[Cuckoo in the bluebell woods]

Summers here, heard my first Cuckoo tonight..... forcast for weekend in Kent is 24 deg, bring it on

 

D2D

Blue bell wood....................

 

Is that any where near colchester by any chance................... Remember a wood called that when my old man was stationed down there and I was a nipper...............

 

 

LOL no my friend its just a wood with the floor covered in Bluebells, do you not have them up your way?

 

D2D

[Cuckoo in the bluebell woods]

Summers here, heard my first Cuckoo tonight..... forcast for weekend in Kent is 24 deg, bring it on

 

D2D

[how far?]

If you want to try patterns, then use a large piece of plain paper/card, or a pattern plate.

Dead silver birches will tell you very little.

Also try different loads and shot sizes, you may be surprised at the difference.

 

On a bird flying straight at me, I would come up behind it and want to see some sky between the barrel and head before I pulled the trigger.

How much sky depends on how fast it is flying.

 

 

If you get a crossing bird try saying "bum belly beak bang" as you swing through the birds tail feathers(bum) giving a lead and pull when you have said bang, its not as daft as it sounds.

 

D2D

[Quickest way of despatch...... Pigeon]

Wish every Pigeon I shot just dropped from the sky stone dead, but things don't always happen like that. Any that fall into my pattern and start walking I shoot again, but what about the ones that drop close to your hide and to near to shoot again. Have taken quite a few people shooting and they all seem to have a preferred method of despatching live birds, some good and some not so good. Just looking for your views and opinions on the above...

 

 

Marlin, I did six years picking up on a titled estate where royalty often shot, we pickers up were not allowed to despatch wounded game by any other method than a priest due to heads coming off etc and it not looking too good to the squemish, although I have seen our first lady knock seven bells out of a Pheasant with the butt end of a thumbstick.

I still carry a small priest and find it works well usually one blow and job done.

 

D2D

[Pigeon recon]

Flightlines are the most important thing, because they rarely vary.

Feed/visiting times can change, depending on the crops and time of year.

Most fields have at least one hotspot (can vary with weather and wind direction), finding these can really help the success of your shooting.

Often they are in the lea of hedgerows/tree lines, but on fields disturbed by road traffic etc., they can be right in the middle.

 

 

Spot on, Roadkill you coudnt buy advice like that,this is the forum working at its best

 

D2D

[New member]

Just joined so wanted to say hi & looking forward to joining in the forum talk.

 

Based in Oxfordshire & shoot over our local farm & in a small syndicate during the season.

 

Shoot a Beretta 687 Silver Pigeon II, a Webley & Scott Camo Wildfowler Semi Auto & a Silver Sable Deluxe SBS when I come over all traditional!!

 

Have a 2 year Lab/Collie cross called Holly or more frequently “come here you bl**dy mutt & put that rabbit downâ€.

 

Distinct lack of Pigeon round here again, might be something to do with Mr B's clients shooting over the next door farm!!!! :(

 

Regards

 

Chris

 

 

Hi Chris, welcome to the source of all knowledge, you ask the question and someones done it or got it

Nice to see you have given some details about yourself on your profile.

 

 

D2D

[decoy placement]

Cheers D2D, what you've said makes a lot of sense - and probably explains why I hit more with 1/4 or imp cyl chokes.

 

I'm now starting to think however, I'm better off sticking to having a wander for now. All the land I've got to shoot over is; one big field of what I think's corn or similar (about 5" high) one that I'd say is ordinary grass and a huge field of rape (which is shoulder high (5')) which the pigeons obviously aren't bothering with at the moment, think I'll have to wait until they're taken in. I know from past experience the pigeons go mad on the corn and rape once it's harvested - I was waiting for my s/g liscence last time round!

 

Anyone know of a list anywhere of roughly when different crops get harvested? would be very useful

 

Thanks again for the advise, I'll put it all to good use as soon as I can and hopefuly I'll have more relevant gear by then

 

Hi FW

 

Get yourself an ELY pocket diary and start recording what you are doing and seeing each week, then next season it will provide you with invaluable reminders and save you alot of guesswork,also noting what crop has been planted and when it can provide shooting.

 

My diaries go back to the times of Noah

 

D2D

[SCOPE FOR SALE]

PECAR 4x81 "light", superb low light scope, collectable yet practical made in Berlin at least 40 years ago,

all metal with quality German optics.

Looking for £80.

 

D2D

And does it come with mounts

G.M.

 

Hi Graham,

As you ask yes,

The last 3 Pecar scopes like this one I tracked on flebay went for circa £95.

 

D2D

[BINOCULARS]

what is a good pair of bins to get for out in the field observing flight patterns

 

 

Hi roadkill,

 

I have bought several pairs(to leave in different vehicles) off fleabay, that have cost at most £8 and are rubber encased ,small pocket sized 8x40, 12x30 camo even.

They didnt cost the earth and do the job very well.

If I damage or lose a pair its not the end of the world is it? Why pay a fortune?

 

D2D

[Rainbow trout]

I haven't caught that many brownies but it looks a good deal smaller than 3-4lbs to me, unless that is a mutant strain of monster moss

 

 

Thats cause he,s caught it using a bowline from the QE2 as a flyline

Seriously I would have returned the little fellow.

 

D2D

[SCOPE MOUNTS]

Thanks chaps thats what I was thinking, spoke to my dealer this morning and he said bring the rifle and scope in,new mounts £18 fitted and sighted, pleased with that....

 

D2D

[PHEASANTS ORDERED]

I have just ordered my pheasants for my shoot at home on the farm for this year. I have ordered 200 pheasants and looking to dig a pond out and order 50 duck but still a bit of work to plan and do before ordering them(getting the JCB in and fencing it off).

 

 

The wood that these birds will be released in is great for woodcock so i don't want to put to many birds down in the first year and over do it and maybe put off the woodcock ,it will also be a test to see where the pheasant go and prefer to be.

 

As Don and Rob will tell you ( as they joined me on a day there last season) the wood is on a steep bank and will produce some really high pheasants and on a windy day fast ones too.

 

I will keep you all up to date how things are going and maybe a few pics too.

 

Heres a few pics of the wood

[

 

/quote]

 

 

 

Hi from the pics it looks a tad barren for holding birds, have you any plans for a few feed strips leading into the wood or blocks to shoot back to it?

This is probably there but not shown in pics, Good luck with the duck project.

 

D2D

[Flip up scope covers]

I'm thinking of getting some Butler Creek (unless you guys have better ideas?) scope covers to go on my Leupold VX1 3-9x40. Trouble is, I don't have an accurate way to measure the dimensions of the scope! Do any of you have a VX1 you could measure so I know what size to order? Any help would be great on this!

 

 

Hi njc,

Would your local dealer not have a selection for you to try in the shop?

Mail order could prove to be expensive if you got it wrong.

 

D2D

[SCOPE MOUNTS]

Trying to fit a new Simmonds scope to my Anshutz 525 and have found that the tube is a mil or two smaller than the mounts, what is the best packing material or should I get different mounts? Thanks.

 

D2D

[For you real tree gun cammo fans]

how to devalue your gun in one easy step

 

looks cheap and horrible

 

sorry but had to say it :blink:

 

kirky

 

 

Sorry Lancs Lad but I have to agree with Kirky, it doesnt look right.

 

D2D

[SCOPE FOR SALE]

PECAR 4x81 "light", superb low light scope, collectable yet practical made in Berlin at least 40 years ago,

all metal with quality German optics.

Looking for £80.

 

D2D

[Does barrel length increase pattern density??]

What's swing got to do with it, are we talking golf here..??

 

As Pin says, it's all down to the amount of choke you have in the barrel, the length of that barrel doesn't matter.

 

Cat.

Not sure about the swing thing! I just assumed having a slightly longer barrel would prevent the shot spreading ealier, therefor increasing pattern density!

 

 

Ask Al Capone about pattern density and short barrels, he had the answers

 

D2D

[decoy placement]

a couple of the neighboring fields to the land I shoot have been ploughed in the last couple of days and there's more pigeons about than any time I've ever seen!!

 

Now, I've only just started looking into pigeon shooting this way (normally just have a walk and see what I can see) and I've not got a great deal of kit yet but bear with me and help as much as you can please.

 

I don't really need to do any recon as I'm there most days (out of work at the mo).

 

so, here's what I've got for a start; 12 decoys (shells), a mass of pigeon, a 12bore and I know mostly where the flight lines are.

 

I can normaly hide myself quite well in a hedge or whatever, but where the pigeons are at the moment I can't get close enough for a shot. So, I want to see if I can use what I've got to get a result tomorow.

 

The best place I can put myself is in the field next to where they're feeding. The wind'll be in my face if I do that, which may hide me better because they'll be coming from behind me and the other side of the hedge. Though, I'll not get much warning

 

How far apart (roughly) should I space my decoys? and how far from where I am. I've tried a few times and not done too bad - they'll come in on the deeks but just before they drop in they seem to realise something's not right and off they go again, which would be fine but I never seem to react quick enough to hit them. Any suggestions?

 

Any help would be much apreciated. Richard

 

 

Hi Fieldwanderer,

What Cranfield has said is good advice I would add that it is important to place the decoys out at least 50 good paces, part of your not hitting many birds might be down to having the pattern too close to your hide, if the activity is 30-40 yds away it gives your shot pattern time to develop, alot of newcomers attempt to shoot at birds that are too close with the effect of a full or very tight choke leading to a miss unless the bird is almost stationary in the wind landing, hope this helps.

 

D2D

[bipods]

where is the best place to get a bipod for .22 rifle.

 

 

Harris but a swivel definately, make sure you get the right height and you cant go wrong.

 

D2D

[what whistle???]

hello there what whistle do i need for when i begin training my dog either of these models 210, 210.5, 211.5

 

 

Hi mosa, depending on what you intend to do with your dog, get one that is as different as possible but whichever one you decide on, buy two and keep the spare safe.

If you are entering working tests or just shooting on your own then no problem but if you are picking up on a shoot with other handlers then a different whistle tone comes into its own, I have seen dogs confused by the same whistle being used by handlers working on a drive.

Personally I like a different tone for a stop whistle but not those awful Thunderers with the pea, much favoured by owners of wayward Springers disappearing into the next parish

 

D2D

[e mails]

can anybody help me before i explode..... from the day i joined pigeon watch i have been bombarded with e mails from other members advertising stuff for sale [just deleted a further 93]. how do i stop this ?. i am sure their must be a simple way..........

 

 

 

There must be some confusion here, I dont think any of us has the time or inclination to "bombard" each new member with any unsolicited emails, I certainly have never had any but then again I am the original billy no mates

 

D2D

[disgraceful]

just seen this in the local free paper named "oxford journal". this does nothing in helping our sport, read below

 

 

cheers james

 

 

As much as would never condone the dumping in public view of any shot species, fur or feather, I have frequently shot good bags of pigeon and rabbit as crop protection, I am always very pleased to be able to give to anyone who wants it but there comes a time when the numbers or supply outstrips demand and they end up in the farm "hole", up until very recently I had not considered it worthwhile stockpiling pigeon in the freezer to await the dealer but now I have retired the cash would be useful to offset the costs,running a landrover, licences, cartridges etc.

I fully support the view that you eat what you shoot but when its a case of vermin control it becomes more of a job than sport.

 

D2D

[Wanted webley mk3 underleaver air rifle .22]

Hi, has anyone got a .22 Webley mk3 underleaver for sale, I had one as a boy and would like another.

 

This is what happens when you get older you want your toys back

 

 

good: D2D

[Wanted - basic recoil pad]

Picked up a cheap 20bore side by side last night for a rough gun and for my wife to use. The reason it was cheap is that it has no pad on the end of the stock. Anyone got a cheap one kicking around? The gun is small, and the stock end is about 4"x1.5". I don't mind cutting/grinding/sanding to fit.

 

 

Hi you could buy a rubber slip over recoil pad and do two jobs at once if the wife is using it , may prevent any possibility of bruising, just a thought

 

D2D

[My First Qaurry]

This is a double post as I have posted on another forum. But, I am so excited I had to share it with you.

 

Well,

 

its been a long time comming, some 6 months after i picked up both an Air rifle and then Shotgun, but, the last week I have been watching the local Pigeons hanging around the garden and landing in the trees. I felt that I was not ready to shoot living being, even vermin until I was sure of a one shot kill.

 

I am fortunate because our house back onto a feild that was once an orchard. All kinds of things in their vermin wise (apart from rats), even non vermin such a Pheasants and Duck.

 

So, tonight was the night. 2 Big fat Woodies feeding on some peperami I had left on the front lawn. I watched them for about 3 minutes trying to get a good view of the side of thier head, but that view did not present itself, then they flew into the trees. Perfect, they felt safe and tending not to bob their heads around. I choose the one with the best looking shot and fired. Nothing, left the safety on

 

I took the safety off and waited for it to present its head side on to me. I fired. The distance was about 10 - 12 Metres, from my upstairs bathroom window. As the pellet reached the bird it must have turned its head. It made a sudden noise, flapped once, and dropped to the floor. It did not move. The post mortem revealed that the pellet went in the back of its neck. I dont think it came out.

 

Aero, who is my Springer shooting partner in training was then presented with his first real bird. I threw it for him in the garden. I guess it took 4 attempts and a bit of coaxing, he then picked it up, took it indoors. I called him, gave him the command to sit, and he dropped it in front of me. I have never seen him so excited.

 

I have thrown the Pigeon into the feild. The foxes will eat well tonight.

 

I thought I would share this with you. I am well chuffed. And so is Aero.

 

 

Hi, nice to hear your joining us as a shooter, I would advise you to be very carefull with your young springer it is not a good idea to introduce him to retrieving with loose feathered birds like woodpigeon as some dogs are awkward at first picking up and can be put off by a mouthfull of breast feathers which can stick in the throat and cause problems, best to put the bird in a ladies popsock to contain the feathers for the first few days until he is used to picking them up.

 

D2D