Zeus Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 So Saturday afternoon sore my first time attempting to decoy. I had no expectations of it being successful....for me I just wanted to practice and experiment with getting my gear together, packed, transported, inplace and set up. My hide, from the picture, needs improvement. I'm going to get a greener net to break up the pattern. I also used fresh foliage, maybe more in the future. As for the decoying I randomly placed out 6 decoys. I wasn't in a great spot or under a flight line. A few pigeons came in to the pattern.....sadly my shooting let me down. I also had a jackdaw which I practised with by using it as a fresh shot decoy. This worked as It brought two more in. Overall I learnt a hell of a lot in a couple of hours and appreciate how much more to learn. Ended the couple of hours on one pigeon and three Jackdaws. Poor shooting on my behalf....shot ratio of 7.5 to 1! Will I let this bother me? Not one bit as for me it was a great few hours being out there. Zeus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bull dog Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 That's what it's all about mate Being their and having a go we all stated the same way good luck to ya keep at them ATVB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddaftspaniel Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 Well done we all started somewhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eccles Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 Well done as others have said we all had to start somewhere. As long as you enjoy it does not matter how big the bag is. atb Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickB65 Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 Good on you and as all have said before we all started there. The main thing is not to rush and just enjoy - don't be tempted to buy every gadget and what-not and if you can get out with someone who has been at it for a while then do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiffy Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 im still learning myself and very green, im lucky iu that im shooting now with someones whos done it for thirty odd years and knows his stuff... but i know one thing i did learn pretty quick is you can read all you want online or in books, or watch dvds... and they mean virtually nothing when you get out there and do it my shot/hit counts like yours.. got out with a new gun for the first time yesterday got 2 birds for 3 shots, then onto another farm where we set up a hide and as my mate moved the car to another field saw a bird coming straight in lifted and bang.. folded up and hit the deck.. i thought ohh.. new guns nice.. turned to poo after that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon controller Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 (edited) Well done Zues, we all started like you . Just remember what works for you not what the books say, if you see birds passing put some of your decoys side on so they can see a bigger bird even if its wrong to the wind, most of all Enjoy. Edited May 6, 2014 by pigeon controller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus Posted May 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 Cheers for the comments. One thing for sure is that decoy shooting, in my opinion, is'nt anything like clay shooting. Do most of you guys look out over your nets or through them? I tried both, when looking out over I found I could get a better all round view at a further distance and looking through it limited my view. The only draw back to looking over was that It made my back and legs ache being in that position. I need a higher stool I think to help. From my picture - how does my hide look? From a distance the only thing being obvious was the straight lines of the net. Zeus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 Your net is a bit frightening to me but it may not be so to a pigeon. Never look over the net. Get some Jack Pyke 'Clearview' netting and fix it so that the top 300mm of your hide has only the clearview netting and you will soon learn not to look over the top. If and when you get out and the birds are decoying let some of the first ones into the pattern unshot. This should tell you how and where they want to land. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 Your net doesn't look great, but that does not matter. As long as the hide 'hides' you then that is all that matters. I prefer to look over the net for incoming birds, then duck down as they get near. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus Posted May 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 Your net is a bit frightening to me but it may not be so to a pigeon. Never look over the net. Get some Jack Pyke 'Clearview' netting and fix it so that the top 300mm of your hide has only the clearview netting and you will soon learn not to look over the top. If and when you get out and the birds are decoying let some of the first ones into the pattern unshot. This should tell you how and where they want to land. Cheers. I only have the one net at the moment. In what way does it frighten you? I obviously need to incorporate more green to it. Zeus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 The net is just a bit stark. Break it up a bit with darker or lighter nets draped over the front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus Posted May 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 The net is just a bit stark. Break it up a bit with darker or lighter nets draped over the front. Accepted.....Im going to get another net soon, hopefully before my next outing. Aiming to get ex army net to break the pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konnie Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 well done hope you had a good time, I find every outing is like a first but the more you do the greater the knowledge is to put it right, sort it out. atb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveyg Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 good start well done..it takes years to perfect this pigeon shooting lark keep at it..no sport like it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootgun Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 Well done mate, i'm in the same boat with you, but i go out as much as i can and i only have some pasture tho shoot over. The important thing is to enjoy yourself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoggysreels Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 Well done mate, shooting is much more than a loud bang ... keep getting those Jackdaws and some Crows .. looking forward to reading your next shooting adventure ... cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berettadevon Posted May 6, 2014 Report Share Posted May 6, 2014 well done mate, it a good start to the learn cycle! with regards to your hide there a little trick i learnt which im sure others do aswell and that is to leave the camo net at home yes i said correctly with leaving it at home and ask farmer if he would mind if you cut a few leafed branches from the nearby tree's making sure there enough length to be pushed into the ground. then with a sharp knife cut a point to the end and push into ground making a U shape. place other branches infront of each other to thicken the density of the hide. makes life a lot easier when you dont need to carry so much across fields!!! and when finished just take it all apart and feed it all into the hedging. next time im out decoying i'll take a photo of how i built my hide and what it looked like then it finished. personally i think it the best type of hide for when decoying the corvid lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus Posted May 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 Thanks for comments and tips guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 Take a look at Camoreal net. I have used it for years, and it seems to blend in with most backgrounds. Not the cheapest on the market, but it works well. http://4wildlife.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=camerealscrim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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