Shooting in Very Hot Conditions

[pigeon controller]

I did a round of all our farms on Thursday to check for birds , zero. DB phoned my on Friday night to say he had a call from Topgunners to say they had birds on downed barley did we want to come over and have a go. As they had been over on our turnips last week it would have been rude to say no. So we ventured down a different motorway as the directions were a bit brief, we will see you at Mcdonalds????

We found them and the first thing I said was " I Did not know it was Fancy Dress" as Alan was in his shorts, A bit like lofty in It aint half hot Mum.

We drove in convoy to the field and as we stopped a few birds lifted , we chewed the fat for about an hour while looking for the best flightline, DB and I agreed to shoot between two Oak trees on the boundry as a few birds were coming to the trees and we would expect a couple of blow holes . It was a good walk to the trees and we needed to take all our kit. As we expected there were a couple of blow holes but small , so we set up with the magnet and ten fresh birds on cradles. We were in the shade of one of the trees and no wind  it was approx 11.30 and the first bird would not decoy but was shot and landed way out in the standing barley. This went on for approx and hour birds would come close but not decoy , with the dogs help we managed to collect up twenty birds and put them out as decoys, this made a difference and the birds were more confident but then the wind got up coming hard form our right and the flightline was on our right and the birds would not make a large arc and come back into wind . At this point we had three people in the hide Me, DB and Betty Swollocks!!! as the temp was well into the thirties. We stuck it out till 17.00 and called it a day as the poor dog had a lot to pick up from the standing barley and the standing beans behind us. 

The problem with " Crop protection " is you can only pick up what you drop in the downed barley, the dog can retreive without much damage but us trying to retreive in the standing crop creates more damage. So you have five birds coming in you drop one in the hole and try and drop the second but this is two metres in the standing crop so it is up to the dog but in 32 dergees of heat the dog has his limitations also barley is not a good crop for your dog to work in.

We ended the day with one hundred and three picked up and must have shot one hundred and eighty, the Farmer wants his crop protected and not destroyed, so we were happy for the day.

 

103 Pick up, approx 180 shot.

[muncher]

I know your pain, I have a love  hate relationship with barley. Well done PC.

[dead eye alan]

Not your  normal regimented lay out but very good result well done.

[aga man]

Fair play, i dont think i could have shot in that heat today.

[motty]

Good result. Barley can be a pain in the **** for picking shot birds. I started on some barley this morning. I killed 6 pigeons and 3 rooks in a couple of hours (all picked). I decided to leave because muncher had more birds, plus I feel this field will most likely be cut in a week or so, as the grain is rock hard.

[FOXHUNTER1]

Know what you mean about picking in laid barley,  I was shooting over a blow hole yesterday morning making a respectable bag of 67 mixed pigeon and corvids but couldn't pick a lot for them falling in the crop.

[yickdaz]

I'm not the biggest fan shooting over laid crops for all the reasons you mentioned, the heat for one and not being able to pick everything but has to be done great result though