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muckybear
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I beleive they are called bouncers

 

It's a LONG wire with a pigeon cradle on top and raises your bird over the crops so they can be seen.

 

Personally i would be looking for a clearing where they have been previously feeding and doing a bit of recon to see if they still frequent the area. If so set up and use your normal decoys in the clearing with a bit of movement they may want to investigate?

 

LG

Edited by Lord Geordie
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If it’s 4ft high and in flower, then I don’t think you will get anything on there feeding anyway. Why not wait until it’s been cut and then wait for the birds to come in to feed on the stubbles. :good:

G.M.

Hi Same here rape where i shoot is in flower but cannot remember roughly when this is cut can anyone tell me.

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Hi Same here rape where i shoot is in flower but cannot remember roughly when this is cut can anyone tell me.

 

 

Usually down here in Oxfordshire combines pull in the field 2nd & 3rd week in July, may be earlyer weather depending, not looking forward to that as its my job to fix them when they break down :blink:

 

Only up side is , get to meet plenty of farmers (well thats a downer realy) for new fields to shoot over :unsure: :good:

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Yep, in suffolk its usually early to mid july, obviously weather depending. You might find that pigeons will start feeding on the crop just before it is about to be harvested. I think the ripe seed is easily dislodged from the plant and pigeons will feed on that even if the plant is very high. The farmer will be only too happy to let you shoot them if they are on their way to the crop but I don't think decoying on it would be possible as you definitely would do more damage than the pigeons!!

 

IAS

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Look for an old established tree in the field which is below a pigeon flight line. Pigeons have their own set of A roads and B roads. A big tree will suck everything out the immediate soil around it and you will get stunted rape growth round the tree which then becomes easy pickings for the pigeons to get at. Damage patterns start from trees like this and then spread. A big tree's canopy also gives frost cover to the ground underneath making whatever is growing in it accessible for pigeons early on in the year.

 

I know f'all about this caper but picked this up from a farmer last weekend - a top day out, and learnt lots.

 

Get yourself a telescopic rotary pigeon decoy (aka pigeon magnet). Saw one in action and it really does suck 'em in. A few decoys up in the trees won't hurt either.

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I think it was bigsam who mentioned shooting OSR,where it had been heavily grazed over winter.

I have had good bag in late april-may.

The birds up here go from OSR to drillings then back to OSR,

keep an eye on spring rape,always a good bet and less of it than the winter stuff.

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Yep, whoever said don't bother was right.

 

Went out today, very promising start. Used 2 rotary decoys, large horseshoe pattern and two hides set up.

 

Within 30 seconds of setting up, a pigeon from about 1 mile aways clocks the rotaries and pattern and comes *straight in* like it was on a piece of string (I fully understand why they call then pigeon magnets).

 

Excitement is then high. We think we have cracked the magic pattern / set up.

 

But.....

 

After that, nothing. Not a sighting let alone a sniff of a pigeon, or anything come to mention it.

 

They have all ******** off after the peas now.

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