Hide Poles

[wymberley]

There has long been a train of thought that cartridge makers/purveyors rip us off. Truthfully, I know not, but do subscribe to the opinion that a lot of the time we only have ourselves to blame. However, if we open a box and fire one, we do not expect the supplier to allow us to pay for a replacement. On the other hand, if we buy a set of four hide poles (I've got 6 so there's a point there) and accidently break one and provided that model is still available, I think it only reasonable to expect to be able to get a replacement. It appears that DJ Decoys and Nitehawk may well be of a differing frame of mind. Because of where I shoot I do need good quality poles and even then I modify them to suit. I've had these for ages and from whence they came I can no longer remember and had I not accidentally broken it, it would have seen me out. I have recovered the modification from the one that I broke and just need a replacement pole of the same type. 

It is fortunate indeed that UK Shoot Warehouse have a different customer service policy and stock virtually the same item and the minor difference is of no consequence as if necessary I can use the bit also recovered from the broken one.

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, the trouble with most hide poles is the kicker plate not being suitable for hard ground use, and the plastic joint screws work loose, and these last a few years, I made a set of 4 with washing line poles cut to size and added stronger plastic joint screws and 4 brolly spikes , but going back to when I started pigeon shooting I made an all steel set in our workshop, far to heavy for today's use , these days I make do with 2 home made poles and some camo netting, 

[wymberley]

Two of the best/most useful bits of pigeon shooting hide kit from the 20th century were/are Araldite and trip flare pickets.

[Sweet11-87]

yeah  its weight vs strength vs price  when it comes to hide poles  it would seem and the battle rages on.

ive been giving some serious thought to pop up hides that look like theyre made from camoflage pannels with fiberglass tent style poles. then you just peg them down with cheap tent pegs that are easily replacable.  probably not as good as a pole and net hide as the posibilitiesare endless but from a carrying/packing away pov they seem like they may be the way forward.

 

nitehawk make one that works a bit like an umbrella for lack of a better description and claims to only weight 2 kilos and deployable in seconds. no idea of quality or  how they perform in reality

[Centrepin]

Nitehawk has always been cheap and there's a reason for it, its mostly poor quality. Buy cheap buy twice.

Recently I was given some homemade ones from bamboo and steel. These will be later deployed in permanent hides.

My best hide poles are generally cut from the straightest hazel branches I can find. These are then partially sharpened at the base by axe and the tops tightly whipped or gaffer taped to prevent splitting when I hammer them in. Left in position year round the little extra effort is worth it. If needed it's not much to pull them out dump them in the hedgerows for later use or use elsewhere. 

Couple of pictures of my wooden built frame hides. The first with nets salvaged from a skip and left in situ, the second with a basha sheet. Neither cam is good enough for crows but adequate for pigeon. 

 

[marsh man]

You are right in saying you get what you pay for , not always the best policy in going for the cheaper version when it comes to hide poles .

I cannot for the life of me remember the name of a set of poles I bought from a game fair many years ago , they were as light as a feather and strong as a ox , the tops were a V shape so you could get your net on and off with ease , no thumb screws when you pull the pole apart for your desired height as they kept tight by themselves , the inside had a plastic dome inside that you kept tight  by giving it a turn with a screw driver , the poles came with a dull camo coat of paint , the kick plate was heavy duty and the pole itself was made of thin aluminum , that is all the clues you are getting 

These were fairly expensive but were easily the best ones I have used , the after sales were also first class , after a few years of continual use I got a bit heavy handed and tried to push one in some rock hard ground , this resulted in one of them snapping off at the base , that same year we went to the game fair and the makers of these poles had there own stand , I had a yarn with the chap and told him what I had done and can I buy just one and a new carrying bag as the one I had was showing it's age , he said hang on and went out of the back and came back with one pole , two extra cones that went inside and a new bag , he charged me for the bag and gave me the rest free of charge .

I believe they also made magnets which at the time were the best you could get .

P S    Your time is  , I have found the ones I was talking about , they are called PINEWOOD , now retailing around £50 / 60 a set of four 

 

Edited April 5, 2022 by marsh man
Adding some information .

[Sweet11-87]

3 hours ago, marsh man said:

You are right in saying you get what you pay for , not always the best policy in going for the cheaper version when it comes to hide poles .

I cannot for the life of me remember the name of a set of poles I bought from a game fair many years ago , they were as light as a feather and strong as a ox , the tops were a V shape so you could get your net on and off with ease , no thumb screws when you pull the pole apart for your desired height as they kept tight by themselves , the inside had a plastic dome inside that you kept tight  by giving it a turn with a screw driver , the poles came with a dull camo coat of paint , the kick plate was heavy duty and the pole itself was made of thin aluminum , that is all the clues you are getting 

These were fairly expensive but were easily the best ones I have used , the after sales were also first class , after a few years of continual use I got a bit heavy handed and tried to push one in some rock hard ground , this resulted in one of them snapping off at the base , that same year we went to the game fair and the makers of these poles had there own stand , I had a yarn with the chap and told him what I had done and can I buy just one and a new carrying bag as the one I had was showing it's age , he said hang on and went out of the back and came back with one pole , two extra cones that went inside and a new bag , he charged me for the bag and gave me the rest free of charge .

I believe they also made magnets which at the time were the best you could get .

P S    Your time is  , I have found the ones I was talking about , they are called PINEWOOD , now retailing around £50 / 60 a set of four 

 

ive got a feeling you may be talking about pinewood  hide poles. theyre fantastic but rare as hens teeth these days.

edit: ah my bad didnt completly read your post sorry

decathalon hide poles are good too but made of steel so they get heavy quick if you take a few extra and all the cross members.  cant get them anymore either so im dead carful with mine now.

Edited April 5, 2022 by Sweet11-87

[wymberley]

13 hours ago, marsh man said:

You are right in saying you get what you pay for , not always the best policy in going for the cheaper version when it comes to hide poles .

I cannot for the life of me remember the name of a set of poles I bought from a game fair many years ago , they were as light as a feather and strong as a ox , the tops were a V shape so you could get your net on and off with ease , no thumb screws when you pull the pole apart for your desired height as they kept tight by themselves , the inside had a plastic dome inside that you kept tight  by giving it a turn with a screw driver , the poles came with a dull camo coat of paint , the kick plate was heavy duty and the pole itself was made of thin aluminum , that is all the clues you are getting 

These were fairly expensive but were easily the best ones I have used , the after sales were also first class , after a few years of continual use I got a bit heavy handed and tried to push one in some rock hard ground , this resulted in one of them snapping off at the base , that same year we went to the game fair and the makers of these poles had there own stand , I had a yarn with the chap and told him what I had done and can I buy just one and a new carrying bag as the one I had was showing it's age , he said hang on and went out of the back and came back with one pole , two extra cones that went inside and a new bag , he charged me for the bag and gave me the rest free of charge .

I believe they also made magnets which at the time were the best you could get .

P S    Your time is  , I have found the ones I was talking about , they are called PINEWOOD , now retailing around £50 / 60 a set of four 

 

 

9 hours ago, Sweet11-87 said:

ive got a feeling you may be talking about pinewood  hide poles. theyre fantastic but rare as hens teeth these days.

edit: ah my bad didnt completly read your post sorry

decathalon hide poles are good too but made of steel so they get heavy quick if you take a few extra and all the cross members.  cant get them anymore either so im dead carful with mine now.

Guys,

I don't suppose between you both you can remember the name of the hide nets that they used to sell? 

[marsh man]

9 hours ago, Sweet11-87 said:

ive got a feeling you may be talking about pinewood  hide poles. theyre fantastic but rare as hens teeth these days.

edit: ah my bad didnt completly read your post sorry

decathalon hide poles are good too but made of steel so they get heavy quick if you take a few extra and all the cross members.  cant get them anymore either so im dead carful with mine now.

At the time I bought mine there were very few ( factory made ) poles on the market and the Pinewood ones were the Rolls Royce of hide poles , then more and more cheaper ones came out that done the job but were less reliable with the kick plates coming loose and in a lot of cases the spike was to thick and to short so in soft ground they didn't get a very good hold , the top plastic bits that held the net were fiddly and the ones I had I cut the top bit off so it just left a v shape , linen line props get mentioned a lot but sorry to say I found them unfit for the purpose unless you added bits on or found a way to knock them in the ground .

Our keepers boy made a set up from some 3/8 th steel rods that laid about in the workshop , these were very basic but done the job as good, if not better than most of the rods I had used or seen used , two were about five foot six long with a kick plate about 8/9 inches up from one end and the top was split the other end to hold your net , the other two were a bit smaller that went in the front and the longer ones went at the back , very simple but worked a treat , the only downside was the weight . 

[Stephen-H]

10 hours ago, Sweet11-87 said:

ive got a feeling you may be talking about pinewood  hide poles. theyre fantastic but rare as hens teeth these days.

edit: ah my bad didnt completly read your post sorry

decathalon hide poles are good too but made of steel so they get heavy quick if you take a few extra and all the cross members.  cant get them anymore either so im dead carful with mine now.

 

57 minutes ago, marsh man said:

At the time I bought mine there were very few ( factory made ) poles on the market and the Pinewood ones were the Rolls Royce of hide poles , then more and more cheaper ones came out that done the job but were less reliable with the kick plates coming loose and in a lot of cases the spike was to thick and to short so in soft ground they didn't get a very good hold , the top plastic bits that held the net were fiddly and the ones I had I cut the top bit off so it just left a v shape , linen line props get mentioned a lot but sorry to say I found them unfit for the purpose unless you added bits on or found a way to knock them in the ground .

Our keepers boy made a set up from some 3/8 th steel rods that laid about in the workshop , these were very basic but done the job as good, if not better than most of the rods I had used or seen used , two were about five foot six long with a kick plate about 8/9 inches up from one end and the top was split the other end to hold your net , the other two were a bit smaller that went in the front and the longer ones went at the back , very simple but worked a treat , the only downside was the weight . 

I went pigeon shooting last year with a chap who had a full set of pinewood poles believe he got them years & years ago I was very impressed with the quality & how well they have aged/lasted but as above I've never been able to find any of the orginal ones for sale. All the modern stuff now is rubbish I've gone through two sets of the night hawk/jack pyke stuff 

Edited April 6, 2022 by Stephen-H

[marsh man]

1 hour ago, wymberley said:

 

Guys,

I don't suppose between you both you can remember the name of the hide nets that they used to sell? 

All my early nets were ex nato , the very early ones were bought from the adverts in the back of the Shooting Times , these were very thick cord mesh with pieces of dyed sacking woven into the mesh , they came in a big bundle and i can well remember hanging the whole net on my mums linen line and cutting down the middle to make two nets , at the time we thought they were the dogs bollixx , but once they got wet then they weighed a ton , as time wore on  then more different types of net were bought from the local army surplus stores , these were much lighter and if they were good enough for the arm forces then they were good enough for us .

Although I have still got a couple of sacks of the old netting I now mainly use two nets I bought from one of the decoy stands at the game fairs , these come in different shades and I find two nets on top of each other is ideal and they don't weigh a lot neither , nets have come a long way since the ones Archie Coats used , although like all things in life , some are better than others .

 

[wymberley]

22 minutes ago, marsh man said:

All my early nets were ex nato , the very early ones were bought from the adverts in the back of the Shooting Times , these were very thick cord mesh with pieces of dyed sacking woven into the mesh , they came in a big bundle and i can well remember hanging the whole net on my mums linen line and cutting down the middle to make two nets , at the time we thought they were the dogs bollixx , but once they got wet then they weighed a ton , as time wore on  then more different types of net were bought from the local army surplus stores , these were much lighter and if they were good enough for the arm forces then they were good enough for us .

Although I have still got a couple of sacks of the old netting I now mainly use two nets I bought from one of the decoy stands at the game fairs , these come in different shades and I find two nets on top of each other is ideal and they don't weigh a lot neither , nets have come a long way since the ones Archie Coats used , although like all things in life , some are better than others .

 

Cheers. Finally engaged brain. The word I was looking for is Cammoreal - either Moorland or Woodland.

[Centrepin]

46 minutes ago, marsh man said:

All my early nets were ex nato , the very early ones were bought from the adverts in the back of the Shooting Times , these were very thick cord mesh with pieces of dyed sacking woven into the mesh , they came in a big bundle and i can well remember hanging the whole net on my mums linen line and cutting down the middle to make two nets , at the time we thought they were the dogs bollixx , but once they got wet then they weighed a ton , as time wore on  then more different types of net were bought from the local army surplus stores , these were much lighter and if they were good enough for the arm forces then they were good enough for us .

Although I have still got a couple of sacks of the old netting I now mainly use two nets I bought from one of the decoy stands at the game fairs , these come in different shades and I find two nets on top of each other is ideal and they don't weigh a lot neither , nets have come a long way since the ones Archie Coats used , although like all things in life , some are better than others .

 

Arriving in Germany around 50 years past for a huge NATO exercise we were given huge string type nets,  hessian on the roll and left to our  own devices. Day one, we cut the hessian into strips and dyed it with army green or black paint, when the paint ran out we used engine oil. Day two, we sewed the strips into the nets with a type of sail makers needle. Knife blade, long handle, eye that took para cord, whole thing about 8" long. Twas shiny so I kept mine, still have it.  Day three, scrapped the lot and stole ready made nets from an armoured regiment nearby.

You might have got what we made, truly awful, outrageously heavy and little use as camouflage. Probably went straight to surplus sales🤣🤣

[wymberley]

23 minutes ago, Centrepin said:

Arriving in Germany around 50 years past for a huge NATO exercise we were given huge string type nets,  hessian on the roll and left to our  own devices. Day one, we cut the hessian into strips and dyed it with army green or black paint, when the paint ran out we used engine oil. Day two, we sewed the strips into the nets with a type of sail makers needle. Knife blade, long handle, eye that took para cord, whole thing about 8" long. Twas shiny so I kept mine, still have it.  Day three, scrapped the lot and stole ready made nets from an armoured regiment nearby.

You might have got what we made, truly awful, outrageously heavy and little use as camouflage. Probably went straight to surplus sales🤣🤣

Mis-use of Service equipment - namely the hessian - there.

The idea was to keep warm. Most squadrons had a copse on site - Germans and their trees - which made for an ideal bar-b-q area. The problem was that the airfield being a big wide flat area could get a tad chilly early and late season. Run a few hessian rolls around the outside until a good 8 feet high and with a couple of 45 gal oil drum bbq fires burning you were as snug as a bug even with a frost outside.

[Centrepin]

I don't much remember BBQs but do fondly remember Brattys, Currywurst, Pferd burgers and open sandwiches with raw minced beef.🤣

2 hours ago, wymberley said:

Mis-use of Service equipment - namely the hessian - there.

The idea was to keep warm. Most squadrons had a copse on site - Germans and their trees - which made for an ideal bar-b-q area. The problem was that the airfield being a big wide flat area could get a tad chilly early and late season. Run a few hessian rolls around the outside until a good 8 feet high and with a couple of 45 gal oil drum bbq fires burning you were as snug as a bug even with a frost outside.

 

[wymberley]

3 hours ago, Centrepin said:

I don't much remember BBQs but do fondly remember Brattys, Currywurst, Pferd burgers and open sandwiches with raw minced beef.🤣

 

Fric (Dutch) 'n' chips mit mayonnaise in our neck of the woods.

[marsh man]

Never dreamt my early nets could have had an interesting history and all for the huge sum  of £1 18s 6d Posted 

[wymberley]

To get back on topic: My Premium Hide Twist Lock Pole arrived in good time from UK Shoot Warehouse. This will be a rare post owing to the single pole quantity. Broke or lost one of your poles and need a replacement? Good luck with that if you shop elsewhere. These are a good sturdy bit of kit. Just one point; I did check the kick plate attachment screw and found it loose. Tightening it with a dab of threadlock would not be amiss. For all normal use these should last but I shoot on the edge of a pebble bed heath and on occasion the poles get some rough treatment. Consequently, I modified my earlier model of these to suit - belt and braces really perhaps though. Fortunately, the modification only takes a few minutes to swap from pole to pole so I've added it to the new one. The damage to the one pole was an accident and my fault which had it not happened I have no doubt that it and the other three would have seen me out - as I'm equally sure will this new one.