pigeon controller Posted March 29, 2017 Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 Decoying, is the art of deceiving a bird into believing it is joining other birds for the purpose of feeding. That is my understanding of what we aim to do. When I see films on Utube of decoyers in action they all seem to shoot birds at a distance so they are sporting. When I shoot for farmers they want maximum totals so I decoy to bring birds to land within the pattern and if others are flying in shoot the flyer and then the spooked bird from the pattern. Two down, if one comes solo its shot approaching the pattern. As I've stated before in posts when I set up I let the first bird in to see if it settles in the pattern and I change things around until I achieve that result. Bunny_Blaster has been publishing some pictures off his Gun Camera which are impressive on another site in which he tends to shoot distance birds which are committing to his decoys. This is fine and very sporting. Some of the comments are interesting / What Gun/ What Cartridges/ What camera/ ETC. No one askes what decoys/ what magnet/etc. It just struck me that to be Masters of our Art decoying is the main object of the game, without achieving a certain level of proficency you will struggle to attract pigeons, and all the gismos in the world will not help. I'm not sure if this is a rant or just an observation, over to the Massive to put me right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oowee Posted March 29, 2017 Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 I think that's right certainly for the corvids I shoot where field craft is also critical. I favour a killing zone between two groups of decoys where I want the birds to be for shooting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilksy II Posted March 29, 2017 Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 My reckoning on this goes as follows; it is very rewarding to to take a pigeon at distance and a real test of skill and judgment but there is something equally satisfying and skilful in getting wild birds to not only change course for a nosy but to shape up and land exactly where you want them to, when they tuck there wings you know your in! So in my book there is no right or wrong ultimately it is all in the name of pest control under the terms of the general licence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted March 29, 2017 Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 It's a rant PC. The novices I take out wait far too long before shooting at 15_20m. Whatever the choke in their Guns the optimum distance in terms of the pattern is twice that at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konnie Posted March 29, 2017 Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 Not that i get out as much as i would like, when decoying if it goes well i think you should only be shooting possibly 4-5 different targets, however there are always the odd ones at different times of the day that have other ideas. But what a sport to enjoy, and very satisfying when birrds come in to a well layed out patern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilksy II Posted March 29, 2017 Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 It's a rant PC. The novices I take out wait far too long before shooting at 15_20m. Whatever the choke in their Guns the optimum distance in terms of the pattern is twice that at least. I like to start my pattern at 25m with the kill zone hopefully being 30m plus so that I don't smash up the birds with my half choke 7.5 28g combo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted March 29, 2017 Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 It's a rant PC. The novices I take out wait far too long before shooting at 15_20m. Whatever the choke in their Guns the optimum distance in terms of the pattern is twice that at least. I must admit to finding the opposite. Newcomers to the sport that I have witnessed tend to shoot before the bird is in range. There is normally an optimum moment to kill a decoying pigeon, but most novices seem to miss this. I prefer to let pigeons come as close as they can, as a rule, especially if they are in groups. That way I can kill multiple targets if I do my bit correctly. The main thing for me, though, is to get the birds within range of my gun. If they come closer than 50 yards, then I am able to get a shot off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon controller Posted March 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 It's a rant PC. The novices I take out wait far too long before shooting at 15_20m. Whatever the choke in their Guns the optimum distance in terms of the pattern is twice that at least. Thanks JDog. I agree the optimum distance is the ideal range when you have a good shot pattern. I hate birds close as you know you will turn them inside out. I tend to aim at the bird then go left or right to hit a wing and not destroy the bird. If I can the spooked sitter is left to gain distance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted March 29, 2017 Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 I like to start my pattern at 25m with the kill zone hopefully being 30m plus so that I don't smash up the birds with my half choke 7.5 28g combo We all do things differently. I usually have my decoys at 10-15 yards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilksy II Posted March 29, 2017 Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 (edited) We all do things differently. I usually have my decoys at 10-15 yards.Aye that is true I've tried a few different ranges and that's the one I've settled on On reflection I've just walked down the garden to lock the chicken up and I'd say Its more 20yrds than meters that I set up! Edited March 29, 2017 by Wilksy II Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted March 29, 2017 Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 Motty You are not calling Muncher and Farma Geddon novices are you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aga man Posted March 29, 2017 Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 I think we all like to take on those longer birds and often they will help build a bigger bag. What we see on the internet is often exagerated in my opinion, most of the camera footage shows birds to be much further out than they actually are, and as for claims of pigeons being shot at 100yds etc i am not too sure, i have never seen this in real life. Decoying pigeons consistently and good fieldcraft is indeed an art and so is judging distance distance for many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hur5ty Posted March 29, 2017 Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 I've been shooting on fresh Barley drill today and I probably moved and played with my pattern 10 times. Each bird has it's own characteristic and with the wind direction changing it was a challenging day. You never stop learning in this game! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted March 29, 2017 Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 I don't think its a rant just your take on the game. Your principle of good numbers on the ground humanely despatched sounds quite right to me and building a good hide, with an effective decoy layout gives a great sense of achievement. I work hard on trying to get things right and will move hide, location, reset my decoys and do whatever else is necessary until it works. I usually set up to kill my birds at 25-30 yards. When the numbers aren't there, or they are decoy shy, I flight line shoot and thats when I get my fix of taking longer passing birds, but I don't get the same numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hur5ty Posted March 29, 2017 Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 I've been shooting on fresh Barley drill today and I probably moved and played with my pattern 10 times. Each bird has it's own characteristic and with the wind direction changing it was a challenging day. You never stop learning in this game! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShropshireSam Posted March 29, 2017 Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 Decoying is a great field craft and shooting sporting birds is a different skill but which takes most importance depends on the individual and their motivation to go pigeon shooting. Someone on here once posted that they had acted as a guide and was well pleased when a paying guest was getting plenty of shooting as the birds were decoying well. The paying guest was not happy as there was not much variety!! I have had only been decoying a few years and I can only remember one occasion when the birds decoyed with such regularity that the shooting became limited.....the birds all came down a hedgeline and in a bend in the hedge they turned to come straight into the pattern. I repeatedly went out to pick up shot birds with nearly all dropped within feet of one another where I consistently dropped them. To me, when the birds decoy well the sport is in the second shot, I don't wait for a bird to land but will take the second bird and then swing through to pick up the first bird as it takes evasive action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David.Evans Posted March 29, 2017 Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 Well as a novice I have found this thread very informative I've been setting my decoyes a t 20 yards , and shooting at birds to far out ! I think Next time I'm going to bring them in and try that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted March 29, 2017 Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 I agree with P C who is one , if not the most consistent pigeon shooter on this forum , but although it is nice when the pigeons do decoy in text book fashion in reality as in my case this very rarely happen except maybe on the stubbles in the Summer when there are a lot of young pigeons are on the move with very little knowledge of pigeon shooters and the gadgets . My main reason why I put decoys out is to bring the pigeon in range to give me a shot , at what range I shoot at it depends on how the pigeon is reacting on the approach to my decoy pattern , once it crosses my imaginary boundary line , which is around 45yds it is going to have a shot put towards it if takes evasive action , or if it is showing no signs of panic I will wait till it is in the range I like shooting at , but as I have said before , I am purely in it for the sport and if I am protecting the farmers crop while I am enjoying my sport then we are both happy . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchrat Posted March 29, 2017 Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 I love shooting pigeons but hate missing them! When I started shooting, back in the 18th century, I could only afford a box of 10 of those Baikal cartridges at once, so tried to make every shot count. I haven't changed much!! If I can decoy them into 25-40 yards that's great, outside 45 yards range I would usually only have a go if I needed to make some noise to stir things up or if I was getting desperate. However, if you do take a "speculative" shot and nail it, that's almost as good as a nice double. I do hate to see people spoiling a good group of incoming birds by shooting at the 1st bird when it's at the extreme of their range, this just scares birds you could have shot. This also applies to duck and goose shooting, they are hard to bring down especially with steel shot. Too many people think they are George Digweed and if they get lucky on a long shot and break a wing, they think it was their great skill. It may be "sporting" to shoot at rangy birds but it is also sporting to have a good chance of making a clean kill. Watch some of the Guns at a game shoot, 60 yard shots and if they SEE a pigeon....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OJW Posted March 29, 2017 Report Share Posted March 29, 2017 (edited) I can hesitate to shoot a pigeon when it's further out because I don't want to risk losing a bird that would otherwise come in closer and be in the bag. I don't notice the signs as quickly as a more experienced pigeon shooter does to suggest that the bird isn't going to come in and that a long shot is needed. The extra seconds it takes me to realise and decide can often mean the shot is lost. I never hesitate on game birds and I find it much easier to judge distance and the limits of my gun / cartridge when shooting into the sky as opposed to many of the other angles pigeons present themselves at. Edited March 30, 2017 by OJW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HIDENSEEK Posted March 30, 2017 Report Share Posted March 30, 2017 I love shooting pigeons but hate missing them! When I started shooting, back in the 18th century, I could only afford a box of 10 of those Baikal cartridges at once, so tried to make every shot count. I haven't changed much!! If I can decoy them into 25-40 yards that's great, outside 45 yards range I would usually only have a go if I needed to make some noise to stir things up or if I was getting desperate. However, if you do take a "speculative" shot and nail it, that's almost as good as a nice double. I do hate to see people spoiling a good group of incoming birds by shooting at the 1st bird when it's at the extreme of their range, this just scares birds you could have shot. This also applies to duck and goose shooting, they are hard to bring down especially with steel shot. Too many people think they are George Digweed and if they get lucky on a long shot and break a wing, they think it was their great skill. It may be "sporting" to shoot at rangy birds but it is also sporting to have a good chance of making a clean kill. Watch some of the Guns at a game shoot, 60 yard shots and if they SEE a pigeon....... +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getthegat Posted April 16, 2017 Report Share Posted April 16, 2017 Baikal cartridges There's a memory, and as I saw on another thread the other day "the smell of paper case shells" mmmmmmm. But I digress; decoying is a personal thing. Years ago there were no magnets or flappers or floaters, only full body rubbers (ooh err missus) We still got good bags and yes perhaps the birds have got wise; but is this BECAUSE of magnets and flappers? I have a magnet but it never seems to work for me, so it stays in the truck and saves me a few pounds of kit to carry. I find I shoot best at around 25 - 40 yards and always want them to decoy to my pattern, rather than flight lining past, but then my perms are small and the flight lines tend to be over other fields. I want my birds to come down dead, but edible. Crows are especially tough beggars, so long range ones are a waste of a shell for me. I agree the youtube footage is very misleading as far as range goes; most look much further than they really were. Still enjoy watching the vids whilst having my breakfast and getting ready for a day of work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted April 16, 2017 Report Share Posted April 16, 2017 hello, i do not go to often decoying but i put one deek 40 yards out and keep that as max shot range into the pattern, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getthegat Posted April 16, 2017 Report Share Posted April 16, 2017 Makes sound sense to me. Otherwise it's about perceived distances. We don't always have the luxury of a tree or landmark at a certain distance. May be if using a floater, then that could act as the max range marker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted April 16, 2017 Report Share Posted April 16, 2017 Makes sound sense to me. Otherwise it's about perceived distances. We don't always have the luxury of a tree or landmark at a certain distance. May be if using a floater, then that could act as the max range marker hello, it is an air pro whirly wing from A1 decoys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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