My whirly machine is broken and I’ve noticed my bags have dropped quite considerably recently.
Pigeon Shooting
Pigeon shooting: Weathering the elements!
Pigeon shooting: Peter looks at how the elements can make or break a day’s pigeon decoying.
Can I refresh my pigeon shooting decoys by painting them?
Pigeon shooting: Can I get a new lease of life out of my decoys by painting them? If so, which bits should I concentrate on?
What size cartridge do you use for pigeon shooting?
Pigeon shooting: If you could only use one size of cartridge for pigeon shooting what would it be?
Is it worth plucking or drawing a pigeon ready for roasting?
Is it worth plucking or drawing a pigeon ready for roasting? Everyone I know simply removes the breasts.
Pigeon shooting: Assessing flightlines
Pigeon shooting: Assessing flightlines: Peter Theobald reveals how recognising and assessing flightlines can improve our success rate with woodpigeons.
Can I use steel shot 32 gram sixes when pigeon shooting?
Pigeon shooting: I’ve been given several boxes of steel shot cartridges – 32 gram sixes. Can I use these on pigeons or are they just for shooting wildfowl?
What’s the best distance from a hide to shoot at pigeons?
Pigeon shooting: What do you consider to be the optimum distance from a hide to shoot at pigeons?
Could I get a seven-shot FAC semi-auto for pigeon shooting?
Is it tricky to get a seven-shot FAC semi-auto for pigeon shooting - or is it not worth the hassle? Would I be better off sticking with my three-shot Mossberg on my shotgun certificate?
Should I decoy these trees for better pigeon shooting?
Pigeon shooting: There’s a belt of ivy-covered ash trees on the farm where I go pigeon shooting and they always draw a lot of birds during January, obviously for the berries.
Is it right pigeon shooting when they’re in poor condition?
Pigeon shooting: Last winter’s cold weather really affected the pigeons around here and they were in a very weakened state.
What kill-to-cartridge ratio do you expect pigeon shooting?
Pigeon shooting: What sort of kills-to-cartridge ratio would you expect from a good pigeon shot, over decoys, and over the course of a year?
Barn-storming pigeon
Q) Is it unusual for woodpigeon to nest in barns? In recent years we have had an increasing problem with these birds trying to nest in our open cart lodge? W. ELLIS-JONES By email
What size of camo net should I get for pigeon shooting?
Pigeon shooting: What size of camo net would you recommend for comfortable decoying, and do you have a preference of general colour?
What are those pigeon shooting decoys that look like socks?
Last winter I went goose shooting with a guide and he used a brilliant set of decoys, made like wind-socks, that moved and fluttered in the breeze.
Some of the pigeon in my bag were a different type!
Pigeon shooting: Last year I had three outings on rape in December which produced a reasonable number of birds, some of which were a little smaller, and darker, than the others.
Does ‘bagging off’ pigeon shooting areas actually work?
Is it worth going to the effort of ‘bagging off’ parts of large fields to stop pigeons landing there? Does it actually work?
Why do game shooters look down on pigeon shooting?
Pigeon shooting: Where I shoot, there’s undisguised animosity to us pigeon shooters from gamekeepers and syndicate members.
What can I spray on my pigeon decoys to repel water droplets?
Is there anything I can spray on my plastic full-bodied pigeon decoys to repel water droplets and stop them glinting in the light?
Can you go pigeon shooting over water troughs?
A couple of books on pigeon shooting say it’s possible to get a good bag of woodies in hot weather when they visit water troughs or streams for a drink.