cut rape any tips

[gwb]

went shooting yesterday over cut rape, looking for some tips

 

got there and set up about 7am. There was a flock of about 100 which I disturbed setting up, I set up in the opposite corner near a sittee tree.

 

had a bit of action early on which dispersed the large flock then one or two flew by but that was it for the next few hours.

 

I thought I was on a flightline but recently we have had very little activity wherever we have set up

 

we probably only see a few pigeons flying around in any 4 hours, also we have a few kites that have taken up residence in the pigeons favourite copse and I think this has made a a big difference in the flightline

 

yesterday was the first time i have seen a flock of any size but i would of had to been there and set up by 6am to be in position

 

we dream of getting double figures when out but the whole area seems to be lacking. We have a few feilds of cut rape and a couple of barley that has not been cut, any advice would be great.

 

We only have half a dozen decoys and a couple of bouncers, should we invest in a rotary as there are many feilds surrounding us but we dont have permission

[yickdaz]

a rotary would help.but if the area and fields you shoot on are devoid of any real number of pigeons there isn;t a decoy or mechanical aid on the market that will get you a bag;also as a lot of posts are saying at the moment......i went out at 6am...wouldn;t waste my time going that early in the morning.. afternoon and evening sessions are much much better than early morning trips in summer

[shakin stevens]

a rotary would help.but if the area and fields you shoot on are devoid of any real number of pigeons there isn;t a decoy or mechanical aid on the market that will get you a bag;also as a lot of posts are saying at the moment......i went out at 6am...wouldn;t waste my time going that early in the morning.. afternoon and evening sessions are much much better than early morning trips in summer

very true the birds seem to be feeding late on at the moment, ive had the most action between 6pm and 8pm, warm sunny days and plenty of grub

around does not make em desperate, then they just attack before dusk to stock up for the night.

[anser2]

I always start with a pigeon magnet , but I often find it does not work as well over stubbles as it does growing rape. I think the birds may see the dark rods against the pale stubble background. For me the most reliable set up is ;

 

Quietly shoo the pigeons off the field.

Find the flightline and set up under or close to it.

Use 20 - 30 widely spaced decoys ( with silosocks ) leaving a good landing hole in the pattern.

Have a couple of bouncers out.

Use the magnet , but be perpared to switch it off and use it as an additional bouncer if it puts the pigeons off. But experiment later as sometimes the birds will switch onto it as the light changes.

Be careful using your dog if the rape stubble is very dry. It can cut or at least scratch your dog as it retrieves.

Make sure the hide is well hidden

Try to site the hide so you are not shooting into the sun. Birds coming out of the sun are never easy as you are part blinded and they will notice movement very fast. If the sun is in the pigeons eyes the boot is on the other foot and you have the advantage.

Edited August 1, 2010 by anser2

[UKPoacher]

went shooting yesterday over cut rape, looking for some tips

 

got there and set up about 7am. There was a flock of about 100 which I disturbed setting up, I set up in the opposite corner near a sittee tree.

 

Think about it. The clue is in the question

Edited August 1, 2010 by UKPoacher

[gwb]

Think about it. The clue is in the question

 

 

yes I see your point, however footpath too near the opposite corner, even so the pigeons never came back all the time i was there

 

thanks all for the tips

 

we were only talking the other day that we should pack up our gear and take it to work and leave straight after ,we should get there around six ,rush hour permitting,

 

our shoot is about an hour away

[mossy835]

i dont shoot in the mornning,if i go out its at 12-00 oclock or after put out what you want if the birds are not there you get nothing,we went out yesterday and hit 59 pigeons,on rape stubble and this was cut last saturday,and not beeen shot befor,a lot think put out all the deer stuff and will get all the pigeons,come in dont work like that, if the pigeons are there they will come in,all we had out yesterday was 13 sillo socks and thats it.worked ok for us.i dont look for big bags of pigeon.just happy to get out there.

[proTOM1]

Like has been said before try going later in the day ,the birds round me are out at first light and feed for an hour then leave the field to go back in the trees tho over the last week or so they have started to come back to the fields around 10am and then spend the rest of the day feeding that said been getting the bulk of the shooting in the mid afternoon till dark

[chrispti]

had a bit of action early on which dispersed the large flock then one or two flew by but that was it for the next few hours.

 

I thought I was on a flightline but recently we have had very little activity wherever we have set up

 

we probably only see a few pigeons flying around in any 4 hours,

 

 

You can have all the gear in the world mate, if there are no pigeons there, you wont shoot any.

[Harnser]

At this time of the year the really keen pigeon shooter will be out at first light untill about 10 am . then home for breakfast and back out at 2pm untill dark .

Harnser .

[chrispti]

At this time of the year the really keen pigeon shooter will be out at first light untill about 10 am . then home for breakfast and back out at 2pm untill dark .

Harnser .

 

 

Find where they want to feed/feeding. Let them have a few hours on it, then walk them off. Set up and enjoy the shooting as they start trickling back

[anser2]

Harnser are you noticing any change from normal flighting patterns of N Norfolk pigeons this year. I normaly recon to be shooting until sunset in July and August. But so far this July the birds come well until about 6.00 pm and then it goes dead. I have hung on until well after 7.00pm , but just get the odd shot.

[swiss.tony]

Went out 4.30 pm no decoy gear ie net , magnet stuff like that only had x5 full body deeks and a floater stood in ditch shot 18 birds in 2hrs

 

Had enough of standing so raped up job done

 

 

swiss

[Harnser]

Harnser are you noticing any change from normal flighting patterns of N Norfolk pigeons this year. I normaly recon to be shooting until sunset in July and August. But so far this July the birds come well until about 6.00 pm and then it goes dead. I have hung on until well after 7.00pm , but just get the odd shot.

 

Have been shooting birds up to 8pm . Although it has been tailling off from about 6-30 pm .

Harnser .

[motty]

I shot 105 on rape stubble last wednesday. I used a desert camo net in the middle of the field that birds just did not spot- even my mate couldn't tell where my hide was from 200 yards away. I used two magnets next to each other and the pigeons were diving into the pattern from 60 yards up, at times. I placed my flocked shells on top of the rape stalks at about 18" to 2ft up.

I would like to have been set up by 10.30 but got set up by 12.00 and shot through till 15.30. After that, the birds lost interest.

Edited August 2, 2010 by motty

[henry d]

Another thing to remember is that if there are other cut fields in the area then they may just be better off there. Why not find out if there are and get permission to bag/flag them off.

[Beardo]

plenty of pigeons still on the rape stubble when i turned up to shoot bunnies last night (8.30pm)

[gwb]

this is part of the problem, there are plenty of fields for miles around of which we don t have permission

 

with regards to the Kites in the area does this pose a major problem??

[hankook1]

hi'

in my experience the best time to shoot pigeons where i am (in the summer) is late afternoon i wouldn't shoot at first light as they tend to leave the field early to find somewhere else to feed, i normally let them feed for a few hours first and when i do go i normaly try to keep away from the corners of the field as pigeons tend to prefer open area's they feel safer and will come into the decoys with more confidence,try to establish the best flightline and get as near to this as possible and away from the corners they are to enclosed and pigeons don't like that, i suggest you try and place a hide more in the open close to a flightline rape is harder you need a very light coloured hide same as the stubble corn is easier if you have the use of some bale's, nothing is more important than spending time watching them try to spend the first few hours checking out the options also i tend to fire a shot at them first and see how long it take for them to return good luck.. :look:

[gwb]

hi'

in my experience the best time to shoot pigeons where i am (in the summer) is late afternoon i wouldn't shoot at first light as they tend to leave the field early to find somewhere else to feed, i normally let them feed for a few hours first and when i do go i normaly try to keep away from the corners of the field as pigeons tend to prefer open area's they feel safer and will come into the decoys with more confidence,try to establish the best flightline and get as near to this as possible and away from the corners they are to enclosed and pigeons don't like that, i suggest you try and place a hide more in the open close to a flightline rape is harder you need a very light coloured hide same as the stubble corn is easier if you have the use of some bale's, nothing is more important than spending time watching them try to spend the first few hours checking out the options also i tend to fire a shot at them first and see how long it take for them to return good luck..

 

Cheers

we went out wednesday night and very little again . got set up about 5.30 over freshly cut barley but it had ben raining very heavily during the day. eventually moved to another feild but there had been people shooting in the area and again very little around, talked to someone who had been setting up shooters hides and for red letter days and he said that there were plenty on the feild in the morning but very little else

 

i guess they have too many feilds to choose from??

[yickdaz]

Cheers

we went out wednesday night and very little again . got set up about 5.30 over freshly cut barley but it had ben raining very heavily during the day. eventually moved to another feild but there had been people shooting in the area and again very little around, talked to someone who had been setting up shooters hides and for red letter days and he said that there were plenty on the feild in the morning but very little else

 

i guess they have too many feilds to choose from??

at the moment a lot of stubbles are available and that fragments the birds more so they are not as concentrated as they were a week or so ago but as farmers start to plough up the stubbles they will head to the nearest ones available and hopefully they are the fields that we shoot on.