TDRsniper

Gamebore clear pigeon 32g no6 are my preferred cartridge and will stop both crows and pigeons. In terms of advice, stay still, don't fidget, keep well camo'd up and enjoy your day. Best of luck.

One would assume that those against "pop-up" hides actually own and have used them before using the term carp??. I personally prefer poles and nets which I use regularly but.......I own and occasionally use my "pop-up" hide which has no blind spot any more than a traditional hide. People will always walk/ramble/horseride/cycle where they shouldn't and it is our responsibility to ensure we are aware of our surroundings when we are using weapons, to claim that new products are more dangerous than some of the traditional hides I have seen built is frankly ludicrous Thanks in advance

Completely obsessed, think about it, prepare for it, re-engineering stuff for shooting. I'm somewhere around a realistic 80% Thank god the wife works a lot and the kids are of an age where they are busy doing their own things

Another example of knee jerk reactions to punish the masses for the actions of the few! Whether it's alcohol and they want to shut pubs cause people get drunk or banning conkers in playgrounds cause some kid somewhere got a black eye and mummy complained.......what it should be about is personal responsibility and if YOU do something wrong or stupid YOU should face the consequences! Not stop everyone else by forcing us all to pay more, get more licenses, get more insurance, pass more tests! If someone shoots a swan or a cat, punish them heavily and promote it to the media properly, if little jonny gets a black eye playing games like conkers or climbing trees don't chop down all the trees. Sorry rant over. :-)

Hi All, Have posted before about how important it is to build and dress a good hide (my opinion) and normally take with me 6 or 8 poles and 3+ nets including stealth and MOD depending on wind and other conditions, I enjoy the hide building process and try to blend it in with the environment as best as I can ( won't bore you with the pictures again) it generally takes 30 - 45 mins before I'm done. My buddy and I were at the CLA and saw the pop up hides which have been around a little while and have been slightly adapted with more leafy foliage added, I'd seen them before but decided to get one to see if they were any good. So Sunday afternoon after I'd done my chores I got my kit ready and took the hide which is only slightly bigger than a camping chair and weighs about the same along with one stealth net, no poles which are quite heavy and no big bag of bulky nets. I got to the centre of 4 fields of standing barley (harvested the next day grrrrrr) and literally 5 mins later had a hide built on the headland, set up the flapper on a 4ft steel pole and some deeks on bamboo canes only 10 feet in front of the hide and immediately had birds coming in, the hide is solid at the bottom with a dark realtree pattern and a fine mesh at the top with the leafy foliage in front, not really in keeping with the landscape but gives great all round vision and I saw birds coming from every angle. I won't go into the details of how many cause I can't shoot for toffee but as far as the hide is concerned it worked a treat, very light, very quick and easy and a lot less to carry than the traditional approach. I'm a convert. Thanks for reading.

"See them incoming, then rush and grab the gun and nearly jump over the net"...........lot of movement there before you've even aimed at the bird, I rarely put the gun down during a shoot and agree as above the loads you are using are way too heavy. Keep practising old chap.

I am lucky that the vast majority of my perms have a decent headland which can be driven 90% of the year, I have in the past had reason to carry my kit to the desired location and I know that it is very hard going at times, I suppose the point is that if your hide and decoys are not dressed/presented properly and you spend longer building cause you can't get your poles in the ground because you didn't want to carry the extra weight of a hammer and spike then you will be constantly frustrated at having to adjust your hide as soon as the wind gets up or adjust your pattern due to decoys falling from the crop that you have balanced them on. At the point when the ground becomes difficult to work it also cracks as it bakes in the sun, try and use the cracks in the ground for decoy pegs etc, and make a second trip to the car for the things which will make your day out (precious time) a pleasant and effective one. Just my opinion but better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Regards......

Just been out on a recce for tomorrow, couple of hundred pigeons and not far off a thousand Corvids on the laid barley........battery charging, kit mustered, just got to make the pack lunch and meet the other two at 0800. All I need now is a bit of cloud, a good breeze, some suicidal birds and a miraculous overnight ability to hit the blooming things!?! Regards........

All good advice, once that has worked leave them where they fall until the end of the shoot, the smell of blood makes them a little brave and silly IMO Shoot them all!

+1

This time of year a high Deet bug repellent is essential too, bites can be painful especially in multiples. Good luck

Another great vid Stevo, how far was your magnet from the hide? Hope you jaw gets better quick mate. tdr

Do not go wandering into a dark wood looking for irresponsible and dangerous armed people, if they are carrying a rifle they might be carrying a knife and either you or them are going to get badly hurt. In many cases building up a history is required for serious action to take place so keep calling it in and let the police do their job.......the squeaky door gets the oil ;-)

Hi Malk I agree you must push this to the maximum and also to impress upon the investigating officer that tears are not a good reason to take no further action. I hope your little one is not only recovering but does not carry a fear of dogs through her life, my daughter took a nip ten years ago and they scared her for some time after that. All the best.

I've stopped shooting one particular field on one of my perms cause of the ranting of a horsey owning neighbour, last time there she went ballistic cause the shots had spooked a horse that was so hyped up on molasses soaked feed it threw her daughter. I called the farmer as she ranted on and he said put her on the phone, I only heard her side of the conversation but it went something like this........ Hello, well Gemma got thrown because of these men you have here, but......... I think they shouldn't shoot here, but...... But...... But.......... But.............. Well really! She gave me back the phone and walked away, I asked the farmer what he said to her when I saw him later that day and he just smiled. Horses on roads - no problem Horses side by side or worse still three abreast - stupid

It's simple really......have two kids, let them grow up a bit and send the daughter to babysit for the farmer and the son to help out in the yard while you spend a couple of quid on a pint or two. Of course at £195,000 per child up to the age of 18 it is a little extreme. Be Lucky

I predict most of us will be on here in July, August and September bemoaning that there are still no pigeons about. If this pigeon drought continues much longer they will change the name of this site to Corvid Watch. Be Lucky

+1 except the lifelong labour voter bit.......UKIP need another few years before they are given power

Assuming you have a premises licence Zapp but if not make sure you get a Temporary event notice (TEN) to cover the sale of alcohol. TDR

We go camping on one of my perms (cattle farm) every year for three or four days, have a twenty acre field to ourselves next to the Thames. Everything cooked on a fire which the kids spend most of their time collecting wood for, fishing and drop in a few cray nets, take the air arms and a shotty for some clays as I keep a trap at the farm, agreed that weather can be a pain but if it's fine a more relaxing shut down I can't think of, my only advice is fill the car with as much as you can cause it's better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it. Ging gang goolie

"She had the controller and I had no choice" I don't understand this sentence!!!!!!!!

+1 The wife is a lettings agent and I've heard some horrific stories of nightmare tenants which you may have to deal with if you self manage......I've heard them call the out of hours phone because a light bulb has gone out and they expect someone to come and change it........

My farmer is quite happy for me to shoot over meadows even with cattle in, the first couple of shots and the cows will move to the other side out of your way. Had some nice bags on clover meadows.

Is the property rented privately or through an agent? If through an agent they have a duty to ensure the landlord keeps the property in proper repair! Regardless whether it's dangerous or not it is a health risk! Next you will get damp issues, mould etc which will damage your possessions and potentially cause you health issues. If rented through an association take it as high up their complaints chain as possible and log all calls and correspondence, involve your local council too. If through an agent same rules apply but ask the agent what the landlord is legally required to do and try and get the agent "on side" If rented privately it's gonna be tougher but in all cases read your tenancy agreement carefully. Good luck.

Enjoyed walking round a few stores when I was in the US of A, felt a little unnerved though when I saw a display of realtree bible covers!!!