rubythedog Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 iv done a test on a local feild that holds a good number of woodys, iv sat stashed away and watched the pigeons drop like stones in to the rest of the feeding birds but when i decoy (decoys only) no whirly etc! they have a look but jink away and never settle. WHY IS THIS? to eliminate some problems i made sure the hide i built was top notch, spent 1 hour on it! and from 20 feet away you really could not tell it was there, so im happy the hide was not a factor, i used flock coated decoys with eazzy wobblers and made sure my wind direction was right! also i set up in the area were for several days before the birds freely landed but still the birds whent to commite and then spooked. i checked around the area and theres no sight of something stupid like a plastic bag to scare them or anything else! in a nutshell im puzzeld! and what puzzeld me more was the next day i whent back again to my hideing spot and watched the birds freely fall in to the same spot were my deeks were the day before! WHATS THAT ALL ABOUT THEN? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ91 Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 They must be seeing you in the hide Or your patern is very good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerboy Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 iv done a test on a local feild that holds a good number of woodys, iv sat stashed away and watched the pigeons drop like stones in to the rest of the feeding birds but when i decoy (decoys only) no whirly etc! they have a look but jink away and never settle. WHY IS THIS? to eliminate some problems i made sure the hide i built was top notch, spent 1 hour on it! and from 20 feet away you really could not tell it was there, so im happy the hide was not a factor, i used flock coated decoys with eazzy wobblers and made sure my wind direction was right! also i set up in the area were for several days before the birds freely landed but still the birds whent to commite and then spooked. i checked around the area and theres no sight of something stupid like a plastic bag to scare them or anything else! in a nutshell im puzzeld! and what puzzeld me more was the next day i whent back again to my hideing spot and watched the birds freely fall in to the same spot were my deeks were the day before! WHATS THAT ALL ABOUT THEN? Are your decoys sitting right? Take a look from the rear of the pattern and from the front. Are you showing too much of the underside of the decoys. Are you set up in a corner where the birds have no escape route. Are you leaving e nough space around the decoys the birds like to see a way out, and remember they will filter in from the rear of the pattern, have you left an easy entry point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubythedog Posted October 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 this may sound nuts but i did this with out even takeing my gun! theres no way in that hide they could see me and i played with the spred a fair bit, made a basic horeshoe, layed in clumps etc etc! i did this time consuming thig as i thoght i would learn something (and i was bord also lol) but walk away even more puzzeld Tj91 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubythedog Posted October 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 i always leave escape routes in any spred i do, the deeks sat as they always do baker but i never to date have ever checked my deeks from behind! so i least theres one point to look out for, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpentermark Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Theyre plastic decoys, flocked or not they are designed to look something like a pigeon so as to attract the pigeons close enough to be shot. Did you really expect all of them to land??? You might have more luck using dead birds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerboy Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 i always leave escape routes in any spred i do, the deeks sat as they always do baker but i never to date have ever checked my deeks from behind! so i least theres one point to look out for, thanks Good luck, where abouts are you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclestuffy Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 I know this sounds a bit daft but are the flocked decoys putting them off - I have never used them but never had a problem with the plastic shell types. Could the problem be you (or your clothes) I am led to believe that certain biological washing powders gives off an ultra violet hue which might be seen through the hide. Have you looked in the hide with somebody else there - I learnt that the stealth netting needed other netting and a good background to make it nearly invisible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proTOM1 Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Its not you or your decoys its the birds being wild thats all the movement from alive birds is always going to be better than any decoy out there and once they have seen others dropping in all the other birds will feel happy to drop in . decoying is really all about getting them in range ,even on days when ive shot 100+ ive still had birds flare off for what i could tell was no reason ,thats just wild birds for you . As for decoys you will never beat dead birds from another trip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenBhoy Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 i agree with tom and also with mark. if you really want the birds to get so so close that they land in amongst on a regular basis then your gonna struggle, especially just using decoys. dead birds give you more of a chance. they do sometimes land in a pattern but it doesn't take them long to realise something isn't right. the whole point is to get them interested in first place, to slow down a little and get within range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerboy Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 i agree with tom and also with mark. if you really want the birds to get so so close that they land in amongst on a regular basis then your gonna struggle, especially just using decoys. dead birds give you more of a chance. they do sometimes land in a pattern but it doesn't take them long to realise something isn't right. the whole point is to get them interested in first place, to slow down a little and get within range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziplex Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Last time I went on some laid barley, the pigeons were coming in fine then flaring away from the plastic shell type decoys that i'd scattered around (generally facing into the wind). I changed the pattern and added just a few wobblers which seemed to do the trick, I know it's a pain but i've found changing the pattern or moving to another spot helps. Alternatively you could have something to eat, smoke, take a pee or make a cuppa.....they'll usually oblige when you're least ready or facing the wrong way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul T Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 One mistake I made early on is having the pattern way too regular. Now I drop them out first and have a look front, back and from the hide before I stake them. ~ A horseshoe or arc is a good shape, but I make it a little irregular and not just one bird every 6' or so. ~ Add dead birds to the pattern as you shoot and turn any 'belly up' as soon as you can. ~ Make sure you leave a wide enough clear patch for pigeons to land or enticing gaps in the pattern. ~ Also, don't have them all facing exactly into the wind, put slightly off to one side or the other. ~ Near a tree is ok, but I've found they don't like to land in a tree shadow (if it's a bright day). ~ The more natural you can make the pattern look, the more likely you are to get pigeons to commit. ~ Don't be afraid to move something if it isn't working. If they're just flaring off at the last second, it sounds like you're doing a pretty good job already by getting them in, but they're suspicious birds and we often get them flare - We just try and make sure they don't get away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Its not you or your decoys its the birds being wild thats all the movement from alive birds is always going to be better than any decoy out there and once they have seen others dropping in all the other birds will feel happy to drop in . decoying is really all about getting them in range ,even on days when ive shot 100+ ive still had birds flare off for what i could tell was no reason ,thats just wild birds for you . As for decoys you will never beat dead birds from another trip I also agree with Tom, sometimes its isn't anything you have done, it's just the way they want to play that day. One possible cause maybe the easy wobblers!, I haven't used mine for a long while now, but one thing I did find especially this time of year when the sun is so low, is that the easy wobblers glint in the sunlight! And what may look OK standing at ground level may not be the same from up above. If you get this scenario again, maybe try taking the decoys off the wobblers and put them straight on the ground. It's just another thing to try...... Cos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris t Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 make sure they don't get away good advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Well, i've seen some bizarre replies here. A few pigeon shooting myths creeping in as usual. As a few have said, birds don't need to land for you to have a good decoying session. I had a bag of 340 last Friday in which approxamately 10 birds had a chance to land and no more than about 75 decoyed properly. The whole exersize of putting out decoys is to draw pigeons within range of your gun. It is obviously better if pigeons commit well, but it isn't the end of the world if they don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yickdaz Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Its not you or your decoys its the birds being wild thats all the movement from alive birds is always going to be better than any decoy out there and once they have seen others dropping in all the other birds will feel happy to drop in . decoying is really all about getting them in range ,even on days when ive shot 100+ ive still had birds flare off for what i could tell was no reason ,thats just wild birds for you . As for decoys you will never beat dead birds from another trip already said what i was gonna put on, or something very similar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman Mike Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Pigeons can see the colour light spectrums we do and also UV light. Their eyesight is amongst the best of the diurnal species and they have the abiity to detect magnetic field. When they get close enough to the decoys to realise that they are inanimate they will be off pretty quick...they wont even hang around too long amongst real dead birds after landing. The best decoys I ever had were a dozen real dead birds which had been gutted by my Grandad, dried in salt and then stuffed with saw dust. He used to keep them in a box which we lugged to the shoot. It was a ****** but they were very very effective. Sadly when they got wet they used to smell a bit and over a period of about 15 years they fell apart. a bit like Chelseas defence tonight hopefully :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubythedog Posted October 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 some good points made thanks a lot lads, but for those folk who thought i was trying to get them in that close i could tickle them (please GIVE ME A BREAK) the birds were flaring of 30 + yards before geting anywere near my spread and that was the problem, i would have to of been droping birds at 70+ yards and im just not at that standerd yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mightymariner Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 If you like tests, why not try it without any decoys at all then you can eliminate that one. Other than that I would have said they spotted movement in the hide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubythedog Posted October 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 hi mighty, im more intrested to see and learn the effects of decoys, although i understand your elimination process thought. i no that on some days birds just wont fall in but i also no there are skilled methods witch some of the best decoyers on here use witch gets them better results than the rest of us, thats why im taking a little more intrest at what is putting them off as oppose to whats bringing them in.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 some good points made thanks a lot lads, but for those folk who thought i was trying to get them in that close i could tickle them (please GIVE ME A BREAK) the birds were flaring of 30 + yards before geting anywere near my spread and that was the problem, i would have to of been droping birds at 70+ yards and im just not at that standerd yet. That's how I took your post, I didn't think you were waiting for them to land. Please don't take this as though I'm telling you how to suck eggs, but you say they were flaring at 30 yards, we're you still crouched in the hide or were you up ready to shoot? When I first started I'd be up at that point taking aim! More often than not scaring off the birds with my movement. You need to stay motionless, depending how thick your hide is, until you are ready to take the shot, then simply stand or sit and shoot. Cos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yickdaz Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 hi mighty, im more intrested to see and learn the effects of decoys, although i understand your elimination process thought. i no that on some days birds just wont fall in but i also no there are skilled methods witch some of the best decoyers on here use witch gets them better results than the rest of us, thats why im taking a little more intrest at what is putting them off as oppose to whats bringing them in.. you didn,t say in the original post if you use a rotary or flapper or floaters with the statics that tends to work,as long as birds are using a field a bit of movement always attracts pigeons close enough to be shot some will flare away. i know this has been said before in other posts, even if they don,t come in to land you get 50 birds in range you should make a decent bag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubythedog Posted October 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 no no cos, i thank you for your posts its good of you buddy! a few threds just came across as if i was whanting them to land! i mean were would the sport be in that? im looking at why the birds were flaring at 70/80 yards away! iv pigeon shot now for six years and are by no means a pro but i am at the stage now were i dont get over excited in the hide, i like to just peer over a eye level hide and keep tucked untill i get them in my comfort zone. fact is iv seen birds do this for years! time and time again flareing for no real reason except it can see deeks on the deck. maybe pigeons are just a lot more clever that us humans take them for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubythedog Posted October 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 i did yick m8, i said no whirly etc, just useing full body head up and down deeks on eazzys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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