clapping birds off?

[adam f]

Just reading Archie Coats book and was interested that he advocates clapping birds off the field or even firing a wild shot to stop them from landing away from your pattern and getting comfy.

 

The logic sounds good just wondered if anyone else does this?

[mossy835]

in his day there were lots of pigeons about,so fireing a shot they would come back.now if you fire a wild shot half the time they dont come back.

Edited August 9, 2010 by mossy835

[motty]

I'm pretty sure there are just as many birds about these days.

[UKPoacher]

I always fire a shot if things go quiet or if I see pigeons landing elsewhere on the field. My mate puts strings of bangers in likely areas if no one else is shooting so as to keep the birds moving.

[Cranfield]

Its an old habit of mine if birds are feeding when I arrive I disturb them just by putting up the hide and laying out the decoys, I don't fire a scare shot.

 

If after I have set up birds start landing at the other end of the field, I either move there (if it looks the right thing to do) or I will fire a scare shot to move them off.

If you leave them there, every bird that flies by will join them.

[pigeon controller]

I always clap birds off the field and also just as they are to land in local trees and this will then bring them into range or come and look at the decoys

[rimfire4969]

in his day there were lots of pigeons about,so fireing a shot they would come back.now if you fire a wild shot half the time they dont come back.

According to the horrible rspb HERE Woodpigeon numbers have increased 7 fold in the last 3 decades.

[Highlander]

If there're pigeons on the field when you turn up they'll most probably move when you're setting up so no problem there...assuming they come back. :blink:

 

BUT if pigeons land in any numbers on the field but away from your hide then a couple of shots over them is a MUST otherwise every bird that comes to the field will pull to them and not your deeks. Maybe proof that dead birds are always better than deeks.

 

BTW I don't go with the comment about the RSPB saying pigeons have increased 7 fold in 30 years as it is most likely based on their (woodys) preference for peoples back gardens rather than fields nowadays and is NOT a reflection on the truth of the matter. Most RSPB et al surveys are conducted by the bird watching public at large and as a consequence are prone to wild inaccuracies as most of the BWP don't go outside their back gardens to watch much at all!

[hankook1]

Just reading Archie Coats book and was interested that he advocates clapping birds off the field or even firing a wild shot to stop them from landing away from your pattern and getting comfy.

 

The logic sounds good just wondered if anyone else does this?

yes most definately i always fire a shot to clear them and see how quickly they come back thats how i know if its worth setting up, after all if they don't come back whats the point it just mean they aren't really that interested and have gone else where :blink:

[955i]

I try not to, but if they are a distance away or landing in trees on the other side of the field, or even if it just goes quiet I will sometimes put a shot through in the hopes that they will either come in my direction if I know where they are or see what scares up if I've not seen anything for a while.

 

Out of interest, do those who do this have a direction that they fire in as I have wondered whether placing the shot in the opposite direction to where they are would give less indication of where it came from?