Andy is wise to it and finds a gap in the canopy for
a snap shot. Rosa the Labrador is out with
us – her first shooting foray since having her
first litter and she seems to be enjoying being
back at work, racing out into the long grass to
make the retrieve.
Andy nudges me to point out a bird decoying in
from right over the far side of the field. The pattern
has done its job and the pigeon comes in like a
laser-guided missile. Is there any sight finer for the
pigeon shooter than a bird setting its wings and
arrowing in to your decoys? Another single shot
adds it to the bag.
Birds begin to move in small groups. “We are
too early today,” explains Andy. “I’d
normally not look to start until about
2pm.” Andy knows that I have to leave
by then and the relentless ribbing
about ruining his day’s shooting is a
theme for the rest of our stay. I think
he’s only joking...
The farther flightline is proving the
busier and our best chance of success is
drawing birds off that line to investigate the
decoys. “The remote control for the flapper is a
real bonus. I know I have highlighted it before, but
sometimes you can give an extra burst of
movement to turn a bird that is half-interested.
Other times, they are set to come in and you don’t
want to put them off. The remote gives you, the
shooter, total control and it definitely works better
for me.”
Although the trickle of birds never quite
becomes a flood, there are very few lulls.
Sometimes the birds don’t quite make it in, others
decoy an absolute treat with Andy able to trim a
few nice left and rights with the Blaser F16.
Time is not on our side today and when we
pack up there are still lots of pigeons on the move.
Andy has been very careful to set up to cause the
minimum disruption in terms of noise for the local
residents, limiting the direction of his shooting
away from nearby houses. But inevitably this
resulted in missed opportunities and he is keen to
return to try out a moderated shotgun that will
give him a wider arc of fire.
As it is, he’s bagged 30-odd pigeons and
fine-tuned his best location for the next visit. You
can be sure the pigeons won’t be losing interest in
these protein-packed treats any time soon so
Andy will be back!
PIGEONS
TOP TIP
A remote control flapper
gives you the control to add
action and movement when
you think the time
is right.‘Andy is careful to cause
the minimum disruption
for local residents,
limiting the direction of
his shooting away from
nearby houses’
Andy was bang on target from the first shotA nice 30-bird bag in a couple of
hours – but Andy will be back