Advice on hide setup

[turbo33]

As pigeon seem to prefer feeding in the middle of rape fields at this time of year, what advice and experiences have you for setting up a hide out in the open?

[TJ91]

done it many times and had some very succesful days

 

talk to farmer first, he may not want you walking about on the crop, especially if the ground is very wet!

 

i usually set up the hide a couple of days before i intend to shoot, to let the birds get used to it being there, although i have at times not wanted to risk leaving the hide in a field when in view from houses or a road (too many thiefs about!) and therefore built it when i am going to shoot...had success both ways

 

always best to have a roof when out in the open, make sure all sides are really thick so the birds dont see movement inside

 

Remember you dont necessarily want to be setting up your decoys where the birds are feeding, you want to be on the main flightline

[yickdaz]

As pigeon seem to prefer feeding in the middle of rape fields at this time of year, what advice and experiences have you for setting up a hide out in the open?

i;ve done it meself quite a few times but a net hide stands out like a sore thumb in the middle of a winter rape field and birds are wary of coming close;unlike a summer rape stubble with similar coloured hide that can work well..not saying don;t try but i have never had more than 15 birds with hide in the middle of winter rape.

[Cosd]

Use four hide poles set high enough for you to stand below the top of them, net/s around the sides nice and thick so you can't be seen through the hide and hen using a separate net put a roof on there leaving a 360 degree view; the roof net doesn't need to be so thick as the ground and dark sides will provide enough cover from birds peering down.

 

Go for it, I haven't used a hide in the middle of a field but have used bales.

 

Let us know how you get on and a picture would be nice too

[TJ91]

i;ve done it meself quite a few times but a net hide stands out like a sore thumb in the middle of a winter rape field and birds are wary of coming close;unlike a summer rape stubble with similar coloured hide that can work well..not saying don;t try but i have never had more than 15 birds with hide in the middle of winter rape.

 

colour is not the most important thing, dont be led to believe that

the key is to stay still, its the movement that will spook them

 

i have used many different colours against different backgrounds that have stood out like a sore thumb from 500yards away...if you have a good thick background and keep still the pigeons will come (if they want to be there)

[yickdaz]

thats my point tj i;m on about in the middle of a field which can be seen in all directions not on a hegeline with background to break up the outline of a hide

[TJ91]

a hide in the middle of a field just needs solid sides with small gaps at top for spotting, then no movement inside the hide can be seen

[turbo33]

Thanks for the replies. The field I'm trying to tackle has no particular flightlines so getting under anything regular isn't going to happen. There is a large wood that the birds roll out of in that typical "wave" over 250 yards of winter barley to the rape. The prevailing wind is from the wood to the rape. So the idea was to think about setting up, back to the wood (hide facing away from the wood). Hopefully the theory is that as the gunshots are facing away from the wood, it might just not scare fresh traffic coming into the reserviour wood. Tried the wood last week, but the birds drop into the trees the other side of a 60 foot gully, which when combined with the tree height makes them pretty much a non shot.

If its not hissing down tomorrow, I will give it a go and let you know how I get one. If it looks like not working, I will try something else.

[Bleeh]

Thanks for the replies. The field I'm trying to tackle has no particular flightlines so getting under anything regular isn't going to happen. There is a large wood that the birds roll out of in that typical "wave" over 250 yards of winter barley to the rape. The prevailing wind is from the wood to the rape. So the idea was to think about setting up, back to the wood (hide facing away from the wood). Hopefully the theory is that as the gunshots are facing away from the wood, it might just not scare fresh traffic coming into the reserviour wood. Tried the wood last week, but the birds drop into the trees the other side of a 60 foot gully, which when combined with the tree height makes them pretty much a non shot.

If its not hissing down tomorrow, I will give it a go and let you know how I get one. If it looks like not working, I will try something else.

 

 

It'll be a pain at the moment because it's so windy, but by far the most effective hide you can have in the middle of a field is one that has been there a while (a few days), and the pigeons are more than used to it.

 

It does run the risk of being nicked, but then again, maybe a thief would feel detered about nicking something obvious in the middle of a great big field, where he is easily spotted?

[UKPoacher]

Just before harvest I set up a solid green Pop-a-Bivvy in the middle of a 53 acre field of ripened wheat and had the best three days shooting Id had all season. Colour doesn't matter. Movement does!

[Cranfield]

I have to set up in open ground quite a lot of the time and often use a large green fishing umbrella set on the tilt,with a camo net draped over it(the nets not really necessary, but it makes me feel happier).

You have to shoot sitting down with a defined shooting area, so the front netting will be low and you are sitting exposed to birds coming in from the front, so I wear face mask, gloves, etc.

 

This works very well and the lower profile makes it blend in well from a distance.