kitchrat

Fully agree! However, if you had seen some of the birds shot on "game" shoots where I'm beating, your blood would boil - as does mine....

Each winter I shoot a number of "Woodies", with wing bars but slightly smaller and with no neck ring. However, they are slightly darker and each feather has a tiny, light-coloured fringe right at the far end. I have always guessed that they are immigrants (am I allowed to say that or is it too non-PC??). Any ideas, or photos?? Jk Dead right, I saw them making more targets for 2017 on Jan 1st!!

Went to check the field on Monday, little action but by Tuesday, they are back, using different tactics. It was the old "sit in a tree and see if it's safe" game. I watch to see where they want to go, same end but further down, away from road and houses (good). However, I'm beating Friday, Saturday, Sunday is Xmas, then beating again. Can't shoot this field on Xmas, too near too many houses, so Today is the Day (Don't want to be accused of slacking on the job!) Arrived early and there's fog on the middle and lower parts of the field but "my end" is only misty. Could be good, BUT they have learnt from last week. Birds are either flying right over my pattern and dropping through the fog onto mid-field or having a look from a long way out then seeking refuge in a tree (any tree of several but which do you choose to sit near?) A shot puts them up from the middle and some come my way, I get 1 from 2 shots. Nobby No Mates drops in, I miss him. After a while it's clear that my position is hopeless, they want to be in the middle and won't change their minds this time. They have learnt something so it's time for Plan B!! I move a reduced set of kit several hundred yards and set up by the only tiny bit of cover out there. It means I have to have the cover behind me, that's where the road and houses are, but it's also where most birds come from so I can't see them coming. There is no wind. Still, that's all I can do. Birds do decoy, over from behind me then flare away at the last minute, but I do Ok and get several. Then the fog clears and the sun comes out. Now, I can't see behind me because of the cover, to the right is fully into the sun and to birds coming from the left my tiny hide is illuminated like a lightbulb. I try to get up my own b***side to hide and get a few more birds down. THEN, the sun moves round a bit, I'm no longer a lightbulb (or blinded) AND the breeze gets up, from behind me!! Perfect!! The birds come from behind, over the top, right shoulder or left shoulder and swing into the decoys!! The odds are now well in my favour and my confidence returns, as I have an idea of what is happening. They are only 25-30 yards out and I start to FOLD them up 12+ doubles and I pick up 56, plus 4 over the river and a few lost in the crop, for 80 shots!! 3 of them were scarers! Magic!! Not all honey, I did kill one decoy when blasting a low bird swooping through the pattern and I did half fall into the river when getting a wounded bird out - but who cares??!! I was only half soaked and only filled 2 size 12 boots! I'll give it a couple of weeks and see what happens........

As we all know, there seems to be a pigeon drought in many areas, especially where the OSR has been pulled up. I have been beating as much as I can to save up enough cash for a couple of paid game days and hopefully I will get some beaters days, as I feared that was the only shooting I would get this winter. Then I found a field of rape and by watching it on my way to beaters duties, have seen the birds build in numbers and confidence. Today was "The Day", no shoot to go to so I was there at dawn. Problems: road/houses in 1 direction, no wind to help, paddock with BIG BULL behind and illegal dog-walkers. I set up where it is safe to shoot but that's on top of a smelly ditch and so my right foot doesn't have good a footing. The birds want to land in the middle of the field but the magnet does the job and small groups of birds head in whilst I'm still building the hide on the ditch top. 3 groups and each time I get 1 when a double would have been possible if I was ready. Then they start to really commit, from way up, folded wings, straight in at speed. BUT, as they get to the extreme of my "comfort zone", say 25-35 yards out, they tend to flare off, usually in front of the houses or road, OR they drop straight into the crop and are lost to sight, OR they panic and overshoot straight at me. All this happens at some considerable speed and throws me completely, not knowing what to expect so my confidence evaporates. I shoot too early, too late, too low etc. I miss sitters, I double-miss "routine" kills and I get feathers out of loads of them. It's not clay shooting, a chip doesn't mean a kill. However, I must be a "glass-half-empty" man because when I have a count up, I pick 54, plus 2 lost far out in the crop, 2 in the bramble/hawtorn hedge, 1 in the bull paddock. (not going in there), plus 1 I blew to bits (2nd barrel 3/4 choke at 10 yards or less) for 109 shots. Not so bad bit I still know that 30-odd of the misses were poor shooting. Never mind, my best day in winter rape for years!! Trouble is I have educated too many birds, will it work again in a week or so or have they taken notice of my fumbling efforts???

It's only confidence JD, when I get stressed (as I did today) and start to think about it, I shoot too low, so that I can still see the bird rather than swinging through it. Just blast them!!

I'm going tomorrow, with 100 mates!!

I know for a fact that they don't like radio controlled planes... Spoilt a good day for me once. The legal position isn't clear. If it has a range of over 500 yards, don't you need some sort of "pilot's licence!! Away the Toon!!

I'm hoping Cat! Not much beechmast round here, some acorns and also, unusually, some stubbles. But no birds on them. Some on acorns, a few scattered about on growing wheat (grit? weeds// or regrowth??) but generally NO birds. Lots of fields that appear to be recent drillings but only a handfull on them. Generally NO birds. I found 1 busy field but can't shoot it -typical Cheers, Kitch

Same here, almost NO rape in my patch except for one farm which could irrigate. It looks normal and lush to me. Will they all move on or will this farm become a pigeon-magnet??

Hi JD, I'm having the same problem here in Canada when after geese. Because of the law regarding steel shot, we are advised to use BB's. Lighter pellets won't do the job. Then 1 1/4 oz of BB's gives me only 90 pellets. Then, I am told that I can't use more than 1/2 choke with steel pellets. At 40 yards, which isn't a long way to hit a great big goose, the pattern is supposed to be 40 inch diameter or 1250 square inches. Not enough pellet density to ensure a clean kill. Where do I go from here? - don't say "get nearer" the trees they are flying over ( with some clearance) are 100 ft high so unless you are directly under the flight path you are at 40+yards. What do you UK wildfowlers do, the mathmatics will be the same? Go to Scotland and use No2 lead over farms land?

Wow JD, you are much younger than your wisdom would suggest.....

Either cook them quick and hot (still pink in the middle - my favourite for breasts) or looooooong and slooooooow in a tin plus lid with wine (for the whole bird). In between they are like leather, when done right they are great, sort of like beef.

Sometimes I have found that a rough cultivation can help. My guess is that the combines with a chaff cutter at the end tend to cover any spilt grain with chaff, making it inaccessable to pigeons as they can't/don't scratch like chickens do. A few tines pulled through turns it over a bit and can reveal grain. (Maybe??!!)

I bet you can't get a Border to retrieve, Bounder is unique. (I've had 2 in my time!!)

One year a "Pick-Your-Own" type place grew sunflowers and failed to harvest them. Pigeons all over them! Right next to the A10, no shooting. Next year, more or less the same thing but NO interest from pigeons. Beats me!!

Better seed drills don't help. Nowadays, when I see a newly drilled field, it is usually very difficult to find out what has been drilled, I don't like digging 3-4 inch holes in the ground in case the farmer doesn't understand! Perhaps, in the "good old days", pigeons feasting on surface peas just naturally graduated to chitting peas, then flowering peas as the available food source at their favorite field changed. Now, they have no reason to favour that field (in fact have never visited it) and have made other arrangements???

Just the thought of shooting a .22LR upwards scares the life out of me!! Do you have 1 mile clear all round? Of course there are .22 shorts and "quiet" subsonic (710 ft/sec) rounds available which would reduce the problem but I have found that if something CAN go wrong, eventually it will!! Take care Gents!!

For once I agree with Motty!!

Try using that hide in my part of Essex, but take a good book to read!!

I fear so....

I sometimes wear a gillie suit jacket when roost shooting as it breaks up your outline a bit. Even when I'm standing in a big bramble bush they can spot you and, as you say, movement is the big give-away. At least in a wood you can see birds coming a good way away and raise the gun in the right general direction ready for them but in the open in a field I think is a bit optimistic!

If they can eat acorns in large numbers they should be able to eat these, but will they WANT to?? I have no idea, let us know....

My Essex birds are NOT thick, in either sense of the word! There are not a huge number about in my area but those that are are much smarter than I am and outwit me on most of my outings. (Goes to show how a university education doesn't automatically bring success in the "real world"!). In my defence, I only shoot over winter rape.....

Tough luck!!!

Wow!! That's about 70p each!!! Which pub is this??