roost shooting

[contract killerz]

I have been out quite a few nights recently looking for pigeons. Can only seem to shoot two or three but more flying about. the gamekeeper has shot a couple of 30+ nights. i have plenty of woods to shoot in but finding it hard to know exactly where abouts in which woods to stand and looking for tips on what else can be done to improve my bag? ck

[Teal]

Probably the nights he got the decent bags were on Saturdays as some areas on the saturdays of february do a roost shoot, this keeps the birds on the move and means that despite shooting one group of pigeons and therefore scaring them off frm the wood another group disturbed in another wood by someone else shooting should pay you a visit. Only one saturday left now though and the biggest bags are usually got on the first two shoots (as this is when the most guns are out).

[Cranfield]

Like all types of pigeon shooting you are going to do, the main thing that will help you is observation.

Pigeons tend to use the same woods all the time.

 

Wind direction and weather will dictate which part of the wood they will go to.

They want to spend the night in relative comfort and so, will seek the lea side of the wood, or on very wet and windy nights, they will get as far into the wood as possible.

 

I bet the Gamekeeper , who is out and about all day, watches the birds and knows where they will be, subject to the conditions.

Ask him for advice, if you can,t spend the time on observation yourself.

Or, take a walk in the woods in the day time, looking for concentrations of droppings and feathers on the ground.

These are the things that will help you.

[contract killerz]

Thanks a lot for the advice. I know the general positions that he uses and can see where the birds are roosting yet i still seem to have only limited success when i am out. Would you suggest better cammo.

You say that february is coming to an end, should i be looking to change my methods in the next few months? there is little crops such as rape in the local area yet the woods still seem to have plenty of birds all year round.

[Cranfield]

You can roost shoot most of the "dark evenings" months.

The late February traditional roost shoots, are a result of the Game season ending and vermin shooters being allowed into the woods.

If you have woods available, where this isn,t an issue, shoot away.

 

I will spend time on summer afternoons in the woods, as the birds often go back there, for a rest and some shade.

Not big bags, but can be some steady shooting.

 

You say you have, "limited success".

Do you mean that you don,t see many pigeons ?

Or, do you see them, but can,t hit them ?

If your face (and hands ?) are covered, you don,t usually need much cammo, when roost shooting.

Fluroescent jackets aren,t recommended, but darkish clothing is OK.

[Teal]

The most important thing when roost shooting is to remain still until you are about to take the shot.

[contract killerz]

Today i had a shoot with my brother and i had 5 shots and got 3 so i do manage to hit them quite well. I have had a considerable amount of pheasant and duck shooting but have only recently been interested in closed season shooting and have found it very enjoyable.

The keeper was shooting a couple of woods away tho and i could hear a considerable amount of shooting from there. I think that my judgement of wind and other weather conditions could be better. I have also noticed a consistant flightline durring the summer months which i attempted a couple of times last year. However they seem to fly a touch too high. Would it be worth attempting to set up decoys or would that just be a waste of time? CK

[Cranfield]

If you have found a flighline, but the birds are too high, follow it and the birds must come lower.

If they do so, on land you can shoot on, problem solved.

If they don,t, then in the day time, if you can set decoys out on a feeding crop, try it.

 

Its my experience that when pigeons are going to roost, ground decoys rarely divert them.

 

It seems that you just need to position yourselves in the woods a bit better, or have that talk with the Gamekeeper.

[G.I. countrysports U.K. GARY]

I WROTE AN ARTICLE SEVERAL YEARS AGO ON ROOST SHOOTING, IT MAY BE OF SOME HELP TO THOSE THAT ARE STRUGGLING WITH IT.

 

YOUR ADVICE IS SPOT ON CRANFIELD...

 

ALL THE VERY BEST

 

GARY

 

ROOST SHOOTING

 

Woodpigeon shooting professional Gary Wilson from G. I. Country sports U. K. tackles the subject of roost shooting.

 

In many ways, Roost shooting is very similar to flighting. It is most productive during winter when the birds have congregated into large flocks. The minimum of gear is required. The last couple of hour's daylight is all we need to spend out in the wood.

 

Other factors will govern the success of roost shooting.

 

Reconaisance

As always, thorough groundwork will pay dividends. A good roost wood is worth its weight in gold, for it can provide exceptional sport for several months, up to the point when the woodpigeon flocks break up before pairing up and breeding in March. The best woods are normally Pheasant coverts, for several reasons.

 

Pheasant coverts are carefully managed blocks of woodland. They provide game birds with warmth and shelter. A good covert has the essential ingredients of a thick hedge or windbreak surrounding it, areas of medium height roosting cover (normally conifers and bushes), and taller mature trees to drive the Pheasants over.

 

This type of woodland also has the exact requirements that the woodpigeon is looking for in a good roost wood. Pheasant coverts are normally shot as afternoon drives up to a maximum of once a week. The keeper will always ensure that his birds have plenty of time to return to the wood in order that they may roost in peace. For the rest of the time the woods are left quiet. Because of the strict regime that the gamekeeper ensures, Woodpigeon accumulate in very large numbers in these woods. Roost shooting does not take place in the woods until the end of the game-shooting season when the beaters and other shoot helpers who have attended every shoot day are allowed to have a go at the pigeon.

 

Any aspiring woodpigeon shooter should get himself involved with his local game shoot in order that he may be invited roosting at the end of the season.

 

In order that we may find the best areas of the wood to shoot, we must first take a walk around the wood bottom looking for tell tale signs of roosting woodpigeon. During winter, woodpigeon feed mainly on Rape. This highly digestible food source scours the birds, resulting in large splashes of white guano covering everything beneath the preferred roosting branches. This is what we are looking for. Woodpigeon also preen a lot, and hundreds of small white preen feathers will be stuck to the surrounding cover. These signs tell us that the birds are using that part of the wood to roost, and that this area would be the best place to set up near.

 

During winter about 3.00pm will see the first woodpigeon coming into the wood to roost.

 

At this time, we ought to be set up waiting for the main flight to arrive.

 

Wind / Weather

The wind strength and weather will play a major part in the success of a good roost shoot.

 

A gale of wind will keep the birds down. They will approach the wood from the downwind side and come straight in to the wood without hesitation. During still conditions, the birds will tend to circle the wood first, in effect checking out if all is well before settling.

 

In addition, certain wind directions will suit a particular wood. In my area, southwesterly winds are undoubtedly the best for roost shooting.

 

Equipment can be kept to a minimum comprising of gun, cartridges, gamebag, lightweight hide net and a couple of hide poles.

 

I prefer to put up a screen of netting in front of me when I roost shoot for a couple of reasons.

 

If you do not take a cam net, you will find that you will hide behind any available cover within the wood. In general, this will not be the best vantagepoint to intercept the birds as they flight into the wood. A far better idea is to watch closely as the first bird's flight home and set up directly under the point where they are entering the wood. This will maximise your chances of having a very good flight.

 

In very large woods, several shooters out in the same wood can be a good idea as this keeps the woodpigeon on the move and stops them from piling into a part of the wood without being shot at. The larger woods tend to have organised roost shoots, which are great fun. A sweepstake on the total number of birds shot should be organised at the start, all proceeds to be donated to the countryside alliance {please take note}

 

A good dog for picking up is a necessity when roost shooting. The light will be fading fast towards the end of the flight. Picking up your own shot birds ruins a good flight as far too much time is wasted searching in the undergrowth for runners. A good dog can be sent out to do the job efficiently while you concentrate on the shooting. Pick up the shot birds as you go along this saves time at the end.

 

Over shooting, a particular wood can be a problem. This will result in the flocks of Woodpigeon relocating to a more quiet wood, resulting in the loss of some cracking sport. Roost shooting the wood once a week is plenty and done correctly will provide the sportsman with testing shooting throughout the whole winter.

 

Erecting towers within the wood to enable the shooter to stand in the treetops can provide some very challenging sport. Woodpigeon flighting straight towards you at eye level are very similar to driven grouse, and they can be extremely difficult to hit.

 

Before any such project to erect towers in a wood are undertaken. I would suggest that you should know the flights to and from the wood like the back of your hand. Obviously, the towers need constructing directly under these flights.

 

Decoys lofted into the treetops can assist in pulling the birds to your part of the wood. Lofting is very time consuming so I would suggest putting up permanent pulley lines in order that you may hoist up several decoys in seconds on your arrival at your favourite position.

 

Roost shooting Woodpigeon is fantastic sport. It can be very testing and due to losing a lot of the shot pattern in the branches, kills to cartridge ratios are well down. Remember try to ignore the branches and concentrate on the bird and you will find that you will shoot far better.

[contract killerz]

Thank you all very much for the help i'm sure that i can make adjustments to my methods and hope to get better bags.

[Pigeon_decoyer]

Thanks for that, learnt a couple of new thing reading that! it really helped!

[ollie]

Erecting towers within the wood to enable the shooter to stand in the treetops can provide some very challenging sport. Woodpigeon flighting straight towards you at eye level are very similar to driven grouse, and they can be extremely difficult to hit.

I've always wanted to try roost shooting from a tower it sounds like amazing sport.

[webber]

Ollie

 

Careful, you could be getting into inventing a new sport.

 

Just think, we could cycle to a lake, canoe across it, run to the tower, climb the tower, shoot a pigeon, and then absail down. We could even trough a box of black magic whist we wait for pigeon.

 

Strooth, Iam knackered thinging about it; better idea, see doctor, get club note.

 

webber