[Good Days Out]

Since the beginning of September my friends and I have had a number of great shooting days. Various fields such as pea stubble, beans, and wheat stubble. Enjoyed the company of a new shooter Simon. The weather - good sunny days, wet and windy days. We have found that this month has been particularly good with over 1000 birds in the bag, however we have had to change the decoy pattern around and the rota to ensure the pigeons are coming into the pattern.

 

Big hello to one of our small group members who has just joined the forum Gareth!!

 

Cheers everyone enjoy your shooting.

 

[A good for my 2nd time]

hi Simon are you ready for the next outing,you did well the high bird you took was your best shot of the day the sun did you no favors though ,all so the wind being on our right hand side giving you no a lot of time cheers

[pigeon numbers in cambridgeshire]

Hi none around here, had 74 two weeks ago since then the odd 6 or 7 i keep looking if only to show my face so the farmers see me about,

[A hell of a day.]

well done we also had a good out saturday

[Beans]

Hi have had some good days out on beans,few things that may help , as always keep your eye on the field the day or so after it has been sown,the beans are very hard at the point of planting a day or so in the ground softens them up, a bit of rain helps a lot all so depends how deep they have been planted , the same applies at harvest time the beans are hard so the ones that are left on the ground may not be taken by pigeons as at that time of the year there are a lot of other food about for them, but its always its worth a look ,if there are some trees close to the field where they can rest after feeding that helps cheers

[Spring Drillings- Already!!]

speaking to some farmers around here lots are telling me that they are thinking about not growing OSR as a lot of the chemicals sprays they would have used have been band,also the way the payments of subsidies are made,this year a lot of peas are going to be grown that will push the prices down.so its looking likely that spring & winter barley may be on the cards cheers

[hi from the black country]

welcome to p w from the fens

[Shooting on a Sunday]

we are all out on sunday, have shot on sundays for years,we stop the gas guns don,t

[another bad day in durham]

we all have days like that,if its cold and snow on the ground to get pigeons to come in to a pattern is hard work, at the moment the birds in the area,s i shoot are generally sat up in the trees and only pop down for a quick feed, then back to the trees ,you will get lucky one day cheers

[Stubble turnips]

A nice photo, did you take it if so well done cheers

[Pigeons in your area Feb 2015]

The numbers have been building up over the last weeks, Areas covered are Huntingdon to kings lynn across to stamford cheers

[magnum decoys]

Thanks for that,like you say real birds work the best, for me to,in the warmer weather i pick up shot birds asap to reduce the fly problems, i like to try things out this time of the year to plane ahead a bit cheers

[it,s a waiting game]

ya not far at all,as you say not bad shooting,i am very lucky,the best bit is my i can go as and when i like,and take my friends with me,we have had some good days there

[magnum decoys]

Magnum decoys if you use them, if you do, how well do you think they work, compared to others.

[Had a look around the farms today]

You may be in luck ,have a good one let us know how get on.

[it,s a waiting game]

hi alan just north of stamford along the A1 cheers mick

[it,s a waiting game]

the maize covers are all planted at the sides of rape fields, as the game has been feed very well so have the woodys so when all that vanishes ?, there are aprox 15 acers of cover and 350 acers of rape and some small wooded areas.

[it,s a waiting game]

TO LOOK OVER LOL mind you there is a lot land all the bast every one

[it,s a waiting game]

Been out and about a lot over the last few weeks see the numbers rising, most of which are sitting up in the trees and those that are on the fields are just sitting there not moving much,i no from past experience one shot and they will be off and not to return. the cover crops are going to be cut down this week so fingers crossed then it will be case farmers ringing asking for some help, hopefully will be ring some friends to come along to, so get your kit ready lads

[decoy help]

we all try different patterns with mixed results ,if the way you have set your decoys out and it hasn,t work pop out of your hide and move them around a bit no harm in trying , i do this all the time, shooting under a flghtline i have found the more movement ie pigeon rotors going on a higher speed has helped, and putting the decoys out in a block ,

[pigeon location]

thanks JDog the only difference from last weekend is that it was a lot warmer ,we have looked over all types of crops new drilling etc, didn,t seem to be much wild life about of any type, just the the odd kyte and buzzard ,so will have to keep our eyes open and i am shore the farmers will be on the phone if the pigeons return.

[pigeon location]

where are the pigeons hiding today?

been driving and sitting and looking for 6 hours over many acres from stamford to huntingdon across the fens and back to

peterborough area. what are the pigeons thinking today? lets just sit the day out in the woods and watch the pigeon shooters go bye...lol

hope you all had better luck than us. have you seen any pigeons today?

 

[looks a bit wet out there...]

wet and windy here, never mind gun oil out, wet gear on off we go, been told your mad ,well better to being mad and happy than sane and miserable lol cheers

[Over Drilled Barley]

My pleasure mate , dave had a really good bag. Best he's had in over a year !! The help to cover the field was appreciated, be giving you a buzz to come over again soon

 

cheers mick

[My findings steel v lead for pigeons]

After my weekend experience with steel I contacted leading cartridge manufacturers and asked a few questions. All of them replied lead out performs steel . Also I note on the forum that people have said that there are steel shot cartridges with a felt wad available this is incorrect.

There is one company that I've spoken to that have been looking into and developing paper/cardboard wad, but there has been reports that say these can fail on occasions.

Also an interesting point the speed and volocity of shotgun shells are governed by legislation that restricts their speed. 65mm has no restrictions, but 70mm 76mm etc has.

Also noted that people have been talking about chokes on guns, the majority of cartridge manufacturers strongly advise you do not go any tighter that 0.5 or half choke. This can result in damage to your barrels.

For more information on this go the magazine website "Shooting UK" and you can read up on this for yourselves. Having read this, it confirms that damage to guns has increased since steel cartridges are used.

Those that bang on about wild fowling and taking high shots, been there, done it, yes it works. Pigeons are half the size of ducks and a lot smaller than a goose so hitting them you have a smaller target flying faster, therefore harder to hit with steel.