kippylawkid

Hi there, apologies for nosiness but I'm curious why you need GV alloys as I had issues with mine. I bought a 2012 GV with 18" wheels and could not get AT tyres for love nor money. I had to buy new 16" alloys to allow AT tyres to be fitted. Luckily I sold the 18" alloys and this covered the whole transaction. Wondered if you were experiencing the same bother?

Ha! Not ashamed to admit I was well into the 6th box of shells. Hopeful for another go tomorrow.

As reported a few weeks ago, our syndicate has a large expanse of bean stubble with a good heap of pigeon spread around. This has proved almost rape like like to shoot as they would shift to another field at the first shot. Saturday past had a perfect wind to channel the birds along a sheltered stream so I stood in the stream itself, no hide and only the whirly for decoys. Shot the first bird at 9.30 and had a smashing 3 hours of challenging birds. The whirly just attracted some in close enough to have a shot but the majority were flighting birds, coming up and downwind. I decided to take anything remotely in shot and had some exhilarating sport.They dried up just after lunch and I picked up 32 birds for a heck of a lot of shooting. Great fun.

As previously posted I have managed to get out for a few outings and had one decent day on bean stubble. My syndicate farms have over 400 acres of bean stubble and pigeons were present on every field, making hide position a bit of a lottery. However, half a gale of NW funnelled the birds to 2 sheltered fields in a dip, so my pal Rich and I set up with only the rotary in between us and shot them flighting. We picked up a very satisfying 73 that included every shot in the book. We had both turned down a cut price partridge day from a pal of ours who'd had cancellations and reflected that we had chosen the right option. Just after that I had the privilege of meeting PW Royalty - JDog himself. Unfortunately I only had an hour with him owing to family/sporting commitments, but thoroughly enjoyed his company and promised to find him a shot or two on his next Northumbrian visit.

I like your style - was looking for something rubbery! Cheers though.

Looking for pointers on some decent mud mats for my Grand Vitara, the well type if possible. I've bought 2 sets of useless mats (not cheap!) and they have worn out within 6 months. Any advice is welcome. Cheers

Cracking video that. Last one was a great shot and your dog looks a belter. Defo a swan

Not a stupid question at all. Decoys can be particularly effective at Lindisfarne when big tides coincide with sea winds (N,NE,E,SE) and the ducks look for shelter around the marsh edge. I have had my biggest bags on such days. Like all marshes, you need to get out and experience where the best spots are according to the wind direction. Listen and digest the local knowledge too. Regarding numbers, i would say use them in strings and use as many as you can but you will be restricted in what you can carry. Hope that helps.

Motty, I'm filling up! I'll do my best. Like many parents,having sporty kids has hindered my outings but I can live with that. It makes the outings I do get all the better.

How could I abandon such an eclectic bunch Yes, I'm sorely tempted to have a go on a bare patch. If the wind is right on Saturday I will have a look.

My first post in a while from Northumberland as various life issues including cricket, rugby, football, pheasants and family (in no specific order) have curtailed my summer pigeon shooting but things have eased up enough for me to get out. I have had to pass up a few 100+ opportunities, but my pals have benefited so I'm in credit with them! In the last 2 weeks, I have had 2 decent outings of 45 and 37 from a pea stubble (75% young birds) and I am quietly confident that a block of beans on our shoot will produce some good sport when they are cut in the coming weeks. I am tempted to shoot them on a bare patch before they're harvested but I think I'll wait and hopefully do them justice. Watch this space.

Well done JD. Fantastic bag - nearly a bird a minute. Hope you were able to drive up to the hide!

Linseed used to be grown regularly by a number of farmers around our patch. It wasn't a banker crop for pigeons by any means but I did shoot some decent bags on it when it ripened to the seed stage. Not fired a shot on it for a long time now.

Yes, they were top drawer with me too. I also sent a thank you email to the firearms dept. Sometimes we can be quick to send a complaint so it is good to praise when they deserve it.

Nice one, pleased you made a decent bag. I have a similar rape field that is attracting a lot of birds on a bare spot. Unfortunately, it is unshootable as it's on the outskirts of the village with well trod footpaths on each side.

Thank you all for the kind words. Apologies to Marsh Man for hijacking the post.

I feel your pain. I had to take my dog Sunny on his last journey yesterday. I know in my heart of hearts it was his time and the "right" thing to do but I still fell dreadful about doing it. I'm trying to take comfort from the many happy memories we shared. Sad times.

That made me laugh Those FD's drive a hard bargain!

I think you're preaching to the converted George. Most of the experienced lads on here appreciate what goes into shooting a decent bag and the many things that can ruin a day. I'm not sure I'd like to get into the nuts and bolts of counting cartridges to prove a gun has had the opportunity to shoot 100, similar to what many game shoots do. Life's too short for all that. I enjoy taking my pals out and seeing the enjoyment they get from a decent day. No charge of course.

Interesting thread. I too would take £500 to set up a 100 bird day, but I'm fully aware that there are no sure things with pigeons. There is a guy up our way who takes top dollar from foreign "sportsmen", dumps them off all over the borders/Northumberland and lets them get on with it. Fair to say he's not Mr popular around here. Apologies for hijacking your refreshingly normal weekend PC

If only everyone was as give and take as that. Your good form continues!

The dry spell last week resulted in many fields being drilled in my area. This has given the birds much to go at and are difficult to concentrate into one area. I had a decent day yesterday (See Pictures) and another pal of mine had a stonking day on drilled beans yesterday in the Tweed valley where he picked 180. This was mostly flighting birds as he reckoned only 25% decoyed. He wouldn't tell me how many shots he fired. Jammy ***!

The 2 farms on the syndicate I'm in drilled 6 fields of beans last week and pigeons were hitting them all in decent numbers. As tomorrow is to be very wet I decided to shoot today and invited my pal Richard along. After much deliberation, I decided to set up right bang in the middle of the fields, sheltered from the half gale by a thick blackthorn hedge. Another syndicate member set up on another field and we definitely helped each other gain more shooting. The birds never 100% threw themselves into the decoys, despite a whirly and 3 flappers being tried in various positions. Some very large packs of 200+ would pass and only 2 or 3 would commit. As a result, the shooting was testing, but memorable. We ended up picking 41. A good start to the drillings.

Big block of spring barley has been drilled on one of my farms. There's spill all over the shop as the soil is very tacky but as yet, not a pigeon. Hopefully they will build up nicely for the weekend.

It has been mentioned on a few posts recently about some huge bags being made by lads on a few of the pigeon shooting sites on facebook, mainly on chopped maize with a few on rape. Oxfordshire appears to be a decent place to shoot pigeons! Curiosity made me wonder if any of the shooters are PW members?