Super major

Not sure how thick the stems are on your brambles but you may get through a bit of strimmer cord if they're quite thick. Didn't know whether you meant tractor hedgecutter or petrol hedgecutters but we often use petrol hedgecutters for thick stemmed brambles. Hope this is of some use, Rob

Thank you both for replying. I think I'll go tomorrow afternoon and see how I get on. It'll be the first time I've shot on stubble and was thinking of asking the farmer if I can make a hide from some of the round bales left on the field. Thanks again, Rob

You beat me to it, I was going to say rust, rust and more rust! I spent 2 years searching for a good one, travelling a fair distance. Every time it was the same though. I wouldn't have minded welding a sill up but some of the places where rust had reached in would have been a b*stard to weld and as the rust had set in I'd have been constantly fighting a losing battle. I was convinced that there'd be one out there that had been waxoiled from new and would be ok but I've now given up after seeing the same thing on every one. The last one I saw was a real disappointment; about 64,000miles if I remember right, FSH and two local owners. I had my heart set on it until I looked underneath If it weren't for the rust I wouldn't look at anything else; Cheap insurance Fantastic engine Easy to fix (my main gripe with modern vehicles) Great towing capacity Like I say I've given up looking for one now and am considering a Ford Ranger or Mitsubishi L200, although they'll cost more to buy and a lot more to insure!

A field of Barley got combined on one of my permissions on Tuesday and my plan was to look at it yesterday evening and this morning then maybe set up tomorrow. It's the only field they've got cut so it's the only one I'm looking at for the moment. Had a look last night and there wasn't a bird in sight although I maybe went a little late, about 6:30pm. Went this morning at 7am and saw a few birds on what I thought looked like a couple of definite lines over the field which was encouraging as I've struggled to spot lines before. There certainly weren't masses of birds on the field so I don't know whether to go or let them build. I'll have to find out how soon the farmer's planning on working it in to decide how long I can leave it but how many would you like to be seeing before you'd set up? I'll certainly have another look tomorrow morning as I don't think I'd be setting up until the afternoon anyway. Cheers, Rob

Thanks

Hello again, Just thought I'd add a couple of questions that have come to mind while re-reading this topic:- If the birds are keen to get back on the field after being scared off would they usually be at least 20minutes until they return as I've read before that this is the usual time for nature to return to normal after a disturbance? Or is this more with rabbits, deer etc When you say to move to another field if you don't see any birds for 30minutes do you allow for birds sitting up or would you expect a steady stream at most times if the field's being heavily fed on? While shooting it's often said if it isn't working after 20/30minutes change it, but assuming you've looked at the field properly and the birds aren't jinking or visibly flying elsewhere (in other words it's just quite)would you sit it out thinking it may be a lull? Do pigeon seem to see a static car as a threat? I'm not planning on parking right where they want to feed but is 200yds reasonable (feels like a stupid question I'll be reminded of at a later date ) Or shall I just bloody get out there with my binoculars and see for myself rather than nagging you lot? Thanks again, Rob

I don't think my kit's too heavy. I managed to carry all my gear in one trip from my van to the other side of the field and for now I'm trying to learn the sport with basic kit before I start looking at rotaries and flappers. I've got two permissions and am lucky that they're both quite laid back, although I'd like to get better as much to feel like I'm giving them something in return as for my enjoyment.

First chance I've got to get on here and report on how Saturday afternoon went. Got onto the field at 4:30 and there were no pigeons but I got set up in the hope that they were sat up and would come for a feed a little later. The wind was blowing different from when I had done my reconnaisance, a very slight wind blowing from the bottom of the field rather than it blowing from the top. Put the hide in front of the hedge and was quite happy with how it looked then set 9 decoys in an L shape. After 10 minutes or so had three come in and of course I missed, and the pair after that. Then I hit the next bird that came. After that there was a lull for about 15 minutes, when I checked the wind it was blowing stronger and had turned from roughly westerly to Southerly. Gave it 5 minutes and after seeing no pigeons altered the patern into a horseshoe as the wind was blowing from behind the hide now. Saw no more birds anywhere until I packed up at 7:00. So there'd been a couple come in, nothing amazing in terms of numbers but the few that came didn't seem to see me and landed in the decoys so there's perhaps a very small positive to take from it. However, I think the reconnaisance and the shooting need to improve

Some great replies so far thank you Went again tonight, managed to finish work a bit sooner so got onto the same field about 4:55. They were doing the same again more or less, dropping from the wood, flying along the hedgerow and either sitting in the hedge then dropping onto the field or landing directly on the field. There was a nice steady stream dropping in until they were disturbed and flew back to the wood again. When they dropped down again most went onto the neighbouring field but some came back to mine. Plan is to go tomorrow afternoon, not expecting much but hopefully get a couple of hours of sport. Didn't realise in my first post I might have left out a little bit of important information. There is a railway line running between the wood and the two fields I've mentioned. The line is well up a bank with lots of cover. Problem is I'm unsure of the exact law relating to shooting near railway lines, I'll have a quick search on here but if there's any doubt I'll keep away. Logically it shouldn't be a problem as I'd be shooting away from the line and it'd be very unlikely that anyone on the train would even see me because of all the cover. At the moment I can't decide whether to- Set up with my back to the line in a nice bit of dense hawthorn giving me a good background for the hide and a little cover overhead. I'm uncertain whether the birds would fly over my decoys then turn back or once they've set off from the trees have they decided where they want to land and ignore the decoys. Also with the amount of cover near the hide I don't think they'll see the decoys from the trees. Other option is to set the hide up further down the hedge where I've seen the birds feeding but my only concern there is whether I could make as good a job of the hide as with the other spot. With either set up I'd thought of putting a few full bodied decoys in the hedge, any thoughts on whether it'd be worth doing? Anyway we'll see how it goes, if it doesn't go to plan at least I might not have to clean the gun

Hello, I'm new to pigeon shooting and seem to be falling at the first hurdle really as I don't feel like I'm doing my reconnaissance properly. I've studied John Batley's book The Pigeon Shooter: The Complete Guide to Modern Pigeon Shooting and think I've got most of it committed to memory but the few times I've been the birds haven't played ball. The other evening (got there roughly 5:45pm) they were sat in the corner of a neighbouring field (spring drillings, apparently they'd been on the winter OSR on my permission earlier where I was sat), no more joining them so no particular flightline I could see. Bit later they flew no more than 70-80yards to sit up in a wood on my permission, then a little later still came down to the OSR on my permission but again only 70-80yards from the wood. Eventually they returned to the same wood to roost. During the time I was there maybe 4 birds flew on something which I thought vaguely looked like a fightline but nothing like as clear as I had hoped and I'm not sure whether these birds would have heading to roost elsewhere. I think I may have been there too late in the day but during the week and usually Saturdays as well this is the only time I have to do reconnaissance. I'd be interested to hear how others find the time to properly do their reconnaissance as I'm struggling to work out how. Any other advice would be appreciated too. Cheers, Rob

I've been searching on here for the last hour or so and it looks like the 22lr ricochet discussion has been done to death so I don't think I dare post a new topic on it! Seems to be 50:50 between "Great calibre, quiet, any ricochets will have lost energy after impact" or "Ricochets far too much, dangerous, get a 17HMR" I got my FAC earlier this year with permission for a .22RF but haven't got my gun yet. I'm wanting to get one bought but I'm just hesitating at the moment because I've had a friend with much more shooting experience than me nagging me to get a variation for a .17 as he says .22's ricochet too much. The farm I have permission for is 1000+acres of arable, mixture of clay land and carr land, and I know the land pretty well as I used to work there. I know to check the backstop for the shot regardless of calibre but if the .22 can ricochet then how much of a safety margin should I allow for in other directions? Cheers,

must be a good mate if you mean the same camoreal nets as here http://www.ukshootwarehouse.com/shop/PIGEO...T/Camo+Hide.htm Thanks for all the advice. I may buy another net or two. Will look at either clearview or ex MOD then test and see what results I get. Cheers, Rob

Hello, Got my basic kit from the site sponsers including a stealth net. I know that it is possible to use one of these nets on their own but having read 'The Pigeon Shooter' by John Batley I'm thinking of trying the roofed hide like he uses so would need another net or two. I don't really fancy buying another stealth net seen as they're roughly £30 so was looking at army surplus sites and elsewhere but don't really know which pattern or type which would be best. So basically which other nets would you reccomend and where are they from. Thanks, Rob

If ever the phrase 'know your enemy' were true!! Just had a look at the HSA website and it's unbelievable that grown adults can have such stupid and vigilante ideas about the countryside! To my understanding it's nothing more than organised crime (tresspass, vandalism, harrassment......) so how on earth are they allowed to operate! Absolute Scum!! I am proud to be a member of BASC and even prouder that I shoot. My original post was regarding the security issue of having a BASC sticker in the car window e.g. having it parked outside the house advertising that a gun owner lives in the house. But this is probably just me being paranoid.

Never heard a bad thing about them except for rust, and if you have a clean one and keep it waxoiled then you've capped it :( I really, really want one now