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Soya salvo


motty
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I must start getting my reports in sooner. This one is from last Saturday!

I invited Bigmat to decoy on some soya beans. It is a crop I hadn't shot over before, but I had been impatiently waiting for them to be cut. With the seemingly never-ending rainfall, it was late. The fields ( 3 of)  had finally cut a fortnight before. Mat had been promised a day out at some point.

I am not exaggerating to say that the better part of 5000 pigeons had found the fields appealing. I knew the opportunity for a huge bag was limited, though. The birds had been arriving in large flocks first thing in the mornings.

We arrived at just after 7am. Hundreds were already swirling about. Mat was dropped off on one field with some of my decoys and nets. He had to shoot his own decoys for the magnet. I set up a couple of fields over, with just a magnet out for attraction. Within a few minutes, Mat had the magnet spinning, and I put some real birds out as decoys. 

It was hard work. Big bunches were moving to and fro. I let the bigger bunches disperse before clipping off a couple of the tail end birds. This seemed to work well. At other times, big bunches were not interested, but still a few would peel away to drop in. After a while it was these more split up bunches that gave me my sport. I was getting more 3s and 4s in, plus several singles. I always had the constant draw of big flocks to contend with. If they didn't drop down somewhere on the fields we were occupying, they dropped in en masse in the next fields over. It is hard to convince any birds on the wing to drop into your pattern, when 200 yards away a group of 300 friends have just pitched in.

I heard Mat popping away, and I was happy to see a few puffs of feathers and birds falling. I was sure he was enjoying himself. I was enjoying myself, too, though I may have made it sound like I wasn't. I was pulling down some lovely high birds, I got several pairs and I also had a lovely triple.  To be honest, it was quality sport.

As I expected, the action was relatively short-lived. I knew they would turn off early. The flocks were still there, but they were now beginning to ignore the decoys and do their own thing.  By 1pm I was ready to pack up.  I learned that maybe the hide positions were maybe not ideal, and that is to be remembered for next time, if there is to be one.

I finished with a bag of 92 and a jay. Mat ended with 33.

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Reports are getting a bit thin on the ground now so reading about your very good day on the beans came at the right time , we have been shooting game these last two Saturdays and the large amount of pigeons we had on bean stubble have gone to pastures new , yesterday if we had been after pigeons would have been a complete blank , although one was hanging up in the game larder when I went up there to get my brace .

Good report and I hope they hang about for you to have another day .

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3 hours ago, figgy said:

Nice report Motty, you seem to come accross frustrated with how it went.  Good bag in these times. Mates are just starting to see birds on their perms as it's been very quiet up here. 

 

I wouldn't say frustrated, as such, though the fields would most  likely have yielded 200+ bags if they were harvested three weeks earlier.

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21 minutes ago, figgy said:

That's a shame, the way the weather has been I'm surprised they got any harvested.

Looking at those tyre tracks they must have got them off just in time , we have got some spud fields that are far to wet at this moment in time to get the machines on , worrying time for those waiting for some dry weather .

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Beating on a shoot yesterday, one lad walking accross a field went down to his knees. Ended up walking rest of field in his socks as his boots kept get pulled of his feet.

Even untouched stubbles were going ankle deep, hard going. 

Farmers are getting put back with drilling till spring allover the place.

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Well done Motty. I am impressed at how dry the ground looks where you are.

The only time i see these sorts of numbers is in Africa. Last week I did see a couple of hundred pigeon on a local farm and my eyes lit up as it is so unusual this way. I had a go on the crows and rooks from a neighbouring hill on Friday which gave good sport and half a dozen pigeon and I will try on the field where I saw pigeons in the morning. 

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