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'Hitting clover'


Blackpowder
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Last Tuesday a mild zepher of west wind took me to one of my favourite roost woods.  Square and only a few acres in extent some years it reeks of pigeon poo and preened feathers lie like giant snow flakes.  The field  in grass and clover lies about 500 yards from the road and parking place.  Few pigeon were visible when I run the binos over the wood on arrival at 3pm.   Kept the gun in the slip as had decided not to shoot any  which were flushed in the hope of their multiple return.   Yep and the wood was packed clattering out in their hundreds, I guessed around 600, to disappear eastwards into the distance.  Getting settled in and wild dog tethered awaited the horde's return.  It did not happen, but 500 yards away lies a younger plantation and even with the naked eye it showed a perpetual motion of birds swooping  to the clover and returning to the trees.  By this time it was after 4pm , with no decoys I decided to leave them in peace and return on the morrow to perform a mammoth slaying. Three pigeon did come my way one being unlucky enough to fall to my second barrel.   Wednesday  11 am all set up with 12 FUDs and a couple of  bouncers backpacked across a very long field, getting to old for that kind of lark methinks.   Not a breath of wind, the hide did not need its usual guy lines, and it was comfortable in the late winter or is it early spring sunshine.  Wild dog tethered safely to the fence, keeps looking as if to say ,'come on then, give me something to chase'.  Well it was not so, 3pm and phoned a friend to see if they were in the field, and, a solitary pigeon flew over the hide giving the deeks the glad eye.   Had enough by 3 : 30 and packed up, the best laid schemes etc etc.   Still I did not have a load of  birds to stagger back with on what is the uphill leg of the return trip- saved a load of cartridges as well.

 

Disgruntled Pigeon Shooter (aka Blackpowder)

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8 hours ago, Blackpowder said:

Last Tuesday a mild zepher of west wind took me to one of my favourite roost woods.  Square and only a few acres in extent some years it reeks of pigeon poo and preened feathers lie like giant snow flakes.  The field  in grass and clover lies about 500 yards from the road and parking place.  Few pigeon were visible when I run the binos over the wood on arrival at 3pm.   Kept the gun in the slip as had decided not to shoot any  which were flushed in the hope of their multiple return.   Yep and the wood was packed clattering out in their hundreds, I guessed around 600, to disappear eastwards into the distance.  Getting settled in and wild dog tethered awaited the horde's return.  It did not happen, but 500 yards away lies a younger plantation and even with the naked eye it showed a perpetual motion of birds swooping  to the clover and returning to the trees.  By this time it was after 4pm , with no decoys I decided to leave them in peace and return on the morrow to perform a mammoth slaying. Three pigeon did come my way one being unlucky enough to fall to my second barrel.   Wednesday  11 am all set up with 12 FUDs and a couple of  bouncers backpacked across a very long field, getting to old for that kind of lark methinks.   Not a breath of wind, the hide did not need its usual guy lines, and it was comfortable in the late winter or is it early spring sunshine.  Wild dog tethered safely to the fence, keeps looking as if to say ,'come on then, give me something to chase'.  Well it was not so, 3pm and phoned a friend to see if they were in the field, and, a solitary pigeon flew over the hide giving the deeks the glad eye.   Had enough by 3 : 30 and packed up, the best laid schemes etc etc.   Still I did not have a load of  birds to stagger back with on what is the uphill leg of the return trip- saved a load of cartridges as well.

 

Disgruntled Pigeon Shooter (aka Blackpowder)

Nice write up Blackpowder ...... I am sure we can all relate to very similar days in the past and no doubt we will have them again in the future , part of the package being a dedicated pigeon shooter:good:

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well was back at the good roost wood surrounded by potential clover dining on Friday.  Had an early start at about 2pm as had a bit of house keeping to do in the removal of an overhanging branch which was making things difficult where the main flight line came to the wood.   My trusty folding pruning saw chopped through thew 2 inch branch with some difficulty. (  I was holding it down and it threatened to fire me out of the wood like a clay pigeon any second)    Job done and the branch greatly enhanced the hide , bonus.   One bird approaching which amazingly fell to the first shot.  Wild spaniel was on the ball through the fence, through the mud from recent drainage work and back to hand.  What a start. Confidence soared.  Did not last long it took me another six shots before another joined it.   It was a dream flight a brisk west wind kept the flight past my newly enhanced place of concealment , lots of singles and pairs and occasional flocks of around twenty.   Plenty misses just the same and wild spaniel had  good exercise looking for the non existent victims of many misses.   It was good to see a decent flight there again, the trouble is the farmer lets any one who asks shoot this wood.   Numbers not back to what they were at  the peak but much better result.  Should have been at least 20 in the bag but had to be content with 9.  On dressing them out all had been on clover, although not on the field adjacent to the wood as pigeon were seen approaching from the far distance.

 

Blackpowder

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On 25/03/2018 at 09:51, Blackpowder said:

wild spaniel had  good exercise looking for the non existent victims of many misses

 

I get that in duplicate!  I left my two at home for most of my roosting excursions this year.  Less birds seemed to flare away at the last second for some reason!

Mind you, one time I was cursing at myself for not bringing them whilst chasing a winged pigeon round a patch of blackthorn.

It's funny, one of them has learned to look where the gun points and therefore the flying bird, but the other to look at the gun itself and wait for the bang.  Makes no difference after the trigger is pulled.  Got through two ground stakes last game season :lol:

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Hi Jim, wild spaniel was 7 years old when I got him last February, he had mainly been a pet dog during his previous ownership.   I took him decoying for the first time about a year ago set the hide up and clipped his lead to the plastic drum seat.  First shot a miracle pigeon down and fluttering.  Well I had stood up to take the shot and by the time I was sorted out dog was back with pigeon still towing the plastic drum which still contained flapper and battery.

 

Blackpowder

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Hilarious!!  You have to love them though, even though they drive you nuts at times. :shout:

I had a peg in a disused stone quarry one drive last season, and the ground was impossible to get the stake properly screwed in.  I got it as good as I could but lo and behold, the first time my gun went up they were off, leads taut between them and the stake jangling about in the middle.

Until they ran one either side of a tree.

:crazy:

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