Wilts#Dave

Very unlikely they’ll sell off existing stock at old prices! They really shot up at one point, and have continued to do so ever since with no let up…..but it doesn’t seem to deter people which must be why they keep climbing?

It’s a profitable crop to grow if you can grow it and a good break crop so as you say some that haven’t grown it for a while are giving it a go! Hopefully it’ll keep you busy with plenty of shooting. What is strange though is we always used to get reasonable shooting through the winter on rape but now even though it’s still grown, albeit in smaller acreage it just doesn’t attract the pigeons here like it used to. I think they just leave the area through the winter and return in the spring, but obviously I’ll never really know!

Rape crop seems to dwindle year on year here with plenty of failed crops pitting farmers off growing what is a really expensive crop to grow! What I have found is that the fewer fields doesn’t result in more pigeons concentrated in a smaller area, they just mostly disappear through the winter and turn up again in the spring.

A good session under the circumstances, and well done for going and sticking it out! I must admit I’ve had plenty of mornings in the past where I’ve set up in similar conditions and never had a bumper bag, but sometimes when time is limited that’s you only option so better than sitting at home 👍🏼 I’ve yet to get the decoys out this winter, sadly!

Agree, as well as finding them other factors need to go your way. I’ve never shot with anyone else until last October when a keeper I supply with pigeons offered me a day. We had to go when the weather was right, and there was a large number of pigeons using a large block of late cut spring barley stubble so plenty concentrated in an area. It seemed very odd having to set up in a spot I’d not chosen or watched and I was sceptical of the shooting I’d get when he directed me to the far end of the block with no birds on or visible lines in compared with where he set up, but he assured me he thought I’d get some sport there and I did. He did have a lot more shooting than me for the first few hours but I plugged away and had some great sport in the latter part of the afternoon where it tailed off for him and hotted up for me and finished on 191 and him/his friend in their hide 245. He’d done his homework and knew there was a large volume of birds with no other choice at the time than where we were, and it worked a treat. I shot with him a week later in the same hide together and his friend shot my hide position, with him shooting 145 to our 100 which just goes to show how every day is different. It’s a hobby like no other in my opinion, and certainly requires a lot of time / experience if you want to shoot good bags regularly.

He hasn’t yet replied, but I’d wager on him having very little ground to shoot over along with lack of experience (possibly due to lack of pigeons to go at). I’ve had plenty of poor days that don’t turn out as expected, but as with most experienced pigeon shooters I’ve generally already watched where I will be shooting prior to the event so have a fair idea of the opportunity I may be in for. Most of my poor days are due to other factors, fields being turned over unexpectedly/tractors arriving, someone else having shot it before I could unbeknown to me, the weather not being on my favour or largely when I’ve just left it too long before shooting and they’ve decided to go elsewhere! If I knew I’d only ever shoot half a dozen pigeons in a session from now on, I’d find another hobby.

What area are you in and how many farms do you have to shoot over?

The small wood I shot is on a flightline to a much larger block of woodland I can’t shoot, and always shoots best in December/January then tails off by February. Some years are better than others, and the line they use varies slightly year on year too. Last year I shot 55 in just over an hour on the first night which was the best I’ve done by some margin! My favourite sport of all, wait until the wind direction is right and gun/cartridges is all that’s needed (averages usually take a hit)!

I had a cracking hour or so in a small wood this afternoon at last knockings and brought down 22 cracking pigeons on the wind. I hope you had similar fortune if you ventured out!

I’m sure a well setup smart thermostat would have achieved similar results alongside the standard trv’s set accordingly, if your old system merely switched between day and night? You must have a rather large house to heat though, to have been costing £357/month to heat!

I’ve got a Hamilton Khaki divers watch, really nice watches for not a lot of money!

The MST cars look much nicer in my opinion, and those are ludicrously expensive too…..most buying them will those wealthy enough to have large collections of cars and buying one just because they can, and them being fairly rare as built in such limited numbers. I’d have one if I was one of those people though!

That’s a more common winter rape session right there. Very difficult to achieve the consistent results that you can at other times of the year, but hats off to you for keeping at it!

Absolutely, whilst I can at time shoot good numbers through the spring/summer, winters are always lean here through lack of numbers. Great that you’re having some well deserved success yourself, keep it up!

You seem to be achieving better results during the winter than you did through the prime months of summer. 70 is a cracking bag on winter rape, glad to hear you’re getting plenty of shooting through the winter….keep it up 👍🏼