Only mad dogs, Englishmen........

[aga man]

And the aga man would be daft enough to venture out today.

My regular shooting buddy tan failed to answer his phone to me last night, he was probably on the nest. JDog also could not be persuaded from the comfort of his luxury home in LIncolnshire perhaps he was on the nest too.

 

I had spotted some pigeons starting to find some surface seed on a freshly drilled spring wheat field. i was well aware of forecast today and sure enough it persisted down all morning.

 

As the rain stopped at 1pm i loaded some kit and headed to the field. I had a theory that as it had rained fairly heavily all morning the pigeons would have sat up at roost all morning and as the rain stopped they would head out to feed.

As i unloaded the gear i was encouraged to see a decent line of pigeons coming to the field. Many birds continued past the field but i knew i could set up more or less under the line of pigeon traffic.

 

As i attempted to make a hide i questioned my own sanity for a time as the wind was blowing 25mph+ with gusts of upto 40mph, the ground was very wet and was like the texture of rice pudding, sticking to my wellies and making retrieves hard going as i left the dog at home.

It was too windy to put put out the rotary and the ground was too soft, so i opted for an 'old school' set up using only 8 static dead birds on cradles.

 

Within minutes pigeon were decoying a treat, and were almost static above the decoys making shooting fairly easy. Some birds descended from a fair height to the decoys providing me with an awesome spectacle, i never get bored of seeing woodpigeon acrobatics in the wind.

I generally prefer a good wind for pigeon shooting but today the wind was a bitch, i had real difficulty securing my hide nets and shooting left and rights was nearly impossible for a novice like me, as after the first bird was shot the second had gone on the wind.

 

I shot from 1.45pm and packed up at 5pm when the line more or less dried up. I had 64 on my clicker and i picked up 63 for 102 shots.

A decent reward for my efforts i reckon and proof that woodies don't like muddy feet is an old wives tale.

.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

It's great how you wrapped the tree up to keep it warm!

 

I was out too, love the woods when it's windy.

[JDog]

Fantastic. A great reward for your efforts. I am sorry not to have joined you. Not nesting but on domestic duties.

[la bala]

A well deserved bag for braving the elements, Well done aga man

[Dr D]

Lovely. That's my favourite, pigeons decoying in a strong wind. Brilliant to watch.

[fenboy]

Well done on going out and shooting some in those conditions .

[oowee]

Well done it was a truly windy day. No doubt tying the hide to the tree was a good idea.

[marsh man]

You done very well braving the elements aga man , pity your two companions had better ways to spend the day , I know what I would have done , once the fledglings left the nest, my nesting days more or less came to a halt

 

Very good average considering the wind speed .

[Guest Wilksy]

Great work on a rotten day!

[pigeon controller]

" He who Dares , Rodney" brilliant result for a well planned session. Excellent Presentation and good day all round.

[Underdog]

Top marks on your triumph over the elements.

[marsh man]

" He who Dares , Rodney" brilliant result for a well planned session. Excellent Presentation and good day all round.

I was going to comment on the presentation of the bag laid out , not quite up to your standard but better than most 9 and a bit out of 10 , would you say ?