ShropshireSam

Spotted pigeons dropping into a corner of a wheat field while on a reccy yesterday lunchtime. Not big numbers but wind was picking up so thought worth a "quickie". Left work early, grabbed a light kit and set up by 4:30. Had a simple screen hide, a flapper and 6 shells, set up under a tree where pigeons were dropping near. With flapper close to the tree all birds were coming into the tree rather than the pattern. Had birds coming down the hedge row with the wind and had some great sport taking them as they came over the tree or swirled round in the wind. Traffic was steady and dried up by 6 pm and I had 12 picked and another 3 marked but not found. Much prefer shooting them when the wind is up.

Expect to have some winter barley cut in Shropshire next week. I don't have much winter barley on my permissions but have one which pigeons were hitting last weekend so went out Sunday afternoon, found a nice flattened patch by a bush I could set up a hide by, and even better the farmer had cut the grass margin so I could drive to the hide. Steady shooting and picked 46.

As above... so the top and side option catches both well.

Never seen any pigeon activity on beans between drilling and harvesting ... and unfortunately not seen much when drilled or harvested as drill leaves little behind and quickly turned over after harvest. I have two fields of peas just coming into flower.... now I will be keeping a careful watch on those

Never seen much of anything on maize drillings.

Need multi-function to save weight and space. I use an old plastic kitchen bin (which had a swing lid). Its light weight and fits in my kit bag and fill with kit, when emptied and turned upside down is a good tall seat so easy to shoot whilst sat or get up stand up to shoot. Needs level ground but I can normally get the ground level. If I can get to the hide site in the truck I carry a spade and clear the ground with that.

I only shoot a 12 so never had a cartridge issue. Use white tape as per Pigeon Controller method ... but also try to collect as I collect the pigeons but invariably the dog helps and retrieves the odd pigeon from a cradle. He has learnt not to retrieve dead birds set up as decoys whilst I'm still shooting but likes to help when I'm collecting up.

Have 2 adjacent bean fields that had steadily built up pigeon numbers since drilled on Monday last week. Checked Tues morning and 100's in an adjacent wood and along dividing hedgerow. Decided to take a half day holiday and come back in the afternoon. Birds were moving about but sticking to the the headlands which were heavier ground and probably had more beans on the surface although I could not find any. Set up in the dividing hedge with a good wind behind me. When I moved birds off they swirlled round in the wind with half moving off and half coming back down elsewhere on the field. All afternoon I had birds repeatedly landing in a far corner and birds going to them rather than decoying to me. Two good flightlines coming into the field but most birds did not decoy .... I should have studied the flightlines better then I would have set up at the top end of the dividing hedge adn intercepted both flightlines - another novice mistake in too much of a hurry to set up. And having carried the gear up the hedgerow I did not want to move. I had last years dried birds on a magnet ... not looking too good now and no bird for the flapper so took awhile to get the first few birds in...and I shot badly. Once I had fresh birds on the magnet and flapper more birds decoyed and I built up a pattern but I continued to shoot badly. Last two sessions have been on the crows and I shot them well with the second afternoon having 17 crows for 23 shots including 3 doubles, but I think it b*******ed up my pigeon shooting. Those that were pulled off the flightline decoyed well. Finished with 40 picked for 120 shots .... with them decoying well I should have had 70+ birds....if I'd been closer to the flightlines AND shot well it could have been 100+. Had a look at large (100 acre) field of peas this morning on a field that has had good pigeon numbers on in the past. Saw some big flocks landing and swirlling round. Then discovered two bangers at either end. Pigeons had built up to decent numbers yesterday since drilled last week and farmer had put the bangers out.....so I was a day late but wish he had phoned me first. In this situation the pigeons are doing no harm as feeding on seed left on the surface that would not survive anyway. Spoke to the farmer and had permission to switch off one banger to see if numbers build up tomorrow for me to shoot. Will check tomorrow morning and shoot in the afternoon if any numbers have returned.

Shot some spring barley last Friday afternoon after farmer complained of the crows hitting the field. Had a reccy and saw mainly crows on the field but a few pigeons around so I set up with 4 full bodied crow decoys and 8 half-shell pigeons. Crows were slow to come into range but once I had a few down and out in the pattern the more crows came in range. Finished with 36 picked. Interesting to note was that not one pigeon was decoyed. I had a flapper ready to put a bird on but only had one come in range, high overhead, and missed. Pigeons were moving amongst the oaks and nieghboring small woods, but none came near. Maybe once I had a bird on the flapper they may have decoyed? Assume the birds were full and were coming back to these woods to digest ... so not interested in decoying. First peas drilled on Monday ..... never seen big numbers hit spring drillings round here, but will keep an eye and continue to live in hope.

I'm RH and left eye dominant. I close my left eye as I mount the gun. By doing this I judge distance with both eyes open but as look down the barrel I close the left eye ..... it soon becomes second nature and I'm not aware of doing it now. Best to have a go on some clays. Skeet is good practice as it gives you a range of angles.

Decoying is a great field craft and shooting sporting birds is a different skill but which takes most importance depends on the individual and their motivation to go pigeon shooting. Someone on here once posted that they had acted as a guide and was well pleased when a paying guest was getting plenty of shooting as the birds were decoying well. The paying guest was not happy as there was not much variety!! I have had only been decoying a few years and I can only remember one occasion when the birds decoyed with such regularity that the shooting became limited.....the birds all came down a hedgeline and in a bend in the hedge they turned to come straight into the pattern. I repeatedly went out to pick up shot birds with nearly all dropped within feet of one another where I consistently dropped them. To me, when the birds decoy well the sport is in the second shot, I don't wait for a bird to land but will take the second bird and then swing through to pick up the first bird as it takes evasive action.

The big flocks have gone and pigeons have been hard to find. See a few feeding on ivy and grass fields and the odd thin rape patch but no big numbers. Never had any big or even average days on spring drillings on my permissions, but live in hope. Lots of barley going in this week and should be some peas in soon. Have one big field that is always popular with pigeons going into peas this year...should provide some good days.

Admirable words. I have my first dog now and I know I will feel exactly the same when that day comes to me.

I use damp hessian sacks, spread the birds out in them and fold the opening underneath to seal it shut - keeps the birds cool and the flies off them ..... I have had sacks covered in yellow fly eggs as they lay them on the hessian sacks - which does no harm to the birds and keeps the flies busy rather then pestering me and the dog. Birds I have kept out as decoys I de-breast for myself. Birds for the game dealer go into a cold store overnight and then in the freezers in the morning.

Yep. Not used them a lot and seem most useful in winter when birds hard to decoy. Can often pull birds towards a sitty tree rather than get them to commit to the decoy pattern. I only have a single set of poles so reach is only about 8 m so limited to small trees but much easier to handle. If you go longer you need to use the tree branches as supports as you add each extension to the pole and push the lofter up through the tree. You can tape a flapper on end of lofting poles and this works well on ivy covered trees...but again with added weight need to support on tree as you add each extension. If you tape a funnel on the end of the top pole it makes retrieving the decoys easier ..... and don't try in high winds as can be very hard to retrieve decoys.

Not in your area but from my experience it is easier once you have a permission to then seek permission from neighbouring farmers using the first one as a reference. To get your first permission you need to get to know the local farmers or gamekeepers. Start drinking in a local village pub and/or start beating on a local shoot. Many beaters can get permission for pigeon shooting on small shoots. The more you offer with regards help with vermin control for farmers or general help with the keeper the more you should be offered in return. How are these guides getting sole access to pigeon shooting? Are they paying for it?

Not me mate....all my permissions are around Edgmond.

Busy on Saturday until after lunch. Had a quick reccy, furthest rape field had a gas gun in place and wood I planned to shot was full of pigeons. Moved them off and set up with a ff5 flapper taped to the top of my lofting poles. This wood has a lot of ivy covered trees and many of them are practically just tall tree trunks covered in ivy. Choose a smaller one of these in an opening. Tree was low enough to get a lofter to the top. Positioned the flapper at the top of ivy covered tree and set up a simple screen hide at about 7 0'clock and 15 yards to the flapper. This gave the best view of incomers. Set up by 2 pm and had stop start traffic for 3 hours with a good wind and the odd shower. The flapper worked well with many birds pulled towards it, a few then continued up the wood but in range, a few headed for neighboring trees and a couple decoyed straight to the flapper. All made for a good variety of shots. Had a quiet spell about 5 pm when the wind dropped and then had some birds come into roost. Finished with 24 birds picked. First time I have tried a flapper on lofting poles. Wired up 10 m of wire extension to keep battery on the floor. With the weight need to carefully extend the poles whilst using tree for support. To give the extra height I needed I taped the bottom pole to a big length of hazel I pushed into the ground as an extra extension. Certainly think this worthwhile for some winter sport.

Excellent post of a good day out.

I have used rope bangers before to good effect on good windy days but currently expect this big flock will just keep moving on until they find an undisturbed rape field. Tomorrow I will return to same wood with a flapper on top of a lofting pole on top of a ivy covered tree. Hope this will pull in a few more birds. May put a few banger ropes out on the rape fields - its a pain as a big detour to drive round all 3 fields due to locked gates and soft ground.

Looks a good bit of kit. Been thinking a decoy machine that would imitate the action of birds lifting and dropping in a pattern would be good but not got the engineering skills to build one. But as with all this kit. If birds want to decoy you don't need much to fool them and if they don't want to decoy it don't matter what you got ..... but there are lots of situations between these two extremes where any extra "pulling" power is going to help. Would be interested to hear how it fairs.

Desperate to get in a days decoying on Saturday as a good wind, even though I knew they were unlikely to decoy. Found a field of rape pigeons were hitting hard, and have been on and off for a few weeks. Problem is there are 3 fields close together without gas guns on and when disturbed they move to a wood then onto another field. With a good wind I hoped the flocks may break up a bit and get some shooting. I moved birds off the field (about 300) and neighbouring wood (about 500), set up with lofters in small hawthorn tree, a magnet and 12 half-shells in front and hide underneath tree and a strong cross wind. Pigeons returned to the wood in steady stream but not interested in decoys and headed for next wood/rape field .... I could see them dropping into the rape in the distance ... as could any pigeon nearby. Only had the odd bird decoy ... shot 2 from 4 shots. Would have had more shooting in the wood. Packed up and went home. Returned in the afternoon. Moved birds from far field and wood, then moved birds from narrow strip of wood previously had watched them flight over in the morning. Stood and waited for them to return and had some shooting for about an hour then dried up ..... 11 birds shot. Then headed to a roost wood, went right to end were birds came in against the wind. Had only steady traffic apart form a flock of over 300 passing over high. Had my best roost shooting this season with a good wind and 12 birds for 24 shots. Certainly seem to shoot best when I don't have time to think. Had one bird drop about 40 yards behind me. When I packed up and looked for it a buzzard had already found it, eaten all the innards and not touched the breast meat.

Never had much luck with cover crops on the two permissions that have them. Usually poor yielding maize strips and usually devoid of any maize grains by the time they are cut back. A few years ago one farmer left a large patch of maize in the middle of the field as a cover crop. Once the season was over he mowed it down and left me two small patches I could put hides in (very kind of him). The ground was covered in maize grains ... I watched for weeks and had a slow build up of crows but the pigeons never found it in any numbers. Shot about 50 crows and 10 pigeons on the best day. I have seen other maize cover crops elsewhere get hammered by pigeons at this time of year .... so I think they need to learn its a good food source, and then they recognise it in the future. Any situation like this is always worth a reccy, even if just to show an interest to the farmer.

This maybe a communication problem so I would not jump to negative conclusions. And shooting the same wood every week in Saturday is normal round here. Most woods are not shot until after the pheasant season and then only the Saturdays in February ...... if plenty of guns out then the pigeons keep moving ....... but I wouldn't pay for roost shooting !

Went out today for a dawn and dusk flightline due to high winds. Same flightline both times but about a mile apart along a river, unfortunately most were on the other side of the river that I don't have permission on. Had 8 this morning and 9 this afternoon, Many this afternoon had the wind behind them and were like rockets .... and many were missed.