Sporting Gun UK – May 2019

72 SPORTING GUN M AY 2019 http://www.shootinguk.co.uk

RABBITS

Don’t run

if arisk

Oneofmylurcherswasinjuredwhile

rabbitingatnightbecauseheraninto

a pieceoffarmmachineryleftina

fi eld. Is there any way I can avoid this?

Edsays:It ’salwaysworthchecking

anareaindaylightbeforeyoulamp

ittoavoiddangerspots.Thatsaid,

accidentsdohappenandeventothe

mostcarefuloffolk.I’veseenafew

accidentsovertheyears,including

adogrunningarabbitoffacliff.

ThankfullythedogwasOK.Norabbit

isworthriskingadog for. If in doubt,

don’t run the dog.

VERMIN

Spring a surprise for crows

Arecrowsdecoyshyinspring?I find

itdifficulttogetthemtocommitthen

whenthereareonlyoldbirdsabout.

I havenoissueinthesummerand

wonder if I need to change tactics?

Tomsays:Itistruethatcrowscan

behardertodecoyinspring.Allthe

birdshavebeenaroundforatleasta

yearandcanbe‘streetwise’.I would

recommend that you look at your

set-up.Eveneducatedcrowsshould
stilldecoyifitiswelldone.Ensure
thatyouhavea goodhideandyouare
keepingmovementtoa minimum.
Crowsusuallyhavea longandsteady
approach,givingthemplentyoftime
tospotsomethingoutofplace;so
trytomakethingslookasnaturalas
possible.Itisoftenworthditching
magnetsandflappersthatsomebirds
may have encountered in the past.
NICK

RIDLEY,

STEVE

TAYLOR,

SYKES

MEDIA,

AL AMY

GUNDOGS

Pigeons are

not fancied

Ihavebeenroostshootingwithmyyoung

dogbutheisreluctanttopickupthe

freshlyshotpigeons. What can I do to

encourage him?

Grahamsays:Woodpigeonshavevery

softfeathersanda youngdogcanfindit

off-putting.If yourtraininghasbeensound,

plentyofencouragementwillnormally

ensurethatthedogmakesa cleanretrieve.

Itisalsoa goodideatoremoveasmany

feathersaspossiblefromthedog’smouth

once you have taken the bird from them.

Crowscanbeattuned

todangeriftheyhave

been around for a while

Pigeonsfeatherscanget

stuckinadog’smouth,so

it is best to remove them

Ifpossible,itisworth

doinga‘reccy ’ofwhere

you intend to lamp