kitchrat Posted August 31, 2013 Report Share Posted August 31, 2013 Did you see my thread " Stubbles are not the Holy Grail"?? Now, some 4 or 5 weeks later, it's almost all over here. All cut, mostly cultivated. Pigeons all over the place but only about 1 per 10 acres. No build up in numbers. I've used £100's of fuel, spent days and days watching fields and have shot about 225 birds so far this harvest including the one day it really worked, with 104. I have done little else but reccy, plan and shoot. The birds must have cost me about £2 each, but I got 15p each back. Still loved it!! But, NO, harvest is not the Holy Grail anymore. (don't know if there is one these days) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted August 31, 2013 Report Share Posted August 31, 2013 Recce, plan and shoot should have reaped you major rewards. Turn up and shoot seems to be the modern mantra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dead eye alan Posted August 31, 2013 Report Share Posted August 31, 2013 Recce, plan and shoot should have reaped you major rewards. Turn up and shoot seems to be the modern mantra. Herts seems to be void of birds at the moment same in Bucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yickdaz Posted August 31, 2013 Report Share Posted August 31, 2013 we normally do most of our shooting around harvest and get our biggest bags on laid crops, stubbles but the last 2 years have been really poor for us the last 2 weeks had 7 days out resulting in, 70, 74, 28 ,32, 50, 12 ,25, normally there would of been a couple of ton plus bags in there not complaining its not bad but when I compare it to previous years bags its way down on numbers shot by end of august went out today to a place were last Saturday we had seen a brilliant known flightline they use year after year over standing wheat on our land to stubble off our boundary, today the wheat had been cut so could of decoyed them easily on our side but if you aint got a flightline you ain't gonna shoot birds really baffling why the birds wasn't there the wind was right and stubble all down the flightline but it was dead, same on another farm we had seen good numbers of birds on but hardly any today ended up on stubble closer to home for a few hrs and got 25 not a total disaster but very disappointing about the other 2 places I thought they were dead certs for getting a good bag on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitsinhedges Posted August 31, 2013 Report Share Posted August 31, 2013 Same story here. Weeks of driving around the county and little to show for it. Can be very demoralising but the harder you try the luckier you become and a few decent bags invariably find their way into your freezer. I'm beginning to think the drillings to follow will be the best part of this harvest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aga man Posted August 31, 2013 Report Share Posted August 31, 2013 I'm beginning to think the drillings to follow will be the best part of this harvest. hope your right fella, but i doubt it. with hedgerows bursting with berrys and woods full of acorns and beechmast the woodie's are seldom stuck for a meal this autumn. Recce, plan and shoot should have reaped you major rewards. Turn up and shoot seems to be the modern mantra. wise words of wisdom right there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remmy1100 Posted August 31, 2013 Report Share Posted August 31, 2013 we had thousands around here in winter but birds are not around in any real numbers now .I passed a hedge the other day and saw a pigeon sitting on a nest with two chicks well grown but still in down maybe where they all are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeonslayer15 Posted August 31, 2013 Report Share Posted August 31, 2013 Hi all ive had some great days this harvest, the best bein 165 on my own, in the last 4 weeks since the harvest ive shot around 800 pigeons and thats from about 8 outings so not to bad, but its dried up quite a bit now since everything has bin cut, I foubd all the best bags were on the rape stubble Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted August 31, 2013 Report Share Posted August 31, 2013 (edited) The harvest hasn't been too bad for me. I've had better years, but i've had worse, too. The harvest hasn't finished yet. Won't be too long before the beans are cut. Edited August 31, 2013 by motty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitsinhedges Posted August 31, 2013 Report Share Posted August 31, 2013 The harvest hasn't been too bad for me. I've had better years, but i've had worse, too. The harvest hasn't finished yet. Won't be too long before the beans are cut. Too many this year though it's all they could plant in a lot of fields around here due to the wet weather. Oh well at least we'll have roost shooting in a few months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yickdaz Posted August 31, 2013 Report Share Posted August 31, 2013 swings and rounabouts some will have had a cracking harvest period some average which applies to me up to now and some poor, but I said in another thread I,m not writing it off just yet loads of standing crops still to be cut and we shoot right through to dec on them so still plenty chances to get at them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Hi all ive had some great days this harvest, the best bein 165 on my own, in the last 4 weeks since the harvest ive shot around 800 pigeons and thats from about 8 outings so not to bad, but its dried up quite a bit now since everything has bin cut, I foubd all the best bags were on the rape stubble So 'it's dried up' after you had shot 800 pigeons. Hardly surprizing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon controller Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 We defiantly have summer and winter shoots in are area, this year has been manic on two particular farms. While I was away DB was called out many times on spring rape at a time that would normally be quiet. All I would say is know your ground is the best advise I can give but be flexible in that its not written in stone. " He who dares Rodney" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchrat Posted September 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Hi all ive had some great days this harvest, the best bein 165 on my own, in the last 4 weeks since the harvest ive shot around 800 pigeons and thats from about 8 outings so not to bad, but its dried up quite a bit now since everything has bin cut, I foubd all the best bags were on the rape stubble Rape stubble didn't work here!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchrat Posted September 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 we normally do most of our shooting around harvest and get our biggest bags on laid crops, stubbles but the last 2 years have been really poor for us the last 2 weeks had 7 days out resulting in, 70, 74, 28 ,32, 50, 12 ,25, normally there would of been a couple of ton plus bags in there not complaining its not bad but when I compare it to previous years bags its way down on numbers shot by end of august went out today to a place were last Saturday we had seen a brilliant known flightline they use year after year over standing wheat on our land to stubble off our boundary, today the wheat had been cut so could of decoyed them easily on our side but if you aint got a flightline you ain't gonna shoot birds really baffling why the birds wasn't there the wind was right and stubble all down the flightline but it was dead, same on another farm we had seen good numbers of birds on but hardly any today ended up on stubble closer to home for a few hrs and got 25 not a total disaster but very disappointing about the other 2 places I thought they were dead certs for getting a good bag on Why should they folow flightlines to anywhere in particular? There are lots of fields local to them, each of which can support local birds but not a big built up like the old days. So divide and be fat is the game to play, and they are!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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