aaron airgunner Posted July 26, 2011 Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 hi all, well yesterday i set out some decoys yesterday in a paddock. i was sat next to some trees in the hope they would land there if they didn't land amongst the decoys. the decoys are fairly old, full body ones, with most of the paint faded. i set 3 of them up in a V pattern facing roughly in the direction of the wind, spaced about 15ft apart. i didnt have any netting with me but i was fully camo'd (headnet, gloves, hat ect) and had my back to a hedge with a few sparse shrubs in front of me. three times pigeons came into land and three times did they pull up about a foot away from the ground, sesnsing something was up. i was like a statue withall thre of these, not moving a muscle. most pulled up and flew off into the distance but one did land in a tree about 45 yards away, just out of my range on a windy day. about 5 mins later it flew off. what am i doing wrong and how can i get them to land amongst my decoys or at least in the trees near my decoys? atb Aaron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bull Posted July 26, 2011 Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 try new deeks and some more deeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjm Posted July 26, 2011 Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 pigeons often will pull up when they get close to the decoys as they realise what they are. it usuallu isnt a problem tho as most people are using a shotgun. maybe time for a shotgun pal!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pegasus bridge Posted July 26, 2011 Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 just make sure you are aware of the general licences Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted July 26, 2011 Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 (edited) Shooting decoyed pigeon with an air rifle is much more easily done from the comfort of an armchair. Yes I have watched it done rather well on Youtube when absolutely everything is done correctly and on the right field with good decoys spaced correctly etc, but in reality it`s quite simply a no goer most of the time. I have done it quite a lot usually when I deliberately don`t want a big bag , the field needs to be well used and preferably have something like harvested rape stalks that can make it harder for landing birds to sense their mates are dead. The very best way of shooting pigeon with an airgun is to hide shoot a sitty tree in a well used area and place one or two good, not shiny plastic deeks on fences below etc. An FAC gun in particular can be deadly as you can take body shots quickly without too much fear of wounding. The trouble with people expecting decent bags with airguns is the complete rubbish written in airgun magazines that make out it`s a doddle., you know the ones: before I had settled into the hide, I caught glimpse of a bird confidently sailing in no more than about 25 yards away, luckily my gun was already loaded, poking through the net at the exact right place and height, and I managed to settle the crosshairs slightly above its bonce, the net magically avoided getting in the way of the scope too (to allow for the fact my zero is 35 yards ), took a deep breath, and gently squeezed off (all the while our woodie is standing motionless deciding which morsel to scoff ) utter ******** in real life. Edited July 26, 2011 by Hamster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron airgunner Posted July 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 just make sure you are aware of the general licences don't worry, there destroying the artichokes and brocili at the moment, so im fairly certain they qualify for shooting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron airgunner Posted July 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 (edited) Shooting decoyed pigeon with an air rifle is much more easily done from the comfort of an armchair. Yes I have watched it done rather well on Youtube when absolutely everything is done correctly and on the right field with good decoys spaced correctly etc, but in reality it`s quite simply a no goer most of the time. I have done it quite a lot usually when I deliberately don`t want a big bag , the field needs to be well used and preferably have something like harvested rape stalks that can make it harder for landing birds to sense their mates are dead. The very best way of shooting pigeon with an airgun is to hide shoot a sitty tree in a well used area and place one or two good, not shiny plastic deeks on fences below etc. An FAC gun in particular can be deadly as you can take body shots quickly without too much fear of wounding. The trouble with people expecting decent bags with airguns is the complete rubbish written in airgun magazines that make out it`s a doddle., you know the ones: before I had settled into the hide, I caught glimpse of a bird confidently sailing in no more than about 25 yards away, luckily my gun was already loaded, poking through the net at the exact right place and height, and I managed to settle the crosshairs slightly above its bonce, the net magically avoided getting in the way of the scope too (to allow for the fact my zero is 35 yards ), took a deep breath, and gently squeezed off (all the while our woodie is standing motionless deciding which morsel to scoff ) utter ******** in real life. lol, thanks for the advice, i may try rthat today. i usually jsut roost shoot with the rifle but there is so much greenery on the trees right now that i can often hear them, but can't see them. even if i do find out where they are, the greenery almost always block my pellet and i often just see a tailfeather or a pair of scaly feet. bring on autumn when i can actually see them! i don't expect a decent bag, i would be pleased with just one! Edited July 26, 2011 by aaron airgunner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pegasus bridge Posted July 26, 2011 Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 don't worry, there destroying the artichokes and brocili at the moment, so im fairly certain they qualify for shooting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKPoacher Posted July 26, 2011 Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 I've found that you need good deeks and have them well spaced out. And it also helps to put them well away from the area the pigeons are hitting. If you have some veg in your garden place two or three of your deeks semi-hidden in the foliage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron airgunner Posted July 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2011 (edited) I've found that you need good deeks and have them well spaced out. And it also helps to put them well away from the area the pigeons are hitting. If you have some veg in your garden place two or three of your deeks semi-hidden in the foliage. i don't shoot in my garden as i am right next to a road, i have permission in some woods and paddocks near my garden where they roost. i tried hamsters technique yesterday with my best conditioned deek (with some tipex on it) near a group of sitty trees. i didnt have any intrest with the decoy, but i did nail one easy pigeon which landed in the nearest tree to me 25yrds away. i replaced the deek with the dead pigeon and about 5 minutes later a pigeon came down to land near the bird and flew off again in abotu 3 seconds, before i could get a shot off (probably saw the blood on the dead bird, as it landed very close0 Edited July 27, 2011 by aaron airgunner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted July 27, 2011 Report Share Posted July 27, 2011 The kind of sitty trees I`m talking about are those in really pigeony fields to begin with. It`s true your average tree will probably produce 6 or 7 shots in a days worth of waiting but I know places where even without decoys you could count on a dozen shots in a couple of hours. My last outing I picked 11 pigeon in a little over 2 hours and I missed a few too when I pretended I was an Airgunworld writer , going for the heads . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLH1966 Posted July 27, 2011 Report Share Posted July 27, 2011 (edited) The kind of sitty trees I`m talking about are those in really pigeony fields to begin with. It`s true your average tree will probably produce 6 or 7 shots in a days worth of waiting but I know places where even without decoys you could count on a dozen shots in a couple of hours. My last outing I picked 11 pigeon in a little over 2 hours and I missed a few too when I pretended I was an Airgunworld writer , going for the heads . We are currently shooting birds over deeks, but we have set the patterns close to the edges of the field, within sight of the tree line with 2 hides set to cover these. We're looking to take the birds from the trees and let the deeks lure them in. So far, so good. - we tend to aim for the throat area - alas we are also but mere mortals & cannot command the clinical accuracy of an AW writer Edited July 27, 2011 by PLH1966 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davy Holt Posted July 27, 2011 Report Share Posted July 27, 2011 Hiya, As PHL1966 says take the birds from the trees not the ground. Set up your deeks near a good sitty tree then set yourself up to shoot off the tree not around the deeks. the pigeons will come in look see and will land in the safety of the tree before they will land around the deeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLH1966 Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 Been out again this morning, arrived first light, put out 12 shell deeks & shot the birds as they landed in the trees, not much about but got 8 birds, which for 4 hours with an Airgun isn't a bad return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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