JDog

Then you do not have a problem.

You could be right about the swinging stopping. The difficult birds, the ones coming back down the flight line from behind me (I was in a bale hide) 40m up or wide of me I connected with, the ones coming straight into the pattern I often missed.

I have had a fair amount of shooting over the last few weeks ever since the first cereal crops were harvested. One would have thought that with so much practice my shooting would be spot on but infact I feel as if I am beginning to shoot poorly. I am never one for cartridge averages as I shoot at anything within range whether it decoys or not but this afternoon I just could not connect with relatively easy birds. Does this mean that because I have had plenty of shooting I am becoming complacent? Have others had a similar experience?

I have only been on the forum for two months but I have noted your considered views, gathered from experience in the field and other places, with great interest and it is a shame that you are leaving. Have I missed the reason ie the posts and adverse comments for your decision somewhere?

You may be lucky and find that the pigeons find the rape in the winter and you may get some shooting but I wouldn't get too excited until the rape is harvested.

An inconclusive report As promised a blow by blow report! I was set up by 1:30 and there were no birds flighting anywhere for an hour so my 'magnet or no magnet' experiment was null and void. By 2:30 birds were flighting but few came into the decoy pattern, choosing to skirt it presenting 35-40m shots. I had ten in the next hour. At 3:30 I put the magnet out, actually outside the pattern. The pigeons did the same skirting the pattern thing but some did come in and there were more flighting and in the next hour I shot eighteen. Needless to say an inconclusive excercise but isn't that what pigeon shooting is all about? If we knew how to decoy them close in to a decoy pattern every time it wouldn't be as much fun. It is the 'not knowing' and the anticipation which I enjoy.

I believe that I have become too reliant on the magnet, but I must confess it has usually worked in bringing pigeons into the pattern where I want them. This afternoon I will be going out onto a wheat stubble where there are several flight lines crossing the field but only birds on two of them ever descend into the field to feed. The other flight line is very complicated and the pigeons end up travelling almost 1km to feed on a barley stubble. As an experiment I will not be putting out the rotary when I set up but I may resort to it if I cannot get birds to decoy as I want them to. I will report later.

But were there any pigeons flying around when you had your initial pattern out? I suspect not. Time of day is important and the birds may have just started flighting to feed when you coincidentally changed the pattern.

The earliest I have ever seen Fieldfares was in the first week in October and on the same day I saw Swallows and a Red Admiral butterfly. An unusual combination.

Well just for a second or two I do let go of the gun but I can manage my equipment with one hand thank you.

Not one even to contemplate. I know that when I am about to die I will never regret the amount of shooting I have had. At the moment I am out four days a week, some good some bad in terms of the bag but all enjoyable.

If the birds are coming in thick and fast of course I take a leak in the hide, why wouldn't I?

I never let my gun out of my hands whilst I am in the hide. I sit with it across my thighs with my hands on the semi pistol grip ready for action.

I am not sure about the importance of incoming pigeons seeing wing bars although that is what I see when viewing through binoculars at birds going in to land. What I am sure about is the importance of incomers seeing heads and necks of birds on the ground, particularly the white collar and especially in stubble.

You could call that excellent mixed bag a 'McArchie'.

It looks like second growth or volunteer barley to me. At this time of year when pigeons have been feeding on hard grain they often look for something green with a high moisture content (like clover) to balance their diet.

I am sure that none of you have been waiting with bated breath for JDog to be turned the right way up. However here it is.

They were real live pigeons, so taken by my hide and my decoy set up, me wandering around with the camera and my dogs that they came and landed on the bales to get a better look! Seriously you have a point about the pigeons, but I did the same thing with crows on three bales behing me and that did seem to bring other blackies in with confidence.

Oh and apologies about the orientation and size of the picture. I do have very few skills in life generally and even less when it comes to this sort of thing. Perhaps someone would be kind enough to put it right?

Sorry but I forgot to say well done for your first grouse.

Out today with my 'normal' gun on barley stubble. It was a large field (60acres) with four distinct flight lines across it, three outbound and one return line. It was only possible to get under one line as the bales had been removed from most of the field leaving me with little option but to roll two bales together at one end of the field under what appeared to be the strongest line. Hardly a bird pulled off the other two outbound lines all afternoon. Note for the diary to head along the other lines next weekend. In perfect conditions with birds decoying well I shot and picked 63 with 85 shots. The gun felt good compared to my old one which I used yesterday.

If they are young birds pluck and gut them and roast them. Taking the breast off young grouse is a waste. 30 mins in a hot oven with bacon wrapped over them. If they are old grouse, take the breasts off, cut them in half to make four flat breasts from each bird and then hot fry/wok them for four minutes.

No

I must say the youtube clip had me in stitches. If an elephant or buffalo was charging there would be no chance of a second shot!

I had an afternoon on the wheat stubble today and it could have been better. The problem was that I gave an outing to my first ever under and over, a lovely Beretta which has been languishing in the gun cabinet for a while ever since I replaced it with a gun with which I shoot reasonably well. The birds decoyed quite well. Those that stayed clear of the pattern were often in range and those are the ones I like, passing at 35-40m, and which I can normally shoot. But not today. The gun is just too different from my 'normal' gun. It has shorter barrels, a straight stock and it is quite a lot lighter. The result was a lot of clean misses. I picked 32 pigeons, two ferals, three carrion crows and three jackdaws for eighty five shots, well below par. This is a shot of my set up and the bag.