kitchrat

They are on the rape round here but not with any conviction and not reliable. On one field today, another farm tomorrow. They are not really hungry, when the flock does hit a field, they often only stay for 10 minutes, then off, never to be seen again. Those I roost-shot, some were stuffed with rape, some a mix of rape/berries but most had empty crops, even though it was the end of the day. Roll on cold weather?

Well, the jury is still out on this one! I arrived in good time, only a couple in the wood and found myself a good spot in a bramble bush so |I had good cover and a better window than last time. However, in spite of identical (very windy) weather the birds had learned something: a) noticeably less showed up and b) they avoided the better sheltered trees (where I had shot at them a few days earlier) and dropped in from a height into the centre of the 30-acre wood. One gave me a perfect shot and the 1/4 choke did get it down. I had to move deeper into the wood, found a good window but I was less well hidden and things got really tricky, birds swirling away at a great height before I could get a shot off. Missed a few! Reverted to my 1/2 choke and the 32gm No5's and things got better, ended with 7 for not too many shots. I suspect the improvement in average was due to the better window more than anything else. Still great fun! I'll let them build up again for a few weeks and try again!

OK, maybe I have been going the wrong way, with 32gm No5 shot and the tighter chokes, because I was afraid of having to shoot at some considerable range and often through some light twigs etc. Maybe I had too tight a pattern. I'll try my normal 32gm No6s, with 1/4 and half choke tonight. Nice and windy in the forecast! Cheers!

Similar story to JDog's, on Xmas eve. Super windy, wood busy with pigeons, fresh from local rape fields. Very tall beech trees, (30M?) but some firs to shelter birds lower down, on the less windy side - PERFECT? BUT, they are still very cautious, swirling about in the turbulence above the trees, not committing to landing and I have a very small sight window. Beaten hands down, shot a dozen, with a few lost but for maybe 45 shots. Reflexes too slow, body too stiff etc, but great fun trying!! Going again Thursday, with lots of ammo! PS: What choke do you chaps use? I had 1/2 and 3/4 because they seem a long way away, have I overdone it?? Cheers and Happy New Year!

The buckwheat plants are dying/dead but the rape is ready to eat! I'll be ready too!

That's quite small to me and yes it's the stuff I found in the crops. On another occasion, the seeds were much more like small wheat seeds, which put me in the right direction. My contacts from Agrii and farmers fresh out of collage assure me these are just different varieties. Cheers, Kitchrat Now, the question remains, will the buckwheat actually attract pigeons to the field, where they will continue to eat the crop once the seed has been consumed?

Further to my earlier posting, it's been confirmed as buckwheat, which explains why they have "started on the rape" so early this year and also why they are "helicoptering" down into the still-flourishing crop, as they do when on wheat, rather than gliding into the the wheel marks. My farmers are, initially, happy with this, thinking it is diverting the pigeons from their rape, but then realize it is just getting them into the habit of feeding in that location and worse things are yet to come. Just to be the devil's advocate, can I legally shoot them (the pigeons!) when they are not actually feeding on a crop of value? (tongue in cheek) Cheers!!

All I can say is "all the breast PC", cheers!

I am now told by reliable farmers/agronomists that it was buckwheat, a companion crop sown with rape because it fixes phosphorus.

Fri/Sat am, I saw pigeons showing interest in a rape field, so Sunday I'm there. The weather had changed, dull with no wind and there was very little traffic to/fro the wood behind. A few decoyed however and at the end of the morning I picked up 20. However, none had rape onboard but 3 had crops full of little black seeds. Too small to get a good photo of but smaller than a grape pip, similar shape but not so rounded, very dark. (These birds may have been passing to rest in the wood, not decoying) Any ideas?

Thanks for this, worth considering as shooting from the "wrong" shoulder sounds tricky to me, Cheers!

Well done JD! I have a similar project for a (not-so-young, 40's) farmer who has never shot. The problem is that he is left-handed but right-eye-dominant. I know you CAN get swan-necked stocks but usually the other way. Should I get him to learn to shoot right handed or blind him (sorry I mean put a patch on) his right eye and go leftie? Cheers

Sorry chaps, thought my profile showed it. I'm near Braintree, in Essex. NB They were mainly young stupid birds, although I had seen them on the rape I suspect some of them would have decoyed into Tesco carpark. Easier setup!!

Friday I saw a couple of 100 on rape, on a farm that was mullered last year. They were a bit up and down but worth a try on Sunday (beating/shooting on Saturday) I made 2 mistakes! 1 -huge)Set up in drizzle, so took no sun glasses. Sun came out 100%, full in face, with the swirling wind made it V challenging 2) took less than 100 cartridges from the truck -long walk. Difficult shooting into the sun and with them swirling in the brisk wind (turbulence from the hedge I was using as cover?) meant I had only hit perhaps 45 as I ran out of ammo. Luckily my pal came to join me, with ammo and we shot a load more. Picked up 75, with those we lost in the crop, must have killed nearly 100. 6 weeks earlier than they hit this farm last year but no acorns about. Or is that they were "imprinted" or taught to use this farm by their parents? - most birds killed were young and stupid. Decoyed well.

Yes, I thought I saw some have a little nosh the other day, way earlier than last year. It seems to be a no-acorn year round here (and very few beech trees) but plenty of berries.The rape looks strong in general but some areas have suffered Flea Beetle damage and might be vulnerable to attack early on. I keep hoping...

Yes MM, the boot can be on the other foot. I had quite a good winter on the pigeons, although they were hard to decoy, including a 109 day, last year. However, on the few driven days I went on I was abysmal! This in spite of having done a good number of driven days in earlier years, and scored well. I don't know if I couldn't get the speed right or treated them as too easy but I missed more than I hit, including some easy cocks on a beaters day. In fact, I did better on the hardest ones so maybe I was too casual. Need to do better this year!

Yes, I agree, most drillings these day leave little for the poor old pigeons! Same at harvest, the modern, short-straw varieties don't get blown down the same and the combines are good at picking it up and process the reduced volume very well. With the straw not being laid, the combine can cut higher, leaving tall stubble which interferes with landing areas, as well as making the machine more efficient by reducing volume. The final straw (pun intended!), I suspect, is the chaff cutters. This drops a layer of chaff over what seed, if any, is left on the ground or passes through the combine (falling to earth faster of course) and then, pigeons can't/won't scratch it off. There is sometimes the exception to these "rules", my 109 on badly drilled barley last month being an example. Even then, it was all over in a day, I just got it right for once! As for maize, all the cover crops of maize failed round here this season but even last year, with good maize, the corvids stripped the cobs during game season, so we had no sport. What happens about this biofuel? Don't they just harvest the whole crop, as if it were for cattle-feed,leaving no hope of cobs on the ground? Then, of course, pigeons can't open whole cobs and the corvids will get it. Much better when it's smashed up after being game cover, (in my dreams!)

There but for the grace of God go most of us Old Uns! I hope your recovery continues, unabated! Cheers

Thank you for your support. As it happens, since the end of the game season, when beating gets in the way, I have been out after pigeons over 30 times (decoying and roosting) , plus numerous reconnaissance trips, for an average bag of about 15. That includes my blow-out day of 109. So I think I'm doing my bit of crop protection!! Cheers

No need to be a bit critical, it kept them off the field for that day and the 40 in my freezer never came back. No point in sitting in a hide looking at the sky for another 6 hours in the hope of an odd pigeon. I too am an "Old Un" and suffer if I'm immobile too long! Cheers in Sport!!

I'm sure there are a few times when more is better but the effort of carrying 100 dead birds 150 yards plus makes my legs go weak. Plastics don't have the same effect. These pros that can drive up in huge trucks full of bodies etc live in a different world and can almost control the farms. Other points, round here they are VERY fussy about dead birds, either put them on cocktail sticks or get them in, every 4 or 5 kills. Again, round here, the incomers seem to have decided where they are going before they arrive, ie from their distant vantage points. They just "flock-stream" after the group in front so the number of decoys in your spread makes no difference - the die is cast. You might attract the 1st group but when you shoot at them the chain is broken and it's back to square 1. "Years ago an old boy said to me, shoot much before 10am and you will be home by midday, never a truer word said." Yes but you might have 40 in the bag in time for a late breakfast and cup of coffee! (as I did last week)

Well that's a theory, but I find the reverse, in the mornings they dribble in, then flock up and all "flock off" together! If you can stop them flocking up, you have a 2nd chance in the pm. I hate big flocks, you never know whether to shoot or not, if you do, then I'm all confused by the numbers! The one I pick always flares away early, then you are in a panic!! But if you leave them, they all go off to the other end of the field and frustrate you!!

11.30?? I hit my field today at 7.00 and they were already arriving en-mass! Yes, you have to give them room to land. When I had my magic 109 the other week, after I had about 35 decoys out, I was hiding them out of sight.

We all hope for a bit of wind. Yesterday I was flagged down by a farmer who asked me to cover a couple of fields of rape, which were getting hammered. About 100 acres, deep (6 inches-water-filled) ditch up the middle and an ash tree down near the road at the bottom. No other cover. Got there 7.00am, loads arriving so I set up my windy weather kit. A dozen silly socks, 2 dozen spring-loaded shells and 2 floaters. Plenty of movement in the pattern. Too windy for a magnet or a hide, so I take cover behind the ash tree, in the ditch. A few birds take a look but pull out early, they don't like the decoys but more likely, do like to follow the 100 other birds heading to the centre of the field where the best crop is. I fire shots to move them about, creep up the ditch to mid-field but cannot get to grips with them, always somewhere else. A few little groups speed over me, going downwind at Mach 2. Too fast for them to take evasive action. I try to shoot them coming in and get blown over by the wind as I mount the gun. I try to shoot them going away downwind but I swear the shot cannot catch up! Get them off the field at last and go back to my tree. The wind has blown everything I own into the ditch, hat, gun slip, peg bag, rucksack all in the water. Pull them out and wait half an hour and the whole scene repeats itself. I use most of a box of ammo keeping them moving and actually get 2 lucky hits and go home. Cannot open the truck door because of the wind, have to get in the other side. What a difference to a few weeks ago!! Arrows show wind direction, 60mph! Cheers!

All fat and healthy, not really hungry which is partly why you can't predict them, I guess. The next day was no better, either, shot 5 out of a large flock on a huge field of rape.