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…
Pigeon Shooting
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…
Cartridges for the pigeon shooter – what’s best for you and your gun ?
Even in these early years of the 21st century, price is still a factor among pigeon shooters, though now we have readily available dedicated pigeon cartridges, and all from reputable makers. Pigeon cartridges tend to be a more economic buy compared with game cartridges, not because they are in any way inferior…
How to get the right line for roost shooting
The local pigeon population has been patchy; some areas are holding massive numbers and others very few. Many of the larger farms and estates have drawn birds away from certain areas. This is common here and is mainly due to the large draw of gamecrops. Once they finish, birds tend to…
Where to sell your woodpigeon
A gamedealer Gamedealers will be more than happy to buy woodpigeon and, depending on the time of year and numbers available, will pay a fair price for birds in feather. You can expect about 30p to 50p for a bird in feather. It may not seem much but if you…
How to handle woodpigeons after you’ve shot them
Once pigeons have been successfully shot and picked-up, they must be treated with respect; they are a food source and should be handled as such. At different times of year you’ve have to handle the birds differently before hanging woodpigeon in the chiller without spoiling. It is wrong to shoot a good…
What you need to know about guided pigeon shooting
If you are new to pigeon shooting, do not have permission or simply want a hassle-free day out on the woodies, hiring a professional pigeon-shooting guide is an inexpensive way to experience shooting one of Britain’s biggest agricultural pests. But what’s in store for you and what should you expect…
Get in line for roosting results
In this piece, I will explain some of the techniques needed to shoot pigeon that are flighting and roosting. Flighting pigeon and roost shooting are challenging sports. The angles, speed and distances that the woodpigeon fly outmatch any other form of quarry we shoot in this country. It can also be…
Pigeon shooting: 6 pieces of kit you won’t want to be without…
Pigeon shooting expert, Peter Theobald, runs through his list of ‘must have’ decoying accessories.
What’s the perfect pigeon cartridge?
The cartridge-making business is a fiercely competitive one, won or lost on marketing strategy, so if one company can find an edge, it is quickly exploited. It is only relatively recently that cartridge makers realised the huge potential market in people who shoot pigeons, with all the top boys now producing specialist…
What is the right weather for shooting pigeons?
Most articles written about pigeon shooting mention, at some stage in the proceedings, the weather conditions on the day in question. Indeed, I have written many times, how Paul and I wait for the “right” weather, when planning a sortie. So what, in order of preference, are we looking for? Wind…
Pigeon shooting: The flightline factor
Like so many pigeon shooters, I have been in pursuit of Britain’s greatest sporting bird for more years than I care to remember. My enthusiasm has not diminished with the passing of time. My first experience of having some birds to decoy, however, was more by accident than design. I was 15 and working on a farm,…
Guns for pigeon shooting for under £500
If you’re gameshooting then you’ve got to be aware of etiquette. You have to dress the right way and say the right things. And be a safe Shot of course. Pigeon shooting is different – although you obviously still need to be a safe Shot. What you wear is dependent…
Pigeon shooting over beans
September is the month when the harvest comes to a close. All the farmers’ hard work is now inside and, as usual, the last crops to come off are winter and spring beans. Farmers in my area have not had a happy end to the harvest, not because of grain prices, but due to a change in the…
Top pigeon shooting tips from Will Garfit
Want to make the most of your sporting day? Here are 10 practical pigeon shooting tips.
Pest control on covercrops drillings
After a very early alarm call I was up and on the drillings setting the decoys up, in anticipation about what the morning pest control would bring. Shooting over the drilled crops gives me a rare chance to get stuck into our limited supply of pigeons. However, enticing both pigeons…
Peas and pigeon shooting
It has been a very strange — and disappointing — couple of months with regard to pigeon shooting. From the start of the year I was having a pigeon-shooting bonanza, with good numbers being shot over winter rape and birds decoying brilliantly. The trend continued into the spring drillings. I…
Have you booked your Shooting UK Event?
Shooting UK has now launched three exciting new events for the readers of Sporting Gun, Shooting Times, Shooting Gazette and The Field – and of course, visitors to the Shooting UK website. Whether you want to find out what jobs a gamekeeper has to do throughout the year, how you have a…