muncher Posted January 22, 2022 Report Share Posted January 22, 2022 (edited) I decided that I needed to deal with some pigeons that where massing in big numbers on one of my permissions. I asked a friend to join me who has been house bound for 3 months due to a ankle Surgery. He is in his 70s and I promised I would get him out. We arrived at the rape field around 9 o’clock to be greeted with probably 1000 pigeons down and more joining. The only problem was he couldn’t walk anywhere, luckily the farmer allowed us to drive down the tramlines. I set up with our backs to clump off trees with a rotary and 8 birds on cradles. We had a steady flow off pigeons all day and I did my best to let him shoot. The only problem was he was very rusty and it was catching 🙈I have never shot so badly and the bag should have been near 100 shot but we managed 55 picked, but he was absolutely buzzing to have been out. So it was worth the effort. The next Saturday the birds had moved on mass to the other end off the farm and I asked my brother to join me. The plan was to have separate hides each end off the field. The birds where there but the two problems we were greeted with was a gas gun my end and then the fog descended. This messed things up and after two hours we gave up with 10 each. Today on the same farm they had lifted a large beet field and were ploughing and drilling it. The pigeons moved onto this straight away and the numbers are incredible. Unfortunately they hadn’t finished the field and we calculated they would be another two hours at least. I had spotted a field on the way over with birds down on a lifted beet field, so I called the farm manager to see if we could shoot it. He said that was fine, please do. We set up in the middle by a electric pole at our backs. 8 dead birds and 2 on the rotary. The birds came well , some decoyed great others came for a look and we both shot well taking some nice birds. The bag was building nicely when a truck came down the field, and it was the game keeper not happy we were there. I tried to explain to him that we had spoken to the farm manager but that didn’t seem to pacify him. I called the manager and explained the issue and got a resounding, carry on. So we did. Apart from this sour note , we had a brilliant day and ended picking 122. Edited January 22, 2022 by muncher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the hitman Posted January 22, 2022 Report Share Posted January 22, 2022 Well done muncher- a couple of nice reports. 122 is great for any time of year but in January it’s quite an achievement. Thank you for posting and making us all envious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted January 22, 2022 Report Share Posted January 22, 2022 fun read...........did you finally find a home for that nice 20 bore auto......i was close to taking that off you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muncher Posted January 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2022 3 minutes ago, ditchman said: fun read...........did you finally find a home for that nice 20 bore auto......i was close to taking that off you Yes I did , it was a steal really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted January 22, 2022 Report Share Posted January 22, 2022 A good report on three varied days , your friend must have been on cloud nine after spending three months housebound , I know I would have done Your second day was hampered by the gas guns and the weather , some members like shooting in the fog , myself , I hate it and would had done the same as you , possibly sooner as I have no doubt got more time than you to sort another day to go later on during the week . Your third day left you in a funny situation with the keeper not very happy with you shooting and the farm manager giving you the go ahead , I can understand if the field had been drilled as soon as the beet was off , and I can also understand if the keeper has a game strip nearby and a shoot booked in over the next few days . Things have changed slightly over the years as at one time our ole head keeper would have had you off there and then and the farm manager would had been ordered up the hall to do some explaining . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muncher Posted January 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2022 3 minutes ago, marsh man said: A good report on three varied days , your friend must have been on cloud nine after spending three months housebound , I know I would have done Your second day was hampered by the gas guns and the weather , some members like shooting in the fog , myself , I hate it and would had done the same as you , possibly sooner as I have no doubt got more time than you to sort another day to go later on during the week . Your third day left you in a funny situation with the keeper not very happy with you shooting and the farm manager giving you the go ahead , I can understand if the field had been drilled as soon as the beet was off , and I can also understand if the keeper has a game strip nearby and a shoot booked in over the next few days . Things have changed slightly over the years as at one time our ole head keeper would have had you off there and then and the farm manager would had been ordered up the hall to do some explaining . No cover crops and the manager hadn’t been informed they had a shoot planned. It’s was a big shoot once but not anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clangerman Posted January 22, 2022 Report Share Posted January 22, 2022 good effort there tidy bag for this time of year full marks for the friend help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted January 22, 2022 Report Share Posted January 22, 2022 thats a nice day for you,nice the manager said carry on, that put the gamekeeper in his place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7daysinaweek Posted January 22, 2022 Report Share Posted January 22, 2022 A great report. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted January 22, 2022 Report Share Posted January 22, 2022 24 minutes ago, muncher said: No cover crops and the manager hadn’t been informed they had a shoot planned. It’s was a big shoot once but not anymore. Possibly a over zealous keeper who was peeved he hadn't been informed , we now get very few , if any enquiries about pigeon shooting on crops , in the past the farm manager would been first port of call , he would then get in touch with the keeper to make sure it would be alright to purely shoot that crop , as he wouldn't want any stranger entering the wood nearby in case they see the release pens , or any Larsen traps ect , like I say , that is something we no longer have to contend with . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muncher Posted January 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2022 11 minutes ago, mossy835 said: thats a nice day for you,nice the manager said carry on, that put the gamekeeper in his place. To be fair the farm called me a few weeks back due to the amount of pigeons and asked me to please help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted January 24, 2022 Report Share Posted January 24, 2022 I would very much have enjoyed seeing you and your brother shoot those pigeons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muncher Posted January 24, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2022 2 hours ago, JDog said: I would very much have enjoyed seeing you and your brother shoot those pigeons. 😁👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.