TomV Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Was out today on OSR when I got to the field I walked about 100-150 birds off that were feeding. I thought I might be in for a good day. Set up 10 flocked deeks and rotary. Bad luck must of been on my side as the battery lasted about 10 minutes, (must remember to make sure my batteries are fully charged)! I was there 2 and a half hours not a single shot, so decided to call it a day. Frustrated is not the word! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verminator 66 Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 not seeing a lot about at all at the moment Hate it when its like this no pigion pie for us then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mightymariner Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Was out today on OSR when I got to the field I walked about 100-150 birds off that were feeding. I thought I might be in for a good day. Set up 10 flocked deeks and rotary. Bad luck must of been on my side as the battery lasted about 10 minutes, (must remember to make sure my batteries are fully charged)! I was there 2 and a half hours not a single shot, so decided to call it a day. Frustrated is not the word! I have been reccying today, found three likely spots but I am prepared for a dud day. The birds are there, in good numbers but I know my chances may be limited. My only hope is the keeper lets me shoot next to a maize cover crop that had hundreds in today. I try to look at it as a day in the fresh air with a possible bonus of a shot or two! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foghorn Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Renamed "dodos" in theses parts !!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookiemonsterandmerlin. Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 You really need to try that V pattern works ever time all the time. Regards OTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yankeedoodlepigeon Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 You really need to try that V pattern works ever time all the time. Regards OTH I must remember to do this when i next see a Pigeon. last three outings....nada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docholiday Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 (edited) consider yourself lucky went out fishing today about 3 miles from the Needles and caught one pouting and one whitting, now that was cold !!!! two days ago out on the rape and managed to bring 11 into the decoys which is encouraging as none have been decoying up to now doc Edited January 3, 2011 by docholiday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsowatts Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Did only slightly better than TomV, 2 pigeon and 1 crow in 2 1/2 hrs. No birds flying whatsoever, should have gone out yesterday when there was 200 to 300 birds on the OSR. The drop in temp today seemed to have kept the birds in the woods! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomV Posted January 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Did only slightly better than TomV, 2 pigeon and 1 crow in 2 1/2 hrs. No birds flying whatsoever, should have gone out yesterday when there was 200 to 300 birds on the OSR. The drop in temp today seemed to have kept the birds in the woods! I think you might be right, I could see hundreds of birds just sitting in the trees quite far away, but nothing seemed to keep them on the move, not even other farmers gas guns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retromlc Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 Mmm makes me think my bad day yesterday was a red letter for this time of year 4 pigeon and 1 crow in 3 hours,it just annoyed me as day before they were all over the field.i was thinking about it and maybe because i was shooting at them they didn't land and draw more in? I had 30 deeks.a rotary with hypa flaps and 2 fresh birds on bouncers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southeastpete Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 i was out for 5 hrs yesterday and 5 on monday. Monday, 1 pigeon, so went for a walk, 1 grey squirrel and my first woodcock! Tuesday, 3 pigeons off flight line, settled in a hide with 3 large dead woodpigeon set out in that V. Nothing came down. Went for another walk, 2 pheasant. So overall well worth my time out, but i have yet to have a good day on the pigeons! Not quite no shots fired, but none from a hide at any decoyed birds... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKPoacher Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Walked onto the field just as it was getting light and headed towards the area they have favoured for the last couple of weeks. Put a few up as I got there. Set up a rotary and around 20 deeks, three full bodied lofters and the rest shells on spring sticks. One bird flew in before I'd got the gun loaded then nothing for a very long time. No birds in the air, as far as I could see. In the end I shot one and clipped another. Packed up around 11:30 just before the rain started. Might pop back in a couple of hours to see if the duck are coming in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8 90 Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 I did a reccy yesterday on some OSR 100's - watched them flighing in & out of a copse - went this morning 1st thing - Not 1 in sight !! Set up and stayed 3 hours 3 shots, just heading off to an old pit I've recently got permission to shoot, I've been shooting Foxes in it with my .223 and watching the pigeons whilst there, there's always loads flying in & out + they roost in there too so ................. tbc ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harpoonlouis Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 (edited) I have a few permissions now wich seems amazing considering how hard the first one was to get. If I had stuck with that I would have struggled to get any pigeon last year as they were rarely on my patch when I was available and the conditions were right. It was tempting to go out over and over on that first permission in the vain hope that some pigeon were keen to commit suicide just at that moment. That is to say most pigeon have been shot at enough times to know that humans are bad news. So here is my take, for what it is worth. Only go when and where you see pigeon now, not yesterday when you went spotting. If there are no birds about when you set up they won't suddenly appear because you put some deeks out. If there are birds about you need to be near enough to get on their radar, not two fields away but less than 200 yds, if you aren't move! If you are close enough but they don't turn in put out more or less deeks or different but don't just wait If they come in them turn away out of range check your pattern, camo, anything shiny - cart belts with shiny shells in is a typical error, did you leave the car too close, has the dog slipped out of the hide, left your thermos in view! Go out in the field and look back at your hide. Change something every 10-15 minutes until you spot the cock-up. Accept that sometimes they will come in for a short while but be driven away and won't return after being hit a few time. Often find that all is set up OK and then after a short burst of success they leave the area. That is what you are there for, to solve the farmers problem and clear his field. If he owns the next field you can put a mate in that one and drive them back for more sport but you won't have solved your sponsors problem. If he doesn't own it he won't care about the damage being done next door! But the owner will! So go talk to him. Once you can appraoch a second farmer and casually say you saw the problem caused by the pigeon dropping on to his land and hint that if you had an open permission to walk around his field edge and drive the pigeon off when they happened to stray on to his land you will probably get a reasonable reception. Especially if you can honestly say you already have a permission locally. Remember the farmer only really wants you on his land when he has a problem. He want to be able to call you up when he has a problem and get you down there for an hour to drive the pigeon away. He won't care how many you bag just so long as they ****** off. You don't need to spend hours sitting in a hide to d a good job for the farmer, half and hour here and there when he wants works best. If you can't shoot during the week ask if you can put together half a dozen names of folks who work shifts and at least one can take a look within an hour or so of a call. In return you can go down when you can but of course you probabbly won't see a thing! PS sorry for all the typo, haven't got my glasses on! Edited January 6, 2011 by harpoonlouis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordhardup Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Was out today on OSR when I got to the field I walked about 100-150 birds off that were feeding. I thought I might be in for a good day. Set up 10 flocked deeks and rotary. Bad luck must of been on my side as the battery lasted about 10 minutes, (must remember to make sure my batteries are fully charged)! I was there 2 and a half hours not a single shot, so decided to call it a day. Frustrated is not the word! I know what you mean, I was out ALL day with the same result. Clynt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yickdaz Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 I have a few permissions now wich seems amazing considering how hard the first one was to get. If I had stuck with that I would have struggled to get any pigeon last year as they were rarely on my patch when I was available and the conditions were right. It was tempting to go out over and over on that first permission in the vain hope that some pigeon were keen to commit suicide just at that moment. That is to say most pigeon have been shot at enough times to know that humans are bad news. So here is my take, for what it is worth. Only go when and where you see pigeon now, not yesterday when you went spotting. If there are no birds about when you set up they won't suddenly appear because you put some deeks out. If there are birds about you need to be near enough to get on their radar, not two fields away but less than 200 yds, if you aren't move! If you are close enough but they don't turn in put out more or less deeks or different but don't just wait If they come in them turn away out of range check your pattern, camo, anything shiny - cart belts with shiny shells in is a typical error, did you leave the car too close, has the dog slipped out of the hide, left your thermos in view! Go out in the field and look back at your hide. Change something every 10-15 minutes until you spot the cock-up. Accept that sometimes they will come in for a short while but be driven away and won't return after being hit a few time. Often find that all is set up OK and then after a short burst of success they leave the area. That is what you are there for, to solve the farmers problem and clear his field. If he owns the next field you can put a mate in that one and drive them back for more sport but you won't have solved your sponsors problem. If he doesn't own it he won't care about the damage being done next door! But the owner will! So go talk to him. Once you can appraoch a second farmer and casually say you saw the problem caused by the pigeon dropping on to his land and hint that if you had an open permission to walk around his field edge and drive the pigeon off when they happened to stray on to his land you will probably get a reasonable reception. Especially if you can honestly say you already have a permission locally. Remember the farmer only really wants you on his land when he has a problem. He want to be able to call you up when he has a problem and get you down there for an hour to drive the pigeon away. He won't care how many you bag just so long as they ****** off. You don't need to spend hours sitting in a hide to d a good job for the farmer, half and hour here and there when he wants works best. If you can't shoot during the week ask if you can put together half a dozen names of folks who work shifts and at least one can take a look within an hour or so of a call. In return you can go down when you can but of course you probabbly won't see a thing! PS sorry for all the typo, haven't got my glasses on! you hit the nail on the head when you say only set up when the pigeons are using a field that should be commonsense to every member on here who shoot pigeons;also wouldn;t even consider setting up on a field with no birds on it or flighting to or over it;thats probably why you here a lot of stories of not so succesfull days;thats the key knowing when to hit a field;i have left fields alone even when birds are on it with that gut instinct that its not going to produce any number of birds in the bag but go back on a windy day and make a decent one;and yes if its not working out pack up after an hour don;t sit there freezing yours nuts off in the hope of bagging 2 pigeons..also i don;t get it right everytime i go out i don;t know who does so not; preaching just airing my views Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomV Posted January 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 you hit the nail on the head when you say only set up when the pigeons are using a field that should be commonsense to every member on here who shoot pigeons;also wouldn;t even consider setting up on a field with no birds on it or flighting to or over it;thats probably why you here a lot of stories of not so succesfull days;thats the key knowing when to hit a field;i have left fields alone even when birds are on it with that gut instinct that its not going to produce any number of birds in the bag but go back on a windy day and make a decent one;and yes if its not working out pack up after an hour don;t sit there freezing yours nuts off in the hope of bagging 2 pigeons..also i don;t get it right everytime i go out i don;t know who does so not; preaching just airing my views when i arrived at the field there were at least 100-150 bids feeding which i walked off, so it wasn't a case of birds not feeding on the field i was intending on shooting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mightymariner Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Perhaps too many people only have a small acreage to go at and visit too often hoping for a good day just because they want a day out and some fresh air. Nothing wrong in that, but they are there more in hope than anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yickdaz Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 when i arrived at the field there were at least 100-150 bids feeding which i walked off, so it wasn't a case of birds not feeding on the field i was intending on shooting hi tom not aiming at you personally just a general view thats all like i said not trying to cause grief just giving an opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harpoonlouis Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 TomV Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason. Last summer I dropped in on a couple of mates shooting on the farm track. They were sitting in a couple of deck chairs, no cammo etc and I spotted them from the main road. I walked up the farm drive in a white shirt in full view of the pattern they had laid out and the birds were still coming in and getting shot! Barmy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomV Posted January 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 hi tom not aiming at you personally just a general view thats all like i said not trying to cause grief just giving an opinion no worries mate it is sometime difficult if you dont have massive acreage to shoot. I think that you need to show willing to a farmer if you want to keep your permission because if you dont turn up one week and his crops get hammered he can easily get someone else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomV Posted January 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 TomV Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason. Last summer I dropped in on a couple of mates shooting on the farm track. They were sitting in a couple of deck chairs, no cammo etc and I spotted them from the main road. I walked up the farm drive in a white shirt in full view of the pattern they had laid out and the birds were still coming in and getting shot! Barmy. That does surpise me that pigeons would decoy like that sometimes you have bad days, I accept that its nice to be out. I will hopefully be out again this weekend all being well there will be a few more birds about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomV Posted January 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 TomV Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason. Last summer I dropped in on a couple of mates shooting on the farm track. They were sitting in a couple of deck chairs, no cammo etc and I spotted them from the main road. I walked up the farm drive in a white shirt in full view of the pattern they had laid out and the birds were still coming in and getting shot! Barmy. That does surpise me that pigeons would decoy like that sometimes you have bad days, I accept that its nice to be out. I will hopefully be out again this weekend all being well there will be a few more birds about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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