pigeon controller Posted June 30, 2022 Report Share Posted June 30, 2022 (edited) Friday 24th I had an invite to shoot with bunny_ blaster on his permission ,which was a large field of Barley which had no flattened areas, so we decided to separate and shoot the cut hay fields surrounding the barley as the flightlines had been crossing it for the past week. We were set up for approx midday and the birds were around the area but we had a swirling wind to contend with which made the birds very fast with the wind or ditherers trying to get into the decoys but not sure with the wind. We shot until 18.00 and picked up 106 birds between us which was good going as we had lots of orders to supply. Saturday 25, DB was at a” Festival” so TopGunners invited me to shoot with them and they suggested that I shoot the peas that we shot the week before but this time position myself in the dog leg of the field which is the position we had seen birds heading for last week but thought it was not in the field. I set up with the magnet and four flyers and from the word go the birds were crossing the field to make my acquaintance . As it was close range shooting I was trying some 28gram 71/2 shells and to be honest it cost me some birds so I went back to 32/ 4s and hit them further out. The lads had found some barley and wheat with lots of birds on them but it would mean a long hike across the field as you cannot drive the field before the 1st of July. So we ended up with “ Three Men in a Hide”, You can imagine the pressure was intense with the urine being extracted mercilessly. We packed up a 18.00 and jointly collected 110 birds. Sunday 26th Due to the requests for birds I arranged to go with TGs again but as I was driving to them I noticed about 25 birds lifting off a turnip field. Phoned the Farmer and had the OK. Contacted TGs and they agreed to still go out and let me have the birds. I drove down the track to the turnips and about a hundred birds lifted off, now the wind was really strong and I drove to the far end of the field and when I got there the wind had changed, so drove back up and down the track and finally set up. I had six fresh birds and put out the magnet and four flyers. In the first ten minutes I had six or seven birds , then the wind changed again which made the birds hover and hold against the wind which to me is a difficult shot as I like to flow not stop. I was in touch with TGs and they were having a similar number. We packed up 18,00 and joined up to exchange the birds they had 86 and I had 83. So mine were a bonus. Edited June 30, 2022 by pigeon controller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted June 30, 2022 Report Share Posted June 30, 2022 Well done, great report. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadeyealan Posted June 30, 2022 Report Share Posted June 30, 2022 2 hours ago, TIGHTCHOKE said: Well done, great report. Yes but very poor presantion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon controller Posted June 30, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2022 1 hour ago, Deadeyealan said: Yes but very poor presantion. It’s that Coventry lot , dragged me into bad ways!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted June 30, 2022 Report Share Posted June 30, 2022 Two very good reports and your desire for Pigeon and Crow shooting is as strong as ever , I must admit I am still very keen on Pigeon shooting but Crow , Rooks and Jackdaws don't no longer interest me and they are left for anyone who want a bang at them , or for the estate staff to put the Crow trap out . Are you still finding the Pigeons well spread out ? , I looked around yesterday and if anything the Pigeons were more spread out than when I went last Saturday , our estate is well over three miles wide and we have got grain fields from one side to the other side and also down the marshes , none of it is laid and Pigeons are feeding in the tram lines and around the grass strips on the headlands , the only grain fields I didn't see any were on the Rye fields , as the Barley is getting ripe and the Wheat is getting to the milky stage the Rye is most likely a bit early , Peas are still holding a few but they are Marrow Fat and will soon be hard , the Pigeons will soon be back when they are ready to be combined . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon controller Posted June 30, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2022 Both ourselves and bunny_blaster are covering over 100 miles each day of shooting to find the birds. Some of our customers are of the opinion that you just find a field and set and the birds come to you. The current demand is outstripping supply, the barley has gone hard and they are on standing wheat and due to the dry spring the height of the plant has been controlled and will not fall over . The birds are just going to all the wheat fields and feeding in the tram lines or laying on the top with the wings extended. So we have no areas to decoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilts#Dave Posted July 2, 2022 Report Share Posted July 2, 2022 On 30/06/2022 at 22:37, pigeon controller said: Both ourselves and bunny_blaster are covering over 100 miles each day of shooting to find the birds. Some of our customers are of the opinion that you just find a field and set and the birds come to you. The current demand is outstripping supply, the barley has gone hard and they are on standing wheat and due to the dry spring the height of the plant has been controlled and will not fall over . The birds are just going to all the wheat fields and feeding in the tram lines or laying on the top with the wings extended. So we have no areas to decoy. That’s exactly what most people see to think is involved in shooting bags of pigeons. As you and I know, it’s just not that easy! Barley has been disappointing again for us, annoyingly one farm we used to shoot big bags on whenever barley was grown they’re pouring into…..but a new keeper is set on his beaters going out there now, who don’t have a clue what they’re doing which is frustrating. Seen big numbers appear almost overnight on wheat but as you say with none laid awkward to shoot and they seem to spread themselves between multiple fields! As usual though you get some shooting and get the results, well done PC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted July 2, 2022 Report Share Posted July 2, 2022 Looking at one of the shooting magazines in TESCO'S about Pigeon shooting it was saying the average bag of Pigeons was 12 a session , I am not sure if this is the case , I know it vary from county to county and it might be the case in a few weeks time on the stubble's , but throughout the year on crops I would say less than a dozen , of course you will get days that will far exceed that number , but there will be a lot more days when you set up for less than a dozen What say YOU . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilts#Dave Posted July 2, 2022 Report Share Posted July 2, 2022 1 hour ago, marsh man said: Looking at one of the shooting magazines in TESCO'S about Pigeon shooting it was saying the average bag of Pigeons was 12 a session , I am not sure if this is the case , I know it vary from county to county and it might be the case in a few weeks time on the stubble's , but throughout the year on crops I would say less than a dozen , of course you will get days that will far exceed that number , but there will be a lot more days when you set up for less than a dozen What say YOU . I think that really depends on what sort of pigeon shooter you are / how much ground you’ve got and thirdly how many pigeons are in your area! Personally I’ve not got as much time now as I did before I had kids etc so go out less now, but will generally shoot bigger bags on average than I did when I had more time as I have to be more selective with outings. I used to be able to go out a lot more and was able to give it a go whenever there was the opportunity, even when the odds might not have been so good, which meant I got a lot more unexpectedly good days that I don’t get now, and over the year would shoot more but over more visits! I don’t think a lot of the more prolific/seasoned pigeon shooters with decent numbers to go at would average anything like as low as 12, but plenty less experienced/fortunate will. As well as that many wouldn’t really want to be shooting the regular huge bags some seem able to, it’s a lot of work to do so and get rid of them etc! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted July 2, 2022 Report Share Posted July 2, 2022 4 hours ago, Wilts#Dave said: I think that really depends on what sort of pigeon shooter you are / how much ground you’ve got and thirdly how many pigeons are in your area! Personally I’ve not got as much time now as I did before I had kids etc so go out less now, but will generally shoot bigger bags on average than I did when I had more time as I have to be more selective with outings. I used to be able to go out a lot more and was able to give it a go whenever there was the opportunity, even when the odds might not have been so good, which meant I got a lot more unexpectedly good days that I don’t get now, and over the year would shoot more but over more visits! I don’t think a lot of the more prolific/seasoned pigeon shooters with decent numbers to go at would average anything like as low as 12, but plenty less experienced/fortunate will. As well as that many wouldn’t really want to be shooting the regular huge bags some seem able to, it’s a lot of work to do so and get rid of them etc! It would also make a difference if we knew what the average time is spent in a hide, over the years I have been very early in the morning and then gone to work , on a Saturday in the Wintertime I would often leave my house in the dark and come home in the dark and when I was working I would very often set up in my dinner break and be in the hide ten minutes after leaving off and then having a late tea . On average in my working days I would say 6 to 8 hours in the hide plus the time to get there and to get back home , my routine would be taking 12 dead pigeons out of my freezer on a Friday night to use on the Saturday and at least 9 times out of 10 I would shoot enough to replace the ones out of the freezer , these were never wasted as they would still be hard when I finished and they went straight back in the freezer and kept there till they went to the dealers . Now I very rarely do a morning , this time of the year I would say three hours in the afternoons is my normal with the odd four hour session if I feel like staying , if I looked at the average throughout the year spending 3 to 4 hours shooting , I recon it would work out under 12 slightly more than getting 12 or over . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7daysinaweek Posted July 3, 2022 Report Share Posted July 3, 2022 Superb! P.C, I have remarked many times before that 'I admire your dedication' in the service that you provide. When you say 'customers', are the birds straight into the food chain? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon controller Posted July 4, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2022 On 03/07/2022 at 17:29, 7daysinaweek said: Superb! P.C, I have remarked many times before that 'I admire your dedication' in the service that you provide. When you say 'customers', are the birds straight into the food chain? We have various outlets including human, reptile, raptor and taxidermy. It would appear that they all want bird’s currently. 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.