Wilts#Dave

More importantly I wonder if they are to the pigeons liking? Guessing they’re part of the pea family, certainly look that way!

I think we’ve all had days where we’ve shot a bag but couldn’t help feeling it would have been much bigger had we chosen a different field…..51 isn’t to be sniffed at though and there’s always another day 👍🏼

Well done. A nice number to carry back with the kit too!

Look like maple peas to me, one of my farms grows them for bird seed. If not, put us out of our misery!

If you’ve shot an area for a number of years it becomes very apparent, a lot of shooters won’t have this knowledge which can work in your favour. I have some great shooting in an area that’s not too far from a town/housing. I think it’s because those areas can hold pigeons all year round feeding in parks and gardens etc, and have learnt where there may be a food source at certain times of the year. Fingers crossed those fields provide you with plenty more shooting!

It’s the single most irritating thing for any pigeon shooter to have a ‘guide’ operating in your area…..certainly not my cup of tea but money talks I guess, and there are a lot of lazy shooters out there who want to pay the money to just turn up and shoot as they do with pheasants etc.

Lovely bag, I’m yet to go over the 100 mark this year. Always goes down as a good day when you do! I know what you mean ref the fields, some fields will produce and others left untouched even in the same area. Over the years you certainly learn where those fields that the pigeons like are, and I get excited when the right crops end up in said fields!

Nice bit of shooting there, well done 👍🏼

Nice one Jdog, spotting opportunities when pickings are slim is key.

Have a look round for a Honda Civic with the 2.2 diesel engine…..bulletproof engines that go really well for what they are too, we run ours as a third vehicle now for the other half when we don’t all need to go out (3 kids) and it never goes wrong, always passes the mot and does 45-50mpg. My brother in law has had one from three years old and has barely spent any money on it! Annoyingly she loves driving my double cab around now so it’s hard to prise her out of that, but saves a fortune on fuel 😂

Cracker that, wouldn’t have expected to shoot that number over an old onion field would you…..but then that’s what it’s all about, finding unlikely fields where the pigeons have been left alone to build up. Sounds a great afternoons sport! I’m yet to bag over 100 this year, looking forward to getting the opportunity to do so!

Go to a good local dealer and handle some guns in your price bracket, what fits one won’t fit another etc etc…..you’ll get recommendations mostly based on what people own themselves and get o with but might not suit you! Personally don’t think you can go wrong with any of the entry level miroku/browning or beretta’s, will last a lifetime and still worth a few quid if you decide to move on. I went in to buy a new Browning B525 many years ago and left with a new Beretta 682Golde…..they laid out a selection of guns and then offered me the Beretta just to see what I thought which fitted like a glove and handled beautifully over the Brownings for me personally, fell in love with it even though it was a lot more money at the time. Still use it today mostly on pigeons now and been bulletproof, great gun that’s never missed a beat!

Exactly what we use, ideal and needs a backrest for me personally

I’m the same, not bothered about the value of what I shoot but don’t feel comfortable shooting a heap of pigeons and having to chuck them away (I know there’s the age old debate of it being pest control so shouldn’t matter).

It’s a real shame pigeons seem to be off the menu now, ever since Covid they seem to have hit rock bottom. We had a local place for years who would come and get our frozen pigeons in bulk in a van as and when we needed them to and worked brilliantly…..not a money maker but that’s not what we do it for and made shooting any numbers stress free. They closed down during Covid and it’s been a bit of a pain getting rid of large numbers ever since, I’ve managed but it’s all a bit of a pain and not as straightforward as it used to be. I phoned every game dealer within an hour and a half and all were almost rude when I mentioned wood pigeons….a resounding ‘no’ was all I heard, so clearly they’ve no outlet for them? Back in the day they used to cry out for them in any numbers, and as long as you didn’t mind taking them in it was always easy to offload large numbers of fresh or frozen birds, the more the merrier…..makes you think why isn’t pigeon on the menu as a cheaper option as clearly supply now outstrips demand.