who got there first

[mossy835]

if you see them come in, then you have to go get them i dont watch a field for a week.

[Danoi99]

ShropShiresam has hit the nail on the head on this one me thinks. Do get pretty sick of the attitude of some people on PW. Well done you if you've got 1000's of acres to shoot on. Most of us mere mortals are lucky to have a few select fields to shoot over.

 

Most sensible farmers appreciate "novice" shooters having a go at the pigeons for free, and they probably accept the fact that this aint our full time job! In a lot of ways, waiting for the numbers to build is probably the most effective way of making a real dent in the local population of cereal killers..........but it is a balancing act..........if the farmer phones you up and says "get on 'em asap!", then you would be wise to get out there pronto.

 

It's a cozy little arrangement for most of us.........we get to enjoy some great days out..............the farmer gets pigeons blasted off his crops. I would love to be able to spend every day out in the field, sadly it aint gonna happen when I am on-call 24/7 for a Private Ambulance Service. I get a day off, I do a load of washing up, some vacuuming, and if I'm lucky I will get to "go out to play".

 

A lot of pigeon shooters are placed well and truly in the enthusiast demographic, we look at PW for advice, tips........a bit of camaraderie !! Shame so many PW members and "Pros" are less than helpful with their comments.

 

Ahh well.............tis the way of the world.

[marsh man]

Hi guys I agree with the above post, I am lucky I have a lot of land to shoot over now the game season is over ,to me its not a case of letting pigeons build up because you would be waiting a long time round my area as I live on the coast and one side of us is a bit to wet to shoot At the moment were got more trouble with Swans than pigeons but having the time I walk round with my dog once or twice a week around the different fields, the farmer see my car now and again so he know I am about Having had a bus pass for several years now I am a bit reluckdent to sit around in cold weather for a shot or two. If any one else want to go good luck to them I know I will be there when its a bit warmer so I am not too concerned if some one else have a go ,we all had to start somewhere agreed.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

ShropShiresam has hit the nail on the head on this one me thinks. Do get pretty sick of the attitude of some people on PW. Well done you if you've got 1000's of acres to shoot on. Most of us mere mortals are lucky to have a few select fields to shoot over.

 

Most sensible farmers appreciate "novice" shooters having a go at the pigeons for free, and they probably accept the fact that this aint our full time job! In a lot of ways, waiting for the numbers to build is probably the most effective way of making a real dent in the local population of cereal killers..........but it is a balancing act..........if the farmer phones you up and says "get on 'em asap!", then you would be wise to get out there pronto.

 

It's a cozy little arrangement for most of us.........we get to enjoy some great days out..............the farmer gets pigeons blasted off his crops. I would love to be able to spend every day out in the field, sadly it aint gonna happen when I am on-call 24/7 for a Private Ambulance Service. I get a day off, I do a load of washing up, some vacuuming, and if I'm lucky I will get to "go out to play".

 

A lot of pigeon shooters are placed well and truly in the enthusiast demographic, we look at PW for advice, tips........a bit of camaraderie !! Shame so many PW members and "Pros" are less than helpful with their comments.

 

Ahh well.............tis the way of the world.

 

 

Amen to that!

[hawkfanz]

theres a lot of split views on this topic,i myself am happy to go out as soon as pigeons appear,,i even set up when there not even feeding but still manage to draw a few birds in,but i dont kill for profit many on here sell to game dealers but i dont, all my quarry except corvids are eaten by me or given to friends to eat and the dog gets some as well,so i dont want to shoot 100,s of birds in a session,and i can live with that.

[motty]

theres a lot of split views on this topic,i myself am happy to go out as soon as pigeons appear,,i even set up when there not even feeding but still manage to draw a few birds in,but i dont kill for profit many on here sell to game dealers but i dont, all my quarry except corvids are eaten by me or given to friends to eat and the dog gets some as well,so i dont want to shoot 100,s of birds in a session,and i can live with that.

I wouldn't have thought many people can make much profit from shooting pigeons. I sell most of the pigeons I shoot to game dealers, but this only pays for the cartridges, really.

 

Just another thought. How many people would shoot a freshly drilled field the next day after seeing 20 pigeons feeding, rather than wait a couple of days and see if there's a few hundred feeding?

[hawkfanz]

me i would do it asap

[yickdaz]

theres a lot of split views on this topic,i myself am happy to go out as soon as pigeons appear,,i even set up when there not even feeding but still manage to draw a few birds in,but i dont kill for profit many on here sell to game dealers but i dont, all my quarry except corvids are eaten by me or given to friends to eat and the dog gets some as well,so i dont want to shoot 100,s of birds in a session,and i can live with that.

thats fair enough we all like to eat a pigeon or two

but one day you will hit it right that can happen whether you like it or not so what happens then ?

[motty]

me i would do it asap

Why?

[postie]

I wouldn't have thought many people can make much profit from shooting pigeons. I sell most of the pigeons I shoot to game dealers, but this only pays for the cartridges, really.

 

Just another thought. How many people would shoot a freshly drilled field the next day after seeing 20 pigeons feeding, rather than wait a couple of days and see if there's a few hundred feeding?

I would shot it asap I only get one day a week off so have to make the most of it

only have 2 small fields now

used to have 400 acres of wheat barley and some peas

but cant shoot it any more because someone leases the shooting know

[hawkfanz]

lets be honest guys anglers say there,s more to fishing than catching fish,i,m like that with shooting its not the size of the bag that counts to me,its just being out there doing it,if i get lucky and get 50 myself or 100 for 2 of us i,m quite happy to call it a day and pack up.success isn,t always about quantity.

[kitchrat]

 

Its not quite as simple as that .

 

Only dead pigeons do not eat , by letting numbers build and shooting a bigger bag you are preventing more future damage than you will shooting a handful here and there .

 

Yes going out often will perhaps keep the birds off , but when I ask for permission its to shoot pigeons , I do not ask for permission to be a human scarecrow , I have infact given up permissions in the past when a farmer expected me to be there every time he saw a half dozen pigeon on his crops.

 

If you are happy being a scarecrow crack on , I am happy shooting pigeons , letting birds build up does not have to be on a crop , it could be on a stubble or beet tops , game cover etc.

Spot on!!!!

[kitchrat]

me i would do it asap

T****!!

Dead pigeons do no more damage, therefore we should kill as many as we can to do our job. It's OK to have a bit of sport but you have to let them build up to do any real damage to the numbers. Sitting in a hide all day to keep them off is one thing (I did today, 6 hours for 8 birds) but we need to get numbers. Some of us put a lot into this, I spend £100 on diesel per week and maybe 30 hours looking for birds, watching , letting them build up, then (hopefully) knocking a lot down.

To expect me to them carry all my stuff 100's of yards, sit in a hide all day to shoot 8, it's MAD, I only do it for really good friends/farmers.

Jumping on a field spoils the bag for SERIOUS shooters who actually do some good, rather than just the boys who have a bit of fun.

The genaral Licence is about crop protection, not about a bit of fun for part-timers....

[hawkfanz]

ive been a part timer for over 50 years and will continue to do so.

[colin lad]

T****!!

Dead pigeons do no more damage, therefore we should kill as many as we can to do our job. It's OK to have a bit of sport but you have to let them build up to do any real damage to the numbers. Sitting in a hide all day to keep them off is one thing (I did today, 6 hours for 8 birds) but we need to get numbers. Some of us put a lot into this, I spend £100 on diesel per week and maybe 30 hours looking for birds, watching , letting them build up, then (hopefully) knocking a lot down.

To expect me to them carry all my stuff 100's of yards, sit in a hide all day to shoot 8, it's MAD, I only do it for really good friends/farmers.

Jumping on a field spoils the bag for SERIOUS shooters who actually do some good, rather than just the boys who have a bit of fun.

The genaral Licence is about crop protection, not about a bit of fun for part-timers....

so is keeping them off the land in the 1st place not crop protection

 

colin

Edited February 14, 2014 by colin lad

[fenboy]

so is keeping them off the land in the 1st place not crop protection

 

colin

 

Of course it is Colin , but dead ones do not come back when you are working during the week do they ?

[kitchrat]

so is keeping them off the land in the 1st place not crop protection

 

colin

Temporary "fix" only!!

[colin lad]

 

Of course it is Colin , but dead ones do not come back when you are working during the week do they ?

totally agree and can see both sides to this debate being a fellow shooter and working on a farm,

as a shooter i would like to go out and get some big bags and letting them build on stubble is something i would do myself

but as a farm worker then wanting them off the fields as soon as possible so they don't do too much crop damage is also something i would do,

been lambing this week and was showing the farmer who i was helping this thread who also has rape and other crops,

his reply was,

i had someone like that once who use to let the pigeons feed for weeks so he could take people out and charge them soon got shot of him and now lets me and one other go,

 

each to their own though

 

colin

[kitchrat]

totally agree and can see both sides to this debate being a fellow shooter and working on a farm,

as a shooter i would like to go out and get some big bags and letting them build on stubble is something i would do myself

but as a farm worker then wanting them off the fields as soon as possible so they don't do too much crop damage is also something i would do,

been lambing this week and was showing the farmer who i was helping this thread who also has rape and other crops,

his reply was,

i had someone like that once who use to let the pigeons feed for weeks so he could take people out and charge them soon got shot of him and now lets me and one other go,

 

each to their own though

 

colin

Fair comment, getting the balance right is the trick!

[fenboy]

totally agree and can see both sides to this debate being a fellow shooter and working on a farm,

as a shooter i would like to go out and get some big bags and letting them build on stubble is something i would do myself

but as a farm worker then wanting them off the fields as soon as possible so they don't do too much crop damage is also something i would do,

been lambing this week and was showing the farmer who i was helping this thread who also has rape and other crops,

his reply was,

i had someone like that once who use to let the pigeons feed for weeks so he could take people out and charge them soon got shot of him and now lets me and one other go,

 

each to their own though

 

colin

Yes of course there will always be two sides to the argument .

I have a very good relationship with the three farmers I shoot for now , and if they ask me to shoot i know they have a problem and will get on them as soon as I can.

 

Personally when I talk of letting numbers build its on stubbles etc but even on rape I will not shoot if there are only a few and the farmer is not bothered , there was a time when I would have done but the older I get the less inclined I am !

 

To be honest pigeon do not cause massive damage on rape early on , as bad as it looks sometimes once its had a dose of fertilizer it generally recovers quite well , I think they really start doing damage later on in march and april.

[Guest]

Just read this post and i can say.

 

I could not careless if someone has been watching a field or not( how would i know).

 

My friend is a farmer and he tells me he wants me on the fields doing the business.

 

In fact i find hideous that your watching hundreds of pigeons wreck the fields before doing something about it.

 

But that's my opinion

 

And if i set my hide up first it's tuff **** on the person watching them because i'll be shooting them

 

Very Best Regards

 

Neil

[kitchrat]

Just read this post and i can say.

 

I could not careless if someone has been watching a field or not( how would i know).

 

My friend is a farmer and he tells me he wants me on the fields doing the business.

 

In fact i find hideous that your watching hundreds of pigeons wreck the fields before doing something about it.

 

But that's my opinion

 

And if i set my hide up first it's tuff **** on the person watching them because i'll be shooting them

 

Very Best Regards

 

Neil

Shooting a few pigeons now and again does little to help protect crops, long term. I know it keeps them off whilst you are "on the job" but next day they are back. You might just as well walk round and put them off that way. Then you can cover all your perms, say twice a day, and get that warm glow of satisfaction, believing you have done a good job!!

Of couse you don't want to let them build up to a level where they do excessive damage but by allowing some build up you can shoot far more and also scare far more than by having a pop at the odd few.

[Matt Gould]

you would probably do more damage to the field yourself setting up your hide for three pigeons lol

[Guest]

Shooting a few pigeons now and again does little to help protect crops, long term. I know it keeps them off whilst you are "on the job" but next day they are back. You might just as well walk round and put them off that way. Then you can cover all your perms, say twice a day, and get that warm glow of satisfaction, believing you have done a good job!!

Of couse you don't want to let them build up to a level where they do excessive damage but by allowing some build up you can shoot far more and also scare far more than by having a pop at the odd few.

 

Hi There

It's horses for courses but the three farmers that i shoot for are more than happy with my results if its one pigeon or fifty pigeons it does not matter,its a known fact that if you keep shooting a field long enough the pigeons won't want to feed there call it moving the problem somewhere else is does not matter to me as long as the farmer gets the results he is after.

Pigeons are not in big numbers at the moment in my area, everyone on here is bragging on how many pigeons they have shot,the crow and corvid population has grown round my end so thats what i am working on i think people are over looking them in MOP.

 

Thanks

 

Neil

[motty]

 

Hi There

It's horses for courses but the three farmers that i shoot for are more than happy with my results if its one pigeon or fifty pigeons it does not matter,its a known fact that if you keep shooting a field long enough the pigeons won't want to feed there call it moving the problem somewhere else is does not matter to me as long as the farmer gets the results he is after.

Pigeons are not in big numbers at the moment in my area, everyone on here is bragging on how many pigeons they have shot,the crow and corvid population has grown round my end so thats what i am working on i think people are over looking them in MOP.

 

Thanks

 

Neil

So do you go out to shoot pigeons or please the farmer?

 

By the way, I think it takes a lot for pigeons to completely clear off from an area. I shot on a farm with a full time pest controller. He was round the rape fields all day, moving gas guns and firing rockets. The huge flocks of pigeons would clear off when he arrived, but returned an hour later to have their feed. The process continued perhaps three times a day. The result was no different, the pigeons were still eating the same amount of rape and were still there in the same numbers and completely undecoyable.

Far better to let the birds have a little peace, then hit them hard. This is how to reduce pigeon numbers.