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Some suggestions.


Cranfield
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After successfully getting permission at an equestrian center, I noted the address of the property next to my shoot and duly sent the owners this short letter.

 

Hello my name is Nick ____, I will be out with a lamp in the fields owned by ________________ property_______________________ carrying out free pest control(rabbits), and do not wish you to be alarmed should you see a flashlight late at night. I will be happy to send you a text alert when I am at the property if you wish me to do so.

Kind regards

Nick______

 

Mobile No 0874_________

 

And guess what? yup! got a call saying would I be prepaired to go into their fileds and sort their rabbits out as well?? thats what you call the dominoe effect!!

 

BB. :good:

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After successfully getting permission at an equestrian center, I noted the address of the property next to my shoot and duly sent the owners this short letter.

 

Hello my name is Nick ____, I will be out with a lamp in the fields owned by ________________ property_______________________ carrying out free pest control(rabbits), and do not wish you to be alarmed should you see a flashlight late at night. I will be happy to send you a text alert when I am at the property if you wish me to do so.

Kind regards

Nick______

 

Mobile No 0874_________

 

And guess what? yup! got a call saying would I be prepaired to go into their fileds and sort their rabbits out as well?? thats what you call the dominoe effect!!

 

BB. :good:

 

What a result :good:

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  • 8 months later...

I applied a bit of my day job to my gaining permissions.

As part of my job i have to get new business, as well as doing fire safety inspections.

 

Think of it as a numbers game.

The more people you put your ugly mug in front of, the more likely you will succeed. I visit between 160-200 businessess over four days. Monthly i generate about 10k of business. 70% of the time i get mucked about but the rewards of your hard work are well worth it. Think Pigeon!!

 

Apply this to your shoot permissions, not every farmer is going to say yes. Most will tell you to do one. But eventually it will all come together.

Once you are successfull use the names of your landowners as references, "i shoot over Farmer Giles's land."

It builds confidence for the landowner that your not a plank if someone they know lets you shoot there.

 

Use each turn down as a lesson, to see how it went and see if you can improve the way you approach the next landowner.

 

Just a bit of thought from me.

 

Good luck and keep at it.

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  • 3 years later...
  • 3 weeks later...

hello guys, heres one to try, get in touch with your local council and see if you can get a number for park rangers and such as that,ask if they have problems with countryside walkways, bridle paths and such as that, always have a card which is a must, and always have free service on it as well, me and a friend have miles upon miles of the council for one phone call, it does work, and we were out today dropping cards of to farms and small holdings and we got a livery stable with 12 good sized paddocks and 2 crop fields lifting with rabbit, and we got a call about 6pm tonight from a small holding with horses again and we are of there tomorrow to knock a few down, we did about 100 miles today but if you dont put the time and effort in you never get nowhere, atb rabbitmad.

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  • 8 months later...

All the advice is spot on. I find that name dropping is a perfect way of getting ground as most farmers in the area know each other.

 

I spoke to one of my neighbours who works on the family farm and mentioned that I shoot for 3 or 4 local farmers. I then asked if they had any issues with pests. He mentioned there were a lot of crows around the buildings. The next day I had 39 crows over decoys on the edge of the yard, now I have permission for foxes, rabbits etc on the first farm which is 500 acres. If all goes well the family have another 1,000 or so acres.

 

It is is nice when it works out that way.

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  • 5 years later...
On 14/03/2004 at 21:54, Cranfield said:

Taken from the Home Page of this site:
If anyone has any other suggestions , please post them on this thread.

This is undoubtedly the most daunting obstacle for the newcomer to shooting pigeon to get over. How do you get land? Here we aim to help you in this situation, as even the old hands at shooting can be thrown if they move and don't have any contacts.

Probably sounds obvious,but a good tip is to wait till the birds are hitting a crop hard before you seek out the farmer.This way he can see the problem himself while you are there and is more likely to give permission...

When looking for land to shoot you will get a lot of knock backs. DON'T give up I was looking for land with my mate, we had some possible success at a large estate for after the game season but not much else after nearly three hours and loads of farms searched I was getting fed up. My mate said we should try one more farm very close to my home and if no success we would try again next week. Well to my surprise the farm said Yes and had we got the kit with us to start straight away (doh! we didn�t - so always be prepared) so we start on the land the next Saturday and i've since been over to have a look and well stacks of Pigeons. Tip submitted by: Kevin

One tip i find sometimes works when looking for shooting is to turn up at the farm reasonably smartly dressed,a shirt and tie, jacket and casual trousers as opposed to my usual garb of camo gear and head net, It does work and gives a good first impression, try it! Tip submitted by: Sutty

The best way to get land is to offer them your services in return. I am a electrician and I go around the farms in my van I then ask them for permission in doing so I offer them my services as an electrician in return, this usually does the trick everytime because theres always a time when they will need one. And we cost alot of money! This goes for plumbers ,roofers, mechanics all of the trades even non skilled people can offer the farmer a helping hand when needed. Tip submitted by: Stephen

Most of the farmers I know (in fact all of them) enjoy a drink. If all else has failed why not try a pub! I don't mean take to drink! I mean try going to a pub and talking to farmers... you know the type of pub I mean... out of the way, on the back roads of a local village. You can bet there will be at least one farmer in these types of pubs who will be willing to let you shoot their land! In fact ALL of my shooting land has come about by just talking to some farmers over a pint in my local, I have got 1500 acres of shooting land, and not one farm visited! This of course will mean going to the local pub quite a few times... but all in the name of pigeon shooting!!! Tip submitted by: Rob. Nice tip, where is the effort in just going down to the pub, after all you have a perfect excuse!

When you get in make sure you are responsible -always pick up empties and if possible always use fibre/felt wads to reduce litter. Try and before your first visit go and have a shot at some clays as this will improve your accuracy, often for the first few times the farmer will poke his head over a hedge to see how you are getting on! Obviously if your bag is pathetic but he knows you have had plenty of shots he won't be best pleased! Get him to call you when pigeons are hammering a field but don't be lazy, always do reconaissance and look round his fields and if you spot a few then ask him if they are bothering him...

ALWAYS tell him when you are going out and where, as if he finds you where you shouldn't be as he will be cross!

 

On 14/03/2004 at 21:54, Cranfield said:

Taken from the Home Page of this site:
If anyone has any other suggestions , please post them on this thread.

This is undoubtedly the most daunting obstacle for the newcomer to shooting pigeon to get over. How do you get land? Here we aim to help you in this situation, as even the old hands at shooting can be thrown if they move and don't have any contacts.

Probably sounds obvious,but a good tip is to wait till the birds are hitting a crop hard before you seek out the farmer.This way he can see the problem himself while you are there and is more likely to give permission...

When looking for land to shoot you will get a lot of knock backs. DON'T give up I was looking for land with my mate, we had some possible success at a large estate for after the game season but not much else after nearly three hours and loads of farms searched I was getting fed up. My mate said we should try one more farm very close to my home and if no success we would try again next week. Well to my surprise the farm said Yes and had we got the kit with us to start straight away (doh! we didn�t - so always be prepared) so we start on the land the next Saturday and i've since been over to have a look and well stacks of Pigeons. Tip submitted by: Kevin

One tip i find sometimes works when looking for shooting is to turn up at the farm reasonably smartly dressed,a shirt and tie, jacket and casual trousers as opposed to my usual garb of camo gear and head net, It does work and gives a good first impression, try it! Tip submitted by: Sutty

The best way to get land is to offer them your services in return. I am a electrician and I go around the farms in my van I then ask them for permission in doing so I offer them my services as an electrician in return, this usually does the trick everytime because theres always a time when they will need one. And we cost alot of money! This goes for plumbers ,roofers, mechanics all of the trades even non skilled people can offer the farmer a helping hand when needed. Tip submitted by: Stephen

Most of the farmers I know (in fact all of them) enjoy a drink. If all else has failed why not try a pub! I don't mean take to drink! I mean try going to a pub and talking to farmers... you know the type of pub I mean... out of the way, on the back roads of a local village. You can bet there will be at least one farmer in these types of pubs who will be willing to let you shoot their land! In fact ALL of my shooting land has come about by just talking to some farmers over a pint in my local, I have got 1500 acres of shooting land, and not one farm visited! This of course will mean going to the local pub quite a few times... but all in the name of pigeon shooting!!! Tip submitted by: Rob. Nice tip, where is the effort in just going down to the pub, after all you have a perfect excuse!

When you get in make sure you are responsible -always pick up empties and if possible always use fibre/felt wads to reduce litter. Try and before your first visit go and have a shot at some clays as this will improve your accuracy, often for the first few times the farmer will poke his head over a hedge to see how you are getting on! Obviously if your bag is pathetic but he knows you have had plenty of shots he won't be best pleased! Get him to call you when pigeons are hammering a field but don't be lazy, always do reconaissance and look round his fields and if you spot a few then ask him if they are bothering him...

ALWAYS tell him when you are going out and where, as if he finds you where you shouldn't be as he will be cross!

Fantastic advice. Whe. The lockdown finishes i'll be out and about the Edinburgh area trying to get some permissions. Thanks all 👍

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  • 1 year later...

Sorry guys this is long but i think its all necessary.

Gaining permission is a problem,

but the key is keep trying, I have literally thousands of acres to shoot pigeons on gained over 30 years, this how i did it, worked for me. firstly you are unlikely to get permission to shoot over farmland if its not really required, So because you've seen thousands of birds over oilseed stubble doesn't mean the farmer has a problem.( but ask anyway) and use the sighting of thousands of birds. You will be successful eventually, the harder it is to get permission the more valuable it is to you, so a few tips here always pick up empties, do not shoot anything you should not shoot, do not shoot anywhere that is likely to cause a problem ie close to houses roads footpath etc. So you now have a base if you behave yourself. If the farmer calls you, you go doesn't matter what it is crows, feral in the barn and grain stores, rats, rabbits. get to know them stop by have a chat if their not busy. all the time do your recon in the area. if your permission calls for you to shoot over oilseed in winter there is a big chance other local farms are having the same problem. ask your farmer who owns the other farms, have they got contact details, very often the farmer will have a word for you. Bingo another farm, and it goes on and on. over a shortish period these farms will get to know you, believe or not but farmers will actually seek you out when there's a problem. A good pest controller who says he's going be there at a specific time and date will soon get picked up by other farms. The biggest blocks of land to shoot over are estates. if you ask a gamekeeper if you can shoot pigeons, you know what the answer is going to be straight away. But ask a gamekeeper if he needs a beater that will almost certainly be a different answer. you will have to have a couple days off work or swap shifts, holidays whatever it takes. Between September and February you wont be shooting pigeons, but the rest of the year you ll be ok you will have to keep away from release pens when the birds go out, but the keeper will usually find you something. Thats how i did it now i have too much so when called by farms if im committed elsewhere, i will suggest a friend of mine can do it. I have several friends who are retired. Just a few more tips im not a fan of business cards its very rare a farmer will keep it anyway, be polite you don't need to dressed up in your finest clothes, rather turn up in shooting clothes. not a ghillie suit or cameoed to the nines. as long as you're presentable you'll be fine. The most likely answer you'll get no im fine thankyou i have someone who does it for me already, this maybe or may not be true, either way make a note, it could come in useful later on. sometimes but very rarely, you'll get no **** off. thank them for there time and move on make a note again, that is a farm you don't want to shoot. I have had such rejections and years later that farmer has rung me, not realising that previously he had been rude. You'll need to decide whether you take him up or not. I didn't.  One last thing remember that when you have permission somebody else is asking. The answer they get is no I've got somebody shooting for me . that will only be the case if your doing your job, when and where you are asked. If your asked to go Monday morning, most cases you'll have to work. that's when a trusted friend becomes valuable. if not and its a real problem farmers will get somebody else. Although i have plenty to shoot on i still ask at farms. and i still get rejections. but i keep trying. you never know who's coming behind you  offering cash and then letting days to people who don't have there own permission. Make sure you have gun insurance BASC , etc.

Hope this helps anybody that reads it. If you have questions please PM me if you dont want it shown on the forum.

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