B686 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 Hi Had an early Finnish at work today shot on a field next to one I did well on the other week had a good day again picked up 63. Also loads of stock doves about . Obviously didn’t shoot any but they keep you on your toes. Seem to be more and more of them about every year now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fellside Posted April 18 Report Share Posted April 18 Well done. Yes agreed re stock doves. A lot in my area also - increasing numbers each year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Boggy Posted April 18 Report Share Posted April 18 I got quite excited the other day as I saw from a distance a field of recently drilled maize covered in `pigeons`. On closer inspection it was very clear that they were mostly stock doves with only one or two pigeons down feeding. Most frustrating. That field has now been gleaned of all the maize on the surface and not a bird to be seen. They (whether pigeons or stock doves) don`t take long to clear whatever has been left by these modern drills. Oh well, perhaps harvest time will attract the woodies. OB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B686 Posted April 18 Author Report Share Posted April 18 The fields I been shooting have been direct drilled and there’s barely on top everywhere, you don’t even have to try to look for it there’s so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinj Posted April 18 Report Share Posted April 18 There are not many woodies showing up on our shoot currently but I agree Stock doves are becoming more and more common, more so than woodies at this time of year, at certain times of year we see flocks of 500/1000 Stockies. You get all excited when you see them until a few peel off and come into the decoys then you realise that every one of them is a Stock Dove! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchrat Posted April 18 Report Share Posted April 18 14 hours ago, B686 said: Hi Had an early Finnish at work today shot on a field next to one I did well on the other week had a good day again picked up 63. Also loads of stock doves about . Obviously didn’t shoot any but they keep you on your toes. Seem to be more and more of them about every year now. So it's you shooting all my pigeons! I'm down the road near Braintree. I've had drilled beans, peas and barley to cover lately, the pigeons have found the fields OK but with no commitment. It's like shooting over winter rape. I only have to pull up in my truck or get out and they are gone, to only dribble back in ultra-cautious mode. Basically, they are not hungry but can top-up when they feel good and safe, taking no big risks. Same as on the rape, they have a (good) plan. We have a good supply of local woods and hedges with nice trees. Once they all leave, eventually, after 20+ minutes, a lead bird or two return but won't go on the crop directly, they sit in a wood or tree and watch. Slowly, over the next 20-30 minutes, others join them. When there are about 200+, another brave lead bird drops onto the crop. If all is well, the others flood down and start to gorge. This is usually when the farmer is passing and has a fit! If the initial bird chooses a tree near you (out of the dozens on offer), you can shoot him but the whole process goes back to square one. If the brave (greedy) bird hits the crop near you or looks at your decoys you may get 1 or even 2 but the whole game resets. Meantime, you could get a lone "Nobby-No-Mates" to drop straight in, usually when you are looking the other way! At the end, you have set all your stuff out, sat there for several hours and shot 7 or 8 birds and missed some too. Heartbreaking stuff, sob, sob! Of course, if you don't go out, they slowly build up and everyone in Essex sees them and later tells you "Oh you should have been of XYZ field, it was BLUE with them". 15 minutes ago, martinj said: There are not many woodies showing up on our shoot currently but I agree Stock doves are becoming more and more common, more so than woodies at this time of year, at certain times of year we see flocks of 500/1000 Stockies. You get all excited when you see them until a few peel off and come into the decoys then you realise that every one of them is a Stock Dove! Same problem round here but it's worse when you identify a group of doves, then the last one turns out to be a woodie but you are too late to nail him. Or, because the sun is in your eyes, you wait too long to get a +ve ID, then miss at 10 yds range as he swirls away when he spots you raise the gun as he is almost in the hide with you! HATE IT!! 1 hour ago, B686 said: The fields I been shooting have been direct drilled and there’s barely on top everywhere, you don’t even have to try to look for it there’s so much. Lucky *****! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchrat Posted April 18 Report Share Posted April 18 1 hour ago, Old Boggy said: I got quite excited the other day as I saw from a distance a field of recently drilled maize covered in `pigeons`. On closer inspection it was very clear that they were mostly stock doves with only one or two pigeons down feeding. Most frustrating. That field has now been gleaned of all the maize on the surface and not a bird to be seen. They (whether pigeons or stock doves) don`t take long to clear whatever has been left by these modern drills. Oh well, perhaps harvest time will attract the woodies. OB Modern combines, with the chaff cutters don't help though. The lighter chaff covers any grain/seed left, which fell faster (and hit the ground 1st) and pigeons can't/don't scratch, well that's my theory. There is still grain down there, you can see it when it germinates later but no pigeons seem to have been attracted right after harvest. Comments please! Look for fields that have been bailed? This summer will be my 1st harvest season in the UK for some time but I don't have too much hope of many good bags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B686 Posted April 18 Author Report Share Posted April 18 Had plenty of rape to shoot on last couple of winters but there hasn’t been enough pigeons on it to be a problem 150 pigeons here or there . Certainly not the big 1000 plus flocks like few years ago . Been finding after 1 , 2pm they have been getting on the barley in real good numbers have walked them off and then they have been coming Back in small groups rather than one big heap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinj Posted April 18 Report Share Posted April 18 3 hours ago, kitchrat said: So it's you shooting all my pigeons! No it's not! it appears that there is more than one Farnham, your birds are safe (and so are the ones over here 🙂) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aga man Posted April 18 Report Share Posted April 18 Very nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchrat Posted April 19 Report Share Posted April 19 19 hours ago, B686 said: Had plenty of rape to shoot on last couple of winters but there hasn’t been enough pigeons on it to be a problem 150 pigeons here or there . Certainly not the big 1000 plus flocks like few years ago . Been finding after 1 , 2pm they have been getting on the barley in real good numbers have walked them off and then they have been coming Back in small groups rather than one big heap. Funny how things can be different,only a few miles apart. Several of my permissions were plagued with pigeons on the rape, big flocks, in the 100's (not 1000's) but they were almost unshootable as they just p*****d off to somewhere else. They might come back, en masse, once or twice but you can't do much useful damage like that, just move them on. (which pleases Farmer A but upsets Farmer B) Yesterday afternoon I was on drilled barley, loads on it. Set up, a lone bird dives in and gets shot. Several 100 get up and for a moment the sky is full, I shoot 2 more. 3 in 90 seconds! For the next hour or so, just the odd 1 or 2 have a look, then, all of a sudden the "gang" are back and the sky is full again. I shoot 6 in just a few minutes. Then back to the occasional dribble until close of play. I got 20, which isn't bad, but for the number that were on that field is disappointing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B686 Posted April 19 Author Report Share Posted April 19 Yeah is strange as there was less rape grown round here last couple of years. So you think there would be more on the fields that were there . Also fields that have always been good fields that they always seemed to like whatever crop. I have been leaving the bigger flocks coming in letting them pass hoping they come back in smaller groups which they seem to do , last couple of times I have been . On barley that is. To be honest I really don’t think there’s as many people shooting round my area as there used to be . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchrat Posted April 19 Report Share Posted April 19 Yes I sometimes wonder about leaving a big group but when I tried it, they swooped in, didn't like it and left me fuming for having wasted a chance which I had waited 45 minutes for. There was lots of rape around here this winter, so they just go to another field/farm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B686 Posted April 19 Author Report Share Posted April 19 Yes and take no notice of the gas bangers at all 🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchrat Posted April 19 Report Share Posted April 19 3 hours ago, B686 said: Yes and take no notice of the gas bangers at all 🤣 Just jump up and go down on the other end of the field. Or up into the trees and start the safety 1st cycle again. But fire a gun..... GONE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clangerman Posted April 19 Report Share Posted April 19 5 minutes ago, kitchrat said: Just jump up and go down on the other end of the field. Or up into the trees and start the safety 1st cycle again. But fire a gun..... GONE! never get how when even using air rifle and dead birds they can still twig all is not well far smarter than we give them credit for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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