Decoy shy Pigeons

[kitchrat]

14 hours ago, Wilts#Dave said:

I didn’t, and certainly didn’t intend it to come across that way.
You said they don’t decoy here in Essex, to which I responded that I didn’t consider it a poor area in general for pigeons as some shoot thousands there, and said the main reason would likely be what you’ve described at the end of your post, you probably don’t have access to the prime pigeon land that he does. 
I don’t shoot the numbers he and Paul Payne do either but do make the most of it when there’s plenty to go at, and at the end of the day it’s much easier when there are a lot of pigeons in an area! 
That said, there are other guys that shoot the farms I do who don’t get the results, for which there are probably multiple reasons. 
You can only shoot what’s there, so as long as you’re making the most of what’s on offer there’s not much more you can do other than venturing further afield in hope of finding ‘better’ pigeon shooting farms.
As you probably know, it’s not an easy sport to pursue and achieve consistent results, I’ve certainly never stopped improving.
Over the years my bags have gone up, largely due to the continued growth of knowledge of the ground I have access to where I know pretty much all the best spots/ fields / flightlines and where they’re likely to be and when. I also still get it wrong / get low number days! 
Primarily for me, it’s down to cropping and when particular crops are grown in certain fields I get much better shooting. 
 

Sorry Dave, I wasn't being sarcastic, I genuinely appreciate that you didn't just say "You must be useless" or similar, as others on this forum might, sadly. 

On the flightlines point, I really find it hard to identify one down here. The pigeons have a multitude of woods and hedges to hang out in so can appear from any direction according to where they have been hiding/resting up. Sometimes you get a reasonable supply from one large wood or a town but that is the exception rather than the rule. I spent all yesterday afternoon looking at new drillings and old bean and wheat stubbles, the most I saw in one place was about 40, with no real traffic and none returned in half an hour after I put them off. They are all spread about in small numbers and I can't pin them down. Must try harder as my teachers used to say! Cheers, JK

12 hours ago, marsh man said:

They say  , you only get out of something what you put into it , this is not to say that J K don't put 100% into his chosen sport , I sometimes take one of our pickers up with me and now I can more or less guarantee he will end up with more me , I know exactly why and the reason is that he put 100 percent into his decoying where I no longer do , he will often put a magnet out ( sometimes two ) along with a flapper , all his decoys are on cradles and they will be replaced with dead ones as soon as possible , his hide is often tarnished with whatever is near at hand , with me I try to cut so many corners , my decoys are often balanced on the rape or grain stubble , one or two floaters and I let my dog pick up most of what I shoot , my time limit is now only a couple of hours and if I shoot 20 then I have shot enough , had a bit of sport and my dog have enjoyed himself , I now believe in comfort and I know I am not always in the right place but if I can drive rather than walk then so be it , I can handle 20 , anymore than that I would end up filling my freezer up with no , or very little chance of emptying it , there will be a time when we all have to slow down , we also have to take the weather into account as well , I begin to feel the cold now and I no longer fancy sitting on a cold hedge in the middle of the Winter for hours on end in the hope of a few Pigeons coming into your decoys on the rape fields , and I doubt I am not the only one with the big 80 not that far away .    MM

But your are still doing it, fair play to you, and an inspiration to me as I am not far behind in the "getting less able" stakes. Cheers, JK