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Frustrating Day With The Pigeons - Advice Sought


chrismdd

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Well after a good five hours sleep last night after the lamping session I had to get up early to take the lad to his swimming lesson. On the way back we spotted a fair number of pigeons out and about so decided to have a few hours decoying this afternoon.

Drove out after lunch and parked up in a cut maize field where a few woodies took flight and more could be seen flying around the three stubble fields next door so set up on a thick hedge that splits two of the stubble fields. Did the usual and set up the brolley and nets before putting out half a dozen fuds as well as my target stick to check zero.

Settled back to await the action whilst the lad got busy with the games:

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Action was very slow for the first hour or so before they started coming in in twos or threes. There was no wind at all and the they seemed very edgy landing for a mere few seconds before taking flight. Needed to get on aim really quickly but this is where my home made shooting sticks let me down as it was taking too long getting the gun round and having to shoot at odd angles from the chair:

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In the end we changed the pattern so that a clear gap was left directly in front and only going for birds that landed in this kill zone:

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There were a lot of pigeons coming in, sometimes in groups of over a dozen. At one point I spotted a lot of pigeons dropping down into the field behind and when I went round to look a flock of over a hundred took flight! Managed to finish with half a dozen nice woodies for the pot:

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But really should of had well into double figures if I could of got on aim quicker so I was wondering if any one has some key advice. I was thinking would one of those swivel seats be any good and used in conjunction with shooting sticks that somehow allowed the gun to be slid around whilst keeping the pivot point back at the seat.

Chris

 

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Years ago I did the shotgun thing and it was great fun but now I prefer the challenge of an air rifle which is mainly used for the rabbits in areas where a shotgun would be a bit of a noise nusiance. Also today the small fields that I were shooting were surrounded by roads and a village and one of those roads is a major trunk road. Also I find that with the air rifle is a cheap day out and I haven't ruined any birds or put umpteen 32g loads of lead into the ground. I still have my 12 bore s/s boxlock as well as a 12g semi and folding .410 but at present they hardly ever come out now. I beat on a local shoot and I much prefer the beating side to what the shooters do. I just need to perfect my technique as I am sure bigger bags will come with practise.

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Years ago I did the shotgun thing and it was great fun but now I prefer the challenge of an air rifle which is mainly used for the rabbits in areas where a shotgun would be a bit of a noise nusiance. Also today the small fields that I were shooting were surrounded by roads and a village and one of those roads is a major trunk road. Also I find that with the air rifle is a cheap day out and I haven't ruined any birds or put umpteen 32g loads of lead into the ground. I still have my 12 bore s/s boxlock as well as a 12g semi and folding .410 but at present they hardly ever come out now. I beat on a local shoot and I much prefer the beating side to what the shooters do. I just need to perfect my technique as I am sure bigger bags will come with practise.

Fair play to you! Hard work is airgun pigeon decoying I take my hat off to you! (If I was wearing one) mostly ferals where all I could manage with the airgun and decoys. I bet your lad is loving the days out with you he is very lucky wish you happy shooting.

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I have had days like yours and sometimes, you have to simply accept those days as par for the course and 6 is better than two!. That said and whilst being mighty impressed, your amazing set up could be the issue.

 

When I decoy pigeons I sit on a shooting cushion, the ground or whatever, with my back upright but against something to lean on like a fence post and without a gun rest.. As the birds come in to land I use a bent thigh to rest my lead arm on and follow them in down the barrel. As soon as they land I can get a reading from a decoy as to how far they are and given a second, release a shot. I tried with a tripod once but found that reduced my arc of fire and by not using a rest, I could move in almost a 180 degree arc.

 

I do lose some long range opportunities, but by moving the pattern 7 yds towards me, with the centre decoy at 20 yds, I compensated for this and by being able to get on most shots including far left and right, I was less frustrated by missing easy shots.

 

I'm certainly going to get a fishing umbrella though. That hide looks fantastic and up in minutes I imagine!

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Cheers, for the comments lads.

 

Silentshot1 thankyou for the great advice, I will definitely take this onboard. I do like sitting in a chair and that may be the problem as they are old fishing chairs that cause you to lean back a bit too much. So now I'm going to try using one of those swivel seats and incorporate this with a horizontal bar assembly based on a couple of study adjustable fishing rod rests that hold a metre horizontal bar to slide the gun in an arc.

 

Also will bring the pattern in closer and leave a space within the pattern for birds to land. Normally, I base the pattern around my 30yd zero and have taken birds at upto 62yds, but with the hide concealing me so well birds have stopped and fed comfortably at less than 10yds.

 

This is my first year with a pcp and also decoying for pigeons so all a learning curve, l'll keep you posted on successes and failures.

 

Chris

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