Some good days, well two.

[Penelope]

In light of Motty's recent post and Steve G's request for more write-ups I though I would add this post.

 

A fortnight ago I was very fortunate to be invited to join a syndicate that my dad is a member of. 10 days pheasant shooting, ducks and geese and of course pigeons.

 

The shoot is just shy of 1,000 acres and this year is all down to peas, beans, spring rape and some sugar beet.

 

After visiting my parents on Mother's Day, I took a detour on the way home and visited the shoot to survey my kingdom so to speak. I know the ground quite well having beat for the syndicate on their Saturday shoot dates.

 

The first field that I came to was large (80acres) and was down to maize last year, but the ground had been worked in preparation for drilling sugar beet. It was alive with pigeons, from headland to headland, gleaning the last of the maize and had a very strong flight line from the NW into the field.

 

A moment of indecision, and then a text was fired of to the boss to see if I could take the next day (Monday) as annual leave, then another text to the that guy that covers for me to see if he was available. I then phoned my dad and told him to get up there the next day.

 

The boss came back with a yes, but the chap who provides cover could not make it until Wednesday. Back into work on Monday and a leave request put through for Wednesday (fingers crossed the pigeons were still about).

I spoke to my dad later that day; he and a mutual friend went but saw not a pigeon over the whole farm all day. I was slightly crest fallen, as I'd hoped the birds had still been about, but none the less I still had Wednesday off to have a try, it was a day off and a day out.

 

Wednesday arrived and I turned up at 8:30am. I found a big lot on some pea drilling (where they were actually feeding on half rotten sugar beet that was still in the ground, you could see the beak marks and no peas on the surface) and watched them for a while, but there was no significant flight line.

I walked the birds off to see if they came back and took a drive around the shoot to see if anywhere else had some pigeons on it, particularly the old maize field. Nothing, so back to the drilled peas which again was covered. One of the many good things about this shoot is the wide grass headlands around most fields that allows driving to the chosen spot. As I drove round pigeons were rolling away in front of the car and I was more than a little excited at the prospects.

 

Hide up, decoys out including two dead birds on the whirly, but nothing came back apart from a pair of flighting birds that were duly dispatched. Where had they gone was the question. So leaving the hide and kit in the field but taking the gun and squibs with me I set off to have another look around and found them on the old maize field again, just as they were on the Sunday.

A quick Colin McCrae impression back to the hide and a hasty pack down followed by some more McCrae back to the old maize. The flight line into the field was over and around a house so I chose to set up by a small flight pond in the middle of the field but in complete view of any approaching pigeons. I dropped the kit off at the bottom the beetle bank that leads to the pond and took the car back to the paring spot, walked back, loaded up and made my way to the pond.

No sooner had I got everything set up than a pigeon came in to the decoys, but didn't leave. There was constant traffic in and out of the field and the shooting was consistent, with a return flight line that developed from behind and left, so I had birds coming from two directions, sometimes a flock off 50-60 at a time, too many really.

A few times pigeons settled in other parts of the field behind me, so out with the canes and Lidl bags to flag the area off, which worked. Some poor misses and some good shots and a total bag of 47 pigeons, most of which came in over or close to the whirly and 5 crows by 5pm when I packed up. A bloody good day and proof that recon really is the key to a successful day.

 

We now roll on to Saturday. I had arranged to meet my dad at the shoot; he would not be there until midday'ish, so I was there for just after 9am. Another drive round, but nothing to be seen, oh well at least it was a day out. I made 3 circuits in all, finally stopping by the old maize again. I stood there for a while and finally saw a gang of a dozen or so birds come in on the flight line and drop in up by the pond. Gotcha! I thought, when I heard a car pull up behind me. As I turned around to see who it was I noticed a large flock flighting left to right along the stream valley in the middle of the shoot, closely followed by another mob.

 

The fellow in the car and I exchanged pleasantries, it turned out he was off out for the pigeons a few miles way and lived in a cottage on the farm. He did mentioned that another field of old maize in the middle of the farm had been blue wit woodies early that morning and it was in a direct line with the steady flight line that was developing along the stream valley as we stood talking. We bade our goodbyes and I set off to have a look at this other old maize field.

He was right, I could see pigeons dropping in from a distance as I sat in the car, so further investigation was required. Once again the wide grassy headlands came into use as drove to the gateway at the corner of the field and a blue cloud erupted from the rough ground. I dropped the kit of along the hedge with the fresh wind at my back and turned back to the parking place. The mobile rang as soon as I got there; it was dad asking where I was, so I told him where and what I had found. The time was now 11am.

 

The hide was put up and the decoy squad of mixed HH, Flexi-Coy, flocked shells and a dozen manky dead uns were assembled in a elongated blob with the whirly in the centre 15 yards out and a flapper out to each side at around 25 yards. From the moment we sat down in the hide about midday the pigeons were on us, , from the left along the stream valley in front of us, from the right at an angle across the field from the corner of one of the irrigation reservoirs and a few from behind, all answered with a near constant barrage from my dad and I.

We finished at 4:30 when the birds dried up, with a bag of 81 for far too many cartridges, but by far the best my dad and I have achieved together in 30 plus years of shooting with each other.

 

Lessons learnt, look for them, if you can't find them look and keep looking (given you have the ground admittedly), despite what you may think they will be attracted to, they may not be. On a farm all spring drilled with top notch pigeon grub, in an area with a lot of drilling and in a season of drilling they were on rotten old sugar beet and 6 month old maize kernels.

 

With a lot of pigeons in the area, I'm hopeful for some more good days as the peas chit and onwards, the rape springs forth, and then there's the bean at harvest.

Edited April 9, 2014 by Penelope

[steveyg]

Great write up,as always recon and flightline are so important

quality couple of bags... "finished at 4:30 when the birds dried up, with a bag of 81 for far too many cartridges, but by far the best my dad and I have achieved together in 30 plus years of shooting with each other. " priceless...

Edited April 9, 2014 by steveyg

[JDog]

Cor that was some post penelope, and a couple of excellent outings too. To achieve a best bag after thirty years of shooting with your father is really something.

[Cosd]

Excellent write up, shame there were no pictures (you can never please everyone)

 

Well done buddy, sounds like you had a great couple of days!

[motty]

Top effort and quality bags!

[dead eye alan]

Cor what a marathon read and a couple of outings to remember round the log fire in mid winter.

You and your dad will not forget the magic 81.

[marsh man]

Brilliant write up Penelope , just made my 3rd cup of tea, I drank two cups reading about the first day, good luck for more of the same for you and your dad and by the time the season come round you will both be on top form and there will be a reduction in the local pigeon population round your way..............all the best to you and your dad.

[Penelope]

He don't do bad for 71.

 

Brilliant write up Penelope , just made my 3rd cup of tea, I drank two cups reading about the first day, good luck for more of the same for you and your dad and by the time the season come round you will both be on top form and there will be a reduction in the local pigeon population round your way..............all the best to you and your dad.