New permission crop

[shawn9914]

Got myself some new permission at the week end two farms totalling nearly 1000 acres

One is planted with wheat and winter rape and has some pigeons on it when I was there on sat

The other has about 100 acres that the farmer is going to sew spring barley and maize asap when fields are dry enough he said he will text me day before he starts and I can shoot as much as I like

Never had a chance like this before just wanted any tips on shooting over drilled barley and maize which would be best option or Is it wait and see what the birds do

Cheers

Edited April 5, 2018 by shawn9914

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Good luck.

[old'un]

Well done mate, you can put that new gun to the test now.

[JDog]

Good for you.

The spring barley may be of interest to pigeons if lots of grain is spilt. The maize will be drilled deeper in better conditions and may not be of interest to pigeons as it is rare that there is any spillage.

However, when the maize is harvested things could be different.

[old'un]

If he’s got a modern drill there wont be much on the top, so if they do hit the sown barley it will be over very quickly, the maize could pull some black’uns, also keep an eye on it when it starts to come through, if you get some rain after it comes through they could be on there pulling it up.

 

Good luck

[shawn9914]

looks like all the machinery is very modern and very new all shiny drills and 12 month old tractors etc so don't think there will be much wasted 

there is also a lot of woodland about and I have seen the birds going into roost so could be some sport there also been told I can go after the rabbits with my new rimfire and nv kit and also looking forward to putting squirrel feeders in the woods and getting the tree rats with the hw100 all seems to good to be true 

 

Edited April 5, 2018 by shawn9914

[oowee]

Usually when they plough, when it goes in (even the best will spill) 2 or three days after it comes through for Barley (even the red coated).

Good luck and enjoy.

[Konnie]

Rooks seem to be drawn to barley drilling they can produce some good sport, I tend to look the day before afternoon then turn up in the dark and set up early Am before  they show up.

[Old Boggy]

On 4/5/2018 at 19:08, JDog said:

Good for you.

The spring barley may be of interest to pigeons if lots of grain is spilt. The maize will be drilled deeper in better conditions and may not be of interest to pigeons as it is rare that there is any spillage.

However, when the maize is harvested things could be different.

Sadly for us pigeon shooters, the old adage of `Sow four grains in a row, one to rot, one to grow, one for the pigeon, one for the crow` no longer applies due to the efficiency of modern drills. Fortunately however, the headlands invariably lead to some spilt grain where the drills are turned at the field ends.

OB

[lakeside1000]

Spend some time watching for any hot spots or good flight lines, any drilling can bring a few in but for me the rape is still very active at the moment, and even when it gets some growth on you can shoot any bald patches which are stunted due to previous pigeon damage,

Mid summer can be good on standing crop where wind has flattened wheat and barley, pigeons and crows love those flattened areas 

The real sport will come at harvest time, usually barley, then rape stubble and wheat, for me its the best time of the year, warm dry, even possibly sunny, by the end of summer the pigeons are well spaced out and a good day will result in a steady trickle of birds all day, right up to late evening before they go to roost, 

Just remember to keep the land owner in the loop, asking him or her if there are any problem areas will show you mean business and I always like to let the farm manager know when I have had a good day, so he knows im doing whats expected .