hitfreshairagain Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 hi all as a newbie to this great sport im learning alot in the field but would like to know,is it harder to decoy in pigeons over rape when the birds are flocking in large numbers.Is it easier when they are in smaller groups.What are the pros and cons. Thanks in advance Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerseaDavid Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 It is always hard to get good bags of pigeons when they are in large numbers but it is possible. If you have a field that you have got small numbers of birds coming into all day then there is a good chance of a nice bag but if they are in one large group then they may not come in and if they do then you fire at them and they may not come back. Smaller groups tend to decoy more often and better. Large groups tend to land where they feel like and are looking around more and are more easily scared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitfreshairagain Posted January 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 thanks for your reply....so am i right in assuming this is the toughest time of year. i am getting quite frustrated at birds passing by my decoys i know they can see them just not interested. I have a bouncer but should i put it out when theres no wind or is that likely to spook them. Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerseaDavid Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 Yes, this time of year is very hard to get good numbers. I tend to use a bouncer most of the time because I have found they work well but I tend to move it alot to try and get birds to come in easier. I dont think it matters too much if it is windy or not, I tend to find that they stand out better than just static decoys. I have found many time before that I have put decoys out and the birds will just ignore them but you just have to keep trying. I know I say this alot but have you tried lofting 3 or 4 decoys in a tree under a flightline with a few decoys and a bouncer. I have found that lofted decoys will bring birds in from a long way and some times even better than a pigeon magnet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitfreshairagain Posted January 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 Yes, this time of year is very hard to get good numbers. I tend to use a bouncer most of the time because I have found they work well but I tend to move it alot to try and get birds to come in easier. I dont think it matters too much if it is windy or not, I tend to find that they stand out better than just static decoys. I have found many time before that I have put decoys out and the birds will just ignore them but you just have to keep trying. I know I say this alot but have you tried lofting 3 or 4 decoys in a tree under a flightline with a few decoys and a bouncer. I have found that lofted decoys will bring birds in from a long way and some times even better than a pigeon magnet. hi I must admit i havent tried lofting,as im new i have a limited amount of gear moneys to tight to mention lol.I have 12 flocked shell decoys with spring sticks and a bouncer with a foam pigeon all purchased from uk shootwarehouse. I have heard the bouncer should be placed 50 yds behined the decoy pattern is this right,seems like along way to me.also today there was no wind at all and struggled to find the best direction to point my horseshoe pattern.Even a feather tossed in the air came straight down.Managed to get 4 birds that were obviously lost flying past lol. Thanks again Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikee Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 on a day when there is little or no wind the birds can approach the pattern from any angle, i find it best to put the deeks in an oval shaped blob with individual birds facing different directions and at differing spacings if only using a few deeks as you have, i prefer to use more than that 30-50 if possible with a mixture of flocked full bodies and shells and dead birds, with this many deeks i tend to put them in 2 blobs with the larger nearer to the hide and the smaller a few yards behind and the bouncer between like a bird flighting from one patch to the other, if you watch a large group of real birds feeding there are nearly always 1 or 2 birds flying about from one end of the pack to the other, give that a try mikee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitfreshairagain Posted January 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 Thanks mikee, im out again tommorow so i will give it a go. Great to get so much help on here you guys are great thank you all so much. Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerseaDavid Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 I must admit I do the same thing as mikee on a day when there is no wind. I just put most of my decoys in a clump or a line in front of my fide going left to right and point the birds in different directions. I tend to make most of my equipment (bouncers, cradles, lofting poles and hide poles etc) which I found was cheaper. For a long time I just used to use a load of gard canes for lofting decoys because they can slide into each other to get some good hight, but now I use light weight metal poles. I dont tend to use too many decoys (12 - 15) because I may have to move and if you have got 30 - 50 decoys to pick up then it will take a while, but it is down to you on what you like to do and if it works then keep doing it. when it comes to placing the bouncer in the pattern, I tend to put it at the front of the patter poiting towards my (normally under a tree) so it looks like it is going into the tree, but then some times I will put it to one side of the pattern to push birds to the centre of the pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerseaDavid Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 Thanks mikee, im out again tommorow so i will give it a go. Great to get so much help on here you guys are great thank you all so much.Lee Glad we could help. I hope this enfo can help you. Good luck tomorrow mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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