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Stormy Day on the Beans


kippylawkid
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Just as I was bemoaning the lack of pigeons on my patch, along came the chance for a shot. The keeper on the syndicate I am a member of rang me to say a patch of standing beans we had used as a part cover crop the past season had been knocked down and there was a good show of birds. This lad knows the time of day and sure enough, I scouted the field and the field was active with 2 distinct lines coming in. Having been starved of a shot at pigeons, I checked the forecast and saw yesterday was the most suitable day to shoot, with the strong westerly wind being perfect for this field. I was set up for 9.30, thankful to have a thick hedge with the wind to my back. I placed 20 dead birds on spikes with rotary and 2 flappers and had a reasonable 2 hours for about 20 down. Then the flight just changed and the birds started to drop onto a strip of ploughing on the ridge above the cover crop, totally bypassing my pattern. I havered (for too long if I’m honest, as I didn’t fancy lugging all the gear up a sodden plough) and decided to go up the ridge and try to flight a few. I shot 2 and on closer inspection of the plough, saw there were beans chitting through from last years crop, along with a range of weeds (it’s an organic farm) and I presume that was what the birds were feeding on? I then placed the 2 dead birds on the plough and hid behind a gate (see pic) that just about broke mine and Stan’s outline up. I had a grand hour and a half where the dead birds pulled pigeons in just enough for a shot. No flapper or whirly, just dead birds – old school for all you purists! Doubles were off the menu as after the first shot, the others were starburst 100 yards away in the gale. Total bag was 48. Not the biggest, but a fantastic day out in really wild conditions with some tremendously testing shooting. In my photo, you can see where my original hide was placed in between the blue feeders before I moved, the pic doesn’t show how steep the slope is. Hopeful I might get another day out of the field.

Pigeon1.jpg

Pigeon2.jpg

Edited by kippylawkid
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