6shot Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 saw the famer on 1 of the permission i have on saturday morning. he was discing in the cold weather making the most of the hard ground. called in today to find out what was going in thinking it would be spring wheat or beans. hes is going to put peas in. 2x50 arces and 1 x 100 acres all within 10 miles of each other. i have shoot pigeons on pea stuble before but never on drilled peas. they wont be drilled untill end of march time. i know its along time away yet but would it be worth starting to watch the field for flight lines now and how long do you recon it will take for the pigeons to find the peas when there drilled. also if theres anyone who would be up for a bit of exchange shooting(south lincs). ive been shooting pigeons for about 5 years but allways up for some advise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deny essex Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 Always worth checking any ground out for pigeon flightlines and habits for as many days as you can before shooting. Depending on how well the drill goes in spillage etc will determing the attraction, but peas on top will soon be gleened up by the woodies so keep a check from the time they are drilled. As for when the crop starts chitting, just breaking the surface, this will be like steak to pigeon that have survived the winter on gut scouring rape and could amount in a great deal of interest to all in the area depending what other spring drill has been planted, some good bags are possible over peas, we had over 600 over 3 days on the last peas that were in on our ground. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harnser Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 (edited) I can assure you that the pigeons will find the peas and will be on them the day after drilling untill well after harvest . Peas in my opinion are the best crop around for shooting pigeons on . You will be able to shoot on the peas well after the rape has grown to high to be a viable shoot . My farmer friend has not grown peas now for about 4 years and my pigeon shooting has suffered .I am not shooting so many birds as i did when he used to grow a couple of hundred acres of peas . Think your self lucky to have peas to shoot over . Lots of farmers are turning to rape and not bothering with peas . Any how good luck on the peas ,i envy you . Harnser . Edited January 12, 2009 by Harnser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6shot Posted January 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 (edited) he grew peas about 3 years ago. thats when i shot on the stuble. he said he would never grow them again im glad he changed his mind Edited January 12, 2009 by 6shot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lister1 Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 as said before, good shooting on peas. again as mention before, go and have a look for the amount of spillage and keep an eye on the once they're drilled because when they get a good rain they can shoot up quickly and the pigeons will love em. anyway have fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proTOM1 Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 I can assure you that the pigeons will find the peas and will be on them the day after drilling untill well after harvest . Peas in my opinion are the best crop around for shooting pigeons on . You will be able to shoot on the peas well after the rape has grown to high to be a viable shoot . My farmer friend has not grown peas now for about 4 years and my pigeon shooting has suffered .I am not shooting so many birds as i did when he used to grow a couple of hundred acres of peas . Think your self lucky to have peas to shoot over . Lots of farmers are turning to rape and not bothering with peas . Any how good luck on the peas ,i envy you . Harnser . have had some great bags on peas and my best day came on peas about 2 weeks after they were drilled one of the best crops for pigeons as they can feed on them from day 1 till they are cut ! you have pm mate ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlander Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Peas can be (note the 'can be') one of the best crops to decoy pigeons on but like all things Woody there's no magic guarantees. They are also about the riskiest crop for farmer to grow and as most are contracted to specialists who know exactly what they are doing a drilled pea field of today doesn't usually yield the sport it might have done 10 or more years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerseaDavid Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 We had one of our best days over peas, so you should be in with a chance. The price of peas is not doing too bad this year so more farms may grow it more, we were going to have them on our farm but decided to go for boridge instead. I think that one of the farms that I shoot is going to have peas, so I am hoping for a few good bags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topgunners Posted January 15, 2009 Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 Peas can be (note the 'can be') one of the best crops to decoy pigeons on but like all things Woody there's no magic guarantees. They are also about the riskiest crop for farmer to grow and as most are contracted to specialists who know exactly what they are doing a drilled pea field of today doesn't usually yield the sport it might have done 10 or more years ago. Totally agree with you. The last couple of years of pea drilling has neen abysmal round here due to the fact that the technology today means very little spillage and they drill down a lot deeper. Used to be hundred+ bags regular, but not now. Dave K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted January 18, 2009 Report Share Posted January 18, 2009 the farmer up the road grew them, 2 years ago.and i had some very good days on it.he has not grown them since, but might this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungler Posted January 18, 2009 Report Share Posted January 18, 2009 You always have to give peas a chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitebridges Posted January 18, 2009 Report Share Posted January 18, 2009 (edited) Peas are a top crop for pigeon. I've shot my best bags over peas. Pigeon like 'em at all stages through to harvest, but the modern drills don't leave many around the headlands. With wheat prices plummeting from what £190 to £85 a ton they might come back as a crop this year and 2010. I have seen some crops totally decimated by pigeon. Rape can come back strong if left but peas just die off. It is a risky crop and growers who put them in like the crop protected, via bangers, scarers and shooting, everyday if they can. If they don't the birds will have 'em all. I think the nutrition and moisture outstrips that in rape. In hot late spring / summer when it's dry and hot, pigeon will gorge on peas in preference to anything else when the drinking puddles have dried out. Granted, we haven't had a hot summer for a few years now, if we do, what your peas! You're lucky to have the crop on your permissions, have fun. Edited January 18, 2009 by Whitebridges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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