lindsey Posted September 9, 2007 Report Share Posted September 9, 2007 my brother and i went out yesterday afternoon onto some wheat fields that had been cut at the start of the week. my house over looks the fields so knew the crack with flightlines etc, got all set up with crows and pigeons up one side of the field and waited. after around 20mins, i got pigeons flying right over my decoys but showed no interest what so ever. went and got out the pigeon magnet, still no joy. wasnt very pleased and after abit of head scratching i gave up an went and helped my bro as he was shooting away at the crows. after 2 hours or so ended up with 15 crows which was bit poor but i did get good crack with my new crow caller,works a treat! was wondering why the pigeons did not come in, anybody have the same problems?? cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted September 10, 2007 Report Share Posted September 10, 2007 Similar problem on Saturday for me in Suffolk. Hide on edge of a wheat field - loads of grain on the ground and a few pigeons flying around - put out the decoys and waited and waited and waited. A few flights of four or five pigeons at the far edge of the field but nothing coming close. Eventually downed one that randomely flew over but the deeks and bouncers didn't seem to interest them. Got two rabbits - both had myx though. Moved to a harvested rape field. Twenty or thirty pigeons feeding when I drove up. They flew off and never came back. Not even any rabbits but loads and loads of seagulls. Farmer about three fields away set up a clay trap about an hour after I got there and blasted away for an hour, must have used about 200 shells. That didn't help At least the weather was good. And a day in the hide in good weather is never a total waste of a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloudwalker Posted September 10, 2007 Report Share Posted September 10, 2007 SOMETIMES they just wont Decoy mate i honestly think the ******* are getting wise to it This is what I have found since the start of the harvest :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popgun Posted September 10, 2007 Report Share Posted September 10, 2007 It's the time of year to much food about some days they decoy some days they don't :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindsey Posted September 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 im glad to hear everyone else is having problems, thought i had done something stupid that was scaring them away. not to worry,just keep on tryin. cheers for the comments lads! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolk shooter Posted September 12, 2007 Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 Similar problem on Saturday for me in Suffolk. Hide on edge of a wheat field - loads of grain on the ground and a few pigeons flying around - put out the decoys and waited and waited and waited. A few flights of four or five pigeons at the far edge of the field but nothing coming close. Eventually downed one that randomely flew over but the deeks and bouncers didn't seem to interest them. Got two rabbits - both had myx though. Moved to a harvested rape field. Twenty or thirty pigeons feeding when I drove up. They flew off and never came back. Not even any rabbits but loads and loads of seagulls. Farmer about three fields away set up a clay trap about an hour after I got there and blasted away for an hour, must have used about 200 shells. That didn't help At least the weather was good. And a day in the hide in good weather is never a total waste of a day. Where abouts were you in Suffolk? Plenty of pigeons up here and there hitting everything. on occassions it looks like flocks over winter time. I suppose it depends like any other time of the year, what the birds are interested in and where it is in relation to trees, water, safety and of course source of main food item on the menu that day. SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wabbitbosher Posted September 12, 2007 Report Share Posted September 12, 2007 Same here in Northants, pigeons feeding on all the fields around us, just not even showing the slightest bit of interest in the deeks shot 3 pigeons and one jackdaw between two of us O well "Thats Pigeon shooting" By 5 oclock we drove around the farm poping Wabbits !! Fantastic day ! got over 20 of the ******* in 2 hours WB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunk Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Theres so much stubble here, wheat and rape, that birds are clearing off and not coming back. I had a series of **** days where i was shooting in single figures. Those were just birds flying by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 SS - I was shooting with Nick of Anglia Sporting just south of Swilland. very nice day out but v few pigeons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferretmanabu Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Same thing's happened to me a few times. I'm right under a flightline but birds just seem to be heading straight for somewhere else. At most, I've had a good couple of hours shooting before it all goes dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caeser Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 It's obviously the same all over the country. I have the perfect remedy !! :o Lets all go to the pub :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 This is nothing new as I experienced this way back in the eighties. I remember setting up on a cornfield on top of a ridge/hill. The ******* just flew straight over the pattern at high altitude and kept on going as if the deeks weren’t there. The next day I set up on another field about 400 yards further back over the hill. The same pigeons that flew straight over the previous day saw the pack as they came over the hill set their wings and came straight in without any hesitation. Quite impressive as they folded their wings and came in like arrows. Pity it was all before modern camcorders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundodger Posted September 17, 2007 Report Share Posted September 17, 2007 It Might be that they are looking for some water, remember wheat makes them thirsty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Country Boy Posted September 19, 2007 Report Share Posted September 19, 2007 Go back to basics, just start with a couple of deeks and sit up what birds you shoot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolk shooter Posted September 19, 2007 Report Share Posted September 19, 2007 I know I am going to get slated for saying this, and before it is said by anyone, no I am not the most authoritve figure on pigeons, decoying or shooting them. But I seem to recall that there was a similar thread to this around about spring time, people moaning the birds were'nt on the rape. I have the book by John Bately and read through it again last night to see what his experiances taught him. One of the things that made me sit up and think was his comments relating to the weather in terms of Low & High Pressure. A few years ago I used to be really into my Carp fishing, fishing secret syndicate waters and bait testing for one or two well known faces etc. One of the things I remember reading time and time again was about the weather and the effect it has on not just fish but other animals as well. After a while I reckoned I could pretty much go out and catch fish when and where I wanted (Not guarantee size though), based upon the high pressure/low pressure readings on a barometer. Basically Pigeons like other animals prefer nice settled weather for long periods, it means they can come and go, feed/not feed etc as they choose. This is when in connection with a good supply of food, that they become hard to decoy. However when the weather is about to change for the worse, animals have a sixth sense which tells them to go out and feed hard as they not going to be able to in the wind and rain properly over a period of time. Point in case is from last weekend. Birds had been on the fields literally at the back of my house in small groups of five to ten birds, and were taken there time walking along pecking for a while then going and sitting to aid digestion and then drop back down for the last two weeks prior. On saturday it seemed like someone had flicked a switch and there were hundreds, in and out all day. The same day I had a call from FB111 to go shoot the birds on his permission, where previously there had been no noticable numbers but that day hundreds and they were so intent on feeding that they didn't shift very far when we were shooting those that decoyed in. The same occurred early Sunday morning. Those in the EA region will recall we had hot, breezy weather both days, almost August weather. Sunday afternoon/evening Temperature dropped dramtically, wind picked up and the birds, well they scattered and don't see that interestedat the moment. If you look at the pressures for Saturday/Sunday and then Monday etc, you will see a dramatic drop from what had been a stable period. For example these are pressures I have found on the metrological society's archive page for RAF Wattisham (Near to me) recorded at 2.00pm (No other reason other than consistency in records). Tues 11th Sept 1026Millibars Wed 12th Sept 1028Mbs Thur 13th Sept 1024Mbs Fri 14th Sept 1018 Mbs Sat 15th Sept 1024 Mbs Sun 16th Sept 1009 Mbs Mon 17th Sept 1010 Mbs Tues 18th Sept 1024 Mbs Note the sudden drop of 15Milibars from what had been a steady constant. Should we be paying more attention to the weather than just what crops are about and what fields are still in stubble? Pigeon shooting isn't an exact science, but neither is it a dead cert. SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth Stalker Posted September 19, 2007 Report Share Posted September 19, 2007 SS You think too much In all honesty I think you are on to something, as I've had days where you think your gonna get some good shooting & the birds have other ideas Think about it a bit more, come up with the magic formula, then sell your wisdom on PW SS herts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlander Posted September 19, 2007 Report Share Posted September 19, 2007 Bingo someones on the ball SS. Whether (or weather) it’s to do with barometric pressure is debatable BUT you’re right about one thing, in settled conditions the birds (or animals) know where they are regarding food. When the weather suddenly takes a turn for the worse those birds and animals tend to feed hard in case of uncertainty about their next feed. However over the last few months, harvest time, the birds have had food available everywhere you look AND the weather has been quite stable now we have some bad weather on the way AND their food sources have been more concentrated. Most farms around here plough immediately after harvesting so at the start of harvest the birds were concentrated on the first few fields to be harvested then they spread out as the food became more readily available now we’re seeing a return to concentrations of birds on the available feed. Beware of birds on the plough just ‘gritting’ as these birds won’t decoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invector Posted September 19, 2007 Report Share Posted September 19, 2007 Try Googling Moonstrike, the fishermen use it and swear it tells them the best days to find the fish. It might just work for pigeons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browning GTS Posted September 27, 2007 Report Share Posted September 27, 2007 my brother and i went out yesterday afternoon onto some wheat fields that had been cut at the start of the week. my house over looks the fields so knew the crack with flightlines etc, got all set up with crows and pigeons up one side of the field and waited. after around 20mins, i got pigeons flying right over my decoys but showed no interest what so ever. went and got out the pigeon magnet, still no joy. wasnt very pleased and after abit of head scratching i gave up an went and helped my bro as he was shooting away at the crows. after 2 hours or so ended up with 15 crows which was bit poor but i did get good crack with my new crow caller,works a treat! was wondering why the pigeons did not come in, anybody have the same problems?? cheers What crow caller is that? I have one but it sounds a bit high pitched to me always on the look out for somthing to bring them in a bit closer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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