Sporting Gun UK – May 2019

iseasytospotandeventheoddbirdthat ’s

‘hardhit ’andflieshalfwayacrossthefield

beforedropping,iseasytoretrieve.

Beawarethatyourpatternwillbeeasily

visibletoapproachingbirdsontheopen

groundandyouwillhavetokeeptidying

upasthedayprogresses.Itisimportantto

keepthepatterningoodorder,withopen

spacesforthebirdstoland(thekillingzone).

TherearetwopatternsthatI liketouseon

drilling: one is a V shape, with the point of

INSTRUCTION

Pigeon shooting

isleftonthetop.Thepigeonsdon’twantto
spendtoolongscratchingaroundforburied
grain,theyjustwanttohooverupwhat ’son
thesurfaceandfinda newfield.Asalways,
reconnaissanceandcommunication with the
farmer are key to success.

Warmweather
Sofar, 2019 hasbeenanexceptionalyear
weatherwiseand,asI write,it lookslikeall
ofthefarm’scorndrillingwillhavebeen
completedbythebeginningofMarch.I’ve
alreadyhada fewdaysdecoyinginshort
sleeves.Thedrillinghereusuallystartswith
thebeans.ThatcanbeasearlyasJanuary
butmoreofteninFebruary,asthebesttime
fordrillingthemiswhenthere’sa goodfrost
andthegroundhard.Nextuparebarleyand
wheat,whichareusuallydrilledinApriland
earlyMay.Thisshowshowearlythingsare
thisyear;theconditionswereborderingon
perfectinlateFebruary.Finally,peas,which
willgoinassoonpossibleafterthecorn.
Withthecrazyweatherweseemtoget
now,springdrillingisa ‘moveablefeast ’
asthepigeonsandlocationschange.But
shootingoverspringdrillingcouldn’tbe
betterforpracticalityandpicking-up.
Everything that you shoot over the decoys

theV straightatyou.Perfect,if youcanset

upwiththewindfrombehind.Theotheris

anL-shapedpattern,witha lineofdecoys

runningacrossthefrontofthehideandthe

remainderheadingawayfromyoutothe

leftorright,dependingwinddirection.This

isa greatpatternfora crossingwind.If you

watchthebirdsfeeding,you’lloftenseebirds

fly tothefrontofthefeedingflockasit slowly

movesacrossthefield.Itisprettyobvious

that there is no point for the arriving

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Catch the pigeon: one of the decoys used to lure spring flocks

GeoffsetsaV-shaped

pattern for the task