Looking for advice

[williegunn88]

Hi all,

 

I wonder if I might ask for a little help with a few decoying issues which I'm having. I'm an experienced shooter but most of my pigeon shooting has always been roost shooting or flight lining and decoying is fairly new to me.

 

I've been shooting pigeons on two fields, one of newly drilled game crop seeds and one of drilled barley. At first the old strip of game crop still ran along the middle of the field and made building a hide near the feeding area easy and I had some good shooting. This has now been ploughed up and the pigeons are still feeding on the seed but there is nowhere nearby to build a hide where it won't stick out like a sore thumb. Does this matter? I remember reading that Archie Coates said it wasn't good to have a hide in open ground but other people seem to say it doesn't matter?

 

The second issue which I'm having is when shooting over the drilled barley. There are always lots of birds on the ground when I arrive, but once I've built my hide and set out the decoys the birds will not come back into the field. It's not that they're seeing the pattern and shying away as if there is something wrong with it, they are just flying over without showing the least sign of interest in the pattern whatsoever. There is conifer wood across the road behind the area where I have to set up and I get occasional shots as they make their way into that, but they will not come back into the field. I only have shell decoys at the moment, which I couple with some dead birds. Would a flapper or a rotary make a big difference in pulling the birds off of their flightpath or might I be doing something fundamentally wrong?

 

Thanks very much for your patience with a beginner!

 

Williegunn88

 

 

 

 

[motty]

Try a hide in the open. I have used one to good effect plenty of times.

As for the drilled barley. It sounds to me like the pigeons aren't that interested in it.

[williegunn88]

Hi Motty,

 

I'll try a hide out in the open and see what happens.

 

Thanks for your help.

[fenboy]

Due to how well modern machinery puts in seed it is not often a drilled field will hold much attraction for pigeon for more than a couple of days.

Have a look at the fields you shoot , if you can find plenty of seed on top then they are worth keeping an eye on , if not you will be wasting your time.

 

I often have to shoot in a hide thats out in the open , the main thing is to try and keep movement to a minimum , that is what will scare the birds rather than the hide itself.

[Jim Neal]

It's well worth investing in a decent umbrella like anglers use, to build a hide around, but if you need to shoot all round you it's not really much good in that scenario. I presume decoying suppliers sell them too but probably at an inflated price. I've been using my fishing brolly which is a very good quality one so it's sturdy and has very thick material. I've seen cheap ones that are almost see-through and will not stand up to a windy day in a field so invest wisely not cheaply. Mine is plain dark green, I often think possibly a camo pattern one might look a bit less obtrusive. I always try to cut foliage and attach it to the umbrella to make it look a bit more like a bush.

 

Alternatively you may be given permission to build a semi-permanent hide out of old pallets or something similar, if that game cover is going to be a regular spot. All it should need is a bit of fresh foliage added to it every now and again and it should serve you quite a long time.

 

Regarding the barley field, if they don't come back after you've disturbed them, for obvious reasons it isn't worth trying to shoot the field. When it was drilled there was probably just a little bit of barley spilled here and there and they've just been hoovering up what they can find, which is going to be a very short-lived event.

 

If you want to persist, try to see where the birds are flying to when you initially scare them off the field. Note the flightline any of them take back over the field, and maybe try to sit under the flightline rather than where you've seen them feeding. If it was me, tomorrow I'd just go with my binoculars and not my gun, scare them off, get out of their sight and observe what happens next. Then make a decision from that.

Edited March 13, 2016 by Jim Neal

[williegunn88]

Thanks guys,

 

This is very useful advice.

 

One more question... Is it worth putting a flapper/rotary magnet out to try and draw birds off of their flightpath even if they're not feeding where you are?

 

Thanks again.

[fenboy]

Thanks guys,

 

This is very useful advice.

 

One more question... Is it worth putting a flapper/rotary magnet out to try and draw birds off of their flightpath even if they're not feeding where you are?

 

Thanks again.

Yes that can be worth a try, as long as you have some pigeon traffic over the field there is always a chance.

[aga man]

Thanks guys,

 

This is very useful advice.

 

One more question... Is it worth putting a flapper/rotary magnet out to try and draw birds off of their flightpath even if they're not feeding where you are?

 

Thanks again.

Absolutely yes! a magnet is the better tool for this job imo.

[williegunn88]

Thanks once again.

 

I shall invest in one an try it net time out!

[Westley]

Thanks once again.

 

I shall invest in one an try it net time out!

Why not make your own ? Apart from cost, you get a great deal of self satisfaction.

[williegunn88]

Why not make your own ? Apart from cost, you get a great deal of self satisfaction.

Hi Westley,

 

I can imagine that would be the case. A bit like catching salmon on your own flies and spinners. Unfortunately I am a bit of a hopeless case when it comes to anything mechanical and don't much fancy my chances of making a decent job of it!

[Westley]

I used the motor from the grandkids 'Dareway' after they knackered the machine, I also used the battery and the charging system from the same machine. For the arms I used glass fibre tent poles and 10mm copper elbows to form the 90's on each end, each joint was araldited and small self tappers for strength. I then nicked their stilts after they had finished or 'grown out' of them, using 2 large jubilee clips to fasten the motor to the aluminium stilt. Flattened the end, cut to a point, then used the footrest to drive the pole into the ground, the footplate stops any spinning. 4 bits of paracord and tent pegs provide stability,. job done !

[williegunn88]

That does sound reasonably simple, I must admit. I may have a look/scrounge around my all my friends' garages and see what I can find!

[Jim Neal]

For the relatively low cost of buying a commercially produced rotary, is it worth it purely to save money? I don't think so. For the sheer satisfaction of doing it, why not, but you need to have a lot of free time on your hands. Time that could be spent on shooting!