A couple of tips

[Old Boggy]

No doubt the following tips are already being used and I therefore do not claim them as unique but pass them on anyway as they work for me, so here goes :-

 

Tip 1

I am sure that there are many, who like me, own and shoot shotguns of differing calibres. It was at the start of a short decoying session last year with a pal of mine. All was set, decoys out, whirly whirling, flapper flapping. Gun out of slip, my favourite 16 bore side by side. Reach down to open cartridge bag only to find 100 20 bore cartridges staring back at me, much to the amusement of my pal and embarrassment to me.

All was not lost on this occasion as my pal also shoots a 16 bore so was able to supply sufficient for both our needs. However, I had no intention of repeating this schoolboy error so came up with the following. For obvious reasons known to all, 20 bore and 12 bore cartridges should not be mixed. I also understand that 28 and 16 bore could also be a lethal combination, with the 28 bore going fully into a 16 bore chamber. My very simple solution and to avoid a recurrence of my embarrassment is to put coloured electrician's insulation tape around the strap of the cartridge bag, just a single width with a couple of layers. In my case I used the old established original cartridge case colours of yellow for 20 bore, blue for 16 bore and red for 12 bore. In future I can see at a glance which bag holds which cartridges and take the one suitable for the gun of choice for the day. Providing of course that I remember which gun I'm using !

 

Tip 2

I invariably use a dozen metal cradles to mount dead birds on as decoys, but not wishing to lose any at the end of the day and also possibly suffer the wrath of my farmer friends having left metal to get into farm machinery, my simple solution is to spray the tops of the cradle. The bit that the bird rests in is sprayed light blue, a colour that stands out ( when empty, i.e no bird on it) in any crop situation, apart from the very unlikely event of decoying over linseed in full flower. This way, a quick glance round and all cradles can be seen and collected accordingly. Simple but effective.

 

Thought that I'd share those two little bits with you but I'm sure others have their own and better ideas.

 

Thanks for reading anyway.

 

OB

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, well worth a posting OB

[motty]

I like the second tip. I normally check my cartridges before I go shooting.

[Old Boggy]

 

So do I --------- now !

 

OB

[Wilts#Dave]

I only ever keep the bags full of 12 bore shells and the 20/.410 shells have to be loaded up the night before if required luckily.....cradle tip is worthwhile, they can be a ****** to see if you put them down by mistake!

I tend to pick the birds on cradles up last and pick the cradles at the same time as I've lost some in the past too !

Good job your mate was there, you'd be gutted.

[lakeside1000]

I only use 12 gauge so no probs there, all my cradles are sprayed white, a tip from a goose shooting video on u-tube which works very well, some days I can have up to 30 cradles out so its important to pick all up before leaving, especially in fast growing crop as the next time you go it may have overgrown any cradle left behind,

Good tips though, always interesting to hear how people manage situations out in the field.

[pigeon controller]

I attached a piece of reflective material to the frame which is hidden when the bird is mounted but very visible when removed and left against a crop.

 

[JDog]

PC, that would be useful when you finish late as you do and when you are using a torch to find pigeons 199 and 200.

[pigeon controller]

JDog that's very true when we are using cradles in tall rape in the short December days trying to find the ton??

[ShropshireSam]

I only shoot a 12 so never had a cartridge issue.

 

Use white tape as per Pigeon Controller method ... but also try to collect as I collect the pigeons but invariably the dog helps and retrieves the odd pigeon from a cradle.

He has learnt not to retrieve dead birds set up as decoys whilst I'm still shooting but likes to help when I'm collecting up.

[philpotttt]

This may sound a bit random but I have wrapped a bit of reflective tape, the sort of thing found on police cars, so if I don't find the cradle, I can if needed use a head light when it is dark and trust me, they stand out across the field providing they are above the crop.

 

Phil

[pigeon controller]

As JDog mentioned mine show up well with a Cap Light while picking up as they are reflective.

[old'un]

1/ Only use 12 gauge so not a problem.

 

2/ I mount my dead birds on 3 foot long willow or hazel sticks pushed up through the bird and into the head, works a treat and if I leave any on the field there's no damage to combines plus they go in the hide pole bag and are light and free.

Edited June 8, 2017 by old'un

[Andra]

Only use 12g guns but have bags loaded for two different cart types so I can just lift mainly as my semi does not like the batch of gamebore clear pigeons I have.

 

Good tips for the cradles I need to do that with mine as its a pain looking for them. I like the orange tag and the reflective tape idea