Buddy london

I feel for you. I was out yesterday. After looking aroind and choosong the field to set up it started raining just before set up. Waiting for it to stop.. but it only did so as I packed up. As rain was getting lighter few pigeons were moving and while the came sraight to the flapper however many veered off just out of range.. i walked out to look what was wrong but ar that point i was actually surprised some were decoying. With water decoys were shining while real birds were black and looked more like rats than pigeons. At least i did end the day with 25 but worst experience shootong in the rain all day. Out tomorrow to make most of sunny day a d hopefully hunger pigeons hitting the rape stubble.

Message sent but realise might be too late for this

Well done to you and thanks for sharing woth the rest of us

Something special when taking out an old friend and give them a breath of life like this. I love taking my grandfather out (84) and hearing all stories when he was young and hoe different life was. Sometimes i wonder which one is better. He might not be as fast as he was to walk but his shooting hasnt suffered as much and i still reckon he shoots better than me

Good day JDog. Thanks for sharing. A good day on the books for the rest of us. Last outing experience the same with pigeons hard to decoy. Here has been wet all day

Looks like a great set up and by rhe sound of it a great day. Enjoyed the report and well done to you.

Good luck with it ditchman.. look forward to your reports

Thats the spirit. Wish you luck! I need to have a look round as none of my rape was done as yet. Rain on wednesday pushed it back and forecasted heavy rain over this weekend does not help.. look forward to your reports..

Its a pity that a good start to harvest shooting has been tampered with an injury. Hope you recover very soon and can be out in the field with the rest of us shortly.

I might be biased from personal experience and that of my friends as not having access to shooting land we have to resort to 'professional' guides or anyone who would set us up on a field with the opportunity of having a go at pigeon. Woth ups and downs, out of 3 guides experienced in essex, oxfordshire and Matt in Leicestershire I think Matt was always the preferred option. While he might not be the most organised person with decoying gear (some battries not fully charged and all equipment ontop of each other in the truck) he always makes his best to put people on the best field to shoot and when doesnt work out either offer another day or other quarry therefore increasing the odds of having a good day out. A friend of mine been up with a guide in oxfordshire meant to be one of the best and been doing it for years for 4 days paying 1000 pounds (250/day and not 25 mentioned above) and blanked on 2 of days! Whilst i now have my own little perms, i wouldnt have a problem recommending Matt. Guides work well when time and opportunity are absent or limited

Sounds like some rape is ready and the shootong can begin.. with regards to harvest of remaining rape. What do farmers do in harvest time when starts raining every day? Looking wet for next 10 days so was wondering how will play out

Hi oldpigeonpopper.. before making such a statement why dont you stop followong Chris Packham for a while and whenever you want we can sit together for a beer and i will tell all you want to know about hunting in Malta. You will realise how lucky you are to be in such a tolerant country such as the UK..

Woww. Thats some shooting. Not sure i seen so many pigoens in a day on any of my perms never mind shooting so many..

Yesterday i had the day off and not been around the farms for 2 weeks decided to have a look around for any harvested fields to set up but bein mainly rape not as yet. I noticed a few birds going across one of the fields and decided was enough to set up. Luckily on the end there is an empty crop cover from last year which makes shooting and retrieving birds easier. Weather was ideal with a good wind and cloud cover. I was set up by eleven and could see a lot of birds moving however none were interested in the decoy set up. Moving set up, bouncers, flapper etc number of times to no success i decided that yesterday birds were not interested in decoying. However every now and then a bird would cross over the decoys enough for me to have a pop. Provided that birds were coming with the wind, needles to say these were very fast ending up shooting for fast going away birds. I ended the day at 5pm with 17 birds picked for 48 carts. Better than a day at work.

Now that harvest is in full swing with all the winter barley ready and farmers busy on the rape I was expecting more reports of day outs and reports of big bags with first stubbles. However it all seems very quite.. people too busy shooting to post on this forum?? Im out tomorrow while weather looking dry