how well do you hide?

[12.Bore Beretta]

This is my first year shooting, at the moment i am siiting behind camo netting, then popping up to take my shots, sometimes the pigeon seems to see me, sometimes it does,nt, i would appreciate any tips from all you experts, should i be showing my ugly mug to the pigeons?

[highdowns hunter]

12B.B

I would say that the background of the hide is more important than the front.

 

You could have the front of the hide as low as 3 ft as long as you stay still, and cover up your hands and face

Same as sitting in a hedge row really :yp:

[Cranfield]

I find it strange to get up and take a shot straight away.

 

I use to sit down, look through the hide and then get into a crouching postion, every time I saw a bird, or birds, that might be coming my way.

The eventual shot was taken from a standing position.

This was OK for one session a week.

 

However, when I started pigeon shooting far more regularly, I modified this to shooting from a shooting stick.

I now take 95% of my birds when in a hide, from the seated position.

It helps keep movement to a minimum, its comfortable and it means I can have quite a low level hide.

[Paul in North Lincs.]

Dear 12B.B

 

Cammo is the key. You need to able to 'blend in' with your backgroud, as well as you hide. I always go for the gloves hat, and veil every time. These cratures can practically see you blink @ half a mile!!!

 

I personally use realtree, or traditional army print and take both on a session...... its no good throwing on the woodland realtree jacket, if you are backed into fully leaved hedged row. Its the same if you manage to get hidden in fresh cut Bales, the traditional army print provides too much of a contrast.

 

Get to know and study your quarry. Woodies by their very nature are very wary, with extrodinarily good eyesight, and will shy away from anything that out of that is out of the norm. You will find that older birds are even wiser..... so remember...... get blended in with your surrounding and hide, get comfy and remain motionless. fidgety movements from with you hide will be detected a mile away from a bird flying overhead.............

 

With experience you will learn when it is the right time to commit yourselve to the shot. I have seen first hand novice shooters who spot an incomming bird thats bought the deeks from about 150yards away... convulsed with exitement, jumped up immediatly to get a bead on it, and plonked themselves back down in frustration when the bird jinked and veered off in the opposite direction at MAC 3!!

 

good shooting.....

 

Paul in North Lincs.

[pigeon master]

Hello 12B.B,

 

I just come across your first post on this super fantastic brilliant web site for all us shooters and as you can see people are willing to spend time giving advice, and good advice it is.

 

For me like I've mentioned before, the way in which you come over the top of the hide is the most important, as a sudden movement will be clocked by the pigeon but a slow smooth mount of the gun will be much more difficult for the pigeon to detect.

 

Try this the next time a bird comes to hide, first time put your hand in the air over the hide top at speed and see what happens, next time you try it raise the hand very slowly and the bird shouldn’t even notice the movement.

 

It’s instinctive, a predator moves at pace and their eyes and brains are tuned to this sort of movement, i.e Falcons hawks, but a slow movement is almost invisible to them.

 

Next time we go out 12 B.B we will have to test this theory to the full and I'm sure we will see that the slower you are at mounting the gun the better chance of a pigeon committing to the decoys without changing its flight path.

 

What do you guys think?, do you mount the gun fast or slow, I know at times you don’t get chance to mount slow but if you have the option.

 

Happy woody shooting

 

The PM

[Fisherman Mike]

Over many years of Pigeon shooting If have learned one thing alone it is to be patient.

 

I dont think that what you are wearing or hiding behind is as much as an important factor as being completely motionless and as Cranfield correctly pointed out you cannot do this unless you are comfortable.

 

I use a seat which allows me to remain motionless completely screened by the Hide for long periods with only my veiled head peeking above the hide line.

 

All to often I used to mount the gun too soon and the bird was on its way to another county. Now I tend to be patient and let things develop very often birds coming to the decoy will almost hover over them or even come round again slowly to take a better gander before landing.

 

If you do this and find that the birds are not stopping within range for long or are veering off just before range then you know that something is just not quite right.

 

On a good day when things work right and you are completely concealed and things look natural the birds will land amongst the decoys and sometimes even try and land on the rotary if you are using one.

 

I have had very good days in the past where I have worn just my Army DPM and veil & gloves and pushed myself against a high hedge with no hide. Only last week I did this and let 4 individual birds land amongst the deeks before moving and scaring them off just to see how effective it was. I finished the morning with 18 birds which for a couple of hours in this particular field is about average.

 

I am sure also that the flash of a shiny gun barrel sometimes negates the wearing of camo as it looks like a flag being waved about. In recent years fishing rods have favourably been finished in matt varnish for a similar reason. I am just wondering if I should invest in a camo gun or try to subdue the finish on one of my cheaper ones.

 

FM.

[12.Bore Beretta]

Cheers for top advice lads, looking at increasing my success rate on next outing, will keep you posted,