Nice beginning- frustrating end

[the hitman]

Having recced a stubble yesterday- I was in the hide and set up by 9am this morning.

The conditions were good, with a fresh  northerly wind making my sillo’s bellow.

First 3 that came in were missing clean , however the next 2 were shot and the magnet was up and running.

Pigeons were showing an interest without fully committing to decoy, but I was picking away by shooting a few singles. I decided that the magnet was the problem, so with 12 shot I brought the magnet and all 20 sillo’s in . This seemed to work and they began decoying with confidence. It was now 11am, and just as I shot another and looked around for more - I spotted a tractor entering the field with disc’s on the back. A quick chat with the driver confirmed that my day on this field was over.

I was very frustrated to have to pack up what would have been a 50+ day with 20 pigeons.

I didn’t have a plan B today, however this permission is historically very productive especially on stubble, and what I would consider to be the best fields are still to be harvested.

 

[FOXHUNTER1]

Don't you just hate it when that happens 😭

[marsh man]

3 hours ago, the hitman said:

Having recced a stubble yesterday- I was in the hide and set up by 9am this morning.

The conditions were good, with a fresh  northerly wind making my sillo’s bellow.

First 3 that came in were missing clean , however the next 2 were shot and the magnet was up and running.

Pigeons were showing an interest without fully committing to decoy, but I was picking away by shooting a few singles. I decided that the magnet was the problem, so with 12 shot I brought the magnet and all 20 sillo’s in . This seemed to work and they began decoying with confidence. It was now 11am, and just as I shot another and looked around for more - I spotted a tractor entering the field with disc’s on the back. A quick chat with the driver confirmed that my day on this field was over.

I was very frustrated to have to pack up what would have been a 50+ day with 20 pigeons.

I didn’t have a plan B today, however this permission is historically very productive especially on stubble, and what I would consider to be the best fields are still to be harvested.

 

If it was being diced lightly you might well get another go in a few days time , this really depend on what you have got on the surrounding fields , our combine haven't moved for four days and that have gave the farm boys time to cart all the bales off and finish direct drilling the stubble for the Winter livestock feed.

At least you had a bit of shooting and it stayed dry , we had rain off and on till well after dinner then at long last we saw the sun again .

This year on the barley stubble I haven't used the magnet at all , I have started with about 20 decoys balanced on top of the stubble with a floater each end once I have shot the first two Pigeons , when the sun is out I found them a total waste of time and not worth the effort putting them out , others might find them a god send but I found a good spread of decoys spaced about at all different angles brought them in nicely . 

THANKS for the report     MM

[the hitman]

58 minutes ago, marsh man said:

If it was being diced lightly you might well get another go in a few days time , this really depend on what you have got on the surrounding fields , our combine haven't moved for four days and that have gave the farm boys time to cart all the bales off and finish direct drilling the stubble for the Winter livestock feed.

At least you had a bit of shooting and it stayed dry , we had rain off and on till well after dinner then at long last we saw the sun again .

This year on the barley stubble I haven't used the magnet at all , I have started with about 20 decoys balanced on top of the stubble with a floater each end once I have shot the first two Pigeons , when the sun is out I found them a total waste of time and not worth the effort putting them out , others might find them a god send but I found a good spread of decoys spaced about at all different angles brought them in nicely . 

THANKS for the report     MM

Thank you for the advice MM I will keep an eye on the field in case another opportunity presents itself.

I am probably set in my ways and just stick the magnet out - then bring it in if it isn’t working. Perhaps we should start a new thread- when or what situation does a magnet work best? 

For me it’s a must on Winter OSR when movement is important.

 

[marsh man]

49 minutes ago, the hitman said:

Thank you for the advice MM I will keep an eye on the field in case another opportunity presents itself.

I am probably set in my ways and just stick the magnet out - then bring it in if it isn’t working. Perhaps we should start a new thread- when or what situation does a magnet work best? 

For me it’s a must on Winter OSR when movement is important.

 

I also get lazy in my old age and a big bag of Pigeons is no longer a top priority so it's a matter of chucking my sack of Pigeon decoys in all directions and set each one up wherever it fall , the easy answer to say when and where is the best time to set out a magnet ,  the short answer is ( AT TIMES ) on any thing above grain stubble height , certainly an advantage on standing crops and high stubble like rape and beans , I dare say they still work on anything and everything ( AT TIMES ) the thing is nobody still know the exact time . so they will continue to put them out , move them and then bring them back in and hope they work better the next day they are put out again 

[pigeon controller]

I try not to use a magnet or flappers if I can, just natural birds. OK you loose 12 birds per session but they usually decoy well from the start. If not then you use mechanicals to draw them in. When you read other shooters reports the first two shot go on the magnet, that would imply that every decoy pattern in the country has a magnet. For example five come to your pattern two shot, three spooked it must have an effect. Here in the Midlands they see a lot of shooters/patterns so they must learn. We currently have a good number of juvenile birds about and they will decoy just as a safety in numbers thing.

Well done the hitman for going out and reporting, you were beaten by the efficiency of the farmer. 

[marsh man]

1 hour ago, pigeon controller said:

I try not to use a magnet or flappers if I can, just natural birds. OK you loose 12 birds per session but they usually decoy well from the start. If not then you use mechanicals to draw them in. When you read other shooters reports the first two shot go on the magnet, that would imply that every decoy pattern in the country has a magnet. For example five come to your pattern two shot, three spooked it must have an effect. Here in the Midlands they see a lot of shooters/patterns so they must learn. We currently have a good number of juvenile birds about and they will decoy just as a safety in numbers thing.

Well done the hitman for going out and reporting, you were beaten by the efficiency of the farmer. 

Not only do the placing of the magnet play a big part amongst your decoy patten , then I dare say the weather and light conditions also make a difference , I wonder how many people set there magnet up and then return back to the hide to wait for the first customer , one is spotted at a distance and make a bearing towards your decoys , you can tell that this pigeon don't look that confident and at 60 70 yards out start veering off , you then wait for the next one and this one do come in a bit closer and give you a shot , this carry on throughout the time you are there , clearly something isn't right , you then shoot a Pigeon that is wing tipped and is flapping about the other side of the magnet , so you leave the hide to go and pick it up , when you turn round after picking the bird you can clearly see the arms are glinting every time they go round and any pigeon with any sence know that something isn't right , if the decoyer had gone out into the field after setting the magnet up he would had seen the problem , but no he want to start shooting as soon as possible and this easy mistake is overlooked , as you rightly say , by starting off with a good static decoy patten and add to it as you go along you will then find they decoy far better than having a pair of pigeons going around in circles and never likely to catch each other .    MM

[the hitman]

PC & MM

Thank you for the words of advice- I recognise what you say in my own decoying practice.

I think we all appreciate that when a magnet works well it can be a game changer on the day- but don’t rely on it.

 

[pigeon controller]

3 hours ago, the hitman said:

PC & MM

Thank you for the words of advice- I recognise what you say in my own decoying practice.

I think we all appreciate that when a magnet works well it can be a game changer on the day- but don’t rely on it.

 

Exactly