Rotary Extension Arms

[Blueflame]

I have seen these on various Y tube videos, sometimes called barley arms. Does anyone on here  use them on a regular basis? Are they more effective on laid crops? I am shooting on a 100 acre block of laid barley, and the birds are on several patches, and I would like to draw them to my patch ! 

[TIGHTCHOKE]

I have a pair of 16" extensions that I use with my rotary all of the time, simply makes the circle bigger!

[marsh man]

All the rotaries I have used have had extended arms or a small arm that marry into the one on the rotary to make it longer , also the one I use now have a extra bit in the base to make it stand higher off the ground.

The object of the exercise is to make the dead birds or whatever decoys you use on the rotary be seen from a distance , you will need to raise it up at the minimum level , and better still just above the crop you are shooting over .

[Old Boggy]

The first rotary I got was direct from Phil Beasley (his original ‘Magnet’) and had four connectors so that you could put four pigeons on at once. There were two long arms and two short ones. I thought that Phil referred to the short arms as barley arms but could be wrong.

As MM says to raise it well above the crop is an advantage as are the arms that each have a ‘raise’ and ‘lower’ facility via a small grubscrew. 
I use mine with one arm raised and one lowered (arms of the rotary that is 😂)

OB

[Old Boggy]

11 hours ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

I have a pair of 16" extensions that I use with my rotary all of the time, simply makes the circle bigger!

I use mine on maximum speed so extended arms would increase the pigeons speed, would it not? I know the rpm remain the same but the pigeons have to cover more ground. Trying to get my head round this first thing in the morning.

OB

 

Edited June 27, 2021 by Old Boggy

[TIGHTCHOKE]

8 minutes ago, Old Boggy said:

I use mine on maximum speed so extended arms would increase the pigeons speed, would it not? I know the rpm remain the same but the pigeons have to cover more ground. Trying to get my head round this first thing in the morning.

Yes in the simplest of terms, a bigger circle, more ground to cover so pigeons are faster at the end of longer arms for the same RPM.

Also of consideration is the harder work the motor is doing and the effect on battery life.

[Old Boggy]

25 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Yes in the simplest of terms, a bigger circle, more ground to cover so pigeons are faster at the end of longer arms for the same RPM.

Also of consideration is the harder work the motor is doing and the effect on battery life.

For me, the battery life isn’t a problem as my trips out are restricted to four hours maximum these days. 
OB

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, I prefer to use some bouncer poles for this type of shooting, Areas of flat barley can be quite obscure from a birds eye view if they are going over fields low, 

Edited June 27, 2021 by oldypigeonpopper

[BinaryB]

On 27/06/2021 at 08:58, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, I prefer to use some bouncer poles for this type of shooting, Areas of flat barley can be quite obscure from a birds eye view if they are going over fields low, 

Would you consider using a flapper in this circumstance?

[oldypigeonpopper]

2 hours ago, BinaryB said:

Would you consider using a flapper in this circumstance?

Hello, not a flapper but I use decoys with spinning wings depending if a windy day, I make up the poles from B and Q with a right angle bar, eg roofing bolts , 

[Blueflame]

Up date! 

I bought a pair of extension arms , they are 3ft long ( each) giving an increase of 6 ft to the spinning circle. I was shooting a field of laid barley and the pigeons on the magnet were now about 14ft apart, and really looked the business ........one small flaw in the plan though. The motor on the magnet could not cope with the increased load and weight of the extended arms, and the pigeons on the magnet turned very slowly. Back in the hide I watched them slowly turning like a pair of Frankenstein birds learning to fly....  No pigeon came to the decoys. I  left the hide cursing and removed the extension arms from the magnet and watched them flying round at speed. The pigeons started to come and I finished on 29 for the afternoon. So bigger is not always better.

[lakeside1000]

I have a pair of Hypa-flaps which I mount up on tall poles above the crop, as long as there is a good breeze, add in a couple of floaters and stick all my decoys up on extension poles to get them above the flattened crop which can still be a foot off the ground, 

I have two magnets but rarely use them now as I cannot carry them and two batteries as well as all the other gear.

If there is no wind I have a flapper mounted on a 3 foot pole which will run all day on a small 7 amp battery, we have just started on the laid barley but its mainly crows , no sign yet of pigeons in any numbers.👍

[marsh man]

On 03/07/2021 at 20:37, Blueflame said:

Up date! 

I bought a pair of extension arms , they are 3ft long ( each) giving an increase of 6 ft to the spinning circle. I was shooting a field of laid barley and the pigeons on the magnet were now about 14ft apart, and really looked the business ........one small flaw in the plan though. The motor on the magnet could not cope with the increased load and weight of the extended arms, and the pigeons on the magnet turned very slowly. Back in the hide I watched them slowly turning like a pair of Frankenstein birds learning to fly....  No pigeon came to the decoys. I  left the hide cursing and removed the extension arms from the magnet and watched them flying round at speed. The pigeons started to come and I finished on 29 for the afternoon. So bigger is not always better.

Part of the joy of Pigeon shooting is to try out different plans YOU come up with , as you can see in the variety of the above posts there isn't one sure way of using the magnet , what will work one day will have the reverse effect the next  , so many things can make a difference on the day with the weather conditions , wind direction and so on , and as we all  that on certain days the best place to put a magnet is in the storage place when not in use , love them or loath them they will always be a talking point amongst us pigeon shooters and long may it continue .