PEREGRINE Posted November 8, 2004 Report Share Posted November 8, 2004 Hi guys there are a couple of fields of maize being cut this week on one of the farms I shoot over, I have never come in contact with maize before in fact at first I thought it was sweetcorn and was wondering if this will become a draw for pigeons. Has anyone any experience with this crop, if so any suggestions would be welcome. Cheers Peregrine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remytherussell Posted November 8, 2004 Report Share Posted November 8, 2004 There is still an abundance of food supplies for pigeons at the moment. That said, a couple of days after harvest you should find some pigeons attracted to the overspill. You can but give it a try as any shooting at the moment is welcome. Did notice 1 large flock, about 100, of pigeons flying over us on Saturday whilst pheasant shooting. They were obviously heading for feed somewhere. A good sign if they are starting to "flock". RTR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eugene molloy Posted November 8, 2004 Report Share Posted November 8, 2004 Peregrine, in fact at first I thought it was sweetcorn That's just what it is. In this country it's planted as a green fodder crop and as game cover. The "corns" are a fair draw for pigeons, but in my experience, nothing exceptional; other may have had better luck. What it does really pull in big numbers are rooks jackdaws and crows. My second biggest score (47) was on a maize stubble. In the fields surrounding the maize you'll find a few small half eaten corns that the birds have picked up and flown off with, a good sign they are getting stuck in. What works on other crops will work on maize; get under a flight line, near a sitty tree if possible but not under it, get the deeks right for the wind, sit down and keep still until the last second. Give it a whirl and let us know how you get on. Eug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete evans Posted November 8, 2004 Report Share Posted November 8, 2004 the maize on my permission tends to attract mainly rats. it is not harvested so when the ears fall off the rats gorge themselves. these rats grow fat on the corn, my dog caught one last year that was huge. no pigeons though pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Beasley Posted November 8, 2004 Report Share Posted November 8, 2004 Maize can be excellent but its unlikeley that you'll find much sport on it as they tend not to spill too many cobs when its harvested as a fodder crop. Now on the other side of the coin Maize game cover strips tend to be chopped at the end of the Pheasant season leaving any residual corn not eaten by the Phezzies spewed all over the ground. This is the time when the Pigeons really go bananas on it and once they've found it you can expect some serious action. :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PEREGRINE Posted November 8, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2004 Will when I looked yesterday they had harvested a strip about 50yds wide round the edges, and I could see spilled maize all over the place. I can only suspect this will be the case with the rest of the fields, you say you have had success with spilled maize do you think its worth a go at the weekend?? Peregrine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remytherussell Posted November 8, 2004 Report Share Posted November 8, 2004 Perrigrine. If you saw the land had been harvested to 50yards, did you see any pigeons?Maybe they had not found it yet. Thats why in my 1st reply, leave it for a day or 2 to let the pigeon find the new food source. When do they complete the harvest. (Seems a bit late to be doing it as the ground is very soft by now, all ours locally done a month ago) Dont know what time you have on your hands but just keep an eye on it. Just give it a day or two after harvest. The weather forecast is for a chilly wind later in the week so I,d say plan to get out there. I would. Have fun. RTR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PEREGRINE Posted November 8, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2004 Hi RTR I didnt see any pigeons on the 50yd strip but the combine and all the kit was in the field so I presume they had started the day before (Saturday) and yes I thought it was late harvesting as well. Or maybe they had cut a few days previously and the pigeons were not interested which is why I wondered if it would be a draw for pigeons at all. The trouble is I live some 35 miles away from the fields and didnt want to waste the only day I have for shooting this week on non productive fields. :thumbs: However I suppose I might as well give it a go as there is very little else around to interest them at the moment, and at the very least its a day out in the countryside. Peregrine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddeer 40 Posted November 8, 2004 Report Share Posted November 8, 2004 most of my pigeon shooting is over maize, when there is nothing else around they can hit it very hard. 90% of farming in Belgium is maize, there are two ways of harvesting, first is for cattle feed (when the plant is stil green, they cut it in very smal pieces and keep it under plastic for winterfeed) second they harvest the crop. This way is my favorite, when whole fields are harvested, I have very good results, using a pigeon magnet and as many decoys as I have. Give it a go, if it is the only food source around, results can be very good. Good luck :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel b3 Posted November 8, 2004 Report Share Posted November 8, 2004 this is the first year ive shot over maize and i didnt find it very good for pigeons but the rooks ,crows, magpies and pheasents gave it a real hammering.its been cut around 3 weeks now so most of it has been eaten. :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Beasley Posted November 8, 2004 Report Share Posted November 8, 2004 Will when I looked yesterday they had harvested a strip about 50yds wide round the edges, and I could see spilled maize all over the place. I can only suspect this will be the case with the rest of the fields, you say you have had success with spilled maize do you think its worth a go at the weekend?? Peregrine Ok If they've spilt it all over the place then yes, chances are they will find it but with the current glut of acorns/beechmast about they may not bother. I dont know how much grub is about for them in your area but if its anywhere like here then there'll probably be plenty A good way to test what the field will shoot like is to go to the field and observe a: the flightlines and b: the volume of birds coming into the field on the flightlines if there are any. Your observations will of course depend on the time of day that you view the field. First thing in the am would be a good bet and also mid-day til 2pm at this time of year. If you turn up and there's plenty of birds already there then fire a couple of shots over the field. Observe the numbers of birds present and more importantly observe how many come back to the field once you've fired a few pops over them. This is probably the most important thing. If they all ****** off and dont come back, thats probably what will happen if you setup! Good results are all about their confidence in the field and how much they want or need the grub. There is as always an exception to this rule and thats if you get there too late and fire a shot over the field and they all ****** off that they could have already fed and so have no need real to return giving you a false impression. Also if they're not there at all when you go and look dont dismiss the field for good......as someone else mentioned they may not have found it yet. As usual the more time you spend watching the field the better informed your decision will be, and you're in a difficult position of being 35 miles away but thats what makes it fun and challenging! Effort in = rewards out! Best of Luck :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owenwill Posted November 9, 2004 Report Share Posted November 9, 2004 We do about 100 acres of maize on the farm, always found it useless for attracting pigeons, great for bunnies in the few weeks after planting before it gets too high, obviously its usefull for cover when we've got wheat in adjacent fields but really never had much over maize stubble Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PEREGRINE Posted November 9, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2004 Thanks for the advice guys, if I give it a go over the weekend I will let you know how I got on!! Peregrine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rifleman56 Posted November 13, 2004 Report Share Posted November 13, 2004 i have had some good fun shooting crows on maize they seem to like it when its first cut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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