kitchrat

I am always concerned that dead birds crashing into a really dry swarth will dislodge so much seed as to enrage a farmer, therefore I do not shoot over swarths. I'm not good enough to be able to park dead birds accurately enough to miss the rows, the rows are too close.

Great job and a great price at 30p each too!!! I'm jealous of both!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can get a few on the weeds between the spuds, likewise sugar beet.

Seems to be all short-straw stuff in my area, laid crops, either barley or wheat seem to be a thing of the past. They do hit wheat, dropping off wires and "helicoptering" down into the wheel tracks, grabbing a stalk on the way down. When that's eaten they helicopter up and down and grab another. Flappers on a timer can mimic this and you can get a few but the biggest draw to any one place seems to be birds on wires. I have yet to try putting lofted decoys on wires.....!!

Sorry, stupid me, must be going blind - explains the misses!! or blame my browser for being dodgy!!

Don't forget the STOCK DOVE! Isn't that the one we have the most problems with??? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_dove The ROCK dove is usually found near the coast (100 miles for me!): No cliffs either! The rock dove has a restricted natural resident range in western and southern Europe, North Africa, and into South Asia. The rock dove is often found in pairs in the breeding season but is usually gregarious.[4] The species (including ferals) has a large range, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 10,000,000 km2 (3,900,000 sq mi). It has a large global population, including an estimated 17–28 million individuals in Europe.[1] Fossil evidence suggests the rock dove originated in southern Asia and skeletal remains unearthed in Israel confirm their existence there for at least three hundred thousand years.[5] However, this species has such a long history with humans that it is impossible to tell exactly where the species' original range was.[6] Its habitat is natural cliffs, usually on coasts Cheers, KR

I've had this with peas, once they are podding but it was only a "be careful not to shoot into the crop" request, which seems very fair.

If you only saw 4 birds all afternoon, they must have been elsewhere! However, to find where that is and get permission is difficult, them they move off again!! But that's the challenge, isn't it? Otherwise we'd all shoot clays, which you can predict.

I thought the plastic cup was to stop the steel shot touching and perhaps wearing out the bore of the barrel. So fibre wads with steel shot wouldn't make sense unless the landowner requires fibre and the law requires non-toxic. Then you have to go to bismuth or the like at £2+ a pop!! Nothing that money can't fix!!

IF the plastic cup holds the shot pattern tighter for longer, you can always use a tighter choke if you think you need to.....

Agreed, the sun should make the white wing and neck markings more visible, I'm told UV is important.

Sounds like heaven to me, I have had some success hiding behind a power pole but a hide in the middle equals drought!!

Sounds great but if they have you sussed and keep miles away, it's no good.

WOW!! That is weird but it happens to me sometimes. too!!!

Once again, it seems to depend on the part of the country and how much the pigeons are shot. My patch is heavily shot and a hide in the middle is a waste of time, 99% of the time. It seems that in certain parts of East Anglia it's no problem, so Motty says.

Spoil sport!!

Then they'll be easy to decoy is they are townies!

Good day, well done! My comments on the comments- JDog is dead right (again!) as to why birds were on the next field. In my area banger ropes don't work, they lift off and land again 50 yards along the field, Bakerboys idea of the tapes is something I use with better results than bangers or flags. Bit of a pain clearing them up though. Cheers, JK

Can't add much to Ditchmans reply, but I also always find that thinking is a bad thing when shooting!!

Is it lack of pigeon numbers or changing pigeon habits that have reduced your bag? I'm finding the same and usually put it down to a combination of the above but this year there were lots of birds, which refused to play the game and get shot. I finally got past 300 for the November- February period but only with the help of a couple of good days on chopped maize. Sure they were feeding on rape but it was like trying to pick up mercury with chop-sticks!!

My "magic trick" is to go out and adjust the pattern, if wearing camo they land straight in. Having a gun with you ruins the effect....

I can't reload my SxS quickly enough to get a treble!!

I have trouble with all sorts of wildlife in the garden out here- The wild turkeys eat Mrs Kitchrat's bird food but are out of season until next week, at which time they will have left, Deer eat Mrs Kitchrat's plants but are out of season and I don't have a .243 or the inclination to eat them, the black bears eat the grapes and apples, but shout at them and they run off, the cougars ate next doors cat, the woodpeckers eat the window frames, the elk eat the apple trees,and, finally, the mountain hare ate Mrs Kitchrat's plants, but he WAS in season and he DID eat well. NO pigeons at all, except clay ones..... Tough life but I'll be back in the winter.....

Like it Motty!!

Send Bounder, he'll get it!!