old rooster Posted April 30, 2006 Report Share Posted April 30, 2006 All interesting stuff and comments from all angles. I've shot a few woodies in the last 36 years, had some big bags and days when I've struggled for half a dozen. I've taken people out for a day and been invited to shoot with others. I don't see a problem with shooting big bags from time to time but I have to agree that if you can't achieve a reasonable cartridge to kill ratio you need to ask whether you are shooting sportingly. Some make a living from guiding and have to suffer the attitudes and lack of prowess of their clients from time to time no doubt. There is no easy answer to it; I always look at my shooting from the perspective of it being my hobby and for sport, the pigeons go to the game dealer if shot in numbers or get transformed into pigeon burgers if small bags are shot. No waste as they are all eaten one way or another. We all miss or don't clean kill at times but it has to be our ambition to do as well as possible and when shooting badly put the kit away and go home or shoot some clays to get ones eye back in. At the end of the day we walk the hedges of the field and its surprising how many stone dead birds can be found, often having flown to a tree and dropped straight out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holland&Holland Posted April 30, 2006 Report Share Posted April 30, 2006 I do not make a distinction between Scotland and England. It's just all Great Britain to me . But i am a foreigner, and every year i am invited over 4-5 times to have a go at pigeons at a estate of a good (british) friend of mine. Each time I can invite friends of mine to join me (and fill up the car ). We pay a very reasonable price (some of them are students of the agricultural college), shoot pigeons and other small game. Numbers are not huge, but we don't mind. We experience (and value) the british countryside, nature and culture (yes you guys have culture ! ) and have a laugh. We are not unsafe, i think our shooting exams in the Netherlands are pretty good and you get a lot of safetypratice over here. So i hope you realize that not all hunters from over the channel are going for numbers, have loads of money and are unsafe. I always look forward to go, hopefully you look forward having us dutchies. p.s. Wanted to include a nice picture of me and my mates shooting with woodenshoes on, but can't get it right. Pity... :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted April 30, 2006 Report Share Posted April 30, 2006 I do not make a distinction between Scotland and England. It's just all Great Britain to me .But i am a foreigner, and every year i am invited over 4-5 times to have a go at pigeons at a estate of a good (british) friend of mine. Each time I can invite friends of mine to join me (and fill up the car ). We pay a very reasonable price (some of them are students of the agricultural college), shoot pigeons and other small game. Numbers are not huge, but we don't mind. We experience (and value) the british countryside, nature and culture (yes you guys have culture ! :o ) and have a laugh. We are not unsafe, i think our shooting exams in the Netherlands are pretty good and you get a lot of safetypratice over here. So i hope you realize that not all hunters from over the channel are going for numbers, have loads of money and are unsafe. I always look forward to go, hopefully you look forward having us dutchies. p.s. Wanted to include a nice picture of me and my mates shooting with woodenshoes on, but can't get it right. Pity... :o Its the exams and experience that you have that matters mate. You are a safe shot im sure. Its the Italians that come over to my country (IRELAND) that are a total disgrace. They shoot for the sake of shooting and i have seen this in frony of my own eyes. As i have said before, their was a very healthy Hare population in certain areas of this country, before the big crowds of Italians came over. Holland & Holland, you are a gent im sure, so this is in no way directed at you. :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F150 Posted April 30, 2006 Report Share Posted April 30, 2006 My reaction to the shots/kill ratio is stomach churning. I am a keen woody shooter with over over 30 years experience and I respect my sport - the woodpigeon. The number of dying birds in the fields and woods must have been astronomical. I am so sorry, I don’t want to condemn the shooters in anyway but I feel the agent had a duty to intervene. Piebob, you talk nonsense - conservation and shooting go hand in hand. Annihilation has no meaning in our sport! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted April 30, 2006 Report Share Posted April 30, 2006 (edited) My reaction to the shots/kill ratio is stomach churning. I am a keen woody shooter with over over 30 years experience and I respect my sport - the woodp I do not make a distinction between Scotland and England. It's just all Great Britain to me . But i am a foreigner, and every year i am invited over 4-5 times to have a go at pigeons at a estate of a good (british) friend of mine. Each time I can invite friends of mine to join me (and fill up the car ). We pay a very reasonable price (some of them are students of the agricultural college), shoot pigeons and other small game. Numbers are not huge, but we don't mind. We experience (and value) the british countryside, nature and culture (yes you guys have culture ! ) and have a laugh. We are not unsafe, i think our shooting exams in the Netherlands are pretty good and you get a lot of safetypratice over here. i hope you realize that not all hunters from over the channel are going for numbers, have loads of money and are unsafe numbers are not big but they dont mind. Edited May 1, 2006 by mossy835 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted April 30, 2006 Report Share Posted April 30, 2006 Pigeon numbers are increasing year by year. You wanna leave more that's up to you, but don't expect others to agree as f150 said you talk nonsense, with you its all money i pick up all my kills strait away do you how many are left dieing in the fields over night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deako Posted April 30, 2006 Report Share Posted April 30, 2006 I love these pigeon guide threads, people really do get over excited at their keyboards! My personal biggest bag was just over 200 and I was knackered and had had enough, but these days we send all our big bag shooters up to Andy (and most of our prototype gear for testing!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piebob Posted April 30, 2006 Report Share Posted April 30, 2006 Mossy and F150 - you misunderstand me. Mossy said "we must leave some pigeons for the young ones in years to come." - which implies to me that he believes we are danger of wiping them off the face of the planet or somehow need to be very careful how to balance the numbers. I said "Pigeon numbers are increasing year by year" - which means I believe your thoughts on somehow feeling the need to preserve pigeon stocks is misguided - their numbers are on the increase year after year after year, despite any amount of lead shooters throw at them. Then I pointed out that, for this reason, not everyone will agree with you. That's it, that's all I said. Where you get my lack of understanding of conservation issues, believe I leave "dieing pigeons in the fields overnight" and only think about money is beyond me. For your information, I work in IT (nothing to do with pigeon guiding), have never paid for a days pigeon shooting (other than a bottle here and there to my farmer mates) and rarely take bags that are into two figures (TWO not three). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted April 30, 2006 Report Share Posted April 30, 2006 ok i will say no more on the subject i think enough said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holland&Holland Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 @mossy 835: You quote me in your reply, but there is a sentence about a car crash in there that i did not wrote. Is it there for a reason? Otherwise please edit it, might get a wrong impression. and yes we don't mind if we have a "bad" day. Mostly we shoot 15-20 pigeons a day per person with a average ratio of 2-3 shots one kill. Sometimes we have a bag of 30-40 a day p.p. You'll have to keep in mind that we plan our trip in advance so you have to be lucky with the weather and where the pigeons will feed. Still it's good fun and the farmers are happy too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holland&Holland Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 @ mossy 835 Thanks mate for the edit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 (edited) I am happy to live where I live BUT If I had to move it would DEFO be north of the Border. I have northumberland on my doorstep but family roots in Scotland too and i visit it often. By the way Hunterswind if thats YOU landy in one of the Photos there i love the REG Holland and Holland. Your country seems to have a few things perhaps the UK could assimilate into a firearms application. The Safety course sounds like a real good idea. Now i am offering you all some popcorn i have been munching while watching this thread unfold. Who wants the bucket Well i am off to get my Kit ready as i have a day at the Clay grounds tomorrow LG Edited May 1, 2006 by Lord Geordie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozo Posted May 3, 2006 Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 why would anyone want to go out and shoot that many pigeons for i dont know,o its to do with andy,all about money thats all they think of.i shoot so many and pack up. ye rite so ur have a great day and ur shooting lots of pigeons u get so many and go home with them still pouring into the decoys i think not please dont come shooting in scotland as you will be laughed out of the pub lol at u mate we all know yuo would be there until u were bored sounds like you never had a great days pigeon shooting before !!!! B***ocks!!! Im sure theres plently of scottish shooters that are happy to go out and bag a dozen pigeons and come home! I personally and im sure others on the site, only shoot what im gonna eat, i dnt see the point of going out and blasting away at pigeons not to use them! Only my point of view and i know many shoot for pest control. Frank its the same were i stay during the summer in donegal, dunno if you've ever heard of it- Carrickfinn, sort of between dungloe and bunbeg but theres a small airport there and the itlian business men work in italy during the week and then fly to dublin and then on up to donegal for the weekends, ive rarely seen any1 shoot but thers been a decline in the hares over the last year. Ozo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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