dodeer Posted March 16, 2003 Report Share Posted March 16, 2003 Im going to Kent this weekend with a friend onto his estate and told we are decoying over rape. Do i need loads of decoys or just a few, shall i expect a big or small bag.N.B. the field has not been shot over . any help will be greatly recieved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkshire Pudding Posted March 16, 2003 Report Share Posted March 16, 2003 sam f imho i would say take atleast 20-30 decoys with you as the more the merryer! With that amount of decoys over rape that has not been shot over, i would expect a bag of atleast 175 + birds u might even get up into the 250 + size. So remember take plenty of carts with you. all the best yis yp :ph34r: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catamong Posted March 17, 2003 Report Share Posted March 17, 2003 If possible, try and recce the field the day before to find out which bit the pigeons prefer. This time of year it tends to grow pretty quickly and they tend to hammer one small area of the field where it has been chewed off, so try and decoy over this bit if you can. As YP says, 20 - 30 deeks would be plenty, and don't be surprised if you find piles of fresh empty shell cases on the so-called "virgin" field - we've all heard that one before. It also pays to take a good dog along who can retrieve from the standing rape to save you trampling all over it. Take a rotary with you - this is essential when shooting over rape, and also be aware that as it is likely to be dry all of this week in Kent, there is likely to be some drilling done which is going to be more of a draw to the birds than your rape field - so be prepared to move at short notice. Also, pray for overcast and windy weather next weekend - Good Luck :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted March 17, 2003 Report Share Posted March 17, 2003 I am in Kent and in our area of the County, the pigeons have been on clover and chickweed for weeks. Peas are being drilled now and they are top of the list. The pigeons that are visiting the rape, seem to be on it at first light and then spending the rest of the day elsewhere. We are getting our shooting, by being very mobile. Be prepared to move, sems to be the motto. Kent is a large County, hopefully things will be better where you are going. Let us know how you get on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supergame Posted March 17, 2003 Report Share Posted March 17, 2003 The pigeons in my area are deffinetly moving from crop to crop. On saturday I checked the crops on several birds. Some contained Rape, clover and new sown barley, one a mixture of all three. I suspect by the end of the week they will mainly be tuned into drillings as the farmers are finally sowing, thank god. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dead-eye-dick Posted March 18, 2003 Report Share Posted March 18, 2003 As Cranfield rightly says, the birds in my area of Kent are feeding on so meny things at the moment, it's really difficault to make a bag. Moving is deffinatly the key, I moved 3 times in 5hrs on Sat for 6 birds, not alot but reasonable for the amount of birds seen... Good luck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernyha Posted March 18, 2003 Report Share Posted March 18, 2003 On Sunday Lloydy and myself had over 60 on a small field that had been sown with barley. There was no sign of any spilt seed on the surface at all but being in an area where we always see a few pigeons regardless of the crop, we conned them into decoying. On checking a few dead birds, they contained just about every sort of food a pigeon likes from rape,barley,clover to berries. They seem spoilt for choice at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsnuts Posted March 18, 2003 Report Share Posted March 18, 2003 Where i am in kent the pigeons are still on the rape in there thousands but the farm has just started sowing peas so it wont be long before they are on them... Good luck and let us know how you get on.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodeer Posted March 27, 2003 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2003 Unfortunately the decoying was called of as the keeper had a slight emergency in his deer park. Roost shooting i got 21 though. Never mind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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