MJO

Ideal, thanks Thanks Ritchie

Thanks. No intention of trampling any crops. What's a magnet?

Thanks. No intention of trampling any crops. What's a magnet?

At last I have acceess to some nice wheat fields. Would appreciate some advice from those with experience. When is the best time to decoy? I see pigeon flying over but they dont seem to come down to the crop. Will they likely be decoyed and if so, will it suffice to just stick my standard deecoys on bamboo poles or will I need to fork out for whirling things?? All tips and advice welcome. Cheers

Thanks - good to know. I wasn't aware they were a fad, but just noticed they were cheaper than their pedigree comrades - that was the main attraction

Does anyone have experience of how Lab / spaniel (springer or cocker) crosses tend to perform and/or what they are like to train? Main requirement would be rough shooting / flushing out and retrieving - and not savaging the kids of course.

Cheers - they be greedy *******!

The birds i've had recently when roost shooting have had very green berries in their crop that look as green as peas - are these ivy berries?

A couple of hours before sunset.......looking forward to it

Thanks - apreciated

Thanks again, but yes. As I said, a professional clean!

I too wondered if it was the long brass, but it cant be otherwise the problem would be more widespread. Great cartridge as you say - they come tumbling down when you hit with these

Thanks for that insightful advice. Having spent 20 years handling weapons within my profession on a daily basis, i don't think i need advice on cleaning. I clean my SG religiously after every outing, to a professional standard. Yes, that was a bite but weapon cleaning is sacred ground! I am not criticising the cartridge, as i said they shot extremely well and i'd like to consider using them on a permanent basis. I realise they are high performance, which is why i bought them. I am trying to find a sensible solution to the problem

No problem with confidence!! Just wondered if I need to get my SG fixed or if this is something others have experienced? They seemed to shoot really well - certainly brought down the birds but just a little frustrating

Has anyone had issues with ejecting Lyalvale Express carts. Its not a serious issue but irritating when i'm trying for a rapid reload having disturbed the roost and a pigeon sails by giving me the finger (well, feather). Some eject but some get stuck and need working free. Not had this issue with other carts Any ideas?

I know exactly what you mean - I had the same experience, which to be honest has put me off. I agree with vetting with the objective of assuring the dog is going to a good, sensible and responsible owner, but when it becomes overly intrusive and verging on the patronising I think a quick course in people skills may be needed combined with Being allocated a pup is, for me, ridiculous and shows little understanding of someone who genuinely wants a dog to do what is was born to do - work to the gun. I love this breed but for me I have found the high number of breeders of the 'showy' type rather than genuine working dogs slightly off putting. A pity and ultimately potentially bad for the breed, but i suppose those that are into showing would disagree.

Many thanks - just sent PM to you Regards

Does anybody have a contact at Chichester Wildowlers please? I have tried to get in contact via the website links, but no luck Thanks

That's great advice - many thanks. Sat up on the maize stubble yesterday - a fair few flew over fast and high, but couldn't tempt any down. May have to invest in some moving gadgets as you suggest! Thanks again

That's useful thanks. Day off tmrw so will give it a go. See how the maize stubble goes in the AM

That's great - thanks for your patience with the beginner. It's quite a dense, high wood so think I'll go for the hide on the edge looking out to the incoming flightpath. All very helpful

At the widest it's about 300 m x about 500m long Excuse the ignorance but would really benefit from a walk through of how to roost shoot Thanks That all makes good sens and i am inclined to think that maybe this is not the best place for decoying unless I find them feeding on the maize tmw. Excuse the ignorance but would really benefit from a walk through of how to roost shoot - a-z style Cheers

Caveat: new to pigeon shooting so please bear in mind - no advice will be too basic My permission is a smallish cattle farm with some woods and mainly pasture. I have identified a flightline across the fields and set a hide and decoys as per the general advice (pattern, wind direction etc) but nothing. I assume that this is because of two possible reasons: 1) They would not generally feed on these fields so it would be unnatural for them to come down irrespective of the decoys. I have read that some people have had some success decoying on pasture......?? 2) The flightline seems to run from their roosting location, a small wood, out and in, so am wondering if the hide / kill zone is too near their roost?? When I walk through the fields along the hedgerows I always put up a fair few pigeons flying away and fast - have had a few shots coming up through them and firing as i go through the target as I would with a clay going away from me, but no luck - any tips on lead, swing, aim point etc?? There are of course a good amount of pigeons flying the flightline, but I am not Mr Digweed! The maize field has been cut last week so will try and get over tmrw and see how that develops, but siting the hide will be challenging as the maize field is bordered by a road one side and a golf course on the other. This is the only permission I have at the moment and although lucky to have any, I want to exploit it the best I can - any and all advice would be welcome.

Thank you all - very useful all round. We will see...... Considering the rest of the permission is grazing fields with a little woodland - any other tips or things to look out for as the rest of the year progresses?

I am fairly inexperienced so would welcome any helpful advice They are due to cut the maize on the farm where I have permission to shoot. The farm is mainly grazing with some woodland, so to date I have just shot around roosting sites in the trees, but I have high hopes for the maize field once it is cut. Do they typically go for maize fields once they are cut? Any tips on general fieldcraft specific to this type of crop? Any help much apreciated Regards