From drizzle to deluge.

[Penelope]

Earlier in the week, my dad and a friend Pete A went up to our shoot to have a crack at some pigeons that had been hitting a 90 acre field of peas. They had a few hours in the afternoon and reported back that they had had 50 odd, but that there were a lot about all over the field. As it is so big they could not cover it all.

 

I made plans to go up on Sunday, as I was going to be at the Field & Country Fair at Cornbury on Saturday. Whilst at Cornbury I got a text from another gun, Pete B saying that he had received a call from another gun saying that there were around a thousand pigeons hitting the peas. I also had a call from Pete A asking if I was going up. The three of us arranged to meet at mid day, and with three guns spread out we should be able to shift the birds around between us.

 

Sunday morning duly arrived; up at 7:30 to get the gear together, a little sluggish, as I had got in at half one following a house warming BBQ/Party the night before. Prior to going to the farm, I went to a charity clayshoot run and organised by my old wildfowling club in aid of the R.A.B.I. who support farmers in difficulty.

The air was full of fine drizzle when I arrived, though too warm and humid for a coat. It was an interesting layout with some tricky targets and despite a promising start, my performance tailed off, ending with a very average 33. I left at 11 and set off for the farm, arriving just before half past eleven. As mentioned, the field that was getting a hammering is 90 acres of peas, split down the centre, width wise with a beetle bank and a bomb hole pond in the middle of the bank. Obviously, this field is known as the 'bomb hole'.

As I was there early, I took a drive round the field to look from a few vantage points; I knew where the flight line into the field would be, but wanted see where they were heading for. Although not the thousand mentioned , there were a lot of pigeons coming and going and just generally flying about, dropping here and there, although taking particular interest in two headland areas where they had grazed the peas short, in the rest of the field the peas were tall and in flower.

 

Once Pete's A and B arrived, I told them what I had seen and we picked our spots, Pete B heading for the northern side just before the beetle bank (he should have gone on further to be under the line just up from where it split. Pete A and I took the southern boundary hedge with the breeze behind us. Pete's birds would come from behind him on another line, whilst mine would come from diagonally in front where the line split, with some birds going along the northern tree line, but the bulk coming across to me. I waited in the car once I had reached where I was going to park, to let a sudden shower die off before setting off and up. As soon as this had stopped I loaded up the barrow and pushed off down the wheelings for a couple of hundred yards, setting my hide midway between an Ash and an Oak that were 70 yards apart, on the stewardship strip backed by a hedge and ditch.Pete A and I setup 500yds apart.

 

The decoys, set out on the short grazed peas, a mixed squad of HH, Flexicoy and flocked shells, aided and abetted by two deads on floaters out to my left, another on a flapper, just to my right and two on the whirly 50 yards to the right of the decoys, just to grab their attention. Pete A had said that they were shying off from his magnate earlier in the week.

 

By now it was nearly 1pm, and pigeons came from the off, low across and up the field to me, singles, pairs and groups of half a dozen or so, just how you want them. The whirly was doing it's job of attracting them, but far enough away not the make them skittish. I shot about as well as I did on the clays, starting off well, then tailing off a bit, with the pile of red cases building all the time. I had some nice shots and missed some absolute sitters and ended the day at 5:30pm with 65 picked, 5 in the wheat behind over our boundary, two in the peas that dropped a long way out, and three that got up and flew off when I went out to picked them; I leave the gun in the hide, unloaded. All for 151 cartridges, Eley First Select, 1oz of 7 1/2's.

 

Once I had packed up and met with Pete A to take his birds (he had 30 0dd) (Pete B left early, only having a dozen or so shots for 5) off of him to take to the game dealer, I set off along the A120 to Bishop Stortford, only to run into an immense thunder storm with rain of biblical proportions, slowing traffic done to 20mph on the dual carriage way. After dropping off the birds, with the storm still raging I made my way to the M11 where it was even worse, with roundabouts turned into moated castle keeps and the roads more akin to canals. It even stopped traffic on the M11, such was the storms ferocity. Quite a spectacle really.

 

 

The best day at pigeons this year by far.

Edited June 13, 2016 by Penelope

[JDog]

Great read. I could easily have been with you.

[Penelope]

It's a pity you can't. No guests I'm afraid. There's more sport off that field.

 

You wouldn't have wanted to be during that storm. Heaviest rain, by far, that I have ever experienced. Visibility was down to 20 yards or less on the M11 and crawling along at 20mph. The intensity even stopped the traffic for a while.

 

Great read. I could easily have been with you.

Edited June 13, 2016 by Penelope

[JDog]

It's a pity you can't. No guests I'm afraid. There's more sport off that field.

 

You wouldn't have wanted to be during that storm. Heaviest rain, by far, that I have ever experienced. Visibility was down to 20 yards or less on the M11 and crawling along at 20mph. The intensity even stopped the traffic for a while.

 

Sorry I meant that your write up was so good I could imagine being there. I wasn't asking for an invitation as I know the form on your shoot.

[fenboy]

Well done Paul glad you have managed a few .

A fine result and read .

[Penelope]

I was aware of that, I just wish that I was able to offer an invite.

 

Sorry I meant that your write up was so good I could imagine being there. I wasn't asking for an invitation as I know the form on your shoot.

[pigeon controller]

Well done, sounds like a great afternoons sport between mates.

[motty]

Well done, P.

[marsh man]

Excellent write up Paul and a very active weekend by the sound of it.

 

We went up the coast on Sunday and the heavy showers were very isolated with some places bone dry and then a couple of miles down the roads there were mini floods.

 

How is Tilly shaping up as a gundog now ?

[Penelope]

Struggling to be honest John. She is a combination of being very immature, stubborn and headstrong.

 

Excellent write up Paul and a very active weekend by the sound of it.

 

We went up the coast on Sunday and the heavy showers were very isolated with some places bone dry and then a couple of miles down the roads there were mini floods.

 

How is Tilly shaping up as a gundog now ?

[dad]

nice read well done.me and a mate went out with the air rifle sunday evening and sat on a hill near huntingdon watching that storm we can see to royston hills from there it was quite spectacular, at the same time there was another one about 20 miles west of you over the A1 near st neots they were both heading our way but passed us left and right luckily.