Winter Shooting

[12.Bore Beretta]

As this is my first year shooting, how does winter compare to summer?, any tips for winter shooting.

 

 

P.s top web site,

[highdowns hunter]

Winter is great, and the only true time to shoot in my opinion. Bearing in mind that the land you have has something to to shoot on it .

 

Try and get some roost shooting in February its a lot better and more exciting that decoying.

[Aled_cky]

i cannot shoot in the day from mid july to about 7th of september, there are to many people about, so the winter and spring is the best.

good luck mate.

Aled

[the last engineer]

winter shooting in canada,awsome time of the year,running around minus 15/20 c

shooting snows as they flight in ,no better time had .

martin

[Fisherman Mike]

Yes I must agree some of my best shooting is done in the winter. I have always found the colder the better on winter rape, and roost shooting in Jan & Feb can be pretty spectacular as HH says.

 

FM.

[Cranfield]

The main advantage of Winter shooting, (unless you live among prairies of rape fields), is that the lack of food options concentrates the pigeons.

 

Also, the type of food they eat is quickly digested, we means they have to feed more often.

 

The days are also shorter and there are fewer leaves on the trees.

 

All in all, my favourite pigeon shooting time. :yp:

[12.Bore Beretta]

cheers for the optamistic replies , whats the best tactics for roost shooting in winter.?

[Fisherman Mike]

1. Find a roost which the birds are using. I know this sounds obvious but many roosts have a been used by Birds and their progeny for generations and will be used year after year. Some only at certain times of the year and some only occasionally. When the birds are flocked up in colder months they will all congregate to the same roosting sites. I use lofted deaks in some areas on the edge of the wood but during the really cold snaps the birds will want to try and find some cover in the denser wood and are particularly drawn to connifers

 

2. Conceal yourself on the boundary of the roost in line with the birds approach conceal your self with a hide or camo behind a trunk and get comfrortable as you can. Avoid any unnecessary motion and move slowly if you have to. Dont be tempted to light up a cigarette. ( If you smoke) I used to and I found out that the birds can see the glow and the smoke. Make sure that your position sillouettes the birds on their approach and consider doing a dummy run without the gun the evening before the shoot.

 

3. Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open. The birds wings make a distictive whirring sound when they set them to land and they often appear from nowhere and dissapear just as quickly.

 

4. Mark the birds you shoot and put the scoring cartridges in a seperate pocket or bag, its easy to forget in the excitement how many birds you have shot and where they might lay. Dont be tempted to move from cover to pick up dead birds as sometimes when birds come to roost they come in thick and fast. Once you have loosed a couple of shots reload straight away as the birds which come into roost will be disorientated by the shot and sometimes fly around the roost site in a state of confusion.

 

5 Take a good torch for picking up or better still a good dog if you have one but if you do take a dog make sure it is obedient enough to lay still without detection. The birds just wont come to roost of they see a dog wandering around the roost site.

 

6. Dont worry too much if you lose any birds in the pick up. Well established roosts will be patrolled regularly by Charlie and he will pick up any strays.

 

7. Take a friend as it gets lonely in those spooky woods at dusk and a mobile phone if your on your own.

[Cranfield]

I agree with most of what FM posted, but the different types of wood will influence your placement.

A lot of the roosts we shoot are in coppiced woods.

 

These have clearings, or areas of immature trees, amongst the large trees.

The best positions here are back into the wood from the boundary, among the smaller trees, but near to the larger trees.

The pigeons often pass the boundary quite high and drop across the open areas and roost in the larger trees.

 

Another situation that benefits from reconnaissance. :yp:

 

Don't forget that pigeons prefer to land into the wind, this applies to trees as well as fields.

This at least gives you a clue as to which way to look.