Does the pigeon's plumage protect it from shot?
By David Tomlinson
Wednesday, 03 October 2012
I have been assured by an experienced pigeon shooter that the woodpigeon’s dense plumage gives it some protection from shot, hence it’s quite common to knock a feather or two from a bird that flies on regardless. Is there any truth in this?
PIGEON SHOOTING
David Tomlinson
None — in fact the reverse is true. Pigeon may have dense plumage, but it is soft and a single stray pellet may be sufficient to dislodge a feather or two, giving the impression that the bird has been hard hit.
Proof of this comes from the ease with which a pigeon can be plucked.
I can recall some pigeon shooters recommending large shot sizes — fives or even fours — for dealing with woodpigeon, but for decoying an open-barrelled gun firing No. 7 shot is likely to be as effective as anything else.
Incidentally, no bird has plumage capable of deflecting a shotgun pellet fired from a range of 40 yards or less.
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