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Barley Search to No Avail


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We started the day with the intention to find some barley to shoot. So we we drove round most of our farms looking for birds on the barley. We travelled many miles and found barley in various stages of ripeness but no pigeons. The only downed barley was green and under a tree the recent winds had created a circle round its base so it would be one to look at in the future.

So we retraced our steps and started to look for some flightlines to follow, we found one to a clover field with about twenty birds down. The farmer was cutting hay in the next field but would not give us permission as he had a shooter. There is no harm in asking and I respect the farmer for being loyal to his shooter if he has one!!

Time was getting on and I had an order for ninety fresh birds to fill, so we kept looking. We passed the peas we shot two weeks ago, nothing so we decided to go back to the sheep turnips we shot last week. When we arrived we scanned the field and nothing down, watched for twenty minutes nothing flighting. So I decided to put a shot up as this field is skirted by a large deciduous wood running its entire length. With the shot it lifted approx one hundred and fifty birds, crows and pigeons. So we decided to set up and give it a go. 

We built the hide under a tree in the centre of the field to give us visibitity also for the shots to spook birds out of the wood and keep them on the move. We were set up for 15.00 with the magnet and ten fresh birds on  cradles above the turnip leaves. It soon became apparent that the magnet was a no go as they skirted us wide so we took it in and put out three flyers from three different directions. This brought the birds directly to us and presented some real sporting shots in the high wind as some came with the wind. Ive never been grouse shooting but it amazes me that you find it difficult to get the gun in front of the bird to maintain the lead, but very satisfying when you do.The shooting was steady and the wind changed direction three times we had a thunder storm but other that that a very enjoyable day. We stopped shooting at 19.15 and picked up eightysix pigeon and thirteen corvids which were to good a shot to let pass in the wind. We then ambushed by The farmer who wanted a chat and did not leave the field till 21.00 and the birds were still flying in to feed. So I wish we had known the farmer was coming and I could have shot the ninety birds ordered. I've been this morning to deliver the birds so that why the post is late this morning

 

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86 Pigeons and 13 Corvids

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Another excellent report where you can gleam little bits of advice while reading it , Have you found where pigeons are skirting the magnet is becoming a regular occurrence ? and if so , can you give us any reason why .

The thing is , now the  crops are getting well above ground the magnet normally comes into its own , and overall I find it slightly in favour using it or leaving it at home . Saturday I did turn it off a couple of times and just left one pigeon facing the wind with it being turned off , Is the heyday of the magnet now behind us ?  

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16 hours ago, marsh man said:

Another excellent report where you can gleam little bits of advice while reading it , Have you found where pigeons are skirting the magnet is becoming a regular occurrence ? and if so , can you give us any reason why .

The thing is , now the  crops are getting well above ground the magnet normally comes into its own , and overall I find it slightly in favour using it or leaving it at home . Saturday I did turn it off a couple of times and just left one pigeon facing the wind with it being turned off , Is the heyday of the magnet now behind us ?  

We have found that putting the magnet level with the hide or even behind the hide if in the centre of the field it is movement that attracts the birds without spooking them. Two magnets can work well on certain days even putting the magnet in the shade of a tree can work it's just that  flash  of movement . I've been playing with a flapper on a remote system and you can see the birds respond to the movement it makes but also spook them when close.

Im not sure of the numbers of " Pigeon Shooters" but they ask the gun shop what do I need to shoot pigeons?? Enforcers, hide, magnet and flapper. Pigeon shooting is like the new carp fishing  " All the Gear and No  Idea" where as I started Carp fishing in the day of the Taylor bros and Richard Walker making all your kit and watercraft by living on the water under tarpaulin covered brollies. The same in the Fens after the Zander.

I don't think magnets have had there day but the birds we shoot see a good number of them in there lifetime. I have one that takes real birds and has a cam to flap the wings as it rotates but it takes too long to set up. As I was taught set up in the quickest time you can to avoid disturbing the returning birds

Sorry for the long reply and grammatical errors as I write as I speak but that's my thoughts.

 

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THANKS for sharing your observations , I think we are back to one of them questions where you will get a number of different answers , what method you have success with one day will give the reverse result the next , you have seen enough pigeons approaching your set up to know within a little what that pigeon is going to do as it is getting within range , some will start slowing its wing beats down and come in without a care in the world where the next one is showing signs of not everything is how it should be and is looking nervous well out and its these ones you are going to give it a shot if or when it comes into range.

Maybe that it is why we find pigeon shooting such a channeling sport , we simply don't know all the answers , and in a way , I am glad we don't .

 

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I found that myself p c , but with the floater the other day , kept flaring off so I dropped it to the ground and they came straight in , what a pain can be , is when you try every thing in the book and they still won't behave , the joy's of it all , still you a good result , don't mention grey fergy's to a farmer , you will never get away.

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On ‎18‎/‎06‎/‎2018 at 19:50, marsh man said:

Another excellent report where you can gleam little bits of advice while reading it , Have you found where pigeons are skirting the magnet is becoming a regular occurrence ? and if so , can you give us any reason why .

The thing is , now the  crops are getting well above ground the magnet normally comes into its own , and overall I find it slightly in favour using it or leaving it at home . Saturday I did turn it off a couple of times and just left one pigeon facing the wind with it being turned off , Is the heyday of the magnet now behind us ?  

Someone told me about 12 years ago that pigeons had got used to magnets, therefore making them redundant. Obviously that was rubbish, as many shooters have shot many thousands of pigeons using them since then. I believe they will always have a place in the pigeon shooter's armoury, and they are proven to work. Yes, they don't always do the job, but the same can also be said of any set up. I have known pigeon to spook from dead birds-only patterns.

 

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10 hours ago, motty said:

Someone told me about 12 years ago that pigeons had got used to magnets, therefore making them redundant. Obviously that was rubbish, as many shooters have shot many thousands of pigeons using them since then. I believe they will always have a place in the pigeon shooter's armoury, and they are proven to work. Yes, they don't always do the job, but the same can also be said of any set up. I have known pigeon to spook from dead birds-only patterns.

 

Yes I agree the magnet is one part of our armoury, the trick is to know when to use it. I've always said " remember what works". 

We've had magnets on top of hedges, on fields behind us , out in the middle of large fields three hundred yards from the hide and a stated level with the hide.

if pigeons were so predictable it would be a boring slaughter. The Passenger Pigeon was shot into extinction by its predictability.

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Can you remember the Passenger pigeon?

On Monday after getting on for two hours with no pigeons decoying Clodhopper bullied me into allowing him to put the rotary out. Whether it was a 'time of day' thing (My theory) or the effect of the rotary (his theory) but in the next hour we shot 30 pigeons most of which decoyed well.

Edited by JDog
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4 hours ago, JDog said:

Can you remember the Passeger pigeon?

On Monday after getting on for two hours with no pigeons decoying Clodhopper bullied me into allowing him to put the rotary out. Whether it was a 'time of day' thing (My theory) or the effect of the rotary (his theory) but in the next hour we shot 30 pigeons most of which decoyed well.

Yes I shot Millions of them ?????

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