ajsnelling

Ah thanks for the kind offer. He is pretty bad really, must have been introduced to it badly, I have tried a few things but a normal gun is always going to be too much I think

Thanks all for the helpful replies, I think I'll phone the saddlery and gunroom as advised, I'm not too worried about effectiveness as long as my dog doesn't mind it. I'd much rather go home with 2 birds but have a good day with the Springer than 40 birds without him. If that makes sense 😁 That being said. I don't want a single shot full modded 410, that's the only one I want to disregard

Could anyone tell me if a modded pump 410 will be much louder than a full length 410? I'd prefer a pump unless it's way louder. Thanks

Ok thank you, you mean a pump 410? When I got my Springer he was 4 1/2 years old and I was told he had some training as a gun dog. I quickly discovered he is excellent at retrieval of birds but doesn't like the gun noise. It appears as though he was shot over too soon or too full on, which is sad because I don't feel right going out to a field and leaving him at home

Some great info received here. Many thanks

Thank you for the replies, very informative. The reason for purchase is solely to take my dog with me, he is quality but he just turns off at the sound of loud bang. So if it is quiet enough I think he will stay interested in the birds, but I don't want to buy one and it be pretty much a regular shotgun and just a bit of a gimmick, if that makes sense

Hi all I was thinking of buying a Hushpower shotgun, mainly so my springer can come out with me, he doesn't appreciate the bang of a 12g but he is an excellent retriever of birds so id really like him beside me, so my question is: how quiet is a hushpower really? is there a comparison anyone can think of to give me a better idea, as i don't want to buy one only to find out there isn't much difference and waste my money. And also is there much difference between a 20g and 12g hushpower? the quieter the better, thanks in advance Alex

Ah sorry, I was un a hedge that separated a fresh planted crop, I think beans but I'm not sure, the other half was cut maize, so I was fortunate to get them to come in from both fields

Thanks haha. The dog is my friends, he brings him out at the end to help collect any that went in the hedge row. He's a good team player. And yes, SxS handed down to be by my grandad. It kicks!

Hey all I recently put a post up asking for advice on where to take shot pigeon. Thanks to everyone I managed to get onto a game dealer and they are happy to take frozen pigeon from me. So instead of going home after 10-15 pigeon I stayed out a few hours and got a bag of 67 and a rogue crow. Not bad for a beginner

Oh I see. I actually assumed they would want to feed close to trees so that they can get up in them if a predator came along! In that case I will set my decoys out a bit further and see how I get on. Thanks a lot

Makes sense, only issue is there's a public footpath and byway that runs through that corner... 😤

Hi all I've read a lot of great tips and since I'm very new to pigeon shooting it's been helping a lot. At the moment I am shooting on a large field of oil seed rape, this has a great island of trees about 1/3 of the way into it, perfect for setting a hide, I can then see about 2/3 of the whole field. Pigeons tend to come from behind me over the top and from miles away in front and land right in the far corner of this field, I'd say up to 300 can land if I don't fire a shot off. Here are a couple of things I'd like advice on please: I only have 12 half shell flocked decoys that I put out 25 yards from me and the trees, the pigeons always fly over these as if they aren't there, do I need more decoys or different ones etc? The only time I get a shot off if when they all get up and fly back at me, the reason I can't face behind me is that there is a road. Thanks

Thank you for clearing this up for me. I had read about the 72 hour rule before but wasn't 100% happy to risk it incase I'd got it wrong. Going back out tomorrow for a few hours

Ah ok I see. I'm still learning haha thanks

Hello all My last post was regarding being new to shotgun shooting (always used air guns) Since then I've managed to gain permission on a really good/big rapeseed oil field with a tree patch dead centre. Plenty of cover! The only thing is there were no pigeons feeding on it. I set my hide up right beneath a flight path which meant I got 4 pigeons which I was well happy with. They were all full up with peas! They didn't seem to bother about my decoys (12 flocked half shells and 2 floaters) just flew right over my head. Any tips to get them a bit more interested? Also very quickly. What's the law regarding a friend who has a licence using my other shotgun if he is with me? He doesn't own one for himself Thanks

Lots of good advice on here. Many thanks for that. The first field has a path up one side of it but walkers follow the edge of the field all the way round so signs either side of me might do the trick. I will also speak to the land owner and ask what he suggests (as I don't think he is too fond of dog walkers anyway) I'm not a member of BASC but I will join soon. Good advice

Ah good idea. I'll make a few and put th on the field entrances. Yes it's a gas gun, I turn it off when I arrive, this points at one end of the field and a scarecrow sits at the other end

Hi there. I'm from a village called Whitfield in Dover

Hello all I have 2 small permissions I need a little advice on, one of them is pigeon central with a good tree line for a hide, the issue is that it is used by dog walkers, I've only shot there once so far and the walkers I bumped into were friendly old guys who wished me good luck, I am worried about possibly making a dog (and/or walker) jump if they are close behind me and I pop out of my hide a let a shot off without knowing they are there. What would you guys do? The second permission is a rapeseed field, the farmer said he had trouble until he put a bird-scarer in at one end, at the other end is a scarecrow, but he was happy to let me have a go. I went there with my hide and decoys, set up with the wind behind me, I was there 4 hours and saw 2 pigeons over the entire field in that time, any advice would be really appreciated, thank you

Hello all I'd just like to introduce myself, I'm Alex, 24 from Kent , just had a mare with the iPad so the title is wrong (accidentally submitted the post somehow so had to edit it) haha sorry. I have always shot air rifles since the age of 15 for pest control, my Grandad sadly passed away and left me his side by side shotgun, I have 2 small permissions to shoot on, I have had a go on each permission with no luck yet, read through a lot of the advice posts and I must say it's incredibly helpful, I'll probably post a couple of questions in there shortly, happy to be a part of the forum also if anyone knows how to change the title I'd appreciate it haha. Thanks