Glad To See The End Of March .

[marsh man]

As far as shooting goes I thought March was one of the most depressing ones I could ever remember , we started off with the Beast from the East then it seems if it had been cold and wet for the rest of the month , yes we have had the odd decent day but that was all it was , an odd one , then quickly followed by cold and wet weather.

Now the Spring drilling seam a thing of past  , if you cant get on it within a day or two then you will need to wait till the harvest before you are likely to shoot any pigeons , our spring barley was put in on one of the few dry days we had , the next day when I went it was back to normal , dull , misty with a light drizzle , I had a little go but getting cold and wet is not my idea of enjoyment and after about three hours it was time to pack up, so now at long last we are into April , today it is dull and when I took the dog out it was 5 degrees in the motor , tomorrow should be another very wet day , so the wait for better weather continues .

So  how have you found it in your neck of the woods ?

[JDog]

A good post MM.

Spring Drillings on the lighter land here came and went without me firing a shot. Four hundred acres opposite my house was drilled and rolled in two days and there was hardly a grain of barley to be seen and therefore no pigeons.

What I have found is that pigeons are still mad for rape. Even in the rain yesterday I saw pigeons feeding hard.

Spring beans always excite me. Typical that two places where others shoot have drilled and there are pigeons. 

Roll on pea drilling time.

And yes another cold and wet day here too.

 

[washerboy]

One word 

 

 

 

 

 

WET

[Clodhopper]

A farmer I was talking to on Thursday told me that he was doubtful he  would drill some of his fields as they are currently that wet he questioned whether they would be dry enough in time to make the operation worthwhile. 

On the whole I enjoyed my shooting in March, we had some exciting days shooting in the strong winds.  No huge bags but for me it is the situation and the company that contributes as much as the bag.

[motty]

I have had a rather indifferent time this March. I have had a nice half century on maize and some 30s and 40s on rape. It has been quite depressing, weather wise, and I don't think the cold and wet has helped put birds in the bag. I remember getting sunburnt at the end of March a few years back, notching over 50 on some 2" tall peas.

Some drilling has been done here, but there is plenty left to do. Hopefully I will get some good shooting on some soon. I am not too worried, as some of the rape has been hit that hard that I think it will offer sport for a few weeks yet.

[aga man]

I personally won't be sorry to see the end of March. I think I have barely shot 40 pigeons during the month which even by my standards is pretty poor.

A bad back and a bout of the lurgy meant I was unable to get out on the rape at the start of the month and the farmer covered the area belt and braces style with gas guns and scarecrows which only made the pigeons very skittish.

Some of my favoured fields are yet to be drilled and pigeons are in abundance here in the town so I remain optimistic.

[lakeside1000]

I know what you mean Marsh Man, I was a couple of miles up the road and had the same miserable day, but on reflection the last two weeks have been quite good for me, more luck than judgement but I managed to get amongst them several times with the best day at 45 and most in double figures, but it seems to be getting harder to fool them at the moment, so many birds just fly past at unshootable distance and dont even give the decoys a second glance, now the top dressing is on the rape the plants are away, you can almost see it grow, with centre stalks up around 12 inches already on the less damaged areas, they look quite strange with no leaves but these thick centre stalks, at least once its away it should concentrate the birds into the more damaged areas, perhaps that will help, the estate manager is going to give me a list of all this years pea fields soon so I will be out scouting to find some likely spots, I dont do well on peas normally but I have to show willing and enthusiasm , perhaps this year will be different. lets hope so.

[marsh man]

8 hours ago, JDog said:

A good post MM.

Spring Drillings on the lighter land here came and went without me firing a shot. Four hundred acres opposite my house was drilled and rolled in two days and there was hardly a grain of barley to be seen and therefore no pigeons.

What I have found is that pigeons are still mad for rape. Even in the rain yesterday I saw pigeons feeding hard.

Spring beans always excite me. Typical that two places where others shoot have drilled and there are pigeons. 

Roll on pea drilling time.

And yes another cold and wet day here too.

 

Same as the previous few years the pigeons nigh on bypassed the drillings , the few I shot could have been on pickings from the last crop which was sugar beet and not on the loose seed as there was very little seed laying about . 

Spring beans can be hit and miss , the last good day I had on beans was drilled on heavy land with a lot of clay in the soil , this must have made the drill jump about because there was a lot of beans laying about on the surface , unlike the last few years where they grew them on light land and there wasn't a bean in sight . 

Peas were once the number one crop to shoot pigeons on , one farm which I still go on was the nearest one to Birds Eye and there peas were the first ones drilled which were from early to late March and shooting would continue during the duration of the crop and a good week or so on the silage , now on a normal year I don't expect many till the peas are 3 / 4 inches high ,

Crops change , feeding habits change and we must adapt to the changes , one reason we never get bored trying to outwit the Wood pigeon .

8 hours ago, Clodhopper said:

A farmer I was talking to on Thursday told me that he was doubtful he  would drill some of his fields as they are currently that wet he questioned whether they would be dry enough in time to make the operation worthwhile. 

On the whole I enjoyed my shooting in March, we had some exciting days shooting in the strong winds.  No huge bags but for me it is the situation and the company that contributes as much as the bag.

For the hardy ones who could stick the cold out there was no doubt some good sporting shooting to be had , my best afternoons sport was standing on the edge of a wood with pigeons coming into a strong bitterly cold Easterly wind , snow was in the air and on the ground and the pigeons were keen to get some shelter , I stuck it out for around three hours and I think I got 19 which wasn't a big bag but the sport was as good as it get . 

[marsh man]

6 hours ago, motty said:

I have had a rather indifferent time this March. I have had a nice half century on maize and some 30s and 40s on rape. It has been quite depressing, weather wise, and I don't think the cold and wet has helped put birds in the bag. I remember getting sunburnt at the end of March a few years back, notching over 50 on some 2" tall peas.

Some drilling has been done here, but there is plenty left to do. Hopefully I will get some good shooting on some soon. I am not too worried, as some of the rape has been hit that hard that I think it will offer sport for a few weeks yet.

A bag of 50 is good going , at the moment I cant see a 50 bag for a few more weeks yet , last year I never got a 50+ bag until the peas were getting up , I took Lakeside1000 with me when they were about four inches high and we got into the sixties , the sun was out , lovely and warm and a nice lot of pigeons about , this carried on till well in flower then it eased off.

For the time of year we have got a lot of pigeons still on the estate , most years when we get a hard spell of weather the pigeons tend to move inland where it would be slightly warmer .

We have also got a lot of eaten off rape that should give me a bit of shooting when the rest is to high to feed on , I say should but in this pigeon shooting lark nothing ever goes to plan how you think it should .

 

5 hours ago, aga man said:

I personally won't be sorry to see the end of March. I think I have barely shot 40 pigeons during the month which even by my standards is pretty poor.

A bad back and a bout of the lurgy meant I was unable to get out on the rape at the start of the month and the farmer covered the area belt and braces style with gas guns and scarecrows which only made the pigeons very skittish.

Some of my favoured fields are yet to be drilled and pigeons are in abundance here in the town so I remain optimistic.

Hope your back is better and you are over the effects of the dreaded lurgy , with Spring still on hold you might still be on the rape for another week or two yet , good luck on shooting a few when your drillings are going in .

3 hours ago, lakeside1000 said:

I know what you mean Marsh Man, I was a couple of miles up the road and had the same miserable day, but on reflection the last two weeks have been quite good for me, more luck than judgement but I managed to get amongst them several times with the best day at 45 and most in double figures, but it seems to be getting harder to fool them at the moment, so many birds just fly past at unshootable distance and dont even give the decoys a second glance, now the top dressing is on the rape the plants are away, you can almost see it grow, with centre stalks up around 12 inches already on the less damaged areas, they look quite strange with no leaves but these thick centre stalks, at least once its away it should concentrate the birds into the more damaged areas, perhaps that will help, the estate manager is going to give me a list of all this years pea fields soon so I will be out scouting to find some likely spots, I dont do well on peas normally but I have to show willing and enthusiasm , perhaps this year will be different. lets hope so.

I have got a feeling , this will be a good year for you on the peas Alan , as long as you can stick the hot / dry weather out

[Howling Hound]

Not in jail

Not in hospital

Not dead

2018, so far so good