kitchrat Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 So I have the only 3 fields of barley stubble (3 days old) for 20 miles around near my house, lots of pigeons about, nice woods to breed/rest in, but ZERO pigeons on the stubble. Stubbles don't seem to work like they used to. WHY? My guesses: a)Chaff cutters cover most lost grain (not the case in above fields, they are baled and carted) - pigeons can't/won't scratch the stuff off - hence, a badly cultivated stubble seems to work better. b), short straw crops don't have the laid crop that leads to lost grain c) combines lose less grain, they are better machines and the short straw doesn't choke them up - try looking for spilt grain.... d) the lack of laid crop allows the combine to cut higher. leaving longer stubble. Pigeons then can't land without getting a bit of stubble up their ********s! Just watch them, they prefer to land where the combine wheels have flattened the stubble. So, all in all, is it more attractive than "helicoptering" down into the wheel marks of standing wheat?? They can do that anywhere and the grain right now is softer for their chicks. Anyone got any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 It is probably down to how quick a pigeon can fill it's crop. A pigeon could probably fill up in a few minutes if it were to land on some laid wheat/barley. It may take 10 times as long if it had to search on a fresh stubble - especially if the combine has been efficient. Remember also, there is a massive choice for pigeons at the moment, and the job of the decoyer is to find where the pigeons want to be, not where we want them to be. I've successfully decoyed (with small 21 and 26 bird bags) on a barley stubble that has a lot of food left showing, in the last few days. Other barley stubbles i looked at, i couldn't find much grain and therefore no pigeons Rape stubble (in my opinion) is a much better bet for good bags in general (at the moment) , as there will always be seed for the pigeons to find - i seem to remember reading somewhere that 20% of the yield is lost whilst combining. I predict some big bags on stubbles in the 2-3 months, shot by myself and many others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yickdaz Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 they are more than likely in another area feeding, you will find not all stubbles will attract birds they have certain fields they like going on year after year and completley leave others alone, I know of quite a lot of fields we shoot when harvested will produce bags every year and some that won,t even get a sniff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 i find that stubbles come into their own after rain and all the left over stuff starts to germinate....thats when the fun starts and goes thro until they are ploughed in, add to that in the late autumn the oaks bordering the stubbles will have dropped their acorns, and the rain will have softened and split the nuts....that will continue until the stubbles are ploughed and the winter cerals go in..........so you have the chance to hit it again........ ............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennett Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 I agree that modern combines lose a lot less grain but you could argue that pigeons don't really know that..they are opportunists after all. The field I shot on Sunday for over 100 was a week old stubble and cut with the latest all singing all dancing combine and to be honest the numbers of pigeon on it didn't look promising but they wanted to be there. And its not just the spilt grain they like, new weed shoots will pull them in so its worth keeping an eye on for a few weeks like ditchman said Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dead eye alan Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 Watch it as long as you can thy will be on it one day, just timing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitsinhedges Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 I remember last year I went to a bean field that had been combined and there were so many on the surface I wondered if the combine had collected any at all. It must be even worse for the smaller seed crops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karpman Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 Love the stubbles and for me it's still the holy grail the highlight of my year. Then the spuds are pulled and a couple of good frosts its game on again. Karpman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harnser Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 Yes I think they are . The stubble will shoot better after the straw has been bailed ,most of the grain lost from the combine is among the straw dumped on the field . Harnser . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 There will be big bags shot on stubble, possibly bigger than on any other crop or food source. However those shooters who only shoot at harvest time on stubbles are missing a trick on other crops at other times of year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karpman Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 There will be big bags shot on stubble, possibly bigger than on any other crop or food source. However those shooters who only shoot at harvest time on stubbles are missing a trick on other crops at other times of year.Shoot all year through, don't stop me looking forward to harvest mind. Karpman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aga man Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 (edited) stubbles that produce the biggest bags are rape and beans for the reasons that motty has mentioned the seed is falling out before the combine touches it. fields with steep hillsides can also have a lot of spilt grain on aswell. as we all know the pigeons habits and available food can change from year to year. the peas grown in our area proved that this year with pigeons seamingly not bothered by them that much. one of the beauty of shooting stubbles is being able to drive to your shooting position and build the hide wherever the pigeons are feeding. Edited July 30, 2013 by aga man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchrat Posted July 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 It is probably down to how quick a pigeon can fill it's crop. A pigeon could probably fill up in a few minutes if it were to land on some laid wheat/barley. It may take 10 times as long if it had to search on a fresh stubble - especially if the combine has been efficient. Remember also, there is a massive choice for pigeons at the moment, and the job of the decoyer is to find where the pigeons want to be, not where we want them to be. I've successfully decoyed (with small 21 and 26 bird bags) on a barley stubble that has a lot of food left showing, in the last few days. Other barley stubbles i looked at, i couldn't find much grain and therefore no pigeons Rape stubble (in my opinion) is a much better bet for good bags in general (at the moment) , as there will always be seed for the pigeons to find - i seem to remember reading somewhere that 20% of the yield is lost whilst combining. I predict some big bags on stubbles in the 2-3 months, shot by myself and many others. I hope you are right, round here the cultivator is in the field at the same time as the combine.... I agree that modern combines lose a lot less grain but you could argue that pigeons don't really know that..they are opportunists after all. The field I shot on Sunday for over 100 was a week old stubble and cut with the latest all singing all dancing combine and to be honest the numbers of pigeon on it didn't look promising but they wanted to be there. And its not just the spilt grain they like, new weed shoots will pull them in so its worth keeping an eye on for a few weeks like ditchman said Good luck! The stubble won't be stubble in a week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchrat Posted July 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 stubbles that produce the biggest bags are rape and beans for the reasons that motty has mentioned the seed is falling out before the combine touches it. fields with steep hillsides can also have a lot of spilt grain on aswell. as we all know the pigeons habits and available food can change from year to year. the peas grown in our area proved that this year with pigeons seamingly not bothered by them that much. one of the beauty of shooting stubbles is being able to drive to your shooting position and build the hide wherever the pigeons are feeding. I agree that peas have disappointed the last year or two. But so have drillings - the machines are too good. Do you remember when there used to be peas or beans all over the place?? Now you have to dig 4 inches down to find what crop has gone in!! And yes, there are loads of pigeons about here, just feeding at random in 1's and 2's on wheat by dropping into the wheelings or in paddocks. In the winter they flock up in 1000;s and murder the rape but it's like trying to pick up mercury with chop sticks! 10 is a good bag. Perhaps I'm just getting old and miserable but it has never been so hard to fill the freezer...... That said, I did get a 40+ and a 30+ last week on the right wheat field but of the 10,000 acres I can shoot it seems to be the only opportunity. Yes I DO spent hours and £100 of fuel each week searching....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amazed Posted July 31, 2013 Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 I had a few hours on barley stubble yesterday. It was disappointing but I am afraid with the rape still in the ground with tracks going through them from the spraying that's where the pigeons are round me :( roll on next week when the rape comes down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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