fenboy Posted January 22, 2013 Report Share Posted January 22, 2013 The wild bird shoot on my permission has finished for the season , so I can now get on the cover crops Had a look at a decent sized maize strip today and must have walked off 1000 pigeon and a couple of hundred crows, they really did not seem keen to leave it either The maize is still standing but there is a fairly large flattened area to go at so I will be waiting at first light tomorrow , never shot maize while its still standing before so a first for me , hopefully the pigeon will play ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted January 22, 2013 Report Share Posted January 22, 2013 Lucky you! I will pass on a bit of info for what it is worth and that is that you may have to put your decoys including rotary well outside the maize strip. I have never found that pigeons decoy onto maize, standing or smashed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted January 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2013 I agree , what little shooting I have done on flailed maize strips it was almost impossible to get pigeon to commit, I have a cunning plan though and will be lofting several decoys in some small trees on the hedgerow and also along the top of the hedge which is about 3 meters high. , hopefully that will bring them close enough for a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stiggy84arsenal Posted January 22, 2013 Report Share Posted January 22, 2013 I on the other hand i had them commiting suiside on maize a few years back... it had been topped a few days b4 and they really wanted it.... only 2 shoots left on our perm and i can get on the maize cant wait cos theres a great little spinney next to it witch the birds love aswell witch is a place they love to use during day... good times a head with roost shooting and no moaning game keepers lol, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.philmypower. Posted January 22, 2013 Report Share Posted January 22, 2013 Hope they are pigeon and not shell duck lol. Good luck for Tom don't forget to let us know how you get on mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted January 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2013 Yes I am sure they are pigeon , or then again are they widgeon , better check before I shoot them !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.philmypower. Posted January 22, 2013 Report Share Posted January 22, 2013 Lol, hope you have a good day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainman_l Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 Hi Fenboy How did you get on yesterday? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeonblasterian Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 I have always found that the pigeons decoy well onto maize especially when it is chopped down.When the pigeons first find it they go mad on it.Some of the best days shooting are on the maize at this time of year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ghost Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 Have a good days shooting, whatever you get will be hard earned & well shot.....are you up for the challenge!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted January 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 Hi Fenboy How did you get on yesterday? Sorry I put a pic in sporting photos. A difficult day and as I suspected they did not decoy well , lots of birds about though , the rotory definitely pulled a few in but also scared the hell out of the majority but when I brought it in nothing would come close , so I was in a no win situation really , decoys on the hedge did seen to work though. I ended with 41 pigeons and 3 crows for 65 shots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 You did well in the circumstances. My view is that if they are keen to get into maize, whether chopped or not, they will sail in, but if they are unsure, because they have not been feeding there for a long time (as with a recently chopped up crop) they will not decoy. I don't know why this is, but if I am shooting maize I try to get decoys onto an adjacent crop if possible, plus one or two lofters and some in the hedges as you did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted January 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 You did well in the circumstances. My view is that if they are keen to get into maize, whether chopped or not, they will sail in, but if they are unsure, because they have not been feeding there for a long time (as with a recently chopped up crop) they will not decoy. I don't know why this is, but if I am shooting maize I try to get decoys onto an adjacent crop if possible, plus one or two lofters and some in the hedges as you did. I would also normally put decoys on the crop next to the maize strip , but as it was all covered with snow it was not a option as the pigeon seem to go snow blind . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainman_l Posted January 25, 2013 Report Share Posted January 25, 2013 Nice one sounds like you had a challenging but enjoyable day with good results. Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted January 25, 2013 Report Share Posted January 25, 2013 Good effort, Fenboy. A decent bag, all things considered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchrat Posted January 28, 2013 Report Share Posted January 28, 2013 The maize cover crops round here are so poor there is nothing in it for them to eat, no cobs at all. Average height 3 inches!! Really hurt the game shoots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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