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Bank Holiday Double Ton


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Good Friday started with light rain as we scanned our permissions for pigeon. We had set out at 08.30 in thick fog and decide to drive to the extremes of our permissions to try and find fresh flocks or birds we had not shot at. We found small numbers on rape a few on clover and one or two on buds, but nothing that set our pulse racing. Time was getting on and we decided to settle for a flock of fifty birds on a known flightline which crosses the rape on one of our farms. We were set up for midday and the birds started to flight along the required path. Some decoyed and some passed over high which gave us a number of very sporting shots. By 14.00 the rain became heavy and included hail and the birds stopped for a good hour. We started to have a few shots as the day went on and by 17.30 we had had enough and the rain and wind just got worse so we packed up and headed to the disco, no photo. I dropped off DB and decide to have a look round the area that we had shot and found approx 150 on a rape field we had looked at before it was now 18.30 and they were still feeding but spooked when I drove to the field. Whe I returned home I laid out the birds in the garage and took a picture then hung up the nets to try and get them dry for today. 

This morning it was raining again but not so heavy and we headed out in a different direction to look at rape fields that we had permission on but had not seen birds on them to shoot so far this year. It was 11.00 when we drove to the first field and it had birds down, it had been nitrated and was a foot tall but you could see the birds in the rows between the the plants, We estimated three hundred birds and more joining so we phoned the farmer who's reply was please dont shoot as it is the Bank Holiday!!!! He has some holiday lets close to the field and I think he did not want the agro. So we drove on and found another farm with approx the same number of birds on it , contacted the farmer and the same answer do not shoot its a Bank Holiday Weekend.

We then returned to the field that we shot last week , which had a few birds feeding and we accepted to set up and " Get what we Get". It was now 11.30 and the rain had stopped so we set up with the magnet and ten on spikes. For the first hour we had a steady flow of birds returning to the pattern then the wind shifted a few degrees to the north and the birds did not want to commit but stayed wide of the decoys, still within range. This gave us some pleasurable shooting. We shot till 17.30 and started to count up the days total and the dog saves the day by working the far hedge of the field and finding six birds we would not have found which made our total for the day one hundred and five pigeons. with out the dogs help it would have been ninetynine. We have been shooting steel for the past three months and found that you know that you have hit the bird hard but they fly to the boundry of the field and you pick them up later. The make very good decoys as they do not have a feather out of place.

As we drove back into the city we found lots of birds feeding on buds so it will not be long till they leave the rape.

So two days good shooting, frustration at times but a good result at the end of two days.

 

100_3087.jpg

101 pigeons on the garage floor after very wet day

 


100_3091.jpg

105 Pigeons on a drier day

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Great persistence again. I feel your pain with the holiday lets. I currently have 2 fields with potential 100+ bags. I can't shoot one rape field as it's "near" a holiday cottage and another clover field that has lambs on and the farmer wants me to wait until they're fully bonded with the ewes. It's their train sets!

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Nice too see, pigeons displayed in true PC style. Im out later on rape, the large flocks have split up a bit now and might make things easier. Told by she who issues shooting permits must be home at 3 ? as family round for dinner.

 

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1 hour ago, Wooder said:

Nice too see, pigeons displayed in true PC style. Im out later on rape, the large flocks have split up a bit now and might make things easier. Told by she who issues shooting permits must be home at 3 ? as family round for dinner.

 

Don't be late!!!!!

10 hours ago, motty said:

Well done! The birds are still just a bit too flocked up around here to get those kind of scores. Hopefully it won't be too long!

We have the same, we do not shoot when the flock come in just at the tail enders. This spooks the flock and you then get individual birds return.

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2 hours ago, pigeon controller said:

Don't be late!!!!!

We have the same, we do not shoot when the flock come in just at the tail enders. This spooks the flock and you then get individual birds return.

At least you had the flocks coming in! I did have some fantastic shooting on Thursday. I had 52 on a maize strip. There were thousands of pigeons there, but they were coming over in bunches of 50-200 at times.

Yesterday on rape, despite hundreds of pigeons around, they played the old 'follow the leader' game. I shot 5 in an hour or so, then gave up. I think in the next 2-3 weeks things could be completely different (especially if we get some warmer weather).

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Whilst the number you shoot continues to be impressive (and yes I admit to jealousy) your presentation skills are declining.

May I suggest that you shoot less and concentrate more on laying the birds out more uniformly. 

Either that or revert to 'The Norfolk Heap' like the rest of us.

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I don’t even get that number in a season!  Not many birds in inverness Shire!!!

quick question on why you now use steel shot, is it because you supply the pigeons to falconers?

I would be happy to use steel but I don’t think there is a fibre wad steel cart and I am not keen to leave plastic wads scattered about the field.  I have heard stories of stock eating them and coming to harm but how truthfull these events are I am not sure.

your weekly updates are a great read for the pigeon less north so thanks for your weekly instalments.

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3 hours ago, JDog said:

Whilst the number you shoot continues to be impressive (and yes I admit to jealousy) your presentation skills are declining.

May I suggest that you shoot less and concentrate more on laying the birds out more uniformly. 

Either that or revert to 'The Norfolk Heap' like the rest of us.

Noted .

3 hours ago, flippermaj said:

I don’t even get that number in a season!  Not many birds in inverness Shire!!!

quick question on why you now use steel shot, is it because you supply the pigeons to falconers?

I would be happy to use steel but I don’t think there is a fibre wad steel cart and I am not keen to leave plastic wads scattered about the field.  I have heard stories of stock eating them and coming to harm but how truthfull these events are I am not sure.

your weekly updates are a great read for the pigeon less north so thanks for your weekly instalments.

Some of my lead shot outlets have stopped buying and the steel shot are attracting better prices so it's a  " No Brainer".

I collected two hundred plus wads off the field as I collected the pigeons.

Thanks for your comments I'm glad that my ramblings give you a pleasurable read.

Edited by pigeon controller
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A very nice result for two cold and at times wet days, I got blown off the field on Thursday after just 2 hours and only 8 birds picked, so I would like to order some warm dry weather with light winds please, then perhaps I will venture out again to try my luck, we still have a lot of birds in the air but they are still tightly bunched and a bit nervous especially after the first shot or two, but I think they will be splitting up soon once breading gets going which should help , fingers crossed.

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On 31/03/2018 at 21:57, pigeon controller said:

 

Good Friday started with light rain as we scanned our permissions for pigeon. We had set out at 08.30 in thick fog and decide to drive to the extremes of our permissions to try and find fresh flocks or birds we had not shot at. We found small numbers on rape a few on clover and one or two on buds, but nothing that set our pulse racing. Time was getting on and we decided to settle for a flock of fifty birds on a known flightline which crosses the rape on one of our farms. We were set up for midday and the birds started to flight along the required path. Some decoyed and some passed over high which gave us a number of very sporting shots. By 14.00 the rain became heavy and included hail and the birds stopped for a good hour. We started to have a few shots as the day went on and by 17.30 we had had enough and the rain and wind just got worse so we packed up and headed to the disco, no photo. I dropped off DB and decide to have a look round the area that we had shot and found approx 150 on a rape field we had looked at before it was now 18.30 and they were still feeding but spooked when I drove to the field. Whe I returned home I laid out the birds in the garage and took a picture then hung up the nets to try and get them dry for today. 

This morning it was raining again but not so heavy and we headed out in a different direction to look at rape fields that we had permission on but had not seen birds on them to shoot so far this year. It was 11.00 when we drove to the first field and it had birds down, it had been nitrated and was a foot tall but you could see the birds in the rows between the the plants, We estimated three hundred birds and more joining so we phoned the farmer who's reply was please dont shoot as it is the Bank Holiday!!!! He has some holiday lets close to the field and I think he did not want the agro. So we drove on and found another farm with approx the same number of birds on it , contacted the farmer and the same answer do not shoot its a Bank Holiday Weekend.

We then returned to the field that we shot last week , which had a few birds feeding and we accepted to set up and " Get what we Get". It was now 11.30 and the rain had stopped so we set up with the magnet and ten on spikes. For the first hour we had a steady flow of birds returning to the pattern then the wind shifted a few degrees to the north and the birds did not want to commit but stayed wide of the decoys, still within range. This gave us some pleasurable shooting. We shot till 17.30 and started to count up the days total and the dog saves the day by working the far hedge of the field and finding six birds we would not have found which made our total for the day one hundred and five pigeons. with out the dogs help it would have been ninetynine. We have been shooting steel for the past three months and found that you know that you have hit the bird hard but they fly to the boundry of the field and you pick them up later. The make very good decoys as they do not have a feather out of place.

As we drove back into the city we found lots of birds feeding on buds so it will not be long till they leave the rape.

So two days good shooting, frustration at times but a good result at the end of two days.

 

100_3087.jpg

101 pigeons on the garage floor after very wet day

 


100_3091.jpg

105 Pigeons on a drier day

You must have more freezers than Iceland lol,

unbelievable shooting and knowledge 

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