Ferret664

How come?. These woods are a long walk so was thinking a pop up hide would be best . I can get a vehicle to it when dry so guess I could put a pallet hide up 🤔 just wanted something light I could move around when I wanted to move feeders

When using pop up hides to shoot over squirrel feeders do people find it better to set it up that morning or set it up a day or 2 before ? Do squirrels really take much notice? At the moment I just shoot them from highseats which I set feeders q up from 20 yards away but have other places I don't have highseats but have plenty of squirrels so want to set up feeders and wondering if they're a good thing to use ? ¹

How often do you guys shoot your feeders ? I check mine daily and depending on how hard they're getting hit I shoot them once a week sometimes rotating

Reminded me I hadn't done it in ages . Added 51 since Jan 1st !

51 since Jan 1st 359

I have never been lucky enough to see a red in person . I live on the Essex/Herts border so they haven't been here for many many years unfortunately but at least the song birds, ground nesting birds and trees benefit from thinning out the grey horde

This is a big wood 70 acres . I have 6 feeders out on it . There are still plenty squirrels in it . Normally take 100-150 a year from it . All other feeders are working nicely and producing regular. The weather for the sit was good yesterday light wind and pretty warm . There isn't a great deal of food available apart from pheasants feeders but I run fenn traps along them all the time so pick off most of what goes to them. It's the fact I'm getting good picture of squirrels on there regularly yet they didn't show even though was there well before daylight. I'm lucky that I live next to the wood so check and top up feeders everyday. I'm going to try a this afternoon as seem to notice that they feed at first light for a hour then between 2-4.30 pm in the afternoon

Squirrels feeders how often do you shoot them ?. I have one thats been out for about 2 months. Shot it twice a week apart then left for a month then shot it again a week apart twice. Had 16 so far and still Seeing squirrels still on it on camera at first light but today no luck even after 3 hours of sitting got there 30 minutes before daylight so what went wrong?. I have several others that I rotate and shoot and they are still producing regularly. Yet this one you see plenty on camera at first light and for a hour then they stop but getting there before first light doesn't seem to work now as they don't show ?

I mostly use gamebore clear pigeon 30g 6s for decoying but got some special pigeon 32g 6s but they all work the same when you put the bird in the pattern though prefer 30g 6s generally

Thats what I normally do . Just such massive flocks here thought I would try something different . I've had some cracking days on osr in the past (once had in the 70s 5 weeks in a row few years back!) but this year they don't want to know !!

Better then my efforts this weekend . Been watching 4 fields of osr all week though I had them figured out ! Set up birds moving but just wouldn't decoy . Tried with flapper and bouncer and about 40 decoys(don't normally use that many but thought a big pattern might pull one or 2 in ) Put the pattern tight, made it loose they were having none of it wouldn't even look . Managed 2 that flew over . So much for my cunning plan 🤦‍♂️🤣

Thanks guys . I've seen before you shoot steel standard or not through any of your guns . I have a side by side choked 3/4 and full I've always wandered if that would be ok with standard steel but as all my duck shooting is Done with my hatsan semi auto I haven't really had a issue just thinking when this voluntary ban comes in . If I need to get the chokes opened to half and half . I've seen people say it's fine even through full choke and have read many articles about steel .it really seems though that no one really knows . So many articles say different things !!

Just checking are these standard steel in 3 and 5 shot size or is the 5 a standard and 3 hp ? Many thanks

Its funny isn't it how a good day can make you change cartridge. I only tried those extremes 2 years ago and had a great day in that wood taking the best pheasant I have ever shot and some real lovely crosses through dense canopy and haven't looked back since(actually had my best ever.season that year as well ) but like I say everywhere else I just use clear pigeon 30g as I know they're far too much cartridge for anything else round here apart for that one wood ..

This is a subject that always fascinated me . What are peoples choices and why ? I only shoot a few beaters days and keepers days (obviously with covid not this year unfortunately but here's hoping to next season) and am on the Herts/Essex border so birds aren't that high . I generally use a 30g 6 normally clear pigeon but I switch between high pheasant extreme 32g 5s depending on which drive . I always shoot as a walking gun as I like to work my dogs and on one shoot there is very big wood and I use the 32g 5s there to great effect. I pick my birds very carefully and I find shooting through the branches they work a treat . It's a big wood and there's several drives in it so I use the 32g there apart from that I always use 30g 6s as the other places are smaller woods , cover crops ect ? My question is do other people take different cartridges for different drives on the same day ect ? I know some.will say just shoot the 30gs all the time but in that wood I've taken some absolute beauties which I think are a result of the heavier cartridges through thick tree canopy . I shoot a sxs choked 3/4 and full so and very picky with what I shoot at anyway.

Had 5 last week 1572

I know what you mean rabbit numbers this way are very low but I've gotten a new permission which seems to be running alive which is nice to see

3 more today to the s410 carbine. 1462

Well they seemed to work well tonight. Took 6 rabbits. Furthest 40 yards and flatterned them.

1458 another one falls to the s410 carbine

Another one today foraging around in the leaf litter s410 put pay to that. 1440

And another one . Nice 27 yard shot this one 👍

.22

I followed it for quite a way and it just ran and ran and never stopped i lost sight of it eventually. Carried on looking for a while after that but never found it .

How do people find them? They seem to group nicely through my s410 carbine but the other day I hit a squirrel a bit low ( was going for a head shot and rushed it as it was so close and pulled down ) hitting the squirrel in the shoulder . He was broadside to me standing on his hind legs . He was only about 10 yards and it looked like it thumped him but didn't penertrate and he merely ran off not looking any worse for where ? Now I know it was my fault with the placement but I have shot plenty of squirrels at similar range (never more then 10 yards ) in the body in the past and never had any issues with other pellets ?.