The saga unfolds!

[kitchrat]

Right, time to report on my trials and tribulations. There is some frustration involved but maybe not the sort you might expect.....

I have described the flocks I've seen, much as “old'un” had photographed but my tormentors were jumping, en masse, not just from field to field but from farm to farm, over a 5 mile radius.

On Saturday afternoon (yet another grey misty day) I had a text from the farmer to say they were all over his fields down the road away from the game shoot. (drilled beans and wheat) I had already seen them a short time earlier but on the adjoining farm and they were up and down like a Yo Yo, not settled at all.

Anyway, Sunday was Remembrance Sunday so I had to lay off but did go scouting. 11.00am, nothing to be seen but about 12.00, lots of birds arrived, from all directions. I have shot these fields twice as stubble, with good results, so am getting excited!

However, Monday is a beating day for this farmer, also actual Remembrance Day and there is a church at the bottom so I have to beat.

Monday dawns clear and sunny, so I suspect a change in the weather = a change in feeding time. I divert myself past these fields on the way to beating. 8.15am, it's covered in pigeons! If I had £1 for everyone at the shoot who told me about them, I could buy the farm!

Still, Tuesday it has to be, so an early start to get there 1^st. Leave house at 7.00am.

Have to park in a gateway 200yds downhill from the only way I could access a safe place to shoot, wind (such as there was) in the right direction and not going to upset anyone or scare walkers on the footpath. Load up my trolley, rucksack etc. drag it all up the hill, facing into the rush hour traffic, through the ditch, up the bank and across 150 yards of very rough field (not been rolled). The hip that needs a new bearing gave me grief but it has to be done.

Set up in the nettles round a power pole, the only safe cover. (nettles are not dead I can assure you, hands still stinging!) Wind should bring the birds up the field towards the decoys, right in front of me!

A large flock arrive, high, and keep going, never looked,not a good sign.

1^st bird has not read his flying manual and appears from behind, down wind, doesn't like what he sees and swirls away but I manage to down him anyway (back trigger, tighter choke). Next one arrives, also from behind doesn't like it, swirls up towards the power cables, I wait, clean miss but the “dead” bird wakes up and starts to leg it. I leg it after him, cue arrival of a flock of 100 birds! Damn it, scared them all.

Stock Doves get mixed into the equation, adding to the confusion.

For the next half hour it's quite busy, a mix of single/pairs and big groups. They don't really want it, often swirling away at the last minute.

I make all the schoolboy errors:

Looking the wrong way as a lone bird lands quietly in the decoys, only to see him fly away.

Watching a lone bird approach and flare away, shoot and miss, only to see a big flock coming up the field exactly as planned.

Pick on one bird in a big flock, he flares off early and I am surrounded by pigeons going in all directions about 10 yards away, miss them all! (I'm too slow)

Shoot one which falls 200 yards away and pulls all the incomers (they really wanted the open spaces as “old 'un” noted.) Go to get it just as 100 arrive!

Shoot a bird that lands upside down and scares two flocks before you realise.

Leave a perfectly decoying pigeon unshot because it's mixed up with doves and not identified soon enough.

Lose confidence and get FOM, fear of missing.

Miss the sitting targets that should boost your confidence.

 

The wind gets up a bit, which helps direct the flow but lets them flare quicker.

 

Now it's a bit quieter, odd 1s and 2s to catch you unawares, plus the odd big, wary flock. My shooting doesn't improve much but they decoy better now I have real birds out. I keep plugging away and did manage to hit some! The trickle finally dried up so I quit.

A sparrow hawk has stolen one from way down the field, several have made it to hedges (that I can't search) before collapsing but I still pick up 88!!

Takes me 3 painful trips to cart the fallen off the field but it's my fault for been too successful! No, I'm not complaining, just disappointed in my shooting. But, if I'd been on form it would have been 4 trips to cart them off!

Resting up now, before beating Friday and Saturday.

Cheers, Kitchrat

 

[ehb102]

Great read, thank you for writing it up. 

[mellors]

Good read and well done. 

It's the same round here so many pigeon and they just don't want to know. 

I was told by one farmer they are not rolling this year after the last two years of heavy rain accumulating on the rolled flat surface. 

 

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, Thanks for posting, You seem to worry to much, just go shooting and enjoy be out in the countryside , if you get a few pigeon thats a bonus , your lucky on that as where i can shoot there has been very few pigeon about

[marsh man]

Excellent report , Pigeons laid out as good as our ole friend P C used to during his prime, and last but not least a superb bag of Pigeons which put you very high on the P / W leader board .

Now you know what time they are feeding, or nearly 100 were feeding   MM

 

[Penelope]

1 hour ago, kitchrat said:

Right, time to report on my trials and tribulations. There is some frustration involved but maybe not the sort you might expect.....

I have described the flocks I've seen, much as “old'un” had photographed but my tormentors were jumping, en masse, not just from field to field but from farm to farm, over a 5 mile radius.

On Saturday afternoon (yet another grey misty day) I had a text from the farmer to say they were all over his fields down the road away from the game shoot. (drilled beans and wheat) I had already seen them a short time earlier but on the adjoining farm and they were up and down like a Yo Yo, not settled at all.

Anyway, Sunday was Remembrance Sunday so I had to lay off but did go scouting. 11.00am, nothing to be seen but about 12.00, lots of birds arrived, from all directions. I have shot these fields twice as stubble, with good results, so am getting excited!

However, Monday is a beating day for this farmer, also actual Remembrance Day and there is a church at the bottom so I have to beat.

Monday dawns clear and sunny, so I suspect a change in the weather = a change in feeding time. I divert myself past these fields on the way to beating. 8.15am, it's covered in pigeons! If I had £1 for everyone at the shoot who told me about them, I could buy the farm!

Still, Tuesday it has to be, so an early start to get there 1^st. Leave house at 7.00am.

Have to park in a gateway 200yds downhill from the only way I could access a safe place to shoot, wind (such as there was) in the right direction and not going to upset anyone or scare walkers on the footpath. Load up my trolley, rucksack etc. drag it all up the hill, facing into the rush hour traffic, through the ditch, up the bank and across 150 yards of very rough field (not been rolled). The hip that needs a new bearing gave me grief but it has to be done.

Set up in the nettles round a power pole, the only safe cover. (nettles are not dead I can assure you, hands still stinging!) Wind should bring the birds up the field towards the decoys, right in front of me!

A large flock arrive, high, and keep going, never looked,not a good sign.

1^st bird has not read his flying manual and appears from behind, down wind, doesn't like what he sees and swirls away but I manage to down him anyway (back trigger, tighter choke). Next one arrives, also from behind doesn't like it, swirls up towards the power cables, I wait, clean miss but the “dead” bird wakes up and starts to leg it. I leg it after him, cue arrival of a flock of 100 birds! Damn it, scared them all.

Stock Doves get mixed into the equation, adding to the confusion.

For the next half hour it's quite busy, a mix of single/pairs and big groups. They don't really want it, often swirling away at the last minute.

I make all the schoolboy errors:

Looking the wrong way as a lone bird lands quietly in the decoys, only to see him fly away.

Watching a lone bird approach and flare away, shoot and miss, only to see a big flock coming up the field exactly as planned.

Pick on one bird in a big flock, he flares off early and I am surrounded by pigeons going in all directions about 10 yards away, miss them all! (I'm too slow)

Shoot one which falls 200 yards away and pulls all the incomers (they really wanted the open spaces as “old 'un” noted.) Go to get it just as 100 arrive!

Shoot a bird that lands upside down and scares two flocks before you realise.

Leave a perfectly decoying pigeon unshot because it's mixed up with doves and not identified soon enough.

Lose confidence and get FOM, fear of missing.

Miss the sitting targets that should boost your confidence.

 

The wind gets up a bit, which helps direct the flow but lets them flare quicker.

 

Now it's a bit quieter, odd 1s and 2s to catch you unawares, plus the odd big, wary flock. My shooting doesn't improve much but they decoy better now I have real birds out. I keep plugging away and did manage to hit some! The trickle finally dried up so I quit.

A sparrow hawk has stolen one from way down the field, several have made it to hedges (that I can't search) before collapsing but I still pick up 88!!

Takes me 3 painful trips to cart the fallen off the field but it's my fault for been too successful! No, I'm not complaining, just disappointed in my shooting. But, if I'd been on form it would have been 4 trips to cart them off!

Resting up now, before beating Friday and Saturday.

Cheers, Kitchrat

 

Good effort J.

I take it you are going Friday? I won't be there.

 

[kitchrat]

2 minutes ago, Penelope said:

Good effort J.

I take it you are going Friday? I won't be there.

 

Friday clashes with another pigeon-rich shoot I'm afraid. 30th looks good!

[Penelope]

4 minutes ago, kitchrat said:

Friday clashes with another pigeon-rich shoot I'm afraid. 30th looks good!

No worries, I'll let the powers that be know.

I'll be there for the 30th Nov.

[kitchrat]

2 hours ago, Penelope said:

No worries, I'll let the powers that be know.

I'll be there for the 30th Nov.

👍

[mossy835]

good write up you worked very hard to get the 88 well done.

[old'un]

Well done, nice bag of pigeons.... does that mean you have cracked this pigeon lark now.

[clangerman]

fair play your efforts paid of against better judgement put 11 fresh birds out to test them today they wouldn’t come in if I paid them with bird seed lol 

[kitchrat]

2 hours ago, old'un said:

Well done, nice bag of pigeons.... does that mean you have cracked this pigeon lark now.

I wish!