JDog Posted May 22, 2014 Report Share Posted May 22, 2014 I thought that I may not see any spring rape this year. Last autumn and this spring were pretty good for farmers to prepare land for drilling the appropriate crops at the right time unlike the previous year when conditions were very wet indeed. Today I travelled out of my normal area to a town which is now pretty local to me and which is surrounded by market gardens. The cropping is new to me too. Lots of summer greens being sown and strawberries and asparagus being harvested. One larger field had no horticultural crops but whatever it had in it was a major attractant to pigeons and even though I was driving by at 60mph I could see birds crossing the road and heading to that field. It took two miles for me to turn round on the dual carriageway and when I parked up near the field I could see that spring rape had been sown. That was the easy bit. The difficult bit was to find the owner/farmer to ask permission to shoot to protect his crop. None of the neighbours knew who farmed it and it was only when I called into a farm shop that I got a name and a village. That village was fifteen miles away! Was it worth the drive? In these cases there is only one answer and fifteen miles later I was heading down a farm drive to meet the man in question. He readily gave me consent to go so I went back to the field and watched two good flight lines go into the field. It was by now too late in the afternoon to shoot today so weather permitting I will go and shoot tomorrow and I will post the result good or bad on PW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruity Posted May 22, 2014 Report Share Posted May 22, 2014 Sounds promising hope you have a good day, 4 fields what link to one of my permissions and I cant for the life of me find out who owns them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuy Posted May 22, 2014 Report Share Posted May 22, 2014 Good luck mate spring always used ti give me consistent results havn't seen any for ages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aga man Posted May 22, 2014 Report Share Posted May 22, 2014 Some guys have all the luck Sounds like you may need plenty of ammo with you. good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted May 22, 2014 Report Share Posted May 22, 2014 About 150 acres of spring rape on my shoot. Going to have a look this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted May 26, 2014 Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 39 for the ol' man and me, between 3pm and 6.30pm. Going back today to look at another field that had a good number of birds on as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuy Posted May 26, 2014 Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 39 for the ol' man and me, between 3pm and 6.30pm. Going back today to look at another field that had a good number of birds on as well. well done its a winner this time of year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 Well, I went back yesterday, arriving at the farm for 12 noon to have a good look round. The 90 acres spring rape field had a good few pigeons on, but all in gangs of 20-30 birds and no defined flight line. A drive around found a flock of about 150 on another spring rape field, but they disappeared when walked off. Another big gang on a pea field, but as there was a wedding going on at a venue next door discretion was applied, pity as there was reasonable traffic into this field. There was nothing on the field that my dad and I shot on Sunday. So, back to the big field, and due to the size and the fact that the pigeons were dropping in all over it I decided to flag a good part of it with cane and carrier bag flags (recycling at it's best). That took about 3/4's of an hour to do. In the middle of they field is a pond surrounded by willow scrub, and after a long slog with all the kit that is were it set up placing a mixed squad of HH, Flexicoy and flocked shell decoys. All ready for about 2:00pm. Nothing came, well, apart from a unfortunate bird that was scrapped down at maximum range as it flew on by and was promptly stuck on the flapper to provide a bit of movement. But things still remained very quiet, although odd flocks dropped in on parts of the field I hadn't flagged. At around 3:30pm I went back to the car, and whilst walking back I saw a huge flock of pigeons get off of a pea field about a quarter of a mile away, swing round a drop bag in again. this looked interesting and I stood by the car for a bit and watched bird after bird join the mob. A no brainer, a pack up and move was required although it meant a half mile slog fully laden. I quickly threw the hide up on the corner of a long wood and set up the squad and flapper, all ready to start shooting for 4:30pm. No sooner was I sat down and ready, than the pigeons came with a vengeance, singles. pairs, handfuls and flocks, two way traffic from in front and behind from my left. Once the whirly was out, they came on even quicker with pretty much constant shooting until I packed up at 7:30pm, with birds still looking to get in. 66 down for 160 cartridges (2.42/1) and 61 picked with 5 lost in the wood behind. One thing that was curious, and that was during a 30 minute period of rain they came on even stronger, almost shoot, reload and shoot again, the pigeons simply not put off by the sound of the gun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdsallpl Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 Thanks Penelope, reports of this nature are great. It again confirms that we have to go to where they want to be. They will never come to where we want them to be and having the motivation to move gets the result. Keep the reports coming they are really helpful. Good result, the work was worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddaftspaniel Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 Good shooting, effort payed off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 (edited) Well done, Penelope. I've often had days where pigeons seem not to bother with the sound of shots. I bet you wish you could have been set up on that pea field a couple of hours earlier. Edited May 27, 2014 by motty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted May 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 Well worth the extra effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 Don't I just. I did look, as the field is directly behind where I parked the car on a farm track, but didn't see a thing. They must of all been down. Even when sat in the car watching when I first got there I didn't see anything, but admittedly I was more focused on the rape field where there were a good few on, but well spread out in gangs of say 10-30 birds. When they got up of the peas there must of been 500 or there abouts. A lot of pigeons on the farm. Four fields had good numbers on them. Well done, Penelope. I've often had days where pigeons seem not to bother with the sound of shots. I bet you wish you could have been set up on that pea field a couple of hours earlier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 Back is crook, knee is knackered and my right hip is painful. I must cut down on the kit I carry. I could hardly move when I got up this morning. Well worth the extra effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted May 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 Back is crook, knee is knackered and my right hip is painful. I must cut down on the kit I carry. I could hardly move when I got up this morning. You should have got your old man to carry the kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 We could drive right up to where we shot on Sunday. You should have got your old man to carry the kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveyg Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 cracking result, your hard work delivered a great result nice one.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 Well done Paul, brilliant write up and a very good bag also, sounds like a very good area for pigeons your got there, hope your dad is keeping well and keep the ole joints well oiled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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