shawn9914 Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 hi all i went on my permision today as i thought after a few good frosts the birds would be on the rape but it was not to be not sure why as they have been hitting it hard over the last month but i have been unable to get out. should i wait untill we get some cloudy / windy days or what cheers shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markbivvy Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 should i wait untill we get some cloudy / windy days or what yes with outa doubt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROB REYNOLDS UK Posted November 28, 2005 Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 i was out saturday and like your self had a bad day there was pigeon about but they were every were i was not ,its a job for me in the week to put some white flags out on the fields which im not shooting on and see if it helps :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirky640 Posted November 29, 2005 Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 shooting pigeon on rape the only time i have had any joy on rape is when the snow covers everything else and the rape is just sticking up above the snow, as this limits there food chain, as you have said they seem to like rape but if they get spooked and have another choice they are off, thats wots so great about the blue bird WILD NATURAL AND A NIGHTMARE TO FIND (just like the wife lmao) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul in North Lincs. Posted November 30, 2005 Report Share Posted November 30, 2005 In my experience pigeons dont particularly like their 'Breccy' frozen and even though hungry, prefer to wait a wee while until the the sun gets up. After a quick gorge they return for a rest; return for a top up early afternoon before returning back to roost. Ps, I've never done any good at on still / frosty and bright mornings ..early doors. That dosnt mean that others havent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawn9914 Posted December 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2005 hi all just been looking at the weather for the next week or so and i think sunday 18th is going to be ok for pigeon shooting getting colder max 3 degree and 15 mph winds with gusts upto 25 mph i think i will do some reccy on the sayurday ready to shoot on the sunday what do you lot think shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted December 11, 2005 Report Share Posted December 11, 2005 (edited) shawn9914, i have sent you a pm. Edited December 11, 2005 by mossy835 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invector Posted December 11, 2005 Report Share Posted December 11, 2005 Shooting pigeons over winter OSR is a bit like herding cats! :< Isolated fields may produce well, but large blocks of OSR are difficult to cover. As soon as I get a longish lull I get out and walk the ******* off the other fields, but it doesn`t always work. Getting them to revisit you depends on the direction they fly off. A couple more guns often helps, but you stand the risk of discouraging them altogether if there is other rape nearby. Just persevere, don`t expect miracles, and they may surprise you. Low pressure, wind and cloud also helps, but if you only have one or two days a week in which to shoot, it can be like juggling soot! I wonder if silenced shotguns would help?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawn9914 Posted December 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2005 shawn9914, i have sent you a pm. mossy i have not got pm shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted December 11, 2005 Report Share Posted December 11, 2005 shawn9914, just sent one now.about the video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catamong Posted December 11, 2005 Report Share Posted December 11, 2005 Invector as always makes a good point, but then blows it by talking about silenced shotguns..!! He's obviously not read the book "Pigeon Shooting" by the legendary Archie Coats, who refers to "the power of the shot" to keep the birds moving. In other words, the more banging you generate, the more the birds are kept in the air, and the more likely they then are to come in to your pattern. A common mistake newbies to the game make, particularly over large fields of rape, is to let the ******* settle up the other end of the field, when they could be kept in the air by the odd shot. If at all possible, DO NOT let them settle, because others coming to the field will invariably head for their real cousins as opposed to your pair of pigeons on a circus merry go round..!! Catamong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted December 11, 2005 Report Share Posted December 11, 2005 On large fields I will often try to channel the birds my way, by putting fertilizer bags on sticks in other areas of the field. I have even (in desperation) used my rotary device with plastic carrier bags tied on the arms. Both ideas worked. I will also fire "scare" shots when necessary, especially on windy days when the birds can't work out where the noise is coming from. Sometimes you have to work a bit harder for your shooting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old rooster Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 On large fields I will often try to channel the birds my way, by putting fertilizer bags on sticks in other areas of the field.I have even (in desperation) used my rotary device with plastic carrier bags tied on the arms. Both ideas worked. I will also fire "scare" shots when necessary, especially on windy days when the birds can't work out where the noise is coming from. Sometimes you have to work a bit harder for your shooting. I've got a load of old CD's that I'm going to rig up on strings to act as scarers, compact to carry, lightweight and they seem to be very refelective. Will try them on fields I can't shoot to see if it helps to push the pigeons to where I want them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invector Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 catamong, With gas guns in nearby fields I sometimes find that my shots scare the heck out of `em and they just go to another field. I then have to walk them off the other field because a gunshot won`t do it!! Why, if silenced/moderated shotguns is not a good idea, do we pray for the wind to carry the sound of our shots away from our decoys? I have the say where the gas guns go, and I try to push birds on to a smaller block of OSR, that I can manage. The sound of my shots have the same effect as a gas gun and, however inviting my pattern may be there`s always another, quieter, field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 On a still day, a shot will often send the pigeons into the next County, but on a windy day it seems to scare and disorientate them. I have often "scared" them from adjoining fields, or trees and had them fly straight into my decoys. Accepted, it doesn't always work, but its just another tactic, together with gas guns, fertilizer sacks etc., to try to get the birds to go where you want them. I have also found that, despite the large amount of rape fields, there is always one (sometimes two) fields that the pigeons will hit harder than the others. These fields may have water nearby, be protected from strong winds, have trees surrounding part of them, whatever it is, the pigeons like it. These are the fields I concentrate on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invector Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 One farm I shoot has eight fields of OSR totalling around 300 acres. Whilst birds do favour areas they use as a background, most times of the year, they can be on any of the fields at any time. The large flock has split into several small flocks and at times you might as well try to nail jam to a wall!! Weather conditions are the key to decent bags and you just have to work at it. Archie`s `power of the shot` doesn`t necessarily translate to today`s decoying, with very large blocks of OSR,easy all winter feeding, and gas guns in many of the fields. If the gas guns are working, and keeping birds off the rape, then so will the sound of shotguns. Today I visited one farm that had plenty of pigeons on Saturday. There were a lots less birds on the most used field and they flew off, as I drove down the track to the barns. They were picked up by a huge flock going elsewhere and the place became a pigeon desert!! Such are the joys of our chosen sport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROB REYNOLDS UK Posted December 13, 2005 Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 pigeons like there favorit field and thats a fact they will fly over many rape fields just to get to there faverit one ,i have one such field to me and you rape is rape but to a pigeon its not its like eating at you favorit cafe next to my land they have rape and the pigeons have not touched it funny i know but im happy so what makes rape in one field better than the other ?? and the funny thing is they had wheat ect and the pigeons did not go on in numbers .. i seen the pigeon on the clover the other day as i drove up the A50 towards derby not one pigeon did i see on the rape ,some sat in the trees but most were on the ground in small flocks of 12 pecking away at the clover, pigeons get sick of eating the same food just like we do so i thought any body out shooting on the rape that day would of been ****** off ,so its back to only shoot on the rape ect if theres any birds on it .now what iv found is this if the birds are on the field lets say rape and as you walk in to the flock and the pigeons all take off and are gone in one go ,now that to me is a bad sign ,what you want to see is the pigeons takeing off and just flying down the field a bit a bit like a wave out at sea this means one thing they dont want to go and if after some time you do get them to leave they will be comeing back in 10 to 15 minits and will keep on comeing back all day, insted of them all going at the same time and you sitting there looking daft like invector for a few hours with out you shooting one shot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkeye Posted December 13, 2005 Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 pigeons like there favorit field and thats a fact they will fly over many rape fields just to get to there faverit one ,i have one such field to me and you rape is rape but to a pigeon its not its like eating at you favorit cafe next to my land they have rape and the pigeons have not touched it funny i know but im happy so what makes rape in one field better than the other ?? and the funny thing is they had wheat ect and the pigeons did not go on in numbers .. i seen the pigeon on the clover the other day as i drove up the A50 towards derby not one pigeon did i see on the rape ,some sat in the trees but most were on the ground in small flocks of 12 pecking away at the clover, pigeons get sick of eating the same food just like we do so i thought any body out shooting on the rape that day would of been ****** off ,so its back to only shoot on the rape ect if theres any birds on it .now what iv found is this if the birds are on the field lets say rape and as you walk in to the flock and the pigeons all take off and are gone in one go ,now that to me is a bad sign ,what you want to see is the pigeons takeing off and just flying down the field a bit a bit like a wave out at sea this means one thing they dont want to go and if after some time you do get them to leave they will be comeing back in 10 to 15 minits and will keep on comeing back all day, insted of them all going at the same time and you sitting there looking daft like invector for a few hours with out you shooting one shot Thats exactly what happened to me today field covered walked into field they all flew into wood. Never saw them again didnt fire one shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurcherboy Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 The bottom line is........... there is never bad time. I have had brill days when everything was wrong. Weather, wind, sun yet still bagged reasonably. Perfect condition days and you may not see a woodie Its the way it is, just like fishing. LB Keep the faith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlander Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 The bottom line is........... there is never bad time. I have had brill days when everything was wrong. Weather, wind, sun yet still bagged reasonably. Perfect condition days and you may not see a woodie Its the way it is, just like fishing. LB Keep the faith. Oh LB you understand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invector Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 I find the pigeons in my area are dropping into stunted rape, that was at first purple/pink, then yellow. This rape got away very well, when sown, but may have depleted the nitrogen with the first bolted growth, and is now starved of the stuff. Of the 8 fields they haven`t bothered with the 2 that are well grown. I don`t get blank pigeon shooting days, RRUK. My last three outings have resulted in 29, 47 and 18. Plus 7 corvids. I`m out three or four times a week, so I have lots of time to study the birds, and place myself in the right fields, exactly where they are feeding, or flighting, to their feed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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