Bussta Posted December 18, 2003 Report Share Posted December 18, 2003 Question 1. I am currently a half gun on a small Pheasant shoot in Kent and am keen to get a bit more shooting done. I fancy having a go at a bit of rabbit shooting and pigeon/vermin shooting and am after a bit of advise. I live about 40 min from the area that I shoot in and therefor can't really devote too much time to setting up decoys, monitoring pigeon fights e.t.c, as I work in the week. I have access to a large number of woods and fields and quite fancy having a stroll through them and having a pop at a few rabbits, pigeons, rooks e.t.c. what is the best way to do this, as I have to be a bit weary at the moment not to spook the phesants in the woods too much as the shoot is still on, I can't really devote the time to setting up a decoy system, so what is the likelyhood of bagging pigeons and rabbits by walking up through the woods - what is the best way-times to do it? - is it illegal to shoot on Sundays? Question 2. I currently use a s/s 12 bore but am thinking of having a change to a 20b o/u, but I've never shot an o/u and wonder if there is much advantage - as I won't be shooting mile high Phesants like they do on some of the more prestigious shoots I am wondering if it would be more suited to what I do and would like to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamebag Posted December 18, 2003 Report Share Posted December 18, 2003 hmm rough is more fun than decoying for 2 reasons 1) your walking around looking for bunnies pigeons etc instead of sitting freezing your bum off & 2) i think its good excercise and if you have dogs a good excuse for taking them for a walk. As for the shot gun thing i think its different strokes for diferent folkes although i tend to shoot better with an o/u than i do with a s/s for game yet shoot clays better with s/s than i do o/u strange or what? i was always told no game on a sunday but i always shoot pigeon on a sunday & rabbits as they are vermin not game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted December 18, 2003 Report Share Posted December 18, 2003 If the area you want to "rough shoot", is the same ground your "small pheasant Shoot in Kent" use, the first thing you need to confirm, is that whoever controls the shooting, will give you permission. I am a member of a pheasant Shoot in Kent and we are not permitted on the land with a gun out of season and then, only on Shoot days. This is the situation I have always experienced, with game shooting Syndicates. They don,t normally permit any shooting on the land, apart from official Shoot days. Walking around rough shooting is great, if you don,t have a lot of spare time and is extra pleasurable if you have a dog. But, its not as efficient as static roost shooting ,or decoying from a hide over crops, IMO. With rabbits, my experience is, one shot (unsilenced shotgun) and they all disappear. But, pigeons can be more obliging, as can magpies, crows, jays, squirrels etc. The side by side -v- over and under debate, is a matter of personal preference. Why not own one of each ? There has been quite a bit of discussion on here, about the advantages of using a 20 bore. If you use the "Search" facility, put in "20 bore", it should pull up all the threads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bussta Posted December 19, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 thanks for the advise. It's fine for me to shoot on the land/woods, so am intending to go for the rough-walkup option against decoying as I have nvere tried it and guess it's probably the wrong time of year to do it. I'm going to walk through some of the woods and take my chances with the pigeons and squirrels, what is the best time to go, I often see a lot of them in the wood, but as soon as you fire off they all scarper, but suppose if I sit there covered propperly they will circuit and come back in? Sorry for all of the questions, I have been itching to go out on my own for ages and look forward to the possibility of seeing a rabbit or two and having pigeon pie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest charlie Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 Busta I too am in Kent. I have 1000 acres near Canterbury for pigeon and any vermin I fancy. I originally got this because I used an airgun and built up trust through my behaviour and calling first to make sure it was ok to shot. I suggest you try the same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutty Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 Bussta Welcome to the site. Sounds like the ideal spot for roost shooting. Pick a breezy day ,the breezier the better to mask the noise of your shots, have a look around the wood for droppings under trees and get yourself sat there a couple of hours before dark, great sport imo. You may even score for a bunskin or two while you wait. On the subject of bunskins, if you are going to use the walked up approach , slow your movements right down and come at them with the wind in your face , that way they dont smell you and if your moving slow they have trouble seeing you, especially at twilight. good hunting mate. regards sutty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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