Pest Rid

[jason kaye]

Hi everyone,just stumbled accross this website and was wondering if anyone was a member or knew anyone that was.It states you can join for £100+£30 joining fee for the first year and £90 a year thereafter,you have to ring up and book out before and after you go shooting and can go as often as you like,are these genuine offers or are they just after your cash with very little in the way of shooting? any info would be appreciated.

Cheers Jase.

[TJ91]

I have heard a not so good comment or 2 about them

 

a lad i knew joined, paid up and got some maps and stuff, he rang and booked a day ont he field, turned up at the smallish field and there was 4 other blokes shooting it already, he said that it was no way safe for anymore than 2 people on the field, so he went home, rang up and complained, saying that obviously they should tell how many people are booked on the same field or more importantly only allow a safe amount of people to book on a certain field.

He was told that if he didnt like it then dont shoot (in abit of a rude way) so off he went door knocking and got permission to shoot over some of the land they 'have' and more in other places

 

this is only 1 persons experience, maybe it has changed abit and they are better now or maybe he just rang and got someone on a bad day

 

but i know i wouldnt join any of these pigeon shooting clubs

[jason kaye]

Cheers mate,answered what I was already thinking

Jase.

[kevinbird]

what about National Pigeon & Pest Control anyone any ideas. kev

[TJ91]

what about National Pigeon & Pest Control anyone any ideas. kev

 

from what i have heard.. all these pigeon shooting clubs are a farce

 

but i have heard the odd good report

[foghorn]

Hi,

I spoke to the guy who runs Pest rid last year, seems nice enough, i decided not to join as i found some permission of my own.

During last winter i saw a number of chaps from these shooting clubs, not sure which, who had traveled many miles only to be disappointed by the lack of pigeons about.

One particular group had traveled 30 miles, shot two birds by lunchtime and were then going another 20 miles further away !!.

So the choice is yours, if you have very little permission then £130 is worth a punt.

[fluke2]

I know a few lads from up here that are members and a few month ago they turned up as told

only to be chased off by 4 guys that held permissions for the same patch,after ringing the guy

the answer they got was try midweek when nobody gets out,for a 160+ mile or so round trip

not very well organised.

[rigwallet]

Pest control clubs are basically not clubs they are individualls making money from people like you and me they buy the shooting rights and then join up members far a yearly or daily charge. Wether members shoot pigeons or not they ant bothered if you want shooting then get knocking i did three years ago an now have shooting on four different farms but remember if you get perm then go.Many people get perm then dont go regularly Mr giles will expect you to shoot come rain or shine.

[davecooper1]

A few of us joined from down here couple years ago.

We only did the 1 season, had some good days also some bad days.

We decided it was a long way to travel for the bad days.

If you have no permisisons then give it a go for a season, you are a lot closer.

Still keep trying to get your own land, in the meantime.

 

Dave.

[pigeonblasterian]

I am in Pest rid and have never had a problem when going to a field.You are bound to get some *** head who will knock them if they do not have a good day.If you travel a long way and have done no reconnoitre of the fields what can you expect.I have seen fields with plenty of pigeons in them that Pest rid have the shooting for with no one on them.For the price you pay it is nothing for a years shooting.But like anything if you book a field and just turn up the pigeons might be there or not.I found it good value for money especially when i have seen others charging for shooting from £35 to over £100 a day.I would not pay those prices but if you go fairly regular you would certainly get your moneys worth out of pest rid.

[kevinbird]

you are in my area (north east yorkshire) are there many sites in this area pigeonblaster

[big simmo999]

Sorry boys - but the above negative comments are bang out of order.

I have been a member of "Pest Rid" for quite a few years - so I am talking first hand here, so a few points need clarifying

There is no way you would be allowed to shoot on a feild/farm that somebody had previously booked. When you ring up to book a farm - you have it for yourself.

The bloke who runs the club (Paul)will tell you if there are any birds feeding that he knows of - this information is gleened from other members reporting in after a days shooting. If there is no know feeding activity you will still be able to book out the farm of your choice

Safety is paramount - you cannot join until you have spoken to Paul - and you must join BASC via the club

Last, and probably the most important - Paul runs a pigeon shooting club - HE IS NOT A GUIDE, as I said before he will try to put you onto birds but if you are wanting a cast iron guarantee i suggest you buy a fridge or a tv!

[Daveo26]

Sorry boys - but the above negative comments are bang out of order.

I have been a member of "Pest Rid" for quite a few years - so I am talking first hand here, so a few points need clarifying

There is no way you would be allowed to shoot on a feild/farm that somebody had previously booked. When you ring up to book a farm - you have it for yourself.

The bloke who runs the club (Paul)will tell you if there are any birds feeding that he knows of - this information is gleened from other members reporting in after a days shooting. If there is no know feeding activity you will still be able to book out the farm of your choice

Safety is paramount - you cannot join until you have spoken to Paul - and you must join BASC via the club

Last, and probably the most important - Paul runs a pigeon shooting club - HE IS NOT A GUIDE, as I said before he will try to put you onto birds but if you are wanting a cast iron guarantee i suggest you buy a fridge or a tv!

 

Im in pest rid too, This is my second year with them.

Iv been quite a few times and can count the number of pigeons iv shot on one hand.

I had paul ask me and a mate to go to a field "thats been hammered" to find it full of bird scarers and no birds.

Why dont we meet up an go together? ill drive. iv got all the gear.

Maybe you can show me where im going wrong? Although i suspect the problem is there are lots and lots of shooters on there.

Im serious though if any other members want a pest rid partner PM me.

[TJ91]

The bloke who runs the club (Paul)will tell you if there are any birds feeding that he knows of - this information is gleened from other members reporting in after a days shooting.

 

so if someones goes and shoots 150 birds they tell paul and he then tells the next person that rings there is hundreds on the field...but there wont be the next day as someone has just shot them and scared the rest off

 

maybe thats why the above person didnt get many on this field that was been hammered, everyone went before him and got big bags...reported them and paul gave false facts saying there was loads..loads shot not loads on the field!!

[UKPoacher]

I'm not a member of any shooting organisation as such. I shoot vermin on three farms covered by a friend's game shoot. The experiences mentioned here are part and parcel of pigeon shooting. No one can expect to be able to shoot pigeons on demand and to be able to have exclusive rights to them.

 

I put a lot of time and effort into watching the fields, checking the flightlines, building hides and sometimes I get lucky, sometimes I don't. But I can guarantee that I get more than my fair share because I put more effort in than some others.

 

There are times when the fields are blue over with pigeons and I can't shoot for whatever reason. There are times when I've built hides in areas where pigeons have been seen to congregate and then on subsequent days found someoen else in the hide I built. There are times when I've shot dozens day after day then for whatever reason none come near the field for months. I've spent hours in a field that the farmer swears was being stripped bare and seen less than 10 pigeons. That is pigeon shooting.

 

The only way to maximise success in one of these pigeon clubs is to spend a lot of time reccying the area and then booking a field the night before. If you book a field on spec and just turn up you don't deserve success.

[Paul T]

I've been considering Pest Rid for a few months, but not actually got round to joining.

 

Simple reasons for joining are:

 

1. Local - I can shoot all day, every day on the family's farm if I want, but it's over an hours drive away!

2. Pest Rid seem reasonably priced (£20 diesel to the farm each trip!).

3. I don't want to get stuck into going to the same place week in, week out.

 

As for there being no birds - as PIGEONBLASTERIAN says, do a reccy first!

 

Just one thing making me hestitate on joining - too many mixed reports regarding organisation

[pigeonblasterian]

you are in my area (north east yorkshire) are there many sites in this area pigeonblaster

Just got my rape field list today from pest rid.There are fifteen farms on it and roughly forty fields of rape to cover.There may be more added later but i do not know for certain.

I have been past some of the farms today and the pigeons are just starting in small numbers on some of the fields.But the hawthorn bushes around here are covered in berries.So i do not expect to see lots of pigeons on the rape till the berries get scarce.

[Mightymariner]

Any shooting is better than no shooting, I considered joining NPPC last year but didn't because the nearest land was an hour from me and it would have made doing a recce impossible, and I don't like just turning up in the hope of shooting something. That said, if there is no shooting near you, then I can see why people join but more often than not they are heading out on a wing and a prayer.

[big simmo999]

Im in pest rid too, This is my second year with them.

Iv been quite a few times and can count the number of pigeons iv shot on one hand.

I had paul ask me and a mate to go to a field "thats been hammered" to find it full of bird scarers and no birds.

Why dont we meet up an go together? ill drive. iv got all the gear.

Maybe you can show me where im going wrong? Although i suspect the problem is there are lots and lots of shooters on there.

Im serious though if any other members want a pest rid partner PM me.

 

The farmers have to put bird scarers/ bangers or whatever out - because if you read the general license by which we can shoot wood pigeon - shooting is the last resort - other methods have to have been tried, hence the bangers etc

If the fields you shot on were "hammered" then obviously the bangers have not worked!!!! If you saw no birds they may have moved - or they may have seen you!

I have had plenty of blanks - and I'll have plenty more no doubt. Pigeon shooting is not like driven game shooting

It's fine if you know where birds are - but most of us live miles from the shooting. It takes me 2 hours drive to get to farthest farm, a round trip of about 175 miles and 100 to the nearest. Of course a club will have more shooters going out shooting than say a person with their own permission - its the same with fishing - but it doesn't mean there are no birds, Ive had plenty of days with bags over 50 and hopefully more to come

Sick with it and read any book on pigeon shooting and watch the dvds etc. There is plenty of advice on here - but you have to sort fact from fiction!!!

Edited November 9, 2010 by big simmo999

[pigeonblasterian]

If you join a club and it does not matter which one you join.If you get to know some of the other members then swap details and keep in touch with each other.Let each other know how you have got on and it works to your advantage.If you have an idea which area the pigeons are in then you stand a decent chance of a decent day out.

[big simmo999]

If you join a club and it does not matter which one you join.If you get to know some of the other members then swap details and keep in touch with each other.Let each other know how you have got on and it works to your advantage.If you have an idea which area the pigeons are in then you stand a decent chance of a decent day out.

Exactly mate - if I have a good day then I tell Paul - I only shoot once or twice a month so I would rather another member get some shooting because the next time i go out the birds will have moved on. Likewise - if its been hard going I tell him so he knows there are no birds about that area. If other members exagerate or lie...then thats up to them - theres nothing we can do about that. Paul can only go on the info that is passed to him.

[999FirEStorM]

Im with pestrid and have never had any trouble with double booked fields etc.

I have had poor days shooting but I have had good days 2.

Paul has always been honest about wether he knows were the birds are.

At the end of the day I pay my money to have some land to shoot on 365 days a year if I want.

If I wanted to be guaranteed birds then I would pay for a driven day as thats the only way you can be assured of birds.

[Daveo26]

The farmers have to put bird scarers/ bangers or whatever out - because if you read the general license by which we can shoot wood pigeon - shooting is the last resort - other methods have to have been tried, hence the bangers etc

If the fields you shot on were "hammered" then obviously the bangers have not worked!!!! If you saw no birds they may have moved - or they may have seen you!

I have had plenty of blanks - and I'll have plenty more no doubt. Pigeon shooting is not like driven game shooting

It's fine if you know where birds are - but most of us live miles from the shooting. It takes me 2 hours drive to get to farthest farm, a round trip of about 175 miles and 100 to the nearest. Of course a club will have more shooters going out shooting than say a person with their own permission - its the same with fishing - but it doesn't mean there are no birds, Ive had plenty of days with bags over 50 and hopefully more to come

Sick with it and read any book on pigeon shooting and watch the dvds etc. There is plenty of advice on here - but you have to sort fact from fiction!!!

 

I understand the general license, but why ask for people to shoot then put scarers out? why not the day before and days after?.

on that particular day, i sat and watched 2 fields for 1/2 an hr and counted one feral fly over.

The fields were not hammered thats how they were discribed by paul.

If out of all the days iv been id had one half decent bag id have renewed optimism but iv shot a handful of pigeons.

Iv had really good days on other land but i was tempted by the thought of shooting 365 a year.

[999FirEStorM]

I understand the general license, but why ask for people to shoot then put scarers out? why not the day before and days after?.

on that particular day, i sat and watched 2 fields for 1/2 an hr and counted one feral fly over.

The fields were not hammered thats how they were discribed by paul.

If out of all the days iv been id had one half decent bag id have renewed optimism but iv shot a handful of pigeons.

Iv had really good days on other land but i was tempted by the thought of shooting 365 a year.

 

The farmers have to put scarers out, they cant just leave the crops in the hope that someone from the club will turn up.

They would have no crops left if that was the case as most club members only shoot weekends.

You could of course take down scarers or turn off gas guns whilst you are shooting so long as you remember to put them back as they were before you leave.

[fluke2]

I know a few lads from up here that are members and a few month ago they turned up as told

only to be chased off by 4 guys that held permissions for the same patch,after ringing the guy

the answer they got was try midweek when nobody gets out,for a 160+ mile or so round trip

not very well organised.

 

Sorry about the confusion here lads but this answer was to kevinbirds and tj91s post about NPPC,

the guy told them where to go on the day and his wife told them to come back midweek when they rang to complain they were chased off by lads with permission off the farmer.