Pigeon recipes
Pigeon decoys and hides
Pigeon shooting over crops
Guns for pigeon shooting
Pigeon shooting: Is it okay to build a hide in the centre of a field or is it best to stick to the hedgerows and margins?
Pigeon Shooting
If you’re looking for advice and guidance on pigeon shooting, then you’ll find the answers here. Our team of experts have written a variety of articles, hints and tips to help you find the right guns for pigeon shooters, set up a hide, decide on when it’s the right weather and all the other information you’ll need, including delicious pigeon recipes.
Essential pigeon shooting kit
I believe in keeping it simple. I’m not one for having loads of kit and gadgets (though I have nothing against anybody who does), I just prefer to rely on my 40 years of knowledge and fieldcraft to fill the bag. That’s what gives me a buzz, though on some…
Shooting pigeons with an airgun and placing decoys
While I can’t deny that the shotgun is the most effective tool for keeping woodpigeon at bay when they are hammering crops, it is possible to make decent bags with the air rifle. Not everyone has a shotgun and, with a little forethought and lots of fieldcraft, airgunners can enjoy…
How to get permission for pigeon shooting
Permission to shoot pigeons is not easy to obtain and it can take time getting to know people before it is granted. Farmers must have complete confidence in the person asking for permission, and as a pigeon shooter you must not let them down. When I’m driving around the countryside…
Should you shoot pigeons with a semi-auto?
The gun you choose to shoot pigeons — whether decoyed, flighting or roosting — should always be given maximum thought if you are to shoot to the best of your ability. The gun must suit you and the bore size, weight, length of barrels and, of great importance, the gun…
Our experts test out four different calibres pigeon shooting
When the editor of the Shooting Times asked me if I would try out pigeon shooting with a multitude of guns of various calibres, I have to admit I was less than keen. The usual gun I shoot with, a Perazzi 12-bore, has been custom-fitted for me in every way.…
What’s wrong with your pigeon shooting?
Where do you go wrong with woodies and what can you do to put things right? Build your hide right Over the years, I have come across countless people who fall at what, in the pigeon shooting game, we might consider to be the first hurdle. All too often you…
How to build a wooden tower for shooting pigeon – and why you should
Some of the most enjoyable afternoons’ sport shooting pigeon I have had has been from high towers. It brings an entirely different challenge. In the right conditions it can be fast and furious and it is great to be shooting among the treetops — it is the last place pigeon…
Pigeon shooting influenced by Syd Barrett?
There are two difficulties for me in writing this story. Firstly, while readers love tales of everything going wrong, this happens to be an unashamed success. Secondly, while it is immodest to write about one’s own performance, this was so extreme that, like an out-of-body experience, it was not me but someone in my dreams shooting in my…
Will Garfit’s dream pigeon shooting team
The first would have to be the late Archie Coats, father of modern pigeon shooting. He was like a sporting father to me as friend, tutor and influence, for better or for worse. He was a superb shot using his Webley 700 boxlock, side-by-side, with nimble footwork, fast reactions and intense concentration for the opportunity of a safe shot at whatever quarry entered…
Pigeon shooting days – how they have changed!
Shooters of my age often lament that things were better in “the good old days”, when all you had to do was throw an old stuffed grey sock out on a likely looking field and pigeons would swarm to their doom. They would recall flocks of woodies leaving the roosting woods that were so big it would take 20…
Secrets of successful winter pigeon shooting
Due to the mild weather, this year’s autumn drillings went well, the best they have for a few years — it was more like shooting over spring drillings. With the new farming schemes, there have been a lot of over-wintered stubbles, which is encouraging, and mustard has been the crop of choice for the green cover crop schemes in…
The myth of pigeon pattern
As you would expect, I spend a lot of time watching pigeons, from picking up flightlines to trying to find their favourite field at any given time of year. I get plenty of opportunity to watch birds on the ground, and to observe how they cover the ground while feeding. After 50 years of doing this, I can…
Choosing the right shotguns and cartridges for pigeon shooting
What type of gun for pigeon shooting? Over-and-under The over-and-under is my preference for pigeon shooting because the design aids the shooter. You have a single sight plane, which naturally takes your vision out to the bird. The pistol grip ensures you grip the gun properly and aids in absorbing recoil. It’s far more versatile with…
Top tips for a successful pigeon shooting technique
I am so fortunate to be out and about shooting pigeon all the time. I’ve had the privilege to learn from some of the finest pigeon Shots over the years and have learned and modified some of their techniques to my advantage. I am a great believer in using traditional methods, making use of the limited but good…
Harvest shooting time and the pigeon is easy
Shooting pigeon over stubbles is the pigeon shooter’s easy time of year. The weather is favourable; it’s easy to get to the exact spot where you want to shoot because often you can drive right to it. The short, cold days of shooting over winter rape seem a distant memory and it is the pigeon shooter’s real…
Five reasons to use an airgun to control woodies
You may never get the large bags you get with a shotgun, but there are numerous advantages to shooting decoyed woodies with an airgun. We’ve listed a few below: When shooting a woodpigeon with an airgun it is best to aim for the head or – if the bird has…
Which crops should you shoot over for big bags in late spring?
For many a pigeon shooter, once the spring drillings have been completed and have started to germinate, and pigeon interest in them disappears, there often follows the slowest period of pigeon shooting. I am fond of this time of year, however, because it is now that, as a pigeon shooter,…
How to shoot more pigeon from a hide
So many pigeon shooters forget to practise when they get the chance, only to suffer inconsistent results when they shoot from a hide. I find this lack of preparation confusing. Shooting pigeon can be expensive if you take into consideration the price of kit, cartridges and fuel for reconnaissance trips. I’m…
Spring drillings and pigeons
Sport on spring drillings is a real change from chasing pigeon around winter crops, competing with hard weather and farmers’ pigeon scare tactics. There is something exciting about seeing the drills in action and shooting in mild conditions over a perfect carpet of dry soil. Pigeon decoying should become easier…