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Any of you who have bothered to follow the trials and tribulations of Kitchrat will know that I have struggled to find decent numbers of pigeons and those I have found don't want to play the decoy game. So yesterday I found a field of rape stubble with loads (for me) of birds on it, I found the farmer (it was a new farm for me) and he gave me the green light for today. The old and wise sages on this forum advised me not to set my sights too high, so I followed this advice and only took 2 slabs of Clear Pigeon!

After a wet morning it brightened up so I arrived in good time about 1.00pm . No birds to be seen. Set up on the corner of a wood they had favoured yesterday, although there are no flightlines and they just come from wherever they just were, the magnet can be seen from 270 degrees, I'm in the shade and well hidden.

1st bird arrived straight in before I had sat down and loaded and got away with it. 2nd one not so lucky. Fantastic flow of little groups, 2,3,4,or 5s, not the silly big flocks I have seen elsewhere. Decoyed a treat and within 15 minutes I have shot 10. (A good whole day for me).

Then they got a bit more sneaky, many doing the old "have a look from a distance then sit in the wood to think about it", so shooting became much more difficult and I didn't do that well. However, the flow of birds was good and I kept the score moving.

After 90 minutes I had about 30 down, which is all I can handle to give away/process myself so I texted the game dealer to check he would leave the chiller unlocked for me to drop the bag off that night. Got the thumbs up so settled down (and got my eye in a bit) and started to make progress towards my 1st 100+ bird day for some time.

BUT, within 10 minutes of the thumbs up, the farmer shows up and says he has had complaints about the noise, so I'm going to have to stop "soon".(and not come back tomorrow) I tried to keep going for a bit but the fun had gone out of it and I quit about 3.15. Picked up 48, with maybe 6 or 8 lost in the wood and undergrowth behind. Not bad for 2 and a bit hours but what could have been??

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Just now, JDog said:

Excellent. You deserved some good fortune.

Thanks for your support but 100+ would have been even better. trouble is, the "Townies" move into the country and don't like country pursuits. Here are the 48 I forgot to add to the post.

20240723_160801.jpg

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Enjoyable whilst it lasted. I have been in the same boat with complaints from neighbours, its not a good feeling hopefully the farmer has other fields. I have resorted to a fully moderated 20g using subs before and they are a great answer to situations like this. They do take a lot of practice.

In Africa this year we were set to shoot a pan that had around a 1000 spur wings descending on it each night. The place was a haven for mosquito's biting even through my trousers. After sitting for the best part of an hour waiting for the start of the flights having killed at least 50 mosquito's on my clothing whilst trying not to move. The first bids arrived and we started shooting. Within 20 mins we were asked to stop as the farmers wife was upset. I think i finished with 3 geese two ducks and a 100 bites. 

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A hushpower gun my well reopen that door and others too .Good shooting

I had a measly 6 birds for a couple of hours in the rain the other day but I only fired 8 shots so was pleased with my score .that was with a .410 hushpower .all birds were stone dead and my dog retrieved really well .

mustn't grumble .

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Excellent write up and a very good bag in the timeframe , once the farmer had complained about the noise level that would had spoilt my day and I would had done the same as you , although I would have called it a day as soon as the farmer had left , you might had been in the right but any hassle leave you on edge and it's just not worth in making matters worse , with all the new builds going on , this is something I fear we will get more and more in the days , months and years ahead .

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Well done , shame you had to stop but 48 is good and better than a kick in the nuts that may well make you cry😖. Is the game dealer out Tiptree way or is there another in the area?

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What a shame, have been there a few times myself and it not only zaps the fun out of the day but also disheartens you as you know it’s not somewhere you’ll be able to go regularly in the future. 
Good while it lasted though, 48 in a couple of hours is busy enough and well done on getting out and finding where the pigeons actually are 👍🏼

As said a moderated gun may be good to have in your armoury, I’ve got a .410 hushpower mossberg and they’re great for those noise sensitive fields. 

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11 hours ago, kitchrat said:

Any of you who have bothered to follow the trials and tribulations of Kitchrat will know that I have struggled to find decent numbers of pigeons and those I have found don't want to play the decoy game. So yesterday I found a field of rape stubble with loads (for me) of birds on it, I found the farmer (it was a new farm for me) and he gave me the green light for today. The old and wise sages on this forum advised me not to set my sights too high, so I followed this advice and only took 2 slabs of Clear Pigeon!

After a wet morning it brightened up so I arrived in good time about 1.00pm . No birds to be seen. Set up on the corner of a wood they had favoured yesterday, although there are no flightlines and they just come from wherever they just were, the magnet can be seen from 270 degrees, I'm in the shade and well hidden.

1st bird arrived straight in before I had sat down and loaded and got away with it. 2nd one not so lucky. Fantastic flow of little groups, 2,3,4,or 5s, not the silly big flocks I have seen elsewhere. Decoyed a treat and within 15 minutes I have shot 10. (A good whole day for me).

Then they got a bit more sneaky, many doing the old "have a look from a distance then sit in the wood to think about it", so shooting became much more difficult and I didn't do that well. However, the flow of birds was good and I kept the score moving.

After 90 minutes I had about 30 down, which is all I can handle to give away/process myself so I texted the game dealer to check he would leave the chiller unlocked for me to drop the bag off that night. Got the thumbs up so settled down (and got my eye in a bit) and started to make progress towards my 1st 100+ bird day for some time.

BUT, within 10 minutes of the thumbs up, the farmer shows up and says he has had complaints about the noise, so I'm going to have to stop "soon".(and not come back tomorrow) I tried to keep going for a bit but the fun had gone out of it and I quit about 3.15. Picked up 48, with maybe 6 or 8 lost in the wood and undergrowth behind. Not bad for 2 and a bit hours but what could have been??

Well done. 

Shame you had to leave. 

Interesting the magnet on stubble I've never had any luck with one round here on my farms and no one else shoots them. 

I've tried it many times even recently bought a lightweight jobby which worked fine on hard to get to laid barley and large patches on standing rape. 

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12 hours ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Does the farmer want the Wood pigeons eating his crops then?

The farmer wasn't complaining I've been told to stop by farmers due to noise complaints then I bought a 20g huspower to use on those particular farms or area of a farm that is sensitive 

13 hours ago, kitchrat said:

Any of you who have bothered to follow the trials and tribulations of Kitchrat will know that I have struggled to find decent numbers of pigeons and those I have found don't want to play the decoy game. So yesterday I found a field of rape stubble with loads (for me) of birds on it, I found the farmer (it was a new farm for me) and he gave me the green light for today. The old and wise sages on this forum advised me not to set my sights too high, so I followed this advice and only took 2 slabs of Clear Pigeon!

After a wet morning it brightened up so I arrived in good time about 1.00pm . No birds to be seen. Set up on the corner of a wood they had favoured yesterday, although there are no flightlines and they just come from wherever they just were, the magnet can be seen from 270 degrees, I'm in the shade and well hidden.

1st bird arrived straight in before I had sat down and loaded and got away with it. 2nd one not so lucky. Fantastic flow of little groups, 2,3,4,or 5s, not the silly big flocks I have seen elsewhere. Decoyed a treat and within 15 minutes I have shot 10. (A good whole day for me).

Then they got a bit more sneaky, many doing the old "have a look from a distance then sit in the wood to think about it", so shooting became much more difficult and I didn't do that well. However, the flow of birds was good and I kept the score moving.

After 90 minutes I had about 30 down, which is all I can handle to give away/process myself so I texted the game dealer to check he would leave the chiller unlocked for me to drop the bag off that night. Got the thumbs up so settled down (and got my eye in a bit) and started to make progress towards my 1st 100+ bird day for some time.

BUT, within 10 minutes of the thumbs up, the farmer shows up and says he has had complaints about the noise, so I'm going to have to stop "soon".(and not come back tomorrow) I tried to keep going for a bit but the fun had gone out of it and I quit about 3.15. Picked up 48, with maybe 6 or 8 lost in the wood and undergrowth behind. Not bad for 2 and a bit hours but what could have been??

You just proved to yourself that perseverance pays off in the end  I know its difficult especially in winter chasing birds or lack of them on rape I get despondent but I keep at it and it turns around 

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12 hours ago, B686 said:

Well done , shame you had to stop but 48 is good and better than a kick in the nuts that may well make you cry😖. Is the game dealer out Tiptree way or is there another in the area?

Yes, that's the one. Nice chap.

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4 hours ago, kitchrat said:

Yes, that's the one. Nice chap.

Yes he is . I was surprised that he’s a farmer. Thought it would be someone renting a unit on the farm. He likes a chat.

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