kit carriers

[getthegat]

So I was out TRYING to find and shoot some god damn pigeons today And was wondering what carts, bags, pack horse or yak you guys use to transport your gear. One of my shoots cannot be driving on, so it's down to a rucksack or converted garden 4 wheel trolley (where smooth ground permits) I was out early so like to use my moderated 20 gauge to start and then later in the morning move to the 12 bore semi. Of course this not only means carrying 2 guns, but 2 lots of cartridges. Then there is the flapper (which today decided not to function correctly....grrrrr) and the battery, 2 nets and poles, floater pole and seat, decoys and sticks, knife and monocular, plus food and water. A none too light load to carry nearly 1/2 mile or more. (Just a thought, I may have asked this before, so if this is the case, forgive my depleted brain cells) I wonder if a converted golf trolley with electric motor could work. What made the huge effort worst this morning was only getting 3 birds in over 3 hours. The birds were so fickle and very decoy shy/wise, even though only 2 days ago they were piling into said field in the desired 2 and 3s using a consistent flight path..........not today though, or at least not as soon as I set up. Rape pigeons; I hate the things.

[old'un]

My kit consists of the following, 2 nets, 4 poles, seat, whirly and bat, 12 willow sticks, 2 dead birds, food (if I have not eaten it before the walk) one gun and 100 cartridges (with more in the wagon) I carry the bulk in an old army rucksack, my poles, brolly and sticks in a fishing holdall and gun in a slip, ok going out but coming back with 50 birds is a bit of a slog and sometimes I make two journeys if I shoot more and I am on my own, tried all sorts over the years but when a field is wet or rough you cannot beat plates of meat, never drive on fields even when I am told I can (apart from stubble) walking 500-800 yards in the winter is not far really and it keeps me fit.

[deny essex]

I use a rucksack with nets, clips 100 carts, one flapper an battery etc, hide poles strapped to the gun or both in a fishing quiver with a cpl of floaters if on a longish walk (which doesnt have to be far for this ole ****).

If a short walk then 2 trips or struggle puffing and panting with one load.

Rotary and battery I decide on how the day and ground look and take or collect later from the car.

Spent some of the recent quiet time making up a lighter kit for short sessions or a long walk , 60 carts , slot together glassfibre tent poles with guys n pegs that pack down in the rucksack, lightweight ally frame small seat hangs on the rucksack, decoys and wouldnt be without a flapper, everything needed Just not for long periods or heavy weather but more in the car if needed.

 

1 rucksack+ gun + decoys. Smallest amount I use if there is some natural cover .

Edited May 20, 2017 by deny essex

[bluesj]

I had an old ballbarrow that was great for shooting and fishing gear, the big low pressure wheel had no problem with ruts and mud.

It must have been good as some one pinched it out fishing one day, the borrowed it to get their gear back from a lake to the car park and never came back!

[mossy835]

i carry 12 sillosocks,100 carts 4 hide poles and net.

[Fuddster]

if I have to yomp a fair distance-I use an ex-army load carrying waistcoat with pouches attached-takes 100 cartridges, roll up nets, saw,small flask,water etc and leaves your back free for a decent sized rucksack.

 

I find there's nothing worse than bags slung over shoulders when going over ground. The waistcoat spreads the load nicely.

 

they go for about £20 on ebay.

 

if there's plenty foliage-ditch the nets for natural camo-cut a space into a hedge and re-use that spot next time round

 

f.

[getthegat]

So apart from the odd ball barrow, it seems wheeled carriers are not that popular. I did try a converted sack truck once; first time out was in a sticky muddy rape field and the wheels clogged up 20 yards in, doh!. May be this leads onto another post I read, where many of us are being "persuaded" to buy more and more kit that in the end seems to sometimes do the opposite of what it was designed to do. My problem seems to be how many cartridges is enough,( no such thing in a zombie apocalypse) they are just about the heaviest part of the load, then would come the flapper battery. Stupid thing is, I don't think I've ever shot more than 75 or 100 shells at one time yet nearly always take 200, just in case I hit the mother load Yesterday morning when I was out on a rape field with my usual 12 shell deeks, 3 full bodied, one crow, one floater and one flapper, the birds were positively turned away and I got the feeling I was dealing with wise wary birds, as experienced once before with my magnet. I'm going old school next time and just trying about 4 or 5 dead birds from the freezer and no man made aids, this will lighten the load to carry and with the Geoff Garrod mind set, this may even work to bring more birds within range. I'm going to look into less cartridges, a vest with pouches, a cartridge belt and decide on just one gun, which means if I'm out at silly o'clock it will be the moderated, or if I can curb my enthusiasm and start later then it will be the Affinity or just now and then the AYA SxS . Thanks for all the ideas, feedback and helping me see a simpler system.

[old'un]

Long time back I knew a professional pigeon shooter by the name of Jeff Kirk, he just happened to be a farmer from a fairly wealthy farming family, he's dead now and buried in Brewood cemetery, Staffordshire, his headstone is engraved with him in a hide and pigeons flying over decoys, he had a 4x4 quad bike in the back of his G-wagon, I have sat at the field gate watching him drive across three fields to get to the right place, now that's the ultimate kit carrying kit if you can get one in the back of your wagon.

[Budman19]

Did my back a few weeks ago so decided to make a shooting cart,bought golf trolley from recycle shop for a fiver used pop rivets to fix box and support for gun and hide poles,got bucket seat with 15fuds and 2 nets in bottom bag in top carry shells and drink in top bag,strapped on with luggage straps,tried it yesterday ground sticky with all the rain but worked a treat,electric trolley might not have enough ground clearance but not sure hope this is useful

[motty]

My issue is never carrying the gear to the hide, it is carrying the pigeons back.

[JDog]

My issue is never carrying the gear to the hide, it is carrying the pigeons back.

 

It would be nice for the rest of us to have that problem Maestro.

[getthegat]

Yes, especially as my last outing produced only 3 birds ! and one of those was lost in a hedge. I'm going to try the 4 dead birds and pouch vest thingy to carry less cartridges and will only take one gun, so my load will be light going out, lets hope it's then heavier coming back. Loved the story from Old'un, and Budman19 I know the back issues can be real bad. I work in a garage and once picked up a tool box in the wrong way, I now have a weakness in the lower back so always have to be aware . The mechanic in me still has a modified golf trolley conversion waiting to happen though. You've also got me thinking about a quad, as my truck is suitable, but at this time that's probably a bank transfer too far.

[Kalahari]

I often wondered about a high mesh sided Ivor Williams trailer. Net round the mesh, seat, everything you need and pigeons must be used to trailers in fields mustn't they?

 

David.

[Nicholas Bottoms]

All of my kit, bar the gun is carried in a long back military bergan. This kit includes two camo nets big enough for a 4 sided hide; 4 poles for the hide; a seat; 24 shell decoys an their sticks; all of my pegs, ropes, bungees and clips I use to make a hide; saw; knife; waterproofs; food and most importantly AMMO! (no less than 100 rounds)

 

This makes everything very easy to carry and use should I have to walk any distance to my planned shooting position.

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, i think if you are going on an all out days pigeon shooting then there is a lot of gear to take, but for those that want to carry light say 6 shells 2 F/B and maybe a wing spinner for a few hours in a hedge row hide 50/60 shots, a large back pack/rucksack might not be an option due to the weight, but a large shoulder carry bag with a good wide strap, i often use a camo mesh called A TAC F/G a 2 x 4mtr folds up in pocket, years ago i used an old canvas posty bag dyed green about 20 x 15 x 6 inches with pockets, gun in slip/ cartridge bag, 2 poles/ big net/ food, deeks were rubber and heavy, army net took up a lot of space, but now i can get it all in a large aldi bag about same as posty size including flask.sarnies so having looked i cannot seem to find one suitable to buy, so PW fellow shooters do you think there would be a demand for such a bag???? . just been given a modern posty bag that was due for replacement, plastic so cannot dye. i know you can buy game bags off PW but a dedicated pigeon shooters bag ?.

[motty]

Bags to carry kit need not be green.

[old'un]

Yes, here's a nice pink one,

[oldypigeonpopper]

Bags to carry kit need not be green.

hello motty, if you mean my bright red royal mail bag, could always say its for pigeon post

[Me matt]

No easy way I'm afraid - look on it as pre shoot exercise 👍 but you just gotta love that feeling of dumping your kit at the back door of your motor when your legs are pumping 😎

[kitchrat]

So I was out TRYING to find and shoot some god damn pigeons today And was wondering what carts, bags, pack horse or yak you guys use to transport your gear. One of my shoots cannot be driving on, so it's down to a rucksack or converted garden 4 wheel trolley (where smooth ground permits) I was out early so like to use my moderated 20 gauge to start and then later in the morning move to the 12 bore semi. Of course this not only means carrying 2 guns, but 2 lots of cartridges. Then there is the flapper (which today decided not to function correctly....grrrrr) and the battery, 2 nets and poles, floater pole and seat, decoys and sticks, knife and monocular, plus food and water. A none too light load to carry nearly 1/2 mile or more. (Just a thought, I may have asked this before, so if this is the case, forgive my depleted brain cells) I wonder if a converted golf trolley with electric motor could work. What made the huge effort worst this morning was only getting 3 birds in over 3 hours. The birds were so fickle and very decoy shy/wise, even though only 2 days ago they were piling into said field in the desired 2 and 3s using a consistent flight path..........not today though, or at least not as soon as I set up. Rape pigeons; I hate the things.

Golf trolley does work but try anything with wheels in Essex clay soil in the wet winter weather and you are in trouble!!

[Budman19]

Yes, especially as my last outing produced only 3 birds ! and one of those was lost in a hedge. I'm going to try the 4 dead birds and pouch vest thingy to carry less cartridges and will only take one gun, so my load will be light going out, lets hope it's then heavier coming back. Loved the story from Old'un, and Budman19 I know the back issues can be real bad. I work in a garage and once picked up a tool box in the wrong way, I now have a weakness in the lower back so always have to be aware . The mechanic in me still has a modified golf trolley conversion waiting to happen though. You've also got me thinking about a quad, as my truck is suitable, but at this time that's probably a bank transfer too far.

[getthegat]

My 1984 VW ex army double cab pick-up doubled as a hide whilst at my one of my shoots where I can drive directly to a hide position. The little farm has various activities going on, from a huge barn being used to repair cars, to a massive stack of bales at the bottom of one field, tree cuttings in another spot and quite a few farm implements and trailers dotted about, so the birds are use to metal things here and there (still there are able to spot a camo wrapped barrel or plastic deek from 100 yards) but anyway, on this particular day I was packing up and a few more birds started arriving so I cut down a few branches and chucked them in the bed of the truck and proceeded to shoot half a dozen from this unorthodox position. The truck did not freak them at all and made me wonder if again these whilly critters had learnt that most vehicles on this particular farm present no threat. Don't know how many times I could employ this unconventional hide method, but it does solve the kit carrier issue for one perm.

[hawkfanz]

i try n travel light if i can but when needed i have a fold up wheelbarrow from fleabay so if its dry i use that n try an use tramlines insteaad of hedgerow it avoids punctures from thorns.

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, i think if you are going on an all out days pigeon shooting then there is a lot of gear to take, but for those that want to carry light say 6 shells 2 F/B and maybe a wing spinner for a few hours in a hedge row hide 50/60 shots, a large back pack/rucksack might not be an option due to the weight, but a large shoulder carry bag with a good wide strap, i often use a camo mesh called A TAC F/G a 2 x 4mtr folds up in pocket, years ago i used an old canvas posty bag dyed green about 20 x 15 x 6 inches with pockets, gun in slip/ cartridge bag, 2 poles/ big net/ food, deeks were rubber and heavy, army net took up a lot of space, but now i can get it all in a large aldi bag about same as posty size including flask.sarnies so having looked i cannot seem to find one suitable to buy, so PW fellow shooters do you think there would be a demand for such a bag? ??? . just been given a modern posty bag that was due for replacement, plastic so cannot dye. i know you can buy game bags off PW but a dedicated pigeon shooters bag ?.

hello, just to note on the subject of a shooting bag, as you know we have a member by the name of Mel whos wife Lin is a master of craft making many bespoke shooting kit from canvas and leather, well Lin is in the process of making me a special pigeon shooting bag from my details above, i am hoping when finished Mel will pop on here a photo before posting to me. cheers,

[getthegat]

She made me a custom slip for my moderated 20 bore; it's excellent. Hope she does put pictures up.