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School Boy Error


pigeon controller
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We were determined to avoid shooting the same rape field we have shot for the passed five weeks and find some fresh birds that did not just up and go after an two hours shooting. So we set out at 08.00 and as we drove away from the city we did not see a bird in the sky but we continued to drive in the opposite direction to our "Banker" field. We soon found approx one hundred birds sitting in the trees around a rape field but we also saw the shoot vehicles starting to arrive, so we carried on. We were aware of another shoot taking place and yes they also had birds of a similar quantity on the rape.

Last week we had seen approx one hundred birds on a shared permission and that was shot on Sunday last week with the birds just moving on and not returning.

We drove then to our last two options a small field of volunteer rape which has had a small number of birds on it all winter and this had approx forty birds down, then our last option which is five fields of rape next to a very large oak wood. We arrived at approx 9.45 and it had about one hundred birds sitting in the trees on the edge of the wood next to the rape. We watched it and nothing joined but the birds played follow the leader down onto the rape so we chose a spot and set up for 10.00. In the next hour nothing returned. We realised that we should have let them feed for an hour then put them off so we packed up and left the field and went to look at another rape farm in the distance which had a gas gun on it to see if the birds were feeding.

When we returned we drove to the same spot that we had viewed the field from before and the birds were down feeding but still nothing joining. We were set up again for 12.00 and we shot till 15.30 and picked up thirtyseven pigeons and two corvids.

The day had been good to us allowing us to find other flocks of birds for next week but we should have let them feed when we first found them and more would have returned while they were hungry, we hope.

 

 

 

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37 pigeons and two corvids

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A frustrating day again & at the start of a day dedicated to our chosen pleasure, it is often easy to lose sight of the reality that a couple of hours in the right place at the right time is always better than getting set up early (with the intention of at least 5 hours shooting), in the wrong place at the wrong time. But we all do it. I am kicking my heals until the end of the game season when a lot more ground comes into contention.

 By the way if you gave me a look like that I would have to call you MR. Controller sir!

Not a bad bag nonetheless sir.

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Must say that’s the grumpiest face I have seen on your posts for a long while, even the dogs looking the other way, but well done for chasing and shooting a few.

I like the way you have set out your display of birds with the two blacks neatly placed at either end of the row.

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1 hour ago, old'un said:

Must say that’s the grumpiest face I have seen on your posts for a long while, even the dogs looking the other way, but well done for chasing and shooting a few.

I like the way you have set out your display of birds with the two blacks neatly placed at either end of the row.

The corvids just come within range and allow us to put up a shot the keep the pigeon moving.

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I am sure its the after effects of the cold / flue that the modern day Archie Coats had been suffering from rather than the smallish bag  that made him look like he has just lost a wining lottery ticket.

We say smallish bag but is it ?, as a fellow pigeon shooter I have fell into the trap myself over the years where the day is judged by the numbers shot and not by the sport the day have produced.

How many pigeon shooters have a self imposed bag limit ? very , very few I would have thought , when you think the vast majority of pigeons shot are shot over non crop fields, so why then do people try to kid us they are doing it for crop protection ?, yes you are killing pigeons on stubbles that might one day go on a crop field but truthfully speaking we shoot pigeons as a sport and that is exactly what it is , sport.

So why then, when we shoot stubbles and pigeons are flopping into the decoys do we just keep shooting them when in reality a lot of them ( mainly young ones ) are creating very little sport , I will tell you why , numbers , people tend to think the bigger the numbers shot , the better the day will be . not exactly true .

I changed my opinion a few years ago when I got an invite to go pigeon shooting with one of the best game shots I have ever seen , or possibly now at my age will ever likely to see.

We were shooting a field of rape on some Norfolk marshes , on these marshes there is very little cover above ground level so you mainly find a decent ditch and then stand in the bottom so you can just see over the top at on coming pigeons.

On this day we put two magnets well behind us and shot head on and crossing pigeons all day without shooting a single pigeon over the magnets , over the years I have been lucky enough to stood on several pegs on game shoots , but I can honestly say , nothing have come close to that day for an unforgettable days sport .

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5 hours ago, old'un said:

Are you seeing any large flocks, be-it on rape or coming to roost, think you remarked on it in an earlier post about the small numbers around this area this year (Midlands) or did I dream it.

This week we have seen a few bigger collections of pigeon around in our locality

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