Stubble fields

[Jacko3275]

Before harvest gets here I was just wondering what your set ups are on stubble fields....E.g  If they have been shot at on standing rape all season heading for a magnet would they be more weary of it than say a flapper and shells

cheers in advance oh wise ones

jacko

Edited June 5, 2020 by Jacko3275

[old'un]

Winter pigeons are a totally different bird to summer/harvest pigeons, lot more forgiving and much easier to decoy, they can sometimes seem suicidal on rape stubble, makes little difference that the rape was shot over during the winter.

Plus you will have large numbers of young birds that are even easier to decoy, don’t be surprised when they try to land on the arms of your magnet.

Edited June 5, 2020 by old'un

[motty]

Pigeons are not particularly clever creatures. They will likely not remember having been shot at a few weeks before,  and what their imitations looked like at the time. I seldom change my tactics throughout the year.

[JDog]

Jacko, there is a lot of shooting to be done before harvest. Pigeons are still going into standing rape, they are on spring rape, peas and from next week in your area they will be looking for lodging in winter barley fields.

As for pigeons not being clever they are always clever enough to beat me but perhaps not clever enough to know not to live anywhere near Motty and Muncher.

[dead eye alan]

4 hours ago, JDog said:

Jacko, there is a lot of shooting to be done before harvest. Pigeons are still going into standing rape, they are on spring rape, peas and from next week in your area they will be looking for lodging in winter barley fields.

As for pigeons not being clever they are always clever enough to beat me but perhaps not clever enough to know not to live anywhere near Motty and Muncher.

I'm surprized thire are any pigeons left in the M&M back yard!

[old'un]

1 hour ago, dead eye alan said:

I'm surprized thire are any pigeons left in the M&M back yard!

There’s plenty of pigeons in that area…….but they are the clever ones.

[arjimlad]

I was out on stubble yesterday & after a quiet spell, put the magnet out. The magnet drew the birds in from some distance but they flared off at about 40 yds. Turning off the magnet, the birds then came into the decoys happily.

Where do you site your magnets?  Mine was a few yards downwind of the tip of the main pattern. 

[Blueflame]

Generally speaking I would always place the magnet up wind of the decoys so that the birds can see the decoys clearly and have space/ time to come into them  before the spinning magnet. For example  in a cross wind situation I would place the magnet on a line 20-25 yds out from the hide and about 30/ 35 yd’s to the upwind side . The main pattern of decoys would be on the 20-25 yd line with a clear gap that the birds can fly into and land before the magnet. 

In a situation with the wind directly from behind I would place the decoys in 2 rough groups about 20/25 yds out from the hedge/hide with a gap of 25 -30 yd’s directly in front of the hide for the birds to fly into. The magnet on either side of the gap. If there was a break in the hedge line I would place the magnet that side of the hide to maximise visibility from birds approaching from behind. If you place the magnet directly in front of the hide in the gap between the decoys , then it will block your vision of low incoming birds and screw your focus up as the spinning arms catch your eye!

if the birds keep flaring away there is something wrong . View the setup from outside the hide and ensure there is a clear area for the birds to approach and land, and there is nothing shining or visible in the hide .  Finally, make  sure the magnet does not shine by using matt camo tape on the arms and shaft. All assuming you are using dead birds on the arms.

Hope that all makes sense

[arjimlad]

@Blueflame Thank you - I put the magnet downwind of the pattern which meant that the birds approaching into the wind would have had to pass it to land in the killzone - that might explain it then. Wind was coming from my right and birds landing from my left and magnet was to my left.