Sporting Gun UK – May 2019

46 Sporting gun m ay 2019 http://www.shootinguk.co.uk

S

pringdrillingholdshappy

memoriesformeandisstillmy

favouritesituationforpigeon

decoying.Itremindsmeofgrowing

upandspendingtimewithmydadshooting

overthespringcorn.Whenthedrillscame

outyouknewthiswasgoingtobeyourfirst

chanceoftheyeartomakea decentbag.

Thisislongbeforerapebecamea popular

cropandsustainedtheflocksoverwinter.

Thebirdsjustcouldn’tgetontothenewly

drilledfieldsquicklyenough.Thecropsin

thisandmostareasthatwillbedrilledin

thespringarewheat,barley,beans,peas

andoats.I’venotoftenhadsuccessfuldays

decoyingoveroats,mainlybecauseit ’snot

sucha popularcroparoundhere[Essex]

and there haven’t been many situations

The drilling fields

Precisionis requiredtoshootoverspringplantings

but the rewards can be plentiful, saysGeoff Garrod

RichaRd Faulks

Instruction

PatrickHookonthermalimagerspage 50

Anewshooter’sexperiencepage 52

Advice on buying your first gunpage 56

thathavepresentedthemselves. But it may

work well in your area.

Tu n e di n

Thepigeonflockhavebeenhammeringthe

winterrapesinceOctoberandbyFebruarya

changeofdietisveryappealingtothem.It

cantakethebirdsa littlewhiletoget‘tuned

in’onthedrillingandsometimesit canbe

a bitfrustratingshootingovertheearliest

drilledfields.Oftenthefirstfewshotsputthe

birdsupandtheyreturntotherapefields.In

anidealworld,youwanttheneighbouring

farmstostartdrilling,sothatthebirdsget

usedtothenewfoodsource.Thenyoucan

havesomegreatdaysonyourfarm.

Theroutinewhenthebirdsaretunedin

istheflockwillprettymuchfollowthedrill

around.Theyfinda field,clearit ina dayor

so,findthenextfield,clearthat...Youwon’t

havelongtoshootanyparticularfieldbefore

theymoveontopasturesnew.Modern

Removable feast: seeds from the new crop drills are efficient these days and little seed

Getthemclosein:

Geoff lines up a shot