How to consistently kill large numbers on Rape

[the hitman]

In my experience , you need a few factors to fall into place on the day you shoot. Wind has to be strong enough to keep the birds moving , not sitting in trees like plums. Other shooters have to be out to stop them settling in any one place. The field you shoot must be pulling in good numbers of birds , when you recce the field you want to see birds in the air , not just a group on the ground. The decoys set up will be the same as usual , but movement is now essential ( rotary , flapper , sillos or shells).

When the large flocks start to break up in late Feb and the OSR starts growing again , you should see your bags improve.

And lastly , i have always preferred to shot in the afternoon , at this time of year . If you do set up at dawn , make sure have a second field for later , because the first will dry up after about an hour or so.

[Jim Sarakun]

Jim Sarakun , a way around your problem in having to use captals when typing is to write the post in microsoft word ( or what ever you use ) with what ever size of font you need , spell check and then reduce font size , copy and post. Its what i do as my spelling is noting to shout about.

 

Thanks for that snser2. On my second post now using that method...Now why didn't I think of that? Now I want to know when daz went rifling through my photo's and lifted that picture of me. These young'uns. Put 'em in the army for 10 years I say.

[Mungler]

The cheat's way:

 

1. find a flight line - main road, pylons etc

2. understand feeding times

3. movement in the pattern

4. lofting poles and stick some up in "sitty trees" to give them confidence

[James Dixey]

I have been very interested by the replies to this question that I asked and am very grateful for all the knowledge that I have gathered!

 

So Far, the following are my Definite Learning Points for getting bigger bags on Rape, as there seems to be complete agreement on these:

 

1. Thorough recce; do it properly!

 

2 Cover all competitor fields with Bangers or other shooters; dont be afraid to leave field and put out more Bangers if necessary during day

 

3 Movement amongst pattern is vital. Beware setting up in sheltered spots, thus reducing movement

 

4 A good breeze is essential to keep birds moving, reduce shot noise and provide movement in pattern

 

5 Set up where the birds are feeding; not necessarily where it is most convenient for you

 

6 Ensure ur set up is far enough away from their digesting wood/trees; so that they can go back and sit there and then drift out again when hungry

 

7 Try to find situations where there is regular movement in and out of the field, rather than one static flock

 

8 Be there set up B4 dawn

 

9 Keep as unnoticed by the Pigeon as possible, so dont waste shots on chance birds and only pick up/put out shot birds when u have to, if e.g. a bird is belly up

 

 

The points where there is not universal agreement are

 

1 Whether there are regional variations in how pigeons behave during the Rape Season

 

2 Whether to shoot or not at Large Flocks

 

 

I shall resummarise in a few days if we get any more postings to this thread

 

 

James Dixey

East Kent

[anser2]

Quote . "3 Movement amongst pattern is vital. Beware setting up in sheltered spots, thus reducing movement"

 

James , if its a cold windy day the pigeons are likely to want to feed in sheltered spots rather than out in the middle of a field. Being where the birds want to go is the key.

Edited December 14, 2008 by anser2

[jonno 357]

Jim

 

You make some interesting points, but your article would be much easier to read if it was not written in CAPITALS.

 

webber

 

Its upper case

[tazkb]

some observations this year

1: uber camaflauge and ultra concealment isn't neccasary

2: clear still days mean the birds stay high as they can see better

3: rotarys work better when there is some wind about

so far this year all the above have rang true if there is a good breeze and an overcast sky shooting over deeks

and flighting is much easier, standing still can some times be just as good as sitting down behind the hide, they seem to see movement rather than you and on a day when there is no wind they tend to be just that few feet to high, now i'm not saying you can't hit the odd one but unless your packing some serious powerfull cartridges the chance of dropping them is very slim. the old chestnut of reconasance is the key, you really need a couple of weeks watching your land and identifying the major flight lines, they will be there a bit like motorways in the sky. One thing that has allways baffled me is how they decide what they are going to feed on and why, and how it can be acorns monday tuesday then rape wednesday then some thing else sat,sun. There will i suppose allways be an element of luck to being in the right place on the right day because I really don't believe you can pre empt which crop they will feed on the next day.

[rattzzz]

Tried the tactic of being all set up by dawn. We were, good pattern, well concealed hide; they started to come in beautfully; a few shots and then they stopped coming.

 

My analysis of this failure was that despite 7 string bangers on local fields, there were still some fields where they could feed in peace. However, all of the 20 we shot, had nothing in their crops, so..? I am at a loss

 

James Dixey

Hi exactly the same but for 9 pigeon

[KillStone]

for what it is worth i found that earlier in the year or last year the birds were hating the rotary and would flare of at about 80-120yards even though some flew a long way to it to begin with. this is typical of them not liking the rotary. as a result i took it in and got two 50 bird days and then i just couldnt get on the birds and had a couple of 30 bird days and then only a 7 in an afternoon. i put this down to not being there at first light as usually and before this i had always been there ready for first light. Then the other day i had a bit of time so went and had a look at the fields and noticed that as soon as 1 or 2 landed the flocks would appear and commit. this is nothing special but every bird that came in came in a circle to the flock. this prompted me to have another go but this time with the rotary and hypaflaps. low and behold the birds came in very well in comparison to before and i managed a 50 bird day at the weekend and was extremely happy that i had managed to fool the birds as this is what i shoot for. My plan for now is to rest the field and just spend a bit of time to look and see if any other habits appear that i can take advantage off. To note i have recently made my own lofting set and have been finding that just a couple of decoys in even low hedge tops seems to bring em in as well. i do also think that u fellas are on to somethin with minimal noise as the other day i just sat in a small copse in the middle of a field with nothin more than my air rifle and nailed 15 pigeons as they came in to sit and feed on ivy berries (shouldve probs had bout 20 but thats the sport!).

Is anyone shooting a moderated 12 or other shotgun as it would be interesting to know what results these are obtaining over the rape.

Hope this isnt too boring!

[remmy1100]

I have had some very good bags on rape over the years and find this is down mainly to reccying the area well for flightlines into the field with a given wind direction also strength of the wind and cloud cover .the best days i have found are overcast blustry days and using a 20 bore instead of 12 bore helps aswell as doesnt disturb incoming birds ,i know its always said you need plenty of movement in pattern but i have shot 80+ birds whilst out with nothing more than a bouncer made in the hedge row out of bit of old wire and a branch

[Cookiemonsterandmerlin.]

I think the key to large bags and to matain control of numbers is to allow the birds a week between shoots.

 

Hard if there are many shooter with the same permission shooting at diffrent times .

 

IMO one maybe two regular guns shooting for a farm will account for more birds than a farm that allow many guns to shoot.

 

I think with the growing popularity of pigeon shooting birds are becoming very wary in certain areas making good control of number diffcult .

 

OTH

[retromlc]

i'd agree with you OTH,I think the syndicate i shoot on is over shot,the organisers should perhaps monitor /limit how often a field is shot,but they would argue that 1 they have your money and don't guarentee bag numbers,so that's that and 2 the farmer is happy as the pigoens don't come near his crops so for him it's working,for us it means long days stareing at a sky full of nothing

[dead eye alan]

fasanating stuff boys i am going out tomorow befor light useing some of the tips that have been posted on this site. i will report in tomorow with update looking forward to the forum.

[dead eye alan]

out befor dawn decked in well my aim was poor had 23 by 12 noon then nowt went home cold and xx cartridges lighter.

[Gutter]

How to kill large numbers on Rape

 

I want to set up an info exchange amongst experienced Pigeon Shooters about how to consistently kill large (50+) numbers on Rape

 

My proposition is this:

 

With decent field craft, good reconnaissance, and the right decoy patterns, anybody who can shoot straight can consistently kill good numbers (50+) on stubbles, clover, newly drilled corn, lucerne, peas, beans, blown corn. Very few pigeon shooters can consistently kill large numbers on Rape every time they go out. We all have our Red Letter days when we get a really good bag on Rape (by good I mean in excess of 50). Then we have a series of days when we only get the odd few.

 

What I want to do is to get the experienced amongst us to analyse the reasons why, when we have had a good day on the Rape; and to then summarise and share that thinking with the rest of us. In this way our combined levels of skills will go up; and we will be able to kill more pigeons and provide a better service to our Farmers.

 

I believe there are answers to why we all find it difficult to consistently kill large numbers on Rape. The purpose of this info exchange is to find those answers.

 

I shall start off:

 

Last Tuesday, 9th Dec, new farmer called. 5,000 swamping his Rape. Field unshot so far this winter

 

I decided to concentrate on being completely hidden so I set up in a ditch under an overhanging tree and I added a roof to my hide and created a window to shoot thru. Nothing of me or my hide was above ground level. I put out 30 decoys and dead birds and an electronic flapper.

 

Every bird that came in did so without any hesitation whatsoever; they completely committed and not one veered off all day; and most of the birds that came into the field came into my pattern. I have never had this before on Rape. I think it was due to my hide being so well concealed and unobtrusive.

 

Tomorrow, I am going to try another experiment for me on again a new field and that is to be on the field all set up as dawn breaks; my hope is that they will come in individually as they wake up and I can prevent the huge flocks building up and behaving as tho they were one bird.

We will see.

I shall report in over the weekend.

 

James Dixey

East Kent

[Gutter]

How to kill large numbers on Rape

 

I want to set up an info exchange amongst experienced Pigeon Shooters about how to consistently kill large (50+) numbers on Rape

 

My proposition is this:

 

With decent field craft, good reconnaissance, and the right decoy patterns, anybody who can shoot straight can consistently kill good numbers (50+) on stubbles, clover, newly drilled corn, lucerne, peas, beans, blown corn. Very few pigeon shooters can consistently kill large numbers on Rape every time they go out. We all have our Red Letter days when we get a really good bag on Rape (by good I mean in excess of 50). Then we have a series of days when we only get the odd few.

 

What I want to do is to get the experienced amongst us to analyse the reasons why, when we have had a good day on the Rape; and to then summarise and share that thinking with the rest of us. In this way our combined levels of skills will go up; and we will be able to kill more pigeons and provide a better service to our Farmers.

 

I believe there are answers to why we all find it difficult to consistently kill large numbers on Rape. The purpose of this info exchange is to find those answers.

 

I shall start off:

 

Last Tuesday, 9th Dec, new farmer called. 5,000 swamping his Rape. Field unshot so far this winter

 

I decided to concentrate on being completely hidden so I set up in a ditch under an overhanging tree and I added a roof to my hide and created a window to shoot thru. Nothing of me or my hide was above ground level. I put out 30 decoys and dead birds and an electronic flapper.

 

Every bird that came in did so without any hesitation whatsoever; they completely committed and not one veered off all day; and most of the birds that came into the field came into my pattern. I have never had this before on Rape. I think it was due to my hide being so well concealed and unobtrusive.

 

Tomorrow, I am going to try another experiment for me on again a new field and that is to be on the field all set up as dawn breaks; my hope is that they will come in individually as they wake up and I can prevent the huge flocks building up and behaving as tho they were one bird.

We will see.

I shall report in over the weekend.

 

James Dixey

East Kent

 

It’s good to read the various debates on what we should do if you’re a serious pigeon shooter.

 

There are many of us who are serious about the sport and put some hours in and sometimes get very little from the day. However the information that has been posted its quite clear that other then a good recce there are a myriad of things that we are all doing different with some success. Shall I use magnet “Yes/No” shall I roof the hide “Yes/No” should I stand or sit?:blink:. The list is endless.

This is a sport that I have been into for a number of years and what we are about is swinging the odds in our favour on the day.

What can do this, certainly the weather, a good breeze I have found certainly keeps a stream of birds coming and dissipates the sound quicker, getting on the flight lines is certainly a requirement and lastly enjoy the day no matter what it brings. After this it’s down individual experiences. As this list of different experiences has shown.

 

I also have to feel for the shooter who cannot get the time to complete good recces as this I would imagine is quite a few of us who have busy work lives. I regularly shoot with “tabs” and he can recce more than I can due to his job and this really is a great help.

 

I shall try some of the experiences from the information you have all put in as this is what’s good about this forum.

 

I also enjoy the funny parts and unfortunately I now have a picture in my head of Jim Sarakun as Greek god with Eli’s head on and its disturbing my sleep patterns.