the hitman

Nice reports chaps- thank you for posting. Adzyvilla - always good to hear a dog working and doing what they love. I miss my cocker so much - he was a always a great help roost shooting. MM - 24 is a cracking result and a afternoon well spent.

Yes indeed- a warm wood is preferred by the pigeons, and one that is not overshot is preferred by us shooters. I had a cracking roost wood ( before storm Arwen) and I shot it every second or third week. Weather conditions also play a huge part.

Nice report JD- I bet those naughty dogs will be dreaming of pigeons tonight. We pigeon shooters are lucky fellows to have such a variety of opportunities to take, however 20 shot roost shooting in a good wind is great late afternoon sport. Good luck with the pick up tomorrow- I hope Charlie hasn’t got there first.

I took Mrs H to work this morning at 7.30, I went to recce of a couple of local fields straight after and pigeons were already on the move in a very strong s/westerly wind. I headed home got the gear and flask and I was out by 8.30. I watched a line of bunches of pigeons heading over a block of winter rape - not completely sure where they wanted to feed. There was a strip of silver birches which would give me some shelter and a visible place for the decoys. I set out 12 half shells ( too windy for my favoured sillo’s) and the first bunch of 20+ gave me 2 for the magnet. The first hour was great shooting- groups coming in low against the wind - but never looking like decoys, more just coming for a look. I was missing as many as I shot, as after the first barrel they were off on the wind. Any second barrel kills were shot on the wind and carried 20 yards beyond where they were shot. There were longer and longer lulls between shots - and the pigeons were already moving away from where I had set up. At 1pm and wind spitting on I packed up with 23. It was maybe just too windy- however it was good to get back out again.

Nice report Sounds like an exciting session with high speed pigeons. Sometimes I miss easy shots when I have too much time to think- on other occasions I have connected with birds which just flash past and completely surprise me. I am heading out tomorrow- first time in ages- I haven’t done a proper recce as I am just back from a mini break away.

Good report PC - a great plan that went well on the day- as the rain might have deterred some shooters. Ankle deep in mud and a heavy bag to car back to the car- takes real commitment.

MM Its half term next week so I am off to Madrid for some vino & tapas - I should hopefully be able to get out later next week. last thing we need up here is more strong winds - some trees are like wobbly teeth waiting to come out after storm Arwen hit us.

Nice report MM 25 roosting sounds like a fantastic afternoon out to me, I bet you can recall every one that you shot. Hitman

Another excellent informative write up - thank you for posting. I do not shoot anything like the numbers that you do but I do have a game dealer who takes everything I can get- but it’s a 40 mile round trip. I haven’t been out shooting for such a long time - and your reports are a welcome substitute.

What a great write up PC. I have been moaning about gas guns recently, however I understand that they can help by lifting pigeons from other places and send them in your direction as you described. The recent high winds have certainly stirred the birds up and make for exciting shooting- unfortunately for me my backside has been stuck to my office chair rather than my hide seat. Keep the reports coming.

Excellent work PC you are blazing the trail this winter. Good write up- keep them coming.

Excellent shooting- well done that man. Interesting that morning are productive for some and afternoons for others . My last couple of shooting days have been over by 12-1pm.

Big numbers indeed- thank you for replying.

PC- another cracking write up, well done today, great bag. There seems to have been a few of out recently with some excellent bags and equally good write ups. PC have your pigeon bags been above average this winter ? I have a theory about lack of shooting during lockdowns have considerably increased the pigeon population nationwide.

Hi MM We have had a lovely week weather wise- bright sunshine then slight frost in the mornings. The moon has been beautiful all week in clear star filled sky. Historically we have most of our snowfall locally in February/ early March - so winter still might have a sting in its tail. Nice work getting the teal.

Well done muncher- a couple of nice reports. 122 is great for any time of year but in January it’s quite an achievement. Thank you for posting and making us all envious.

After having a recce around gas gunshire yesterday I spotted a few flighting onto the corner of a huge field of OSR. I thought a session may produce about 20 so this morning after calling in at Greggs for my free breakfast roll (O2 app) I was set up at 9am. On arrival I put about 50 up so I just had to wait for their return. The wind was a gentle westerly, however the sun was straight in my face - but it was where I had to be. First 3 that came in were singles and I shot all 3 and put 2 onto the magnet. The wind was picking up and the sillo’s were fluttering. A few groups of 10+ came in and I kept picking away missing some second barrel shots that I should have hit. The problem was the sun, a number of birds came in unseen with the the sun behind them - and flew off unharmed. My shooting began to improve and by 12noon when they had clearly found somewhere quieter I packed up with 22 pigeons. Beautiful day to out and the sun on my face was almost spring like.

Hull superfast get my vote - I shot a 60+ bag of pigeons last year with a BSA s/s with no problem.

Nice result after moving your position. The gas guns are doing there job, as I did a good recce of my patch and counted more orange gas bottles than pigeons - they must have flown south to your patch PC. Keep the reports coming.

Another cracking day PC- you are certainly getting amongst them at the moment. In all my years of pigeon shooting I have rarely shot a bag of 80+ in January- excellent work, thank you for posting.

Well done PC another good write up. The crop does look well eaten down so excellent crop protection service for the farmer, and a crack day of sport for you.

Well done getting out after your bout of covid- your fitness level will soon be restored if you continue to shoot heavy bags. Good write up and a good read. My recent successes may not be repeated anytime soon as there must be a buy one get one free offer on gas guns locally- and orange gas bottles can be spotted on almost every field of OSR that I have permission on. Keep up the good work.

Nice shooting and thank you for your report. I am tinkering with the idea of getting a semi auto, however I would a complete beginning as I haven’t even fired one before. I might need some advice about which one to buy.

Agreed- I would be happy with a bag of 68 on drilling or OSR stubble. Historically in winter I would spend all day chasing pigeons often for a single number return. Back to work tomorrow so that will curtail my shooting for a while.

Definitely a few about. I honestly think the lockdown of March 2020 onwards gave the pigeons a chance to repopulate and I hope everyone is seeing more pigeons in their area. I haven’t shot so many winter pigeons on OSR ever.