bob_cbr Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Hello all, I am new at this game and have only just bought a shotgun last month. Me and a friend of mine have permission for a patch of land that seems to be a very good flight path. The field is ploughed, but not seeded, the other fields around have plenty of food for the pigeons. So, they are fly over our field to get to the other fields. They do not slow down for our decoy at all. Been three times now, hit 2 the first time, and none the 2nd/3rd time. We are talking about 150+ shots and I have claimed 2 birds, TBH I think they were easy/lucky shots. I would say that 85% of the shots were 30+ yrd, with the birds flying high and fast. I would prefer for them to slow down and come in to the decoy patch, but that is not happening. Gun: Benelli supernova Choke: Improved cylinder Cart: Special Pigeon No. 6 Trying to give plenty of lead, but I just hit fresh air time after time. Been doing some clays to improve, but these fast moving pigeons are in a different league of difficulty. Please any advice for the newbie. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Essex Hunter Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Bob, With out any of us being able to watch you shoot then the advice will be only what it is worth and that is free. Get to a clay ground and pay for some coaching from a recommended coach. I would ask him if he also shoots pigeons then he should be able to tag some tips on with your lessons. Clays only travel in one direction, however pigeons don’t! BASC offer intro pigeon shooting courses so that might well be worth looking at. TEH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbiep Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 (edited) Agreed, get a couple of lessons - it'll work out cheaper in the long run Try to limit yourself to no more than 30-35 yards until you can get a fairly good kill rate. If need be, knock a few wooden stakes in at your max ranges, and be strict with yourself. When you do clay shooting, try to shoot sporting layouts - some grounds will be absolutely fine with you concentrating on one or 2 traps, so that you can get used to fast crossing birds, and the lead required for them Edited December 17, 2012 by robbiep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_cbr Posted December 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 I think the tip about putting stakes in the ground at my maximum range is golden. Defo, going to do that next weekend. Coaching I agree would be nice, on the cards, I am just amazed how hard this sport is. I tip my hat to these people that seem to get a kill with every shot fired. I think my current problem is two fold: 1. Failing to judge the correct amount of lead of a pigeon flying 50mph @ 35 Yrd. My proposed solution is; instead of guessing, I’m going to get a decoy and suspend a yellow gold ball the correct distance in front of it. Place it 35 Yrd’s away and point the gun at the golf ball, this MIGHT help me visualise the correct lead to use on a pigeon. 2. I’m a rubbish shot. Solution; find some heat seeking ammo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver pigeon 3 Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 It may not be the lead, as said pigeons don't fly straight. You may be not following the line of flight and missing over the top, or below. The only real answer is practice on the clays and a couple of lessons before you get to many bad habits. Keep on at it mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbart Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Make your self a pattern plate and see where the shots going. Most common problem i see in new shooters is stopping the gun as they fire.Try and keep the gun moving through the bird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudpatten Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 You might also want to consider getting someone who knows what they are doing to examine you for gun fit. With the Supernova you have a lot of potential adjustment in the stock which should make this a fairly straightforward task. Amongst the many other issues you will have to deal with as a novice, using a gun which does not shoot where you are looking won`t make things any easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenhunter Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 I'm sorry but I think the ball idea is not good! It will encourage you to stop swinging when you pull the trigger and since no two birds will fly at the same speed or the same angle it won't work for you. You have to keep the gun moving after you have shot and just swing through the bird. Some people use the 'bum, belly, beak, bang' method which can work well. GH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stubby Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Id say, get the birds to come down lower and see if you still miss how are your decoys set up? how many are you using? if it looks inviting enough, they will come down, the fact your saying they fly right past? whats your hide like, are they seeing you to soon? Ive had plenty of fields under flight lines that are just grass, not all come down, but a lot more than one per 150 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_cbr Posted December 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 It may not be the lead, as said pigeons don't fly straight. You may be not following the line of flight and missing over the top, or below. I think your spot on the money. I feel that i have shot at every lead, but can not find the correct one, which leads me to think I am also shooting over or under my target. Make your self a pattern plate and see where the shots going. So doing this over the weekend!!!!! Most common problem I see in new shooters is stopping the gun as they fire.Try and keep the gun moving through the bird. I was doing this, but am not in the habit of following through. using a gun which does not shoot where you are looking won`t make things any easier. A patten plate should help with this too. It will encourage you to stop swinging when you pull the trigger Depends on how you use it. I could bum, belly, beak, Golf ball, keep on going. Should do the trick. since no two birds will fly at the same speed or the same angle it won't work for you. Agreed, but right now I do not know at all where to aim. This might get me in the correct ball park. You could rotate it to simulate different angles. You never know, might be the next big learning aid. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_cbr Posted December 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 30 decoys, on springs so they peck. Flapper + Magnet. Facing the wind. In the summer, we decoy, the land, then hit them with our air rifles. 20+ kills in a could of hours. So the pattern is much the same as we use then. Hide was rubbish, and not help by the windy day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evo Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 the most important thing mate is to keep still,dont move until your about to shoot and practice,it sounds to me that your judgement of distance could be wrong mate,as said put a stick out at 30yrds you will be surprised to see how many birds are outside this distance when shooting,,good luck mate we all had to start somewhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 the most important thing mate is to keep still,dont move until your about to shoot and practice,it sounds to me that your judgement of distance could be wrong mate,as said put a stick out at 30yrds you will be surprised to see how many birds are outside this distance when shooting,,good luck mate we all had to start somewhere dont where you are, put some more info' on your profile and ask for somone near to you for help................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitebridges Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 dont where you are, put some more info' on your profile and ask for somone near to you for help................... Precisely. When I first joined this site "members" that didn't put a location in were ridiculed and lambasted. Ignored even....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evo Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 (edited) take it that was aimed at me is that better ,,sorry just realised he had no add on profile,appologies boys,but at least i,ve changed mine now Edited December 17, 2012 by evo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_cbr Posted December 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Updated!!!!! I live between Sheffield and Chesterfield, Jk30 M1. Support the mighty rubbish Sheffield Wednesday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitebridges Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Good lads, hopefully you'll get some proper help now! bob_cbr the WACCOE lads of Leeds will sort your shooting out mate but they won't do anything about sorting Wendy out, haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caeser Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Try and get an true experienced person to spend a day with you. He'll soon spot the error of your ways,and put you on the right track. There are plenty on this forum that will help for free, I'm sure. (But do a bit of background searching on anyone that might offer their services.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullet1747 Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Updated!!!!! I live between Sheffield and Chesterfield, Jk30 M1. Support the mighty rubbish Sheffield Wednesday. It's punishment for the support of SW, Sounds like my shooting mate ,bet your trying to hard just relax pace the distance out like people have said ,I don't even try to shoot the fast ones ,relax and enjoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 You could have a combination of problems leading to missed birds. I would suggest you check your range. I remember about six years ago i set up on a large, L shaped pea field. I shot about 20 pigeons, but was surprised to hear the amount of shooting coming from around the corner. I went to investigate when i packed up, only to be asked by two novices on the other side of the pea field, if i could see where they were going wrong. They had only shot 2 pigeons for dozens of shots and it was easy to see why - they weren't shooting at anything under 75 yards! You may not be doing this, but when starting out it is very easy to shoot at birds out of range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeh Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 You could have a combination of problems leading to missed birds. I would suggest you check your range. I remember about six years ago i set up on a large, L shaped pea field. I shot about 20 pigeons, but was surprised to hear the amount of shooting coming from around the corner. I went to investigate when i packed up, only to be asked by two novices on the other side of the pea field, if i could see where they were going wrong. They had only shot 2 pigeons for dozens of shots and it was easy to see why - they weren't shooting at anything under 75 yards! You may not be doing this, but when starting out it is very easy to shoot at birds out of range. It's very easy to over estimate a pigeons range, mark out 30 yards and shoot everything within. Let them slow down and come into your pattern and shoot them as they flare just about the ground (As long as it's safe). Get your bearings this way and then start taking more difficult shots as you feel able. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvid wings Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Precisely. When I first joined this site "members" that didn't put a location in were ridiculed and lambasted. Ignored even....... who said that ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadshot123 Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 The best thing to do is see a coach and explain your shooting pigeon he will move you around so the clays come in sort of similar to a pigeon but as Said clays follow a line also with regards to distance if you make a u shape decoy pattern have the closes decoy 20 yards away from the hide and the furthest 70 yard 6an use this to then judge distance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranger phil Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 try a tighter chokes 1/2 and 3/4 workes for me i had simmilar prob tighten up chokes to get a string like afect in patten kill avareg went up worth a try no harm in it so thats what i was told lol good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBS Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 (edited) The best thing to do is see a coach and explain your shooting pigeon he will move you around so the clays come in sort of similar to a pigeon but as Said clays follow a line also with regards to distance if you make a u shape decoy pattern have the closes decoy 20 yards away from the hide and the furthest 70 yard 6an use this to then judge distance Why put decoys 70yds out if he can't hit them at 15? I'd set the furthest at 35 tops and use that as a marker, if you can hit them consistently at this range you will no longer need a marker Edited December 17, 2012 by JBS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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