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Missing so many birds??


yidoharry
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Im decoying pigeons at around 25/30 yards killzone. Im using 7s 28g. I feel that im occasionally keen to take my shot as I have the pressure of either my dad or one of he's two pals with me in the hide! always seem to shoot with one eye purely because this feels more natural. If I try to take more time the chance seems to go as the others will take the shot

 

Wouldn't want to criticise your Dad or his friends but you might want to ask them to give you a bit more time to get your shot in without putting you under pressure.

Is it practical to get out on your own a few times without the feeling of someone breathing down your neck ?

from the other replies you might want to consider "upping" your cartridges to a 6 with a slightly heavier load ( discussing cartridges on here is like putting a match in a box of fireworks as everyone has their own opinions and experiences)

 

Keep at it , act on the advice you get from others on here that you think is relevant to you, don't be afraid to ask more questions on here (there are only 1 or 2 that might take the p but the vast majority will offer help )

Good Luck

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Your lack of confidence and the pressure you feel under to do well could end up ruining your entire enjoyment of the sport. You are a novice so you must expect to find the sport much more demanding but as you are shooting live quarry I think it would be wise to improve your skill before you carry on. You might find that a simple alteration to your stance or hold will have Digweed worried but you need someone to point you the right way-get the best-its a bit of a trek but I used to drive from Aylesbury to Potters Bar every day so its not too bad-I cannot think of anyone better than Guy Bond just outside Aylesbury, if you cannot get on with Guy then take up knitting-the man is pure genius.

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Got to say im overwhelmed with the encouragement and advice that so many of you have given.....never expected so many of you to be so open and helpful! I got to say this alone has given me a lot more confidence and I can honestly say im more determined now to get back out there and give it a good go. Alost certainly going to find a clay ground to get a lesson with an instructor more for brushing up on various issues that I may be getting wrong regards stance gun fit etc. Just want to thank everyone who took the time to offer their sound advice!! Thinking back to when I used to use a fishing forum I never got anything like the response I've had on here.......anglers can be a right miserable secretive lot!!.......;Back out tomorrow to put into practice everything I have picked up on here. Hope its ok to let you all know how I get on......just don't expect miracles guys!! :yahoo:

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when you are in the hide are you sitting down to shoot or standing up.?..........bear in mind that even if you are "standing" to shoot it will be difficult for you to "assume" the correct position /stance

 

 

 

Amongst all the other good stuff, this, the best advice may have been missed. Shooting from the sitting position makes a mockery of gun fit unless you lean into the shot. Try shooting at a target while sitting upright and I'll bet my bottom dollar that you shoot high; lean into the shot and you'll see the difference.

 

Stance = mount. It pays to spend a few minutes levelling off the ground so both feet can be firmly placed and making sure you can adopt the correct stance for any direction in which you're going to shoot. It's also safer - falling over with a loaded gun in a pigeon hide is not funny. I always have a trenching spade (German army ones are good, they come with a pick option) in my car.

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CEMEX by chance??

 

Got to say im overwhelmed with the encouragement and advice that so many of you have given.....never expected so many of you to be so open and helpful! I got to say this alone has given me a lot more confidence and I can honestly say im more determined now to get back out there and give it a good go. Alost certainly going to find a clay ground to get a lesson with an instructor more for brushing up on various issues that I may be getting wrong regards stance gun fit etc. Just want to thank everyone who took the time to offer their sound advice!! Thinking back to when I used to use a fishing forum I never got anything like the response I've had on here.......anglers can be a right miserable secretive lot!!.......;Back out tomorrow to put into practice everything I have picked up on here. Hope its ok to let you all know how I get on......just don't expect miracles guys!! :yahoo:

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CEMEX by chance??

 

wow how did you guess!!!! Ive never known such a miserable lot. I got abused by 5-6 members because I gave out information on some cracking chub and barbell fishing that I had at Fishers Green......they acted like it should only be for them and they never wanted anyone else to know about the "secret" swims. Really annoyed me as I was helping out a much younger angler to get hes first barbell.......in the end it got so heated that they said if they saw me out on the river I would be in trouble......angered by this I gave them my address and asked them to knock on my door to say it to my face, as you may have guessed they soiled themselves and shut up!! What a bunch of mugs!! Gets me angry now thinking about it. :mad:

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If the stock of the gun is short ie having to pull it in when you raise the gun,put a butt pad on.Also put decoy range markers out 25, 30 ,35 yards. You may be shooting at out of range birds and not knowing , knowing the range of abird at a glance takes time ,be disciplined only go for in range bird,shoot where the birds going

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I recognise the user name.

 

I think I remember that thread.

 

FG was my venue of choice. Bailiff there for many years.

 

wow how did you guess!!!! Ive never known such a miserable lot. I got abused by 5-6 members because I gave out information on some cracking chub and barbell fishing that I had at Fishers Green......they acted like it should only be for them and they never wanted anyone else to know about the "secret" swims. Really annoyed me as I was helping out a much younger angler to get hes first barbell.......in the end it got so heated that they said if they saw me out on the river I would be in trouble......angered by this I gave them my address and asked them to knock on my door to say it to my face, as you may have guessed they soiled themselves and shut up!! What a bunch of mugs!! Gets me angry now thinking about it. :mad:

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Hi, Harry. I would recommend shooting skeet for a while. It helped me to hit pigeons. All of the targets on a skeet range are likely to be encountered during a decoying session. It gives you an idea of the amount of lead required for pigeons at normal decoying ranges. I bet once you start nailing 20/25 on a regular basis at skeet, you'll also be hitting decoying pigeons regularly, too.

 

Don't worry about changing your cartridges, either. Despite what some people say/think, an ounce of no.7 will knock down pigeons very well at good range. Stick to them.

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Hi, Harry. I would recommend shooting skeet for a while. It helped me to hit pigeons. All of the targets on a skeet range are likely to be encountered during a decoying session. It gives you an idea of the amount of lead required for pigeons at normal decoying ranges. I bet once you start nailing 20/25 on a regular basis at skeet, you'll also be hitting decoying pigeons regularly, too.

 

Don't worry about changing your cartridges, either. Despite what some people say/think, an ounce of no.7 will knock down pigeons very well at good range. Stick to them.

 

 

 

 

totally agree with that.................i used to use 7's as well for 30 odd years for everything !!........use 6's now,,,,,,,skeet ...spot on it gets you moving and a decoy range

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Perhaps the most pertinent thing I was ever told was by former CPS champion AJ (Smoker ) Smith in the mid seventies...

 

" If you miss 110 times out of a 100 you miss behind ! "

 

However as a ardent Irons fan I cant be seen to be giving advice to a Spuds fan :lol: The ICF would bury me :lol:

Edited by Fisherman Mike
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Why do people always say this?

 

My gun is well fitted to me, but I shoot (pigeon) with other peoples guns ( different makes, models, sxs, semi etc) with no discernible reduction in accuracy.

 

In my experience you need to be either at the very top of your game at clay where a missed shot means the world, or you're shooting a gun so ridiculously wrong for your size.

 

The bloke just needs to get his lead and making sure the birds are in range IMO.

I had this discussion on another thread this week .

I said I very much doubt the vast majority of shooters who say things like "buy one that fits" have ever had a gun fitted in their lives.

I certainly have not and have not had one I have shot badly with yet.

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Im decoying pigeons at around 25/30 yards killzone. Im using 7s 28g. I feel that im occasionally keen to take my shot as I have the pressure of either my dad or one of he's two pals with me in the hide! always seem to shoot with one eye purely because this feels more natural. If I try to take more time the chance seems to go as the others will take the shot

 

Ditch your dad :)

Seriously they should not be rushing you into a shot , I don't like the idea of three people in a hide all swinging on the same bird , its an accident waiting to happen.

 

If you can put your own hide up in a different part of the field , or at the very least tell them you want to take it in turns shooting the birds, it should not be a race to see who can get it first !

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Perhaps the most pertinent thing I was ever told was by former CPS champion AJ (Smoker ) Smith in the mid seventies...

 

" If you miss 110 times out of a 100 you miss behind ! "

 

However as a ardent Irons fan I cant be seen to be giving advice to a Spuds fan :lol: The ICF would bury me :lol:

hahaha Indeed Mike......don't think the group of loyal yidos I have season tickets home/away with would take to kindly to me even listening......I get enough grief off your lot down Billingsgate Fish market where I work....you hammers are everywhere like bugs on a summer's night :lol:

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I would agree with most comments other have made. I learnt to shoot on pigeon and only went clay shooting years later.

 

My dad certainly helped me and pointed out where I was going wrong, something your dad could do. If he can't do this with you in hide then get to a clay shooting range and I'm sure anyone with experience can stand behind you and tell you whether you were in front, behind etc. certainly I'm no shooting coach but I have been able to help several newcomers simply by doing this or by showing correct stance & it's easy to test your master eye too.

 

It may seem like you don't have much time to shoot the bird, but you probably have more time than you realise, if you rush the shot and panic you will most likely miss! This won't be helped if your companions are putting pressure on you! I agree with other comments try and set up on your own and see how you get on! get used to standing up and mounting the gun in a fluid action, practice at home in your living room. Or even better if you have a garden set up your hide etc and practice there. You can even practice on any birds flying over!

 

As for "lead" it will all depend on the speed of the bird. As has been pointed out the majority probably start swinging the gun behind the bird then swing it through and then fire. I use maintained lead, so I start the gun in front of the target. Whichever way you do it - don't stop the gun when you shoot! The easist shot is straight on, start behind and as soon as you blot out the bird....bang!

 

Keep at it and it will make it so much better when your knocking them down left and right! Good luck

Edited by Mark74
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I found that being a young shot with little experiance ( though I have a little ) that I lost a lot of ability getting the lead right, and as stated a few rounds on skeet really helped me along I was getting I to the swing of things ( no pun intended ) pretty quickly, I was ablw to hit 0 on compak to hitting 19-23 clays on skeet.

As stated a couple of times try the clay pigeons help me and a few others I know that who have been away from shooting for a couple of years baxk into to it again with quite a high cartridge to kill ratio.

 

Atb

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Well let me first start by thanking each and everyone one of you who took the time to lend your advice and tips to me. I really mean that....THANKS! I can proudly say that after reading every comment and trying to soak up as much information I went out today and had the best day out since I started. I shot 8 woodpigeon in just over 8 hours!! I know that might seem a low amount to most but for me today has been invaluable...I decided to take the old man's 4x4 and go by myself...a little daunting seen as there is so much land for me to choose from but I got there before dawn having spent Sunday sitting and watching for signs and flightlines and deciding what spots would be worth a go. I opted for a nice area with woodland behind me and to the left where they seemed to flying in and out off.....I set the hide up and took my time making sure it was sat well back in a little "cove" with over hanging branches either side of me then set up the rotary with a couple of dead birds I took out the night before and finished of placing 10 decoys around the rotary. The rape was quite high in places but there were some patches where they'd had a go which gave me some optimism that they like the area......I sat back and waited patiently with everything to hand just like i'd set up if I was fishing. 10 minutes passed when I spotted 5 woddies in the distance heading straight for me...I sat still not daring to move a muscle and waited as they got closer, two of the birds started to veer left but the other three were still heading straight for the rotary I decided to pick the furthest back of the 3 as they swooped into the machine, wings opened and oblivious to me in the hide, in one swift movement I was up and mounted and followed the bird round to the right.......BANG! I missed it but seemed to daze it slightly, not really thinking about it I followed it again and took my second shot.....it tumbled to the ground giving a slight thud around 25 yards out. A big grin came over my face like a Cheshire cat as I gave myself a little pat on the back with the words "what a fu**ing shot". I sat back down and reloaded the gun. With confidence high I left the bird there as in the distance a larger flock of around 20-25 birds raised in unison from the opposite trees....as they flew away to my left I was surprised to see two of them split from the flock and come right...surely they weren't coming onto me? You bet they were! and without really over thinking anything I waited as they came closer up I popped like a meer cat remembering some of the advice I was given on here, back, belly,beak bang! and unbelievably Id shot my second pigeon of the day in the space of a few minutes!!Chuffed to bits and now beaming I rushed out to collect my prizes. I dispatched the second bird which still had some life in it and collected the second on my way back to the hide. The rest of the morning was littered with hits and more misses but I never once felt down or dis-heartened. As lunchtime came I had 5 plump pigeons laid out proudly beside me in the hide. I decided to put the gun down and have a deserved bite to eat. Just like when i'm fishing the minute I looked away to pour the tea two birds swooped in no more than 15 yards away virtually landing on the machine....I chuckled to myself and thought next time! The early afternoon slowed down a little but it never bothered me and I managed another 3 birds before deciding to call it a day....I packed up slowly thinking about the day i'd had and as you'd expect called the old man to tell him how I got along rubbing he's nose in it a little seen as he went out on Sunday and came back with nowt!!!

Thank you guys for all the information as I really do believe I wouldn't of had the day i'd had with your kind words of wisdom! :):)

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