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Worst shooting day in memory


pigeon controller
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We went out yesterday as is the norm. After the first four farms no pigeons, last Monday they all had birds in the trees and feeding on rape. We continued looking and were relieved when we found approx fifty down feeding but the farm had a gas gun and it would lift them and they would go to the trees and drop back. We decided to set up at the position they were dropping in. This was a hard slog along a a very wet and boggy field. All set up for 12.00. After ten minutes no birds returned so put a shot up to wake them up, approx sixty/seventy birds lifted, three cam to the pattern and turned off so we took down the magnet and just left eleven fresh birds on spikes and one flyer. After thirty minutes nothing returned. So we packed up.

The next two farms had birds around the rape but also had game shoots so we carried on. We have a farm on the extreme of our permissions which has sixty acres of rape and we headed out to it only to find the local hunt in the area all round the rape. 

It was getting on now so we decided to head back and shoot a small roost wood which we did for five birds, the shot birds had acorns,clover ,rape and maize in the crops. So we had completed one hundred and twenty miles for five birds, looked at twenty two farms.

Having a Teleconference with Bunny_blaster when  I returned home he had seen birds on some of the farms later on in the afternoon so in hindsight we should have returned which has worked for us in the past. This just proves you never stop learning.

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With so few rape fields this year I thought there could possibly be some good bags ahead, this proved to be so through November early December with some decent bags, I was seeing flocks of 200/300 birds on and around some rape fields but the last two weeks they seem to have just disappeared, shot half a dozen roost shooting a couple of weeks ago and they were stuffed with all sorts (not liquorish) old Hawthorn berries, Ivy berries, holy berries, maize, and what looked like bits of clover.

Went for a drive around this morning, very few birds about, 2s and 3s and it was so mild but at least it was not raining, the fields are still very wet and some of the rape fields look very poor, possible failures due to flea beetle.

Interesting times ahead as some farmers are still scratching their heads as what to sow in the spring.    

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I've suggested to all my Farmers they should be thinking of planting Spring rape as there will be a premium on rape seed due to the failure of Autumn planting, also it will allow me to reduce the pigeon flock during the Spring???????????

Edited by pigeon controller
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Yep, spring rape can be very productive, in years gone by I have shot some very big bags on it but I think you may have problems convincing them with the problems they have had.

When I went out this morning for a look about I got talking to one farmer who has a barn full of winter seed corn, he said he was going to try and sow it in February if its dry enough.

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A very honest report Pc and proof that you are infact a normal human after all.

A fair few rape fields scattered about here in East Yorks but very few with any pigeon problems as yet.

Plenty of berries still on the hedges though and copious amounts of game feed being thrown out so plenty for them to eat.

Happy xmas to you and yours. 

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It was predicted that with less rape fields grown this past year the Pigeons will be hitting the fields harder than ever , this is certainly not the case around our way , in fact I would say there is less damage done by Pigeons this year than other years , although we are only in the first week of January and things can change more or less overnight , today we were out all day and not a gas gun was going off on any of our rape fields , no sign of any amount of Pigeons over a area of 5000 acre's , at the moment I would say we have got more Pinkfeet on the estate than Pigeons .

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17 minutes ago, marsh man said:

It was predicted that with less rape fields grown this past year the Pigeons will be hitting the fields harder than ever , this is certainly not the case around our way , in fact I would say there is less damage done by Pigeons this year than other years , although we are only in the first week of January and things can change more or less overnight , today we were out all day and not a gas gun was going off on any of our rape fields , no sign of any amount of Pigeons over a area of 5000 acre's , at the moment I would say we have got more Pinkfeet on the estate than Pigeons .

yep, I thought that but lets face it, it’s not been a very cold winter so far, having said that where are they, I did see some decent numbers a month or so ago but this last two three weeks they just seem to have disappeared.

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I thought the same as MM. And it's the same in my part of Suffolk. Lot less rape and even less pigeons. Never known it so quiet for pigeons or gas guns. last 3 winters there has been less and less. Even the maze game covers are not holding any numbers. None in the woods. Heard of bags of 500 400 and a few of 200 a few weeks ago. But they seem hardly believable. In the past i have thought that you need  a good local population to hold/attract the travailing migrants?  Some of those birds then stay and breed growing the local population. NB

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I think the majority of Pigeon shooters on the forum who post decent bags in the Spring / Summer months are to put it mildly , part time , or they go half heartedly in the Winter months , the main reasons are , game shooting , wild fowling , beating , shorter days , hard work getting a bag off rape , cold and wet and land on hold due to game shooting , no need to go on, as I think you get the picture.

So we rely on the great dedicated duo P C and D B , each week we get to hear what numbers are about , when we have temporary put our decoying gear into semi retirement the duo can be relied on to keep us up to date with his detailed reports .

With there high standard it came a bit of a surprise to hear about there recent low(sh) bags , then to cap it all his last report had the heading , Worst Shooting Day In Memory , he can go back a long way , so what are his reasons ?

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Two sessions on a large rape field this week has resulted in 3 birds picked, probably my worst ever results, but not for the lack of pigeons, they just didnt come anywhere near me, 

The first time out I sat 3 hours under some oaks where the ground was covered in poop and feathers but they had decided to feed at the other end of the field, something I only discovered as I packed away and witnessed around 200 lift off and disappear into some nearby woods,

So second visit I dragged my gear all the way down the field to set up by 9.00 AM near to the place I had seen them, after over 4 hours with just 2 birds down and nothing coming to decoys, no matter how many times I changed the pattern ,they just didnt come, I packed away and spent time on a high rise at the top of the field looking for movement, birds were on the ground at two other locations on the same field and in trees but no flight lines moving, 

I realise now these are going to be hard birds to get under, with no habitual feeding spots or patterns to their movement its so hard to predict where they will be, just pot luck ,hope for the best but above all keep going,

I like many others am very restricted at the moment by game shoots, one area in particular has around 200 acres of rape where around 1000 birds are feeding most days I pass, but until Feb 1st I am not allowed on as the gamekeeper has the last say, even though the game shooters are supposed to help keep pigeons moving they just dont want to waste time on them, but still wont let me on. very frustrating, but hey, more for me in February.

In the meantime I waste time chasing small flocks around my perms with little or no success.  

 

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12 hours ago, lakeside1000 said:

Two sessions on a large rape field this week has resulted in 3 birds picked, probably my worst ever results, but not for the lack of pigeons, they just didnt come anywhere near me, 

The first time out I sat 3 hours under some oaks where the ground was covered in poop and feathers but they had decided to feed at the other end of the field, something I only discovered as I packed away and witnessed around 200 lift off and disappear into some nearby woods,

So second visit I dragged my gear all the way down the field to set up by 9.00 AM near to the place I had seen them, after over 4 hours with just 2 birds down and nothing coming to decoys, no matter how many times I changed the pattern ,they just didnt come, I packed away and spent time on a high rise at the top of the field looking for movement, birds were on the ground at two other locations on the same field and in trees but no flight lines moving, 

I realise now these are going to be hard birds to get under, with no habitual feeding spots or patterns to their movement its so hard to predict where they will be, just pot luck ,hope for the best but above all keep going,

I like many others am very restricted at the moment by game shoots, one area in particular has around 200 acres of rape where around 1000 birds are feeding most days I pass, but until Feb 1st I am not allowed on as the gamekeeper has the last say, even though the game shooters are supposed to help keep pigeons moving they just dont want to waste time on them, but still wont let me on. very frustrating, but hey, more for me in February.

In the meantime I waste time chasing small flocks around my perms with little or no success.  

 

You have just summed up winter rape shooting, this happens most years and this year seems even worse. 

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+1, not much rape near me personally this year, but on other people's rape perms this year there has been hundrends if not thousands  feeding on it last 2 months pretty hard, no cannons no one shooting for some reason. from experience it is and can be very frustrating but if u don't try they will be suicidal for it when u ain't there one day, I've recently just been watching for flighlines over a winter wheat field that has been very slow geminating, and  that leads to a good size wood covered in ivy and there's been lots of activity here for the last 3 days of watching, I will be going Sunday to have ago hoping they haven't gone back onto other people's rape, if you have got anything similar worth having a look maybe,

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just come back from rape shooting with my grandson.got there 300 plus come off, we set up waited 10 mins and about 20 came back never came into decoys just flew over and went.we waited for 20 mins,back they came same thing, over the decoys started to rain for a bit stayed there after 1 hour one came close killed it and that was it packed up we went home cold.good old pigeons. bet if i went back now there would be hundeds there.

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