pigeon shooting

[adamthomas64 1]

hi people of the hunting life, have any of you ever decoyed pigeons and used a .22lr to shoot them. one of the farms i shoot on wants the pigeons gone and doesnt care how its done, he keep asking me why do i use a shot gun because for ever bird i shoot im scaring 10 away, he knows thats how pigeons are usually decoyd but he says there must be a different way, which has got me thinking, i know people shoot pigeons out of sitty trees with air rifles ( and before anyone says it i would never do this with a .22lr) but i was wondering would it work shooting pigeons with a .22lr as they land in the decoy pattern, similar to how people shoot crows, i thought that as the .22lr are nearly silent (and from 70yrds the pigeon will hear nothing anyway) you would be able to dispatch them without scaring other birds and if they have landed in a flock you would be able to dispatch 2 or 3 before the birds notice would you not? also with you being 60 -70 yrds away (or using a .17hmr 100 - 150 yrds away) there is a lot less chance the birds will see you, these are just my thoughts, has anyone ever tried this? if not what are your opinions?

 

best regards adam

[Colster 1]

You'll benefit in that you won't need to get as close but the first shot will still send all the birds up. The bullet impact either in the bird or in the ground will send the nearest birds up, the rest will follow.

 

So on balance worth a go as you won't scare them any more than a shotgun would, the advantage with a shotgun though is you can take them in the air.

[gundogbob 1]

you can shoot pigeon like this but you will get more with shot gun in my oppinion as you will get more birds passing than you will get landing in the pattern

atb

[Deker 3,453]

Best way to find out is simply give it a try!!

[The one 8,397]

Took a few out walking about with the rimmy but never tried to make numbers and there only fit for ferret food

[bicykillgaz 1]

i was layed in a field a few years ago in the hedge bottom hare shooting with my .22lr and noticed about 15 pigeons in the field i got 2 before they took off first one was about 7-10 feet away from the rest but as soon as i took one from the group they was gone.

 

get yourself a hushpower .410/20g mossberg pump (handy having the extra shots) there quiet and you can shoot flying birds so ideal for pigeon decoying, i wouldn't be without my baikal stealth

[spanj 11]

hi people of the hunting life, have any of you ever decoyed pigeons and used a .22lr to shoot them. one of the farms i shoot on wants the pigeons gone and doesnt care how its done, he keep asking me why do i use a shot gun because for ever bird i shoot im scaring 10 away, he knows thats how pigeons are usually decoyd but he says there must be a different way, which has got me thinking, i know people shoot pigeons out of sitty trees with air rifles ( and before anyone says it i would never do this with a .22lr) but i was wondering would it work shooting pigeons with a .22lr as they land in the decoy pattern, similar to how people shoot crows, i thought that as the .22lr are nearly silent (and from 70yrds the pigeon will hear nothing anyway) you would be able to dispatch them without scaring other birds and if they have landed in a flock you would be able to dispatch 2 or 3 before the birds notice would you not? also with you being 60 -70 yrds away (or using a .17hmr 100 - 150 yrds away) there is a lot less chance the birds will see you, these are just my thoughts, has anyone ever tried this? if not what are your opinions?

 

best regards adam

 

MAKE SURE you have a safe backstop every time

[adamthomas64 1]

of course as with every shot taken

 

 

[the Verminator 0]

hi,

 

yesterday i shot 17 with .22lr on a field of rape and anothere 8 today. i sat back in a hedge and waited for 1 to drop in with in range and once u get 2/3 they act as decoys. and yes u can manage to get a few from 1 group, i had 3 out of 1 group this morning. wait for 1 bird to wander away from the group a little bit otherwise u disturb the whole lot. if i had taken decoys i could have had a half decent day. best of luck