soldier1 Posted June 24, 2012 Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 Hi there id like to offer free pest control/ crop protection around west sussex/surrey area, mainly rabbit pigeon crows magpies etc army trained marksman (pwrr), experienced and very respectful. please contact me if you would like more details. thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaxiDriver Posted June 24, 2012 Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 Hi there id like to offer free pest control/ crop protection around west sussex/surrey area, mainly rabbit pigeon crows magpies etc army trained marksman (pwrr), experienced and very respectful. please contact me if you would like more details. thanks. Wouldn't we all fella You'll find probably 99.5% of the people on here are 'shooters' ie people looking for 'permissions' to shoot over. Your best bet is to get out knocking on farmers doors and introducing yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimfire4969 Posted June 24, 2012 Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 Good luck, you may get lucky with an offer of a day out but your best bet is to go and knock on some doors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapp Posted June 24, 2012 Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 Several posts have been removed from this thread. This section of the forum is specifically for people to request shooting opportunities. Put yourself in this member's shoes and think how you all look as people with permission laying into someone who doesnt just because they dared to ask. If you arent going to offer help or genuine advice, then dont post on these threads. This section isnt here for you to give new shooters a kick for trying. If this continues happening we will begin suspending the repeat offenders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeonblasterian Posted June 24, 2012 Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 Hi there id like to offer free pest control/ crop protection around west sussex/surrey area, mainly rabbit pigeon crows magpies etc army trained marksman (pwrr), experienced and very respectful. please contact me if you would like more details. thanks. You need to get out and about and asking for permission on farms.You will get a lot of knock backs but be polite and just keep trying.Eventually you should get something but it may take a while and the thing is do not give up asking.I think you are right to not ask for payment for pest control especially if you are not doing it for a living.How many farmers do you think would take you up on your offer if you said you wanted paying to shoot on their land. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soldier1 Posted June 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 thanks for replies guys, i have tried letters and emails and not had much response so thought id put a post here. just trying all options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 Face to face works 100% better than any other method. Landowners like to see who may be on their land and if you behave and appear responsible, its a good chance you will be in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedd-wyn Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 It is a pain in the ***** mate, but things do pickup. What I usually do is start small, with offering to help thin out on rats and crows. I havent been at it long but farmers meet up reglarly and word gets around really quick. This time of year is ideal, a lot of ploughed fields and crows are really doing the farmers heads in. If you see a field with lot of activity just pop over to the farmhoise and offer your services. I always like to pop over to the farmers house for a cuppa and a chat after evey shot, farmers like a good banter and this is also o good opporunity to get info on where most of the activity is on the land. Hope this helps... Sorry about the first post... Was only pulling youreg, and best of luck to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry31 Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 As per earlier posts by others it is always difficult to start with but it will pick up just a thought for you but I started by asking my milk man who is also a local farmer he let me onto his small farm so 80 odd acres now I shoot over 2000 it just takes time and a bottle at christmas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DNS Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 Zapp - thanks for adding that. It does get tedious seeing the string of 'get knocking on doors' replies every time. If it bothers someone so much, they could easily avoid the 'wanted' section. Personally I shoot game and, for what it's worth, I joined a local syndicate by asking at the local estate office for the shoot captains using their land. I appreciate I may have been lucky, but it wasn't difficult, nor was it expensive. To see syndicates resorting to placing an advert on an internet forum must indicate that opportunities exist. I can understand that it's different if you're looking for 'free' shooting. It's ironic that within living memory farmers used to provide the cartridges and plead with you to come back and bring your friends! (To the OP - apologies for the hijack) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Essex Hunter Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 Hi there id like to offer free pest control/ crop protection around west sussex/surrey area, mainly rabbit pigeon crows magpies etc army trained marksman (pwrr), experienced and very respectful. please contact me if you would like more details. thanks. First find some crops that are being hit and watch where the birds are getting into… Weekdays will be better as there are 5 of them and the weekend shooters won’t be Out! You will have a much better chance to make a good pitch to a farmer with that info under your belt…. As I have said before if you do make contact with a farmer tell him where they are getting in and say you can get in and kill them. Just ask for one day, do your best and don’t leave a mess…. Show the farmer what you have done and see what happens…… TEH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soldier1 Posted June 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 (edited) i did talk to two farmers but it didnt go so well, both were grumpy and didnt seem interested, it kind of put me off asking direct, just unlucky maybe. thanks for the advice so far tho. Edited June 25, 2012 by soldier1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Essex Hunter Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 i did talk to two farmers but it didnt go so well, both were grumpy and didnt seem interested, it kind of put me off asking direct, just unlucky maybe. thanks for the advice so far tho. Did you try the above approach? Farmers are grumpy as the pigeons are eating all their profit Don’t spoil the ship for a ha’porth of tar… TEH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soldier1 Posted June 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 i was told by the land owner she wanted me to shoot as there were plenty of rabbits and pigeon on her land, however her farmer didnt want me there?? think i may have made things worse between them lol they didnt seem to be getting on when i met them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry31 Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 i was told by the land owner she wanted me to shoot as there were plenty of rabbits and pigeon on her land, however her farmer didnt want me there?? think i may have made things worse between them lol they didnt seem to be getting on when i met them. Just a point make sure you get permission in writing so there can be no misunderstanding Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peejay Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 all farmers are grumpy mate, thats how there made lol!! sweeten them with a bottle of something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchieboy Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 I'm guessing from your username that you are in the armed forces, if so then I say "Respect" and power to your elbow! It is all to easy for those of us that have permissions to say "Get out and knock on some doors" I'm sure that you have heard it far too many times before so I am not going to insult your intelligence by saying that. One way in that I found was by offering to shoot the feral pigeons in and around farm buildings with an air rifle. Farmers (In my experience) hate ferals and often welcome someone "responsible looking" with an air rifle to shoot the ferals for them. This gives you the chance to build up a relationship with the farmer and to show that you are responsible and can be trusted. Once you have done that you stand quite a good chance of extending the permission to "general vermin and peast shooting". Getting your first permission is often the hardest one to get but once you have "proved yourself" you can sometimes find that other permissions follow as farmers can be a tight knit lot and will recomend you to other farmers. It may sound a bit of a long winded way to get permissions but it could well be worth the effort - I have gained several permissions in this way, in fact the very first permission I got was through asking if I could walk the farmers land with my hawk! You have to bare in mind that there are a hell of a lot of shooters out there all trying to gain permissions just as you are so it's not an easy thing and can involve a heck of a lot of leg work and frustration when you get refusals but persistence can pay off so don't give up mate. If you were closer to me I (And the farmers whose land I shoot on) would welcome you to join me when out shooting! I wish you luck on "your quest"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bionic Man Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 I'm having the same problem being new to the scene, but keeping going. Having met a few farmers do seem a bit grumpy, I've begun taking my lad with me when I go out asking for permission. Whilst we haven't yet found any permissions, the replies from the farmers have been more polite than a couple of the initial refusals! We've decided to persevere and just keep asking different landowners. There are lots of really helpful threads on this site with stacks of advice from those who have permissions, so worth spending a while whilst 'off stag' reading up. Wish you the best of luck Chap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerboy Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 Several posts have been removed from this thread. This section of the forum is specifically for people to request shooting opportunities. Put yourself in this member's shoes and think how you all look as people with permission laying into someone who doesnt just because they dared to ask. If you arent going to offer help or genuine advice, then dont post on these threads. This section isnt here for you to give new shooters a kick for trying. If this continues happening we will begin suspending the repeat offenders. This is probably the best reply I have read on Pigeon Watch. Maybe we should have a newbie bashing watchdog, to support those that ask a question and are bullied into never returning. Hats off to you Zapp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soldier1 Posted June 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 Thanks for the comments and advice guys, i was lucky to have two permissions, one ive shot for over ten years but i was asked to shot there i didnt ask, sadly they have both now been sold to make way for new houses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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