hattochr Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Is it just me or is anyone else struggling to decoy birds on the rape? I've tried all sorts rotary floaters peckers!! There are plenty hitting it but they just won't decoy. The farmer keeps ringing me because decent numbers are nailing his fields I'm getting drawn with it!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
point and shoot Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Don't panic. You are not alone. Many of us are finding the same! Hundreds down before and as you get there then they all leave and nothing. I find that the magnet seems to be working well, even on its own with no deeks! Try it. I generally put the magnet in the middle with two blocks of deeks on either side about 20 meters apart. It seems to bring in some. Still only shoot a handfull each time out. Should get better soon. HOPE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vampire Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Not struggling here,have given up and am waiting for spring drillings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proTOM1 Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 They stopped feeding on my rape when the maize was first cut but there back on now and are decoying well . they might leave it again now tho as cut more maize and there drilling like mad around me tho its still winter wheat there drilling rather late i know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mightymariner Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 I've seen pigeons on the same rape fields on the way to work for weeks now, but, hardly ever two days in a row. Sometimes there is a gap of several days or even a week before I see them in the same place again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koikeeper Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Hi there, Same here 500+ on one field,walked them off,nothing came back, the few that came past totally ignored the decoys,including a magnet,tried various patterns,floaters etc. I ended up packing up the decoys and shooting a few coming to feed on ivy berries,they have caned the OSR but wont decoy. Makes me feel better that im not the only one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Same story with me today, it's very common unless you have multiple guns covering many fields and any not being shot are bangered Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Agree with Nick, you need to cover as many fields as possible to keep them moving otherwise they just go to the next field and usually don't return. Should get easier to decoy in the next few weeks as more crops are available through drilling and the flocks begging to break up. Don't forget you need to keep Mr farmer happy though, so you need to have these days even when you dont shoot much to keep them off as much as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilR Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 I've been up to our syndicate shoot farm on several occasions with Blackla and we've struggled to entice birds into gun range on the rape fields, using a magnet, decoys, floaters and even on our knees begging them They're in big flocks and when disturbed clear off onto other fields or into the woods so all we've been able to shoot are the odd stragglers. I've also been decoying over Alfalfa on a different farm and had some success yesterday with several flurries of five to ten birds coming into the pattern. Roll on the drillings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catamong Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 I've been up to our syndicate shoot farm on several occasions with Blackla and we've struggled to entice birds into gun range on the rape fields, using a magnet, decoys, floaters and even on our knees begging them They're in big flocks and when disturbed clear off onto other fields or into the woods so all we've been able to shoot are the odd stragglers. I've also been decoying over Alfalfa on a different farm and had some success yesterday with several flurries of five to ten birds coming into the pattern. Roll on the drillings. Well, there ain't no drillings in my area, literally everything's been Winter drilled, OK, Gazza's got his eye on a potential field of peas but he doesn't have sole rights on it and there's a couple of guys who'll jump on that field the day it's drilled and keep everything off it by shooting it virtually every other day, so there's no opportunity for us working chaps who can only shoot at weekends. Phil, if the birds are avoiding you on the rape fields, and you've got a magnet or two working, it generally means you're in the wrong place, you MUST do a recce of the field the day before to find out exactly where the birds are feeding, then try to position your hide as close as possible to that spot. Don't make the classic newbie error of just turning up at the field having done no recce and then wonder why the birds don't come to where you want them to, they're far too smart for that, particularly at this time of year when they've been shot hard all Winter, it's a real challenge to get a decent bag, but if you do have access to drillings, pick your time well, I always reckon that for Wheat drillings, it generally takes them about 3 or 4 days after it's been drilled for them to find it, then they're on it for 3 or 4 days, then they move on, leaving only a motley collection of Ferals and Stock Doves to mop up what's left. Good luck, let us know how you get on, and remember to take plenty of shells. Cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennyboy30 Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 yep same up here lads one shot and they dont come back for hours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-a-s Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 (edited) The pigeons round here are still feeding on the rape,well they where last sat,took a fellow pw member out and he had 40+ shots and most of the birds had commited to the patern.Just had 12 fuds on a r patern and the magnet mounted with hyperflaps :good:Edited to add the moderated 410 was used. Edited March 3, 2011 by p-a-s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAMMER BURT Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 its the worst season i have had for the past 5 years they are just not interested Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckaroo23 Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 ive got the same probkem ive bag and rope bangerd feilds set my magnet up with decoys still nothing even worse i was watchin the flight lines all this week seen a great one two libes hitting three trees great so i set up ten feet away from the trees had every thing going apart from the pigions only had two take a interest and one crow try again monday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilR Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Well, there ain't no drillings in my area, literally everything's been Winter drilled, OK, Gazza's got his eye on a potential field of peas but he doesn't have sole rights on it and there's a couple of guys who'll jump on that field the day it's drilled and keep everything off it by shooting it virtually every other day, so there's no opportunity for us working chaps who can only shoot at weekends. Phil, if the birds are avoiding you on the rape fields, and you've got a magnet or two working, it generally means you're in the wrong place, you MUST do a recce of the field the day before to find out exactly where the birds are feeding, then try to position your hide as close as possible to that spot. Don't make the classic newbie error of just turning up at the field having done no recce and then wonder why the birds don't come to where you want them to, they're far too smart for that, particularly at this time of year when they've been shot hard all Winter, it's a real challenge to get a decent bag, but if you do have access to drillings, pick your time well, I always reckon that for Wheat drillings, it generally takes them about 3 or 4 days after it's been drilled for them to find it, then they're on it for 3 or 4 days, then they move on, leaving only a motley collection of Ferals and Stock Doves to mop up what's left. Good luck, let us know how you get on, and remember to take plenty of shells. Cat. Hi Cat, I don't think there's been much shooting over the rape fields during the winter hence us getting permission to shoot there. A problem is it's heavy clay soil and access onto the fields is very difficult because they're so wet even around the margins, just standing water in places. I did slog out onto one field and set up under an oak tree but by the time I'd reached it I'd grown several inches taller and could hardly lift my feet because of the clay stuck to my wellies Blackla and I have got stuck trying to get closer to one rape field, his write up of events is in the Offroad section entitled 'Oh, dear...' I've been doing recces and have tried to plot flight lines across them and the sitty trees on rough drawings. There's seven fields in three locations plus other farmer's rape fields in the vicinity so there's no need for the birds to return to where they were disturbed from. There's also several pairs of red kites floating around and it seems when they appear the pigeons depart. It's too wet at the moment for the farmer to start drilling but with luck he'll start later in the month or the beginning of April when he'll be putting in barley. Ever the optimist, I always make sure I've got a slab of ammo in the car and plenty with me as you never know what the day may bring Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M ROBSON Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 A bit of wind helps a lot. :yp: Over the last 3 days we had a good day (78 + 55), a bad day (14 + 16) and a good day today (114 + 75). All on rape, birds diving from 150 meters down into the decoys today in flocks of up to 100, yet yesterday they sat in the trees all day an hardly moved. Mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Duncan Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 yep same up here lads one shot and they dont come back for hours Strange ! It's almost like they don't want to get shot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Essex Hunter Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Got 41 with a mate yesterday in 4hrs despite the jet lag. Lots of birds around and they have given the rape a right bashing around where we shoot. The contract farmer has not been around with the rope bangers since i have been on holiday and you can see the differance. TEH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 im out on rape soon not shot it for 2 weeks so see how i get on, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 im out on rape soon not shot it for 2 weeks so see how i get on, [/quote i went out today and only shot 4 on rape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M ROBSON Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 (edited) I had a single gun from Denmark out today and he had a new personal best of 31 and a crow for 129 shots. He was shooting over Rape and the birds decoyed very well. Mark. Edited March 6, 2011 by M ROBSON Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbo33 Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Drove round 2000 acres yesterday and not a single bird. Guns didn't leave the car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth Stalker Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 2 of the fellas that have posted on this topic were out with me today & found that the birds just wouldn't decoy. I recce'd the field's for the past 2 days & counted at least 2000 birds hammering the rape. Thursday: Beardo & me were set up in 1 field that i'd pushed 1500 off only to see them all land half a mile away & us only shoot 3 birds Friday I did a recce & 2k were on the field we pushed them to on thursday Today we had 4 hides covering about a mile of rape either side of the road where me & beardo had pushed the birds, with the plan to bounce birds back & forth. They were nowhere to be seen! The big flocks had gone! Embarrassingly I was the only one to get any shooting getting 64 pigeons that decoyed in text book fashion The other 3 hides seeing naff all Pigeons just don't make any sense SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Duncan Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 They were nowhere to be seen! The big flocks had gone! Are they breaking into smaller groups to breed? Duncan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKPoacher Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Just had three days on the OSR and zero shots for zero pigeons Every day the same; push a few hundred off the field on arrival and never see them again. I've flagged the fields and on one day had other guns covering other OSR fields in the area and still no pigeons. Went roost shooting; got 8 and they were all full of........................ clover!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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