Whitetail

I know it's not what you want to hear but if you go and buy a used air arms 400 you will still need it converting to fac that's going to cost money, I've just looked on gun trader and there's a 410 extra on there already fac for £425 . If your not careful trying to save money or sticking to your budget might end up costing you more when you factor everything in and have a rifle that's not really suited to fac levels and not being able to sell it. I would recommend a rapid 7 if your after fac , you can pick them up for £450 -550 already converted but that's over your budget

Listen to exudates advice , formaldehyde or formalin is some nasty stuff I used to use it to preserve dead pigeons when it was freely available for fish care. It will take layers of skin off and will unblock your sinuses like nothing else . It's not worth the risk

I used to all the time, I found at 70yds plus that you would get vertical stringing on the groups if you used pellets that varied by 0.2 to 0.3

To me plastic decoys are all pretty much the same in how birds respond to them I'm using full body flock coated now but I don't think they any better than the h&h or flexicoys I used before. Their OK to start the day off but they aren't a patch on dead birds , you didn't say whether you had a magnet or not but if you don't I would buy one over some new decoys or if you do have one already buy cartridges or diesel

Years back there were rumours that crossman were going to stop producing .20 premiers so I panic bought thousands of them. I lubed them with lt1 to stop them from oxidising and it has worked fine. My fac rapid needs barrel cleaning every 100-200 shots otherwise the groups open up this is with lubed or unlubed pellets and two different makes of barrel in anschutz and original, a walther barrel needed less cleaning about every 500 shots . I was told it's the high antimony in premiers that causes this but that might be hearsay

I use a fac rapid all the time , it shoots flatter , hits harder and is way better in the wind than a 12ftd air rifle . Range wise when you get used to it and it will take plenty of practise I would say it has a 30yd advantage over 12ftd . I do a lot of roost shooting you can't do that with a rim fire safely and round here it's heavy clay and a 22rf is ricocheting bullets all the time . The down side is it uses more air i carry a spare buddy bottle with me , I've then got 120 shots . If I was you and your set on getting a high powered air rifle I would look at a secondhand rapid if you look on gun trader there about £500 , your air arms would be better left at 12ftd

The pigeons aren't living on fresh air if their sitting in trees around the rape fields they are normally digesting a crop full of rape . I've been roost shooting pigeons the last few weeks and the crops are stuffed full of rape. Jd commented last week I think that the birds were moving earlier in the day . Without a good wind your going to be lucky to shoot any amount on rape especially if they have more than one field to feed on , wait for the right conditions

I use lofting poles quite a bit and what's worked well for me instead of using plastic decoys l use a dead bird in one of the cradles , I hold it in place with wire or elastic bands it sounds very Heath Robinson but works very well .

My experience are the same as PC , on rape I always set up for first light during the winter and if I'd chosen the right spot I would get maybe a couple of hours of shooting then the birds would move off . On average I've had much better bags by setting up at mid morning and walking the birds off , you will still have things go wrong but that's pigeon shooting . If you can chose a day with some wind and another thing that works well is if the line of flight is coming over wheat or even plough work set some decoys on there , the birds often decoy very well to these when they won't look at decoys on the rape. After a couple of visits you will often find the birds will push back to a particular spinney or belt of trees and at times your better of leaving the rape and shooting these , I use a air rifle for this it often catches them out . Shooting rape in the winter is frustrating especially now farmers block farm

yes the maize is being grown for the bio digesters .it's well worth keeping a eye on the stubbles especially if it turn wet over the next few weeks, a lot of the land that's been rented is on heavy land /clay and going by the last two years could be left most of the winter

I agree with motty on this, you must get the birds away from the field before you start shooting. It's common sense really ,if you start shooting with the birds there you've frightened most of the birds before you have started. It can be a pain in the behind but you must get the birds away from the area , I normally walk them off or if it's a field I can drive on I move them off with the truck

Thanks for the advice , it looks like I'm going to be investing in a huub shroud. Ive got a number of small spinneys that I shoot pigeons in that I would normally use a fac rapid but it's mainly close range shooting a max of 40yds and a 12ftp pre charge is ideal, I went yesterday evening shot 13 pigeons and a magpie a good way to christen the rifle.

I've bought a r10 super carbine that has the vc silencer. The rifle is shooting really well apart from I think the silencer is not that effective, is the huub shroud that much quieter or is there a better alternative

I've shot some decent bags of pigeon on rape that's direct drilled this time of year , I think they are feeding on the stubble more than the rape that's coming through . If you open the crops up its often more grains than rape leafs

I don't know the science behind it but spring guns are known to be hold sensitive . I would imagine that the pellet is still in the barrel when the affects of the recoil are taking place . I practice with a piston rifle most days and I find it a good training tool because everything has to be spot on to shoot well with it , even down to wearing the same jacket summer or winter. I hunt with a pre charged and you can get away with some much more that you would be punished for with a recoiling rifle . Don't let what I've said put you off trying shooting the Mercury off sticks, I would cobble some garden canes together and try

I think blade runner has a very valid point in that spring/ piston rifles tend to shoot to a different zero when rested on a hard surface, it's something you will need to try. Maybe having your hand between the rifle and sticks would work. If the Mercury is in good condition it should be fine to 30 yds

A few years back this time of year I shot a good bag of pigeons that were flighting out to some gravel pits, the crops were full of water snails . They were flying over rape and barley stubble to get there , it surprised me they choose snails over grain/ seeds .

Brian's right about the weight of a 410 not helping with keeping on the bird it's very easy to miss through stopping the swing or poking at the bird . The last 1000 shells I bought were 6 the previous lot were 7.5 I couldn't tell any difference in killing power or shots to kills but that might be down to me being a rum shot . The 410s are a lot of fun to use if you give them a chance

For the best part of this year I've been using a 410 rather than a 12. I've no experience with subsonic loads that your using but with a 410 you've got to hold it straighter than a larger gun , most people me included let birds get to close with a 410 I think it's a confidence thing. With my gun the ideal range is 20-30 yds if I miss at that range it's bad shooting it's very easy to start losing confidence and blaming the gun . If I was you I would shoot some clays , you will be surprised how well they kill if you give the 410 a chance

The only high powered crossman that i can think of is the model 140. I've only seen one and that was owned by a friend of my parents. It was on his fac supposedly shooting at 20ftp . Oh and of course Whaley crossmans , my dream air rifle back in the day

The crosman766 or 760 were the .177s surprisingly accurate rifles for the money

I nearly always try and get someone to go with me especially if they don't get the chance to go much but they have to be able to go when the chance is there . I've rang up in the past and been told no they can't go on the day but they are free Saturday or whenever, I've missed a lot of shoots through trying ito fit round other people, you turn up and the fields ploughed in or been shot or the birds have moved on.Another friend used to quiz me on how many I thought we'd shoot , what the crop was etc before deciding if he was busy or not , I used to take great delight in texting him if he decided not to come and I shot a big bag . You need someone who can take the bad with the good

Good luck tomorrow then , the mate I shoot with has a o/u yildiz its a terrific gun for the money . Have you given up on the pump

Well motty we ended up with 202 and that's with me not shooting at my best , Ive been shooting really consistent for weeks and for whatever reason I started poorly , missing a number of easy shots . I blame getting up before 5 to go work but I think it was just poor shooting. With a small gauge you've got to be on the money.Did you buy a yildiz in the end? If so I think you will very happy with it. Going back to Michael the thing that surprises me is not the number shot it's how long birds moved for , for birds to keep coming to a field for ten hours while it's being shot is very unusual , it's never happened to me or anyone I know but it can happen . The guy who broke Archie Coates record had birds coming in for twelve hours

The bag that Michael claims to have shot is perfectly possible in that time span , whether he shot them or not I couldn't say but it's very sad if he is making stuff up. To me if you was going to shoot a really good bag of pigeons this is time of year it's possible . I was going to brag about what two of us shot on Saturday with 410s, nothing in michaels league though. On a side note do any of you guys know how to remove the location from the photo on iPhones , I don't want to post up picture with the place name on