cabbaged Posted August 7, 2011 Report Share Posted August 7, 2011 I had a heck of a day today on some laid wheat. I hate shooting over standing cereals at the best of times but the farmer was desperate for me to keep the birds off his crops, so off we went. I set the rotary up with a handful of shell decoys and a bouncer nearby and was ready to go by 1pm. The birds just poured in, one pair after another. I had more right & lefts than I can remember and by 4.15pm I had used up all 175 cartridges and had shot 136 birds. It's the first time I've ever shot anything like this sort of number, thank heavens for semi-autos too! Picking up was a complete nightmare though and the poor dog was exhausted. I ended up picking 91 birds from the field and despite trying our best I ended up having to leave the rest where ever they were. I can't stand leaving birds behind and I'm now more worried about what the farmer will think! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracanas1974 Posted August 7, 2011 Report Share Posted August 7, 2011 I had a heck of a day today on some laid wheat. I hate shooting over standing cereals at the best of times but the farmer was desperate for me to keep the birds off his crops, so off we went. I set the rotary up with a handful of shell decoys and a bouncer nearby and was ready to go by 1pm. The birds just poured in, one pair after another. I had more right & lefts than I can remember and by 4.15pm I had used up all 175 cartridges and had shot 136 birds. It's the first time I've ever shot anything like this sort of number, thank heavens for semi-autos too! Picking up was a complete nightmare though and the poor dog was exhausted. I ended up picking 91 birds from the field and despite trying our best I ended up having to leave the rest where ever they were. I can't stand leaving birds behind and I'm now more worried about what the farmer will think! Well done mate, i wish have that luke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted August 7, 2011 Report Share Posted August 7, 2011 A good day indeed , but I make that 45 you did not pick up which is not good ,the key to shooting in standing crops is to try and only shoot ones that you stand a decent chance of picking ie over the laid area it takes a lot of self control though ,on the plus side I dont think the farmer will mind much and in this weather there will be little left of them in 2 or 3 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jez28 Posted August 8, 2011 Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 IM sure that the local foxes will be grateful!! Sounds like a good days shooting though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabbaged Posted August 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 Fenboy - Yes I totally agree. I hate not picking birds and there was a lot not picked. I'll have to tell the farmer today and just hope he's ok about it. Hopefully between the foxes and maggots there won't be much left by the time they cut the crop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted August 8, 2011 Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 Fenboy - Yes I totally agree. I hate not picking birds and there was a lot not picked. I'll have to tell the farmer today and just hope he's ok about it. Hopefully between the foxes and maggots there won't be much left by the time they cut the crop. don't worry about it at all, the farmer got what he wanted and you had a good days sport. You can't always drop them where you can pick them and the dog can end up doing more damage than the pigeons. Whats left will just show the farmer you did a decent job, I'm yet to meet a farmer who in those situations would worry, they are more bothered about the amount of wheat being lost to them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
younggunjoyce Posted August 8, 2011 Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 Sound like you had a cracking afternoon, if you have a rifle and have permisson on the land might be worth having a look over to see if Charlie and co are hungry! If the farm has poults on his farm you might be doing him an even bigger favour, nice to keep them happy . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabbaged Posted August 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 Well the farmer was a happy chappy after all! I'm kind of glad as it was a new permission and is a perfect spot with the roost woods nearby too. He's keen for me to shoot the crows that ravage his maize later in the year as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratsmasher Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 sounds like you had a cracking days sport and I cant imagine the farmer will mind a couple of dead pigeons going throught his combine, a couple of days ago the farmer whos land I shoot on proudly told me that when he harvested the barley a lazy fox didnt get out of the way quick enough and went through the combine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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