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Wilts#Dave

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Posts posted by Wilts#Dave

  1. On 23/03/2024 at 12:14, TIGHTCHOKE said:

    Well done.    :good:

    Thanks 👍🏼

     

    On 23/03/2024 at 12:27, Old Boggy said:

    A great report of your latest adventure out with an excellent bag.

    That reconnaissance certainly paid off.

    Never mind the possibility of a ton up day, just enjoy whatever sport is available.

    Thanks for posting and sharing.

    OB

    Absolutely, quite happy with what I shot but often when you’re not expecting it! 

     

    On 23/03/2024 at 12:33, JDog said:

    A good outing.

    I find it quite amazing that 'family days out' take in potential shooting opportunities. My wife spots it in seconds.

    Thanks Jdog, how is the pigeon population where you are currently? 
    I agree it’s quite amazing how these days out can divert, my other half raises an eyebrow and gives me her usual ‘look’. 

     

    On 23/03/2024 at 14:18, old'un said:

    yep, that's what we keep going out for, great when it all comes together like that, well done on a nice bag of pigeons, as you say there's a good chance you will get another day out of that field, good luck. :good:

    Never gets boring that’s for sure. If this persistent rain hadn’t come I would have likely given it another go, but at this rate the field will be under water! 

     

    On 23/03/2024 at 21:31, yickdaz said:

    Sounds pretty much like the winter's we are getting hardly anything I gave up looking start of Feb fed up of driving for hrs and not even setting up  been fishing instead cracking bag well done  I love the unexpected ones when they come along that is 

    Odd isn’t it. When the farmer’s initially all stopped growing rape the winter shooting died off naturally but when they started growing it again albeit in smaller acreages the pigeons have just never returned in the numbers we used to get, very frustrating as I used to look forward to some winter rape decoying. 
    This bag came completely out of the blue, as you say they’re the best days. 
    Fingers crossed some pigeons will be along for you shortly 👍🏼

     

    On 24/03/2024 at 11:13, pigeon controller said:

    Great report well done, fodder crops can be a good source of birds at the right time. Fodder turnips have served me well in the past.

    Keep watching.

    Absolutely PC, managed to miss this small block somehow. Hope you’re keeping well. 

  2. On 22/03/2024 at 07:11, BobbyH said:

    That could be it yeah, I was in a severe calorie deficit. But the brand of protein shake was thick and filling, not watery and tasteless, maybe that contributed towards hunger cravings?

    I used to use the phd protein powder when I went to the gym (far too long ago now), but the full fat version and as you say they make such nice tasting thicker shakes than most. I used to look forward to drinking them 😂

  3. As seems usual for us in our area now, a lean winter chasing low numbers of pigeons on rape resulting in only one bag of 16 and another more recent bag of 3. A few nice evenings flighting through December/January and the rest of the time spending money on diesel driving around in hope of pigeons turning up! 
    Only last weekend on a family day out did I spot a few in some trees on a permission that never grows winter crops/rape so I’d not looked at. I went back for a closer look the following day to find pigeons feeding on what looked like a very sparse crop of rape, that I later found out was a fodder mix of all sorts with rape among it. There was a good number sitting up in the trees that I put out and eventually saw an odd one or two return. I glanced at it again for the next few days and seeing odd pigeons floating over each time decided it was worth a go, and shot it on the Thursday. 
    Due to access via locked gates and grass fields to cross it was a later start that intended but eventually Dad and I were in position and set up with just a rotary by 12.30 after disturbing a couple of hundred out of the trees on the way there. The first bird crossed the pattern some way out within a few minutes which I shot, and a large number of pigeons dispersed from all over and gave me the opportunity to shoot half a dozen pretty quickly which I set up on cradles. 
    For the next two hours I had some great sport with lots of flighting shots and plenty sweeping into the pattern. It slowed up a bit and the last half an hour picked up again until the cartridge bag was empty at 15:30. Deciding it wasn’t worth going back for any more shells we took some time sweeping the area for a pick up, which resulted in picking 83 pigeons (I had 88 on the clicker). 
    A wonderful few hours that offered every shot in the book, and as it always does when it comes unexpectedly left me realising just how much I love the ongoing chase to find those pigeons! 
    Had we been in position at 10:30 with more shells would have been well over the hundred mark but maybe there will be an opportunity for another go over the next couple of weeks, who knows. 
     

    IMG_5035.jpg.31e6024e755713edee9d4cc7566ceb67.jpg

  4. 8 minutes ago, Sweet11-87 said:

    the age old argument of 7.5s or 6s for pigeon is quickly getting answered for me, i cant believe ive now seen the day when well over 300 quid is a price worth shouting about for pigeon cartridges. couple more years and it will be 100 a slab

    Shocking isn’t it! I remember my old man having a heart attack when they went over £200/thousand…..crazy how much they’ve managed to bump them up in recent years. 

  5. 7 hours ago, wymberley said:

    This may well not be the latest news as I've not been paying too much attention - unless there's a truly miraculous increase in pigeon numbers locally, I have no need to buy any more cartridges. However, it is good to see the number of 6&1/2 shot loads which are available as opposed to previously. There's one glaring omission in the case of Express but suspect that may just be a printing error.

    What are all the 6&1/2 shot loads available out of interest? I used to use the eley pigeon back in the day that were 6&1/2 and brilliant but can’t say I’ve noticed many others? 

  6. 1 hour ago, marsh man said:

    An excellent bag  BB , not for the faint hearted if you had to lug that lot off a wet ole field and did the quad bike come into play , some of the rape around these parts are now coming into flower and at long last the tractors are now getting back on the fields .   MM 

    I’m guessing he may not have had to carry too far, but as you say flying solo that’s a lot of work to do at the end of the session what with picking, carrying off then sorting out at the other end. 
    i’d happily take on such work if there were sufficient pigeons to shoot! 
    Whilst I’ve shot over 200 at other times of the year, winter rape is the one crop pigeons just never seem to hit in numbers here no matter how hard I look, I’ve never managed over 100 even. 
    Cracking bag, you always do well through the winter. 

  7. On 01/03/2024 at 07:57, Cosmicblue said:

    We'd like to downsize - just the two of us (no kids, no one to choose our old people's home), aged mid 60s, nice 4 bed detached house nice area - we'd like a two bed bungalow with a double garage, we have been looking for years....like rocking horse droppings for rarity.

    Funnily enough 2 bed bungalows don’t tend to get built alongside a double garage! Although you see plenty of bungalows sat on large plots so no reason you couldn’t find a bungalow with the room to build a double garage. 
    As it goes what you’re after would be my ideal requirements too if I were in your position (would hate to give up my double garage). 

  8. Yes, as mentioned steel bio-wad. I was invited on a corporate day earlier in the year and was handed two boxes of said cartridges, light as a feather and when I read the box thought ‘oh dear’. 
    Just used one of the knackered school guns that didn’t fit very well but was amazed how well they killed all the targets on the 50 bird layout we did. Obviously not 50 yard plus midi’s etc but usual straw bale type ranges with one longer going away target and I dusted plenty. 
    I would have dismissed them immediately had I been given any choice but was pleasantly surprised……for anyone starting out / recoil sensitive or just bog standard type targets they are absolutely fine. 

  9. I must say, with the amount of cartridges they must buy I’m always a bit surprised at how expensive they are and why anyone would bother unless they lived a really long way from an rfd (who are always cheaper from my experience). 
    The last time I went up to just cartridges was when they had a bin ends offer on that was a ridiculously good price, but this was a good number of years ago…..they never do them any more and just seem to charge top money for everything! 

  10. 58 minutes ago, Lloyd90 said:


    Yep, and of those 33m in work, how many of them are part time / low earners? 
     

    How many will be working a handful of hours and claiming working tax credits to top up? 
     

    The average median income of all workers (part and full time) is £27,756. 
     

    Someone on that money pays £1518.60 a year in national insurance. 
     

    If all 33m paid that amount on average it’s around £50B a year (but a lot won’t pay in!).
     

    The benefit expenditure a year is around £230B+ a year.  

    No wonder they keep putting the pension age up! 
     

    Perhaps they should stop paying the stamp of people not working? They’ve not paid in so why are they getting the stamp and the full pension as someone who’s worked all their lives? 

     

    Doesn’t seem fair does it! 

  11. Personally never found taking the magnet in to draw more pigeons, though as you describe some days the shooting it offers you is challenging to say the least. There’s not always a reason you can find as to why some days the same setup will pull every bird in confidently and others it just won’t! 
    I do firmly believe the magnet/rotary will offer you more shooting over the majority of days than not using one. 
    However on the right day in the right place most setups will ‘work’ ! 
    Glad to hear you’ve got some to go at though, you’ll be having a bumper day before you know it. 

  12. I’ve had some reasonable success shooting a couple of roosting flight lines over winter, more so than usual. 
    Have never managed access to any significant flailed game covers over the years but see many golden opportunities on them every year.
    They certainly draw pigeons like nothing else at this time of year so I’m sure you’ll have much more success over the coming weeks. 

  13. 3 hours ago, JDog said:

    I would enjoy that. There might be an opportunity on spring drillings.

    Likewise, would be most enjoyable I’m sure of that. Before we know it spring drillings will be here, and winter shooting a distant memory again! 
    Great that you’re chipping away at them on the rape, certainly tests even the most seasoned pigeon shooter. 

  14. 1 hour ago, marsh man said:

    For those who do use one , what is the reason why they are no longer drawn into a rotary as they once did , anyone of our age or even a little younger will know they came into a magnet as if it was a five course meal , maybe that was where the saying ( Magnet ) came from , even other times of the year the Pigeon decoyers tend to use them less and less as the majority have found that they are no longer effective , in the Summer on a clear day we blame the arms are glinting , but in the Wintertime the sky is mainly dull like it is now outside , we will get one or reasons why this should be , but deep down , do anyone really know the answer  ?

    We hear that they get used to them , but surely there are young Pigeons about who have never seen one operate ? , one way or the other , I really believe that the hey day of the rotary is now well and truly over .     MM

    I remember Dad buying one of the first ones when Phil Beasley started marketing them. Very expensive and heavy we took it out the first time and didn’t think much of it initially, but quickly worked out how much closer it needed to be and from then on using one transformed our shooting once we got used to how differently they came in. Rarely shot bigger bags prior to the magnet but the 100 plus days went up sharply so as you say they really were mustard back then! 
    Personally still get on just fine using one and would rarely not use it or rely solely on decoys if I didn’t need to.
    On the occasions where it’s either broken or the battery ran out the pigeons have noticeably slowed up being pulled as well to the pattern but that’s just my findings and as many others do I’ve shot plenty of pigeons so not a ‘newbie’.
    Likewise I’m not a fan of flappers, never had much success with them over the rotary where as others swear by them…..everyone does things differently and as long as you’re happy with the results you get who’s to say what’s right and wrong when it comes to decoy set up? 

    9 hours ago, JDog said:

    Yes I must admit to being a relative newcomer to pigeon shooting and I am always happy to be deferential to those with more experience like yourself.

    You’ll get there Jdog, we all started somewhere. Perhaps I could accompany you sometime to tell you where you’re going wrong? 

  15. 7 hours ago, Bigbob said:

    Darts , Bowls and snooker like watching paint dry 

    What do you enjoy watching? A matter of opinion of course, I wouldn’t watch bowls but do enjoy the snooker and darts even more so as it’s over much quicker and more exciting to watch! 
    Much harder than it looks to play as well 😂

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