thats not Deako". I waited a bit longer and he was still there. "No",I thought again "thats not Deako". But, nobody else turned up and the bloke was still there, so I walked over and said "are you Deako ?" I was right , he wasn,t Deako. It was good to meet some nice people who shared the same interests and I enjoyed that part of the day the most. We all visited the N&H stand, enjoyed the free refreshment and I bought some more goodies. With all the new gizmos available to the decoyer, I expect woodpigeons will be threatened with extinction soon.

Tony, I can confirm that the Pinewood battery is awesome!!! 10 hours, is probably a conservative estimate. I had been "topping up" the battery and decided to completely discharge it (the right thing to do), before completely recharging it. I put the device in the vice in my cellar (no arms fitted) and turned it on. It took 76 hours to completely empty. Note: I had no "loading" on the motor, but that is incredible, but true.

I did a Google search. There are a number of "versions" of the SKB 505 apparently. They are described as a "rugged, well made, dependable gun and good value for the money". The only reference to price I could find was an American website where a "sporting" version was being sold for about £700. Your best bet is to wait until Monday, when the gunshops open and we can make some phone calls. Thats where you will get the best price information.

I have been away for a week and have spent most of today looking around my farmers fields. Pigeons were spread thinly on rape stubble, wheat stubble, bean stubble and meadows. As its quite a warm, sunny day , I found quite a few in the woods. They are still there, scattered about a bit and not concentrated on any specific crop or field. They may also be feeding early and late, if it is a particularly warm day. A dull, windy day may focus them on to a sheltered field. Thats what I am hoping for next week.

Rotary devices are one of the largest single investment items a pigeon shooter is going to make, apart from a gun. I chose the Pinewood version as I had received good reports about its reliability etc. I wouldn,t hesitate to recommend them to anyone. However, its fair to say that a lot of good, cheaper models are now available. You pay your money and take your choice. Important thing to remember,check to make sure the (cheap) price includes a very good rechargeable battery and recharger, if it doesn,t , then that it quite a cost you have to add on.

PC, that was my twin brother, he,s the poor one.

Be thankful that the RSPB are this open minded. I no longer support the RSPCA because of their hysterical attitude to Country Sports (not just hunting).

Northern Spain, the southern end of the Bay of Biscay. Its not like you imagine Spain. More like Austria meets Cornwall. Fly in to Bilbao and then 45 minutes drive to Hoz de Anero, which is just outside Santander. Gives me a chance to "habla me espanol"

Suitcase packed, off to Cantabria in the morning. I anticipate harrassing the bass, black bream and mullet in the sea and some trout in the rivers. We are also doing a look-see at the Edbro Reservoir which is about 45 minutes drive over the mountain from my friends house. Big pike and carp live there. We were supposed to fly out on Tuesday, but my wife contracted a "bug" over the weekend and so we had to change arrangements. See you in a weeks time.

As a youngster I accompaned the local Pest Control Officer around Nature Reserves and Crown Army land. He was authorised to remove the grey squirrels only. I carried the long aluminium poles that slotted together. When we found a drey, I assembled the poles, poked the dray and he shot any squirrels that appeared. Occasionally, he would let me have a shot. Its amazing what small twigs squirrels can run over. They almost seem to be flying through the trees. I spent a lot of time with this gentleman on his pest control activities. He only ever used a 16 bore.

Tut, tut PC, its was going very well, until you got to the last paragraph.

Loads of different factors affect the accuracy of my shooting over decoys. I always pick up my empties and sometimes I am suprised at how many shots I have fired for birds killed, either good, or bad. I have moved over to Gamebore Clear Pigeon 30gm, as it is the cheapest cartridge with a felt wad that my Gunshop sells. I have been using the Lyevale Express Pigeon, which is a good cartridge, but has a plastic cup. Deakos Italians sound like an old friend of mine. He believed Eley Maximum 6s were the best cartridge for anything. He use to suffer with headaches a lot.

rabbitstopper, why do you need a shotgun that fires more than 3 cartridges ? Feel free to tell me to mind my own business, but I am interested in your answer. I have recently been considering a 20 bore and couldn,t make up my mind between a 3 shot semi automatic or an O/U. I shoot a lot and couldn,t remember the last time I wished I had 3 shots available. I have put the 20 bore "on hold" for the time being until I can make my mind up.

Welcome falcon, pitch in and enjoy yourself. :( Errrr, you ain,t that dishy bird from The Gladiators , are you ? :D :(

I have two and they cost me £12 each from N&S, but that was some time ago and they may have gone up in price. I have used them on my rotary while waiting to shoot two fresh ones, I then move them to my floaters. I have already posted elsewhere that they are not stable on the rotary on very windy days, as they are light weight (foam). They seem quite happy on the floaters though. Its worth having a couple in your bag, certainly saves having to defrost birds for the rotary device.

Where I shoot pigeons, its not part of a formal game shoot. When I was a member of a shooting syndicate, that covered two large farms, we shot every Saturday. The farmers still wanted their crops protected and so we pigeon shot, or sited bangers in the fields, during the week, but avoided the areas on Thursday/Friday, that we were going to beat through on Saturday. The general opinion was that the pheasants and partridges did not take much notice of the pigeon shooting. As we were "fixed" in hides the game just moved to another part of the field. We did leave our dogs at home though as they would upset the birds and flush them (even accidently). Clearly roost shooting would be a problem, as would lamping with shotguns. Thats a bit of bad luck number 1, its a pity the farmer or gamekeeper, can,t find you a bit of pigeon shooting locally.

For the amount of money I paid for my Pinewood, I ain,t hitting it with no lump hammer. I always ensure that my rotary device is very carefully, almost lovingly, pushed into the ground. Last Winter, I took a small flask of boiling water with me, to soften the ground. Modesty forbids me mentioning other similar ways, to achieve the same objective.

neil, at the moment I don,t have one, but I can certainly see the advantages. I assume that future new designs will incorporate them. Don,t forget to make the height of the arms adjustable. The Pinewood version does this by putting a bolt through the arm, about an inch back from where it joins the machine "body". When you tighten the bolt down, the end protrudes through the arm onto the "body" and lifts the arm up. Good luck, if the thing drills itself into the ground and you accidently discover oil, don,t forget who your friends are, Mate. :)

e.g.n.w.t., Give Mike a ring for up to date prices. The last hide poles I bought from him were £36 for 4 in a carry bag and they are top quality. Why don,t you change your name ? Its a right mouthful to type in. Only joking, its a nice name really. :( :thumbs: :thumbs:

I have two arms on my Pinewood version and they are 4ft long. I am not sure a four arm machine works any better. If you are starting from scratch, try to incorporate a speed adjuster. A lot of manufacturers are selling these now as accessories.

I try not to take any notice of ferals or odd coloured pigeons. Where I shoot seems to be on a major racing pigeon flightline. Quite a few local people own tame pigeons,(these are dark coloured) that get let out for a fly around in the afternoons. The racers aren,t a problem, they usually fly fast in formation .The tame ones behave like ferals, they will come in to the field in a group, but then split up. They also fly around with the woodies. I don,t want to think about the aggro that would be caused, if I shot one in mistake for a feral.

neil, see the N&S Decoys post by Deako. He has put details of N&S products on Martins website. www.wildfowler.co.uk That is the wildfowling website on the front page. :(