GingerCat Posted February 12, 2020 Report Share Posted February 12, 2020 The pressures of work and a pregnant wife have curtailed my shooting recently. It would be accurate to say I've not been this year. If i have then it was uneventful as I cannot remember it. Jdog has had pressing issues also, perhaps more so than most however I was glad to receive a call and an invite to shoot a couple of woods. I picked him up in the afternoon and we trundled off to a batch of spinneys where birds were. I know they were there as we watched them for half an hour before setting up in a suitable spot. Not one bird returned. Zero. Nil. Nada. We gave it an hour and returned to a wood the dog had been watching from the comfort of his living room. Rumour has it he had even enlisted his lovely wife to spot them for him whilst he warmed his toes on the fire It looked promising at first as a few volleys of 10 or so flying 20 feet above tall beech trees that grew up a steep bank some 3 hundred or so metres long. Devoid of the strong wind we have had lately it seemed an ideal roost for pigeons to shelter in overnight. Jdog had been watching a few hundred roost there in the evenings and I could tell he fancied his chances. There was no doubt the birds would be hard as they were a good 40m high and were moving like messerschmitts toward the back of the wood. Jasper the furry rocket had joined us and not fancying my chances as much as my partner I left jdog perched on a branch midway on the slope whilst I went higher and near the edge of the wood. Hoping for an easier shot. A few flew over and a few shots were fired with nil effect. The dog shouted 2 more were enroute and I just picked them out against the branch's. I gave them a reasonable 8 or 10 feet of lead and squeezed of the first round before moving to the second. I knew I missed the second and was pretty sure the first had sailed past as well. Jasper had other ideas however and zoomed off into the under growth. I remarked he'd be running for a while (the next wood) but was soon eating my words when he proudly returned with a bird. It fell some 50 or so yards further on . An excellent retrieve for any dog. We had a few more shots and jasper rolled his eyes at most of them but ultimalty the roost wasnt in favour today so we packed up as the light failed and it got too cold. A couple of things came to mind as i drove home, the first being not to doubt jasper and the second was even when it doesn't work out as planned, shooting is still more fun than any day at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Boggy Posted February 12, 2020 Report Share Posted February 12, 2020 A good account of your roost shooting. Just goes to show that it's definitely not about numbers, but the enjoyment to be gained of being out and about and the joy of watching the dog working. Doesn't get much better. Thanks for posting. OB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted February 12, 2020 Report Share Posted February 12, 2020 I am absolutely "clucking" to get back amongst the pigeons again. I would be happy with a few testing shots in the woods at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainhastings Posted February 13, 2020 Report Share Posted February 13, 2020 Typically since duck season ended it hasn't stopped blowing a gale and lashing down with rain. Looking forward to a pigeon or two but very thin on the ground and for the most part a waste of time sitting in a hide with a 60mph hour wind and driving rain that is forcast for the weekend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted February 13, 2020 Report Share Posted February 13, 2020 After yesterday I am absolutely, positively, definitely and surely never taking anyone else out pigeon shooting with me again. Such was the disappointment after watching between two hundred and three hundred pigeons go to roost in that wood every afternoon for three weeks at least from the comfort of my sitting room and bedroom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted February 13, 2020 Report Share Posted February 13, 2020 57 minutes ago, JDog said: After yesterday I am absolutely, positively, definitely and surely never taking anyone else out pigeon shooting with me again. Such was the disappointment after watching between two hundred and three hundred pigeons go to roost in that wood every afternoon for three weeks at least from the comfort of my sitting room and bedroom. As you well know there are no certainties in Pigeon shooting, and any other shooting come to that , last Wednesday afternoon I went and looked around the area where I was going roost shooting on the Saturday , I watched pigeons crossing three or four fields and heading to some tall trees on a corner of a Fir wood , on that day I could have had a half tidy session so after watching the weather forecast for the next two nights the wind was going to be in the same direction so everything was looking good , the woods around me will be occupied and I should get some good shooting . I got to my wood at around one o clock to watch where the early arrivals were going to drift in , by now the odd shot was going off with nothing heading my way , still things will improve or so I thought , after putting a magnet out and a few decoys from the corner of the wood, I was still convinced some pigeons will soon be tempted to divert from where they are heading to and give me my first pigeon , to cut a long story short I did get get the odd pigeon but nothing like I expected, I knew I was beat when the moon started to come up and the shooting that had been going on around me started to die down to next to nothing . I did report where one of my mates got 30 odd and thought no one would have got near that number , well the keeper rang me up last night to discuss tonight's beaters meal at the estates pub , after a few minutes, things soon got round to the roost shooting last Saturday , as it turned out there were some good bags , one bloke in the wood in the middle of the estate picked up 28 , his boy in another wood got 24 and there was several bags in the teens , when I told him what I got he laughed and said he only knew one other person who got less than me and he is the one who I am picking up tonight so he can have a drink as I don't alcohol , we are both in our seventies and our excuse will be , it the taking part what counts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacko3275 Posted February 18, 2020 Report Share Posted February 18, 2020 On 13/02/2020 at 08:26, JDog said: After yesterday I am absolutely, positively, definitely and surely never taking anyone else out pigeon shooting with me again. Such was the disappointment after watching between two hundred and three hundred pigeons go to roost in that wood every afternoon for three weeks at least from the comfort of my sitting room and bedroom. That’s a shame I’ve just took the caravan on for one more season opens March Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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