yickdaz Posted June 30, 2014 Report Share Posted June 30, 2014 personally, I try and pick as many as possible I won't shoot if I know I won,t pick many birds had many chances to shoot a big bag over standing crops but I will wait until the field is harvested and make a good bag and pick almost all the birds 2 of us were on layed barley on sat with big patches flattened in front and to the sides of us so we knew we stood a good chance of dropping them on the layed parts still lost 10 birds and picked 36 but 5 of those lost birds were hit and flew 200 yards or so and dropped out the sky in the standing crop needle in a haystack trying to find them so didn,t even attempt it, the other 5 were lost in standing patches the otherside of the layed ones we shot over,we let birds pass by that would of been impossible to pickbut easy to shoot its a double edged sword I try and pik everything but every outing we lose a few that's part and parcel of pigeon shooting but to go out and muller them over standing crops and know you won't pick many if any at all is beyond me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullet1747 Posted June 30, 2014 Report Share Posted June 30, 2014 I shoot to kill vermin for the farmers I leave we're they drop, I do pick up when the crops have been cut but take them to the tip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennett Posted June 30, 2014 Report Share Posted June 30, 2014 I'm sorry but if my farmers say "I have a million pigeons hammering a laid patch, and they are pulling more down everyday" I shoot them. I pick what I can, and leave the rest. In this situation it is pest control pure and simple, if I said "nah il give it a miss, because I want to take all my fly blown pigeons home" I would be very short of shooting. Stubbles or whatever are different, I will work hard to pick everything and when game shooting I very rarely give up on a lost bird. As others have said, yes it's double standards but some times it has to be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berettacocker Posted June 30, 2014 Report Share Posted June 30, 2014 I shoot to kill vermin for the farmers I leave we're they drop, I do pick up when the crops have been cut but take them to the tip you give the sport a bad name, ever tried clays? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berettacocker Posted June 30, 2014 Report Share Posted June 30, 2014 I'm sorry but if my farmers say "I have a million pigeons hammering a laid patch, and they are pulling more down everyday" I shoot them. I pick what I can, and leave the rest. In this situation it is pest control pure and simple, if I said "nah il give it a miss, because I want to take all my fly blown pigeons home" I would be very short of shooting. Stubbles or whatever are different, I will work hard to pick everything and when game shooting I very rarely give up on a lost bird. As others have said, yes it's double standards but some times it has to be done.. How many would you be happy leaving to rot, 20,50,100? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerboy Posted June 30, 2014 Report Share Posted June 30, 2014 you give the sport a bad name, ever tried clays? Is Pigeon shooting a sport in the UK? I do not think so, I believe you have to have a valid reason to shoot pigeon, sport is not a reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeonblasterian Posted June 30, 2014 Report Share Posted June 30, 2014 If i was shooting over standing barley or any other standing crop.Then i would leave the birds where they fell if it meant retrieving them would result in damage to the farmers crops. When i have asked for permission to shoot on farms i ask for vermin shooting.Not can i come on your farm and have some sport shooting pigeons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennett Posted June 30, 2014 Report Share Posted June 30, 2014 Beretta cooker, I'm sorry but in the case of pigeon shooting for pest control I will leave as many as I drop, out of the 300 odd we shot on 2 outings over laid barley we picked maybe half, the farmer was happy, and expressly told us to leave what we dropped in the crop. When roost shooting I will try my/the dog's hardest to pick everything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted June 30, 2014 Report Share Posted June 30, 2014 I can honestly say that I'm quite surprised by some people's attitudes towards their quarry. How can so many people be happy to leave perfectly good meat to go to waste like that? It astounds me that people put their farmer's wishes ahead of morals. If i was shooting over standing barley or any other standing crop.Then i would leave the birds where they fell if it meant retrieving them would result in damage to the farmers crops. When i have asked for permission to shoot on farms i ask for vermin shooting.Not can i come on your farm and have some sport shooting pigeons. Would you leave them in the crop, even though they might be wounded? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted June 30, 2014 Report Share Posted June 30, 2014 Is Pigeon shooting a sport in the UK? I do not think so, I believe you have to have a valid reason to shoot pigeon, sport is not a reason. No but thats the reason you go , its not because your gagging to be a free pest controller, pest or not they still deserve our respect and leaving wounded birds to die a slow death is not the way to give it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeonblasterian Posted June 30, 2014 Report Share Posted June 30, 2014 I can honestly say that I'm quite surprised by some people's attitudes towards their quarry. How can so many people be happy to leave perfectly good meat to go to waste like that? It astounds me that people put their farmer's wishes ahead of morals. Would you leave them in the crop, even though they might be wounded? It astounds me so many people try to come across as so virtuous. I would leave them in the crop if it meant i would have to damage the crop to pick up any pigeons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 I shoot to kill vermin for the farmers I leave we're they drop, I do pick up when the crops have been cut but take them to the tip Some of your farmers attertude must be different to the ones where I go, I can honestly say most of if not all the farms I have been on in my time not one have ever said you can shoot the pigeons but I don't want you to pick them up for fear of damaging the crop, I am not a brilliant shot but I don't class myself a poor shot neither , take yesterday afternoon I was shooting on some layed barley and out of the 31 I shot over and around the decoys my dog did manage to pick them all and out of the 31 at least 4 or 5 were still alive and what little damage my dog done was minimal compared with the rest of the field, the modern combine would have no problem picking up flat and layed areas of corn nowadays and by leaving a lot of unpicked birds would be more of a problem to the combine than me and my dog walking round a small area, I have always made the maximum effort to pick up and retrieve what ever I have shot ,but that's the way I am whether its fowling, game , rough or pigeon shooting all quarry needs the same respect. If I had to leave what I had shot I know I would have packed shooting up years ago , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennett Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 31 wouldn't be too bad, but imagine the damage if you have 165 to pick. I don't like running a dog into ripening barley any way, too many places awns can get jammed and end up in a vets bill. Any way let's all agree to disagree, I'm not disrespectful to my quarry, in fact I believe quite the opposite, but some times in cases of pure crop protection, I have to get off my high horse and get on with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 31 wouldn't be too bad, but imagine the damage if you have 165 to pick. I don't like running a dog into ripening barley any way, too many places awns can get jammed and end up in a vets bill. Any way let's all agree to disagree, I'm not disrespectful to my quarry, in fact I believe quite the opposite, but some times in cases of pure crop protection, I have to get off my high horse and get on with it You don't have to do it. You have a choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 This thread confirms my views, first formulated on a similar thread last year, that there are those PW members who I would wish to meet and those who I would not. For some to be so indifferent and disrespectful to shot pigeons, dead or alive, beggars belief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennett Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Oh well, got plenty of pigeon shooting and plenty of happy of farmers with fewer pigeons so I'm sure I will get over the hatred. Im happy with my conduct in the shooting field, and that on the maybe 4 days a year when location and situation require it I will follow the landowners wishes and leave dead pigeons in standing crops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Well said. No!! The question is how hard are people are prepared to not let them go to waste? I have to do a 50 mile round trip to the game dealers. Just about covers the fuel. But I am happy as they end upon someones table. Smaller quantities are friends, clients and the dog. The same goes for the cost of running the freezer to keep them in. Its part of the shooting invoice. All this chat about pest control is rollocks. We do it because we enjoy it. I personally can't bear the posts we are about to get with laid cereals............shot 140 picked 60 IMHO there are a lot of shots that just kill for the sake of it, and hide behind the pest control banner to save their conscience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbo33 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 This thread confirms my views, first formulated on a similar thread last year, that there are those PW members who I would wish to meet and those who I would not. For some to be so indifferent and disrespectful to shot pigeons, dead or alive, beggars belief. Beautifully put Jdog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdsallpl Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 It all gets back to what I was saying about double standards. If we like it or not most of us have double standards. We had the same debate last week about Canada geese. You guys out there who believe you have strong respect for your quarry will try to pick every bird possible because quite rightly you don't want to see it suffer. How do you feel when you put down poisoned bait for rats. Do you consider how they die. Possibly not. To some people the wood pigeon is no more than a flying rat. I personally would not shoot a duck or goose if I did not think it could be retrieved. But then as I have said I admit to having double standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie10 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 I shoot for the sport and the meat. People must have too much money and too much food to let perfectly good meat go to waste. I don't understand why you would pay fuel, licence, carts etc to sit out in a field shooting pigeons not to collect them and not get paid. Just to say you are doing pest control and say you are doing someone a favour, it's not sport as people say, so why are you doing it? Killing for the sake of it or something to do. I have met alot of shooters these days that turn their nose up at eating what they have shot or haven't a clue how to prepare meat for the table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 With regard to shooting over vulnerable crops, I try to set up to kill outside of the crop,but if I can't, then I will drop birds in the crop and recover what I can. I have never left hundreds of birds in a crop, because 1) I have never shot hundreds of pigeons over cereals and 2) I am confident that ,even with my glasses off, I could find the vast majority of that many birds laying in a field. IMO ripe cereals are not that vulnerable to walking in and less so for dogs, rape is a different matter, but I have no need to shoot over ripe rape fields. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdsallpl Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 I shoot for the sport and the meat. People must have too much money and too much food to let perfectly good meat go to waste. I don't understand why you would pay fuel, licence, carts etc to sit out in a field shooting pigeons not to collect them and not get paid. Just to say you are doing pest control and say you are doing someone a favour, it's not sport as people say, so why are you doing it? Killing for the sake of it or something to do. I have met alot of shooters these days that turn their nose up at eating what they have shot or haven't a clue how to prepare meat for the table. Hi Richie10. I think a lot of people enjoy just being out in the countryside. I always say 'I shoot to hunt, I don't hunt to shoot' It is being there that matters to me. Some guys won't go out unless they can get plenty of shooting, I say to them, go clay shooting you can fire off as many as you like. The size of the bag is not important to me. When shooting for farms you have to take the rough with the smooth. It is the commitment to the farmer that is important. If you want to go out throughout all the seasons you have to do exactly that. Some guns won't shoot over crop in the winter, farmers have told me this when I have been signing them up to our club, that's how we got in. You have to take the rough with the smooth. Shooting over standing crops and not being able to pick is one of the rough times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennett Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Well said, I consider my self a very traditional shooter and countryman, I was taught by my grandad at a young age. I love eating what I shoot and my freezer is full of pheasant pigeon and duck. I have the upmost respect for my quarry, don't shoot unsporting game, work my dog hard to pick runners and show then respect once they have been collected, ie not throwing them in a wet heap. I enjoy sitting and watching nature as much as shooting and don't particularly care if I shoot 2 pigeons or 200, but some times hard decisions need to be made. I don't really enjoy leaving 100 50p's to rot, but I equally don't want an angry phonecall asking why I have trampled more down than the pigeons, "because I was having fun and wanted to make some money out of your generosity" wouldn't really cut it. We can argue until we are blue in the face, neither side will chance the others mind so why keep arguing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berettacocker Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Is Pigeon shooting a sport in the UK? I do not think so, I believe you have to have a valid reason to shoot pigeon, sport is not a reason. . Politically correct **************! Leave your gun at home ( try waving your arm about first, maybe put some flags out ! ). Pigeon are the finest sporting bird ( sorry pest ) we have in this country! Let's give it a bit more respect! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich1985 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 I cannot believe the ignorance of some people on this forum, it beggars belief!! Shoot clays if you don't have enough respect for your quarry to pick or dispatch any wounded, you should be ashamed!!! For those of you that this apples to, try a gas gun or flags or rope bangers you have no excuse for the actions some people have mentioned they carry out! You know who you are!! I'm appalled to say the least!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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