[Chokes and steel]

steel deforms less than lead when fired so requires allot less choke because it patterns tighter. unless the choke is stamped steel proof dont go above half choke. even then i really wouldn't recommencement it. a half choke on steel will throw something similar to 3/4 to  full in lead so its plenty. another rule of thumb is go 2 shot sizes up so if you use 6 go to the size equivalent of lead 4. now it gets tricky. steel shot is sized smaller than lead  so a lead 4 is in fact  a steel 5.

 if you shoot  30g of lead 6, a good pigeon steel load will be something like 32g of steel 5 that will give you roughly the same pellet count  and energy per  pellet.  even then id advise getting a bit of practice in. Not saying steel shoots better or worse than lead(cannot be bothered to get into that again this week) but it is different you definitely need to get used to its velocity curve  it seems to start faster than lead then  slow down quicker. so close birds need less lead than lead  further out need way more. and i think its this not the killing potential that generates hate for steel.  People are just not used to  its characteristics 

 

 

short version-  if you use a standard 30g of 6 pigeon load- use a steel cartridge stamped 32g of 5. 1/4 choke is plenty at decoying ranges if youre roost shooting wear eye protection steel will bounce.  dont shoot anything that says high performance on the box if you cant find the fleur de lys  (boy scouts badge) stamped on your barrels.  and give it more than a box of cartridges before you write it off as trash 

 

[KIT]

i buy more than i shoot thats for sure.

if i add it all up and share it all out over the birds ive shot i must be on for about £10-£15  per pigeon.

do i shoot no birds or do i buy loads of stuff?  not brilliant either way

[Blue is the colour]

19 minutes ago, old'un said:

55+ years shooting pigeons tells me pigeons don’t avoid the colour blue.

no doubt you have a great wealth of experience and knowledge. far far more than me by some stretch but unless youre the best at it their is still something to learn form others. even when youre the best you still have have things to be discovered.  that im 100% convinced of.

[A1 Decoy 5* amazing]

5 minutes ago, A1Decoy said:

Thank you,

Just so you know, ALL our orders go through the same system so we aim to give free "Prime" next day service on our ebay and website orders too whenever possible! Its often a little cheaper as the others don't take such a big cut.

We look forward to dealing with you again!

ah thats good to know. however i get a fair bit of amazon vouchers through work so i need to use them up. i got one of your hide gun stands delivered about 20 mins ago and that was ordered at about 8pm on Monday .  

[Blue is the colour]

32 minutes ago, old'un said:

If there were anything to this university lecturers claims that pigeons avoid the colour blue, I think there would be blue bags all over the fields.

so thats it is it?.

hasn't been done in the past and we cannot possible learn new things as everything has already been learned.... wasnt until the 70s that it was discovered that birds can see in the  UV specturm and even some folks on here have been shooting them since before then. Going back to previous comments in this thread thats also the reason they dont react to decoys or shooters  in snow very well. Their already uv  sensitive eyes get saturated with UV reflection from the sun on the snow and it blinds them.........snow blind.... its not  known if it causes lasting damage. but everyone already knew that didnt they....

[Blue is the colour]

28 minutes ago, old'un said:

well lets just say I am 100% convinced that pigeons don’t avoid anything that is blue in colour.

for the record i tend to agree with you. nothing in my experience has made me believe blue is bad for shooting pigeons, but are you not even a little curious to find out how this lecturer arrived at such a theory?. 

 

i mean its long established pigeons can see ultra violet aka blue light..... maybe its not a case of theyre scared of  blue. maybe  its something about the blue spectrum through their vision makes it more noticeable or something.  i agree with everyone else its about movement but maybe  movement is more forgiving in certain colours than others.

has anyone ever gone over all their hide and shooting gear with a UV light?. feel pretty daft if it turns out you had something made you glow like a streetlight on your hat that you couldn't see wouldn't it.

id like to know more.

to just dismiss things out of hand. whats the point in that.

 

 

 

[Blue is the colour]

5 minutes ago, old'un said:

so what % are you convinced?

less of a % more of a nice way of saying i dont buy it but im also not pigheaded enough to just dismiss it out of hand.  show me the evidence and ill listen to the argument with an open mind. you know the kind of attitude that keeps the human race moving forward.

[Blue is the colour]

im not 100% convinced for 3 reasons.  

1. blue is a massive spectrum from sky blue to dark navy so its a bit broad a statement to be made if it were true

2. nothing im aware off that pigeons have to fear is blue in their natural environment

3. pigeon themselves are a kind of blue/grey and if anything id think they'd associate certain shades as friendly and safe

[Decathlon and Durham Decoy hide poles]

On 22/02/2020 at 11:06, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, just to ask what size tube do the end clips fit,? cheers

15mm diamiter mate

[New from North east]

im from Sunderland mate youll get little to no joy from just knocking on farmers doors mate most either dont want shooters on the land or already have established people who've been doing it years. i know a few land owners and they get a cold caller about it frequently. All my permissions i got through networking mate, anything to do with shooting im interested so im a member of   a practical  shotgun team, a small bore rifle club, a clay club and shoot most of the local grounds ive even been to a few of the Newcastle wildflower meets at the golf course. id honestly say youll have more success and a lot less graft by joining a club of some sort and youll get to know people who will invite you  or introduce  you to people  and before long you'll be getting requests. Bonus to that is if its a clay club you can gain allot more skill, making the days you do get on live game pretty fruitful 

[repainting tired decoy shells]

decided to have a mess about with some old decoys and breath some life into them

went over them with a wire drill bit to get rid of the old flaky bits and rough the shine off a bit then went over them with a few tester pots from the B&Q walls and ceilings durable range

i think they turned out half decent and including the wire drill bit and brush i got the lot for about £10. on the off chance that anyone is intrested colours were

body and head- Monaco blue/grey

wing and tail tips- liberty black

breast-pimlico pink/brown

wings- Cincinnati grey

beak and eyes- gran via yellow

neck and wing bars- brilliant white

[A1 Decoy 5* amazing]

the few times ive shopped with them ive been happy. They have a shop on amazon and most of the gear is next day free delivery for prime members and ive got all the time in the world for company's that allow me to buy via that avenue 

[Decathlon and Durham Decoy hide poles]

5 hours ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, did not know they sold cross braces ?

yeah theyre 2 for £9

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/telescopic-pole-x2-id_8368671.html

[Decathlon and Durham Decoy hide poles]

ive got the whole decathlon pole set up 4 poles 4 cross braces and the bag. solid as rock when i set it all out but carrying it all the weight adds up quick.

its all probably the most durable hide kit going but for me its the versatility. if its close to the car, windy,complex or if i feel i need the exercise i can build something as strong as a bomb shelter with all the gear or i can just whip 2 or 3 poles out the bag use one of the carry straps that come with the poles and im off.

best bit 2 years no hassle warranty with a big company. they just send the replacements out.