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5AM start, we traveled from dorset up to Cirencester for a day pigeon shooting over flattened barley.

We arrived just after 8AM with no birds on the surrounding fields or the one we planned to decoy.

Set up and in the hide by 9AM, around 20 full body decoys in two separate patterns the birds started to trickle in, they started as singles all coming in direct to the patterns.

By 11'oclock birds where coming in in much bigger groups up to about 10 at a time.

Finished up at 3 o clock when it got too warm to stick about, finished with a bag of 209 pigeons and 4 crows & 1 magpie.

Two shooters using beretta urikas and a bit with a silver pigeon, 29gram no6 shot.

Good effort, I read very recently that the George Digweed record has been broken by a single shooter with over 700 birds in one day for just over 1000 cartridges. I only ever roost shot and the Labrador and myself are very happy if we get into double figures :)

DS, certainly worth getting up at 5 for, also the weather is on our side these days

Ovenpaa wrote:Good effort, I read very recently that the George Digweed record has been broken by a single shooter with over 700 birds in one day for just over 1000 cartridges. I only ever roost shot and the Labrador and myself are very happy if we get into double figures :)

Thanks, it was a good day. However the bag could have been doubled if we had another team of guns on the far side of the field.

700 is a BIG bag!!

Normally like yourself a small walk around the woods/fields yields around 10 for the pot.

christel wrote:DS, certainly worth getting up at 5 for, also the weather is on our side these days

By 3 in the afternoon it was a little warm for us and the dogs so an early start ment we had plenty of time for shooting! Light mornings is a godsend!!

What did you do with 700 birds? Fill the freezer? Game dealer?

Big bags are great fun but we shouldn't take more than we need unless its genuine pest control. I shoots hundreds of rats and dozens of foxes in a year, I dont eat them though!

Dorset_shooter wrote:5AM start, we traveled from dorset up to Cirencester for a day pigeon shooting over flattened barley.

We arrived just after 8AM with no birds on the surrounding fields or the one we planned to decoy.

Set up and in the hide by 9AM, around 20 full body decoys in two separate patterns the birds started to trickle in, they started as singles all coming in direct to the patterns.

By 11'oclock birds where coming in in much bigger groups up to about 10 at a time.

Finished up at 3 o clock when it got too warm to stick about, finished with a bag of 209 pigeons and 4 crows & 1 magpie.

Two shooters using beretta urikas and a bit with a silver pigeon, 29gram no6 shot.

NFHunter wrote:What did you do with 700 birds? Fill the freezer? Game dealer?

Big bags are great fun but we shouldn't take more than we need unless its genuine pest control. I shoots hundreds of rats and dozens of foxes in a year, I dont eat them though!

Dorset_shooter wrote:5AM start, we traveled from dorset up to Cirencester for a day pigeon shooting over flattened barley.

We arrived just after 8AM with no birds on the surrounding fields or the one we planned to decoy.

Set up and in the hide by 9AM, around 20 full body decoys in two separate patterns the birds started to trickle in, they started as singles all coming in direct to the patterns.

By 11'oclock birds where coming in in much bigger groups up to about 10 at a time.

Finished up at 3 o clock when it got too warm to stick about, finished with a bag of 209 pigeons and 4 crows & 1 magpie.

Two shooters using beretta urikas and a bit with a silver pigeon, 29gram no6 shot.

always good to make use of game, however this is crop pest control and the Farmer will probably want them gone regardless of final destination.
this year I would be amazed if any game dealers are taking birds in anything other than very small numbers (usually if they have their own outlet)

NFHunter wrote:What did you do with 700 birds? Fill the freezer? Game dealer?

Big bags are great fun but we shouldn't take more than we need unless its genuine pest control. I shoots hundreds of rats and dozens of foxes in a year, I dont eat them though!

Dorset_shooter wrote:5AM start, we traveled from dorset up to Cirencester for a day pigeon shooting over flattened barley.

We arrived just after 8AM with no birds on the surrounding fields or the one we planned to decoy.

Set up and in the hide by 9AM, around 20 full body decoys in two separate patterns the birds started to trickle in, they started as singles all coming in direct to the patterns.

By 11'oclock birds where coming in in much bigger groups up to about 10 at a time.

Finished up at 3 o clock when it got too warm to stick about, finished with a bag of 209 pigeons and 4 crows & 1 magpie.

Two shooters using beretta urikas and a bit with a silver pigeon, 29gram no6 shot.

Steady on, I didn’t shoot 700 birds. Clearly your having an issue reading?

On that day all useable birds were picked up by a local game dealer FOC to be used.

Get off your high horse, although pest control is exactly that regardless of by products or your opinion.