Sunray Posted August 14, 2011 Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 (edited) Over the past few years I have been invited to shoot pigeons off the wheat/barley on a local farm in the run up to harvest. There are then another couple of weeks of shooting over stubble before the land owner politely tells the shooters that it is time for his game birds to get some peace and quiet before the season opens. I have usually taken shell decoys and placed them in the tractor tracks when the crop is still growing. A few pigeons show an interest and I shoot a modest number with my B525, usually with 1/2 and 3/4 chokes. This year I decided on a different approach. I now have a Winchester English Field game gun which is lighter than the B525. The B525 is now used on clays, I now realise why people often use different guns for different kinds of shooting! I take up to 10 shell decoys which I mount on canes so that they hover about 2 inches above the top of the crop. I didn't think that this would work but I have been amazed at how effective this approach has been. The next significant change has been my choice of chokes. I now use 1/8 (ie skeet) and 3/8. Skeet is effective up to at least 25 yards using 32g no. 6 cartridges. Because of the position of the tractor tracks and the best position for my hide, the distance to the landing area in the decoy pattern is only about 15 yards but this does not appear to put the birds off. I can see myself using a tighter choke in the top barrel when shooting over stubble but I will keep the skeet choke for my first shot as it has proved to be such an effective choice for short range birds. I got 9 from 14 shots on the first day that I tried this and 13 from 21 on the second day. My previous results were quite embarassing, several shots per bird on occasions, and over decoys too! Edited August 14, 2011 by Sunray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyotemaster Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 I kind of like the heavier gun if I am not walking for miles, smoother swing through and less recoil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 I often shoot choked skeet and skeet from a hide and find I get clean kills out to 35 yards with 30gms No 6's. I also favour light weight guns, as I have to hold my gun most of the time when in the hide and 7+lbs of gun weighs heavy at the end of the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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