all advice welcome

[indio]

Good Day All,

I have recently taken up trying to shoot pigeons(previous experience with rough shooting/ferreting etc)

I have read with interest many of the topics posted on here and find them very helpful but have a few questions which you all may be able to help me with.

 

1/ on windy days , is it better to peg your camo nets so they don't wave in the wind ?

2/ when building your hide is it better to cover the top of the hide (ie with see through "jack pike" type net)?

3/ Is there such a thing as a flock leader ? ie why/how do the birds decide which field they will feed on and when? been doing my recce's but fields which are grey with birds one day are empty the next

4/ On rape fields should you set your decoys in the larger healthier palnts or on the ones which have been cropped by the birds and regrowing?

5/ what are the numbers for the next euro millions draw.

 

All help/advice greatly appreciated/thanks

[deny essex]

pass on 1 to 4 but the numbers are 32, 69 the rest im keeping to myself

 

1 I always keep my hide pegged and tight on a windy day, dont think it bothers the birds as much as it drives me mad flapping about.

 

2 Its a thought thats crossed my mind to make the top 10 inches of my stealth net clearview.

 

3 No flock leader that I have ever known about in a large flock, wouldnt doubt leaders in some form or other though as in most animals.

4 If they have eaten the rape to stalks in a patch and the patch boarders good growth they can come back to feed on the good growth edges, then you go bang and watch them disappear over the horizon.

[lakeside1000]

Windy days will make everything move bushes, trees etc, try to keep the movement to a minimum but it wont put them off if they are looking to feed.

Hides should be shoulder height with good all round cover, but if you put a top on them it will hamper your shooting ability, pigeons come at you from all directions and you need to see them as soon as possible, not just when they are over the decoys,stay low and still, wait till they are in range, then stand and swing, shimples !!!

Pigeons feed individually and in flocks, they will be affected by birds around them but ive had 30 birds fly over but only one or two drop to the decoys, so no I dont think they follow a leader.as to feeding patterns they are completely unpredictable , you might see 1000 one day and none the next,

Setting out decoys they need to be clearly visible, I always set up on the edges of areas that they have been feeding on but not in the larger plants which could hide the decoys

next euro draw will be 3 , 5 , 15 , 23 , 38 and 1 , 7 but dont tell anyone else as it will reduce our share of the jackpot.

[indio]

Windy days will make everything move bushes, trees etc, try to keep the movement to a minimum but it wont put them off if they are looking to feed.

Hides should be shoulder height with good all round cover, but if you put a top on them it will hamper your shooting ability, pigeons come at you from all directions and you need to see them as soon as possible, not just when they are over the decoys,stay low and still, wait till they are in range, then stand and swing, shimples !!!

Pigeons feed individually and in flocks, they will be affected by birds around them but ive had 30 birds fly over but only one or two drop to the decoys, so no I dont think they follow a leader.as to feeding patterns they are completely unpredictable , you might see 1000 one day and none the next,

Setting out decoys they need to be clearly visible, I always set up on the edges of areas that they have been feeding on but not in the larger plants which could hide the decoys

next euro draw will be 3 , 5 , 15 , 23 , 38 and 1 , 7 but dont tell anyone else as it will reduce our share of the jackpot.

Thanks for the response and advice. Kind regards

[indio]

pass on 1 to 4 but the numbers are 32, 69 the rest im keeping to myself

 

1 I always keep my hide pegged and tight on a windy day, dont think it bothers the birds as much as it drives me mad flapping about.

 

2 Its a thought thats crossed my mind to make the top 10 inches of my stealth net clearview.

 

3 No flock leader that I have ever known about in a large flock, wouldnt doubt leaders in some form or other though as in most animals.

4 If they have eaten the rape to stalks in a patch and the patch boarders good growth they can come back to feed on the good growth edges, then you go bang and watch them disappear over the horizon.

Thanks for the response and advice. kind regards

[NickB65]

My advice.....

 

1. Peg it down as it is very annoying but apart from that I would not worry - when the wind blows hedges move to why not your net as well.

2. If you cover the top you limit your ability to shoot - did this once and go into one hell of a mess

3. Pigeons have no real leader - they prefer to feed in groups and will go where they see others feeding

4. I set mine so the decoys are feeding on the edge - the new comers tend to fly into the eaten area and then move to the edges... if they last that long.

5. Don't bother - ITS MINE.........

 

6. Make sure the whites of the decoys are clean and bright...... touched up the white bars on my decoys and they are like beacons guiding the critters in.....

[indio]

My advice.....

 

1. Peg it down as it is very annoying but apart from that I would not worry - when the wind blows hedges move to why not your net as well.

2. If you cover the top you limit your ability to shoot - did this once and go into one hell of a mess

3. Pigeons have no real leader - they prefer to feed in groups and will go where they see others feeding

4. I set mine so the decoys are feeding on the edge - the new comers tend to fly into the eaten area and then move to the edges... if they last that long.

5. Don't bother - ITS MINE.........

 

6. Make sure the whites of the decoys are clean and bright...... touched up the white bars on my decoys and they are like beacons guiding the critters in.....

 

Thanks for your reponse. good Luck with the Euro.......

 

I have customised my shell decoys as by using matt grey/black and white paints (sample pots from haomebase/b+q) and that has prevented the shine on the new ones (especially when wet).

I try to make sure that I keep them clean and will take your adice re the white markings ( i note that a lot of people have commented that it is the white they seem to be attracted by and I'm on here to learn from experienced hands).

 

Here's a question regarding new shell decoys : is it just me or do the yellow eyes seem excessivley large and bright ??

 

kind regards

[deny essex]

I was told a must do in my early shooting days when guns were just invented was to "make sure your artificial decoys have eyes boy" were the words from the old timers of my early days .

[Daks]

I was told a must do in my early shooting days when guns were just invented was to "make sure your artificial decoys have eyes boy" were the words from the old timers of my early days .

 

Denys like Gandalf The Gray, heed his wisdom

[indio]

I was told a must do in my early shooting days when guns were just invented was to "make sure your artificial decoys have eyes boy" were the words from the old timers of my early days .

Thanks for that i will leave well alone. kind regards

 

Denys like Gandalf The Gray, heed his wisdom

 

Thanks for the advice. i will .

Kind regards