Tonic Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Hello, After a very long unsuccessfull search knocking on doors I was overheard talking about clays in the pub - a chap tapped me on the shoulder and started talking about pigeons in his orchards. I'm going to take a look in a couple of weeks, and spend the day walking around to get a feel for the place. There arent huge numbers apparently, but enough to be getting on with. My question: what are the rules of engagement for orchards? There isnt much in the way of empty space for a decoy pattern, although I suppose I could stick a few up in the branches. Is it a case of building a hide and waiting patiently, or should I treat it more like a rough shoot and walk around until they leave the trees? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver pigeon 3 Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 It all depends when and why the pigeons are visiting the orchard, if they are going there in the day to feed then you could put a few decoys out and sit and wait, or as i suspect they are using it to sit in during the day to digest the food they have already eaten you would be best to watch what flight lines they are using into the orchard and sit yourself under one of them and take the birds as they come over you. You may also find that they may be roosting in the trees in the evening, in this case get there mid afternoon and again figure out what trees are being used most, look under the larger trees for signs of pigeon feathers and droppings. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonic Posted March 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 (edited) Whoops, I forgot to mention he grows cherries and plums - I got the impression they were feeding, but not excessively. Cheers for the reply! Edited March 3, 2011 by Tonic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougall Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 As a lad(a few years ago now...)some of my best memories of roost shooting were in Orchards.Low trees with good cover in Spring.Pigeons will eat the fruit buds toward end of day so I would treat it as a roost shoot.Decoy wise possibly a few lofters on outside trees but would not bother with decoys on ground etc. ATB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Depending on how far the trees are apart you will often find pigeons on the ground in orchards eating clover, groundsel and other weeds/grasses. I use to shoot a cherry orchard and had some good bags with ground decoys and a couple of lofters. The Farmer will want you to avoid shooting through the trees, which can be difficult, but not impossible if they are planted a reasonable distance apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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