No gear and no idea.....help needed please!

[Westley78]

Hi,

I am new to the forum so hope that I have posted this correctly.

Just to give you some background; I used to shoot clays up until my early teens, when I discovered beer and girls! Now that I am 40 and married with kids I am looking to get back into shooting but want something a bit more interesting so am working on getting myself some permissions to shoot pigeons on the local land.

So, as I am embarking on my journey I am looking for some advice from the more experienced shooters as to what kit I actually need to get me going and whether the cheap and cheerful kit from Deathon is worth it or am I best to invest I decent kit straight away.

I have a 12g and and a sub 12 .22 rifle and that is about it so I am hoping that I can grab a few bargains in the end of season sales and I would welcome advice on the essential starter kit i.e. boots, jacket, trousers, bags etc 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

thank you in advance

 

 

[Farmboy91]

Hello and welcome.

With regards to decathlon, I brought a Parker from there, £69.99 last month and it's quite possibly the warmest jacket I've ever owned. Had it on through all the foul weather this weekend and it's kept me warm and dry. 

When I started off I brought most clothing items from Jack pyke but in the last year or so I've only brought percussion and verney carron the fit and quality for the price in brilliant. 

Between me n the missus we have a couple different jack pyke cartridge bags with have lasted well to, although I've just upgraded to a Beretta range bag. 

Plenty of bargains if you keep an eye on the sales section on here, eBay and freeads.

[spurs 14]

Like most things people get involved with at the start it’s always difficult do I spend and have quality kit that will last or buy cheap in case you don’t last ?? I’d say buy quality as you don’t need a huge amount to get you up and running ! 

Pretty much if you can find where the pigeons are then it’s a hide to shoot from , so net and poles will get you going , decoys to bring them in , shell , full body , flecked , painted choice is yours but you can easily start with a dozen shells and build on that 

 then you can get a couple of bouncers for movement , a magnet and a flapper , these can be added as you go most I would say start with just decoys and a hide 

probably the two most important things are free ! Reconnaissance = finding those pigeons where they feed where they are coming from and heading too and patience = for the days when it doesn’t matter what you have what you try or where you set up you cannot draw them in.                 Good luck , but be warned ! It’s addictive 

[Westley78]

Thanks farm boy91

I have seen Jack Pyke about and all the gear seems pretty reasonable so good to know its half decent.
 

The only issue I have is being 6ft 4 I need 34” leg trousers which unfortunately they don’t seem to do.

Thanks spurs14

Some good advice there, I’ll keep an eye out for net, poles & decoys. 

[spurs 14]

Hi if it’s just the clothing side of things you’re after why not go the military surplus route ,  British army mtp is a great camo , and size wise it’s available in a huge selection , cheap hard wearing practical and comfortable and pretty much covers all seasons 

[Westley78]

Thanks spurs 14, hadn’t thought of that...

[Yellow Bear]

Nothing wrong with Decathalon clothing - I have pants that are 6 years old and still going strong.

[Westley78]

Good to know yellowbear thank you

[Farmboy91]

1 hour ago, Westley78 said:

Thanks farm boy91

I have seen Jack Pyke about and all the gear seems pretty reasonable so good to know its half decent.
 

The only issue I have is being 6ft 4 I need 34” leg trousers which unfortunately they don’t seem to do.

Thanks spurs14

Some good advice there, I’ll keep an eye out for net, poles & decoys. 

No worries, I'm 6'1 and I'd say on the whole medium is actually a medium but the other Verney carron is just cut alot better around the arms etc. I can't say I brought anything for my bottom half from them, I did get a pair of percussion Rambouillet trousers that are a good quality, warm and water and windproof. 

From what I remember my hide and poles came from A1 decoys at reasonable price. I suppose like alot of others I brought kit that I didn't end up needing and bits that weren't really suitable, plenty of good advice on here though 👍

[clangerman]

don’t under estimate your air rifle i carry one in the landy often shoot pigeons when watching them and use one for decoying in tight spots no end of the right advice on here you won’t go far wrong starting up good luck 

[Westley78]

Thanks Clangerman

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, i have bought from Decathlon, decoys/ hide poles, wellies lasted 3 years, just bought some waterproof trousers, have used their camo netting, do not forget the discount with A1 Decoys, once you buy poles and nets and a few decoys you can add more as you go along, the hide poles are steel and i used on the outside  of hide, there not difficult to make if you search my post 3 piece hide poles,

[udderlyoffroad]

Am not much of a decoyer (my mentor doesn’t have that many perms that require arable crop protection, and I certainly don’t), so can’t help with that part.

But, another vote for Decathlon kit, especially the trousers.  I also picked up things like a cartridge belt for £6.99 (works just as well as a more expensive one), a camo baseball cap for £3 etc.  This soon bulks up the order to over £30 so you get free postage.

Also the Jack Pyke stuff, my missus bought me one of their jackets, less than £100, had it for 5years or so.  Jacket is one place I’d spend some money on, but it doesn’t have to be hundreds.

Somebody on the ‘recommend me a pair of wellies thread’ said that the Le Chameaus could be picked up for £80, I’d be all over that if budget allows, I picked up a pair for a little more and am very happy with them.

I’d also suggest caution with military surplus.  In my local emporium at least, it’s not actually that cheap compared to say Jack Pyke/Decathlon, and you really have to take your time to hunt through the racks to find the non-worn-out stuff.

Having said all this, you need less kit than you think.  I went through a stage of bringing everything and the kitchen sink.  I’ve now got it down to an art which means if I get a break in the weather, I can go from a standing start to being in the truck with all the gear and driving in 10 minutes, including filling a thermos with coffee.

Finally, one of the best pieces of kit my missus bought me is a canvas bucket from Tesco.  It’s got pockets round the outside for your various accoutrements, and the bucket itself will easily hold 2-3 boxes of cartridges.  It holds all my shooting kit, both for shotgun and air rifle, and is the only thing other than the guns I actually need to load up.  The little camera bag at the front was a couple of quid from Decathlon and holds my Pard NV and spare charged battery.

[Westley78]

Thanks for the advice oldypigeonpoppe I’ll be sure to look up your old posts 👍

Thanks udderlyoffroad 👍 some good advice there