I couldn't help but agree but at the same time couldn't really think of anything report worthy to grace the blog as after all the summer we experienced was probably one of the worst weather wise I have experienced for as long as I care to remember. It seemed as thought the summer came and went in a matter of weeks and what we were left with was the on set of the great floods Noah experienced. I must admit this left me feeling rather let down and resentful towards the gods. Coupled with a really busy period for me work wise and a ban on any form of time off due to the London Olympics there wasn't a great deal of time left for shooting.
I'm glad to report that this changed recently and so did my shooting style.
The rabbits that once proved my quarry of choice over the warmer months are all but gone on my local permission. The landscape still shows signs of their existence coupled with piles of droppings and visible runs but their feeding times and social hours have somewhat changed due to the change in seasons and as always on this permission it would appear they are now enjoying the landscape at night. During the warmer months the rabbits seemed to go about their business at all times of the day as long as there was sunshine to warm their bones.
quite the opposite to rabbits however I have decided that due to the seasonal change and the colder weather night time hunting would be no go for now as come the evening my nice warm bed is often calling me. So a change in quarry to hunt was in order and one that I could also put food on the table with.
The Woodpigeon
Some background on the species,
The woodpigeon, Columba palumbus, has been native to Great Britain for centuries, its cousin in mainland Europe is migratory but we have the only sedentary population of the species that exists. We probably have as many as 15-20 million birds in the UK.
The population is healthy, the bird breeds at least twice, and in good warm summers three times, a year and they lay two eggs at a time. It has been guesstimated that we shoot around a third of this increasing population and more than 200,000 people hunt the woodpigeon in the UK every year.
The woodpigeon is easy to recognise; a delicate grey overall with white wing bars and, in the adults, a white neck band. The underside of the body is a rich mixture of colours from pink to mauve. A bright yellow eye, a wingspan of just over two feet and an extraordinary capacity for aerobatics. Our bird weighs around 20 ounces and is capable of more than 50 miles an hour in level flight.
These birds taste lovely cooked and make for a very interesting meal. There are many ways that you can cook them including plucking and preparing the whole bird and roasting it in the oven or doing what I prefer to do and actually de-breasting the bird using only the fine breast meat. This also serves two purposes, not only does it provide a nice meal for you and he family but also the remains of the bird can be left in the field hidden from view so not to alarm members of the public. Go back the next day and I can almost guarantee that the remains will no longer be there, Mr Fox and his family probably being the main suspects to have enjoyed a winter midnight snack.
Now for anyone wanting to enjoy the sport of pigeon shooting there are a lot of things one should know about the bird and what to look for. I can break this up into several categories to help make the experience enjoyable for those that wish to pursue Columba Palumbus! Before I start though I must state that you should only be shooting pigeons if you are going to eat the bird or use a food source for another animal or person or if the bird is causing damage to property or damage to crops. You should never take the life of another living animal on this planet unless you are confident it meets the criteria of the above situations and care should be taken at all times to ensure that a clean humane kill is bestowed on the pigeon to stop any suffering on the animal. Nothing is more distressing than having to chase quarry across the field watching it suffer. Sometimes a change in circumstances just as the shot is taken amount to a foul shot and this can not be helped but its important to at all times to ensure you respect your quarry.
Patience
When hunting woodpigeon there are several ways you can go about it and will vary depending on your type of permission you have to shoot on.
The Farmyard
If your permission is a farm and you have access to the barns and working areas of the farms you might often find woodpigeon around the buildings perched on top of barn roofs, silage containers and perched on top of telegraph poles. They will also sit in the small trees surrounding the farm yard if there are some. If your permission sounds like the above then best practice would be to stalk quietly and slowly around the farm buildings. You should also stalk where possible around the buildings in the direction that favours you. What I mean by this is that if you are right handed and shoulder the rifle into your right shoulder then you should walk around buildings in the anti clockwise direction. If you are left handed then you would move around buildings in the opposite direction. The reason for this is because as you round the corner of the building you need to be rifle first so that if you spot a target you can shoulder the rifle whilst staying as close to the wall of the building as you can and even use it as support to take a more stable shot especially when shooting at an upwards angle. If you try this method the next time you go shooting you will see that less of your body will be showing to the target and should provide better results.
Open Fields
If your permission is open fields surrounded by borders of trees and fences then your shooting style will be much different from that around the farmyard. You will not have the opportunity to use buildings and farm machinery to block the view your target has and get closer. The more practical approach in these circumstances would be to hug the border of the field and move very slowly constantly watching the tree along the border line. Woodpigeons have excellent eyesight and are wily creatures. Nine times out of ten they will see you along time before you identify them and will beat a hasty retreat to safety. This method of pigeon shooting is probably the most difficult of all and requires excellent field craft and lots of patience however there is a more effective way to deal with these situations using hides and decoys. I will cover this section in my next blog update as this is how I have effectively dealt with our friend the Columba Palumbus!
Woodland Permission
For those fortunate to be able to shoot in a woodland permission then this can sometimes be the most effective way to shoot woodpigeons and provides hours of fun and entertainment along with the opputunity to shoot other members of the UK vermin register such as crows, magpies and squirrels. The trick here is to move again slowly through the woodland and find a tree that the provides evidence of where the woodpigeon likes to roost or and. The tell tale signs here will be lots of droppings on the trunk of the tree or around the base of the tree indicating that the tree is well used for resting after a busy morning or afternoons feeding. You can also do this a few days before your shoot, simply visit the area and do a reccy of the woodland. This will mean when the day comes to shoot you know exactly where you need to head to and get set up waiting for the first pigeons of the day. Whilst waiting for them to land whilst its still you can even spend some time practising your ranges by shooting dead twigs up in the tree learning what hold over or hold under you will need when looking through your rifles scope. Remember to find yourself somewhere where you can see the tree in question and arrange a comfy seating area in the shadows or behind some natural cover to break up your outline. Full camo clothing is also essential along with a face cover and hat. You have to remember that the woodpigeons eyesight is one of the keenest of the bird kingdom and they will spot shiny skin in the sun light or the flash of metallic objects.
Closing Comments
Remember that to hunt this species you must be patient. Now and again you may find yourself fortunate to have that lucky moment where you ambush a sleepy pigeon or one lands near you against all the odds and you manage to get that shot off but for the best part it will be hard work and take a lot of time to be successful. I wouldn't urge you to go shooting planning to use your target quarry as the nights dinner either as you may end up going home hungry, they really can be that difficult to successfully hunt.
Woodpigeons can be shot all throughout the year and with this in mind provide for excellent sport. No matter what time of the year you decide to shoot them though make sure you take with you supplies to make your trip comfortable. In the colder months make sure you put extra layers of clothing on as sat in a windy wet patch of woodland feeling the elements and no opportunity to get up and walk about can become depressing to say the least. Always take a pack lunch with you and a flask of the hot stuff to keep hydrated. The good thing about pigeon shooting is it can be sociable, taking along your shooting partner and having a good old chin wag whilst waiting for the Columba Palumbus to land!
My next blog update will show how I successfully shoot the woodpigeons on my permission using hides, decoys and patience.
Until next time, all the best
Mawders
Patience
When hunting woodpigeon there are several ways you can go about it and will vary depending on your type of permission you have to shoot on.
The Farmyard
If your permission is a farm and you have access to the barns and working areas of the farms you might often find woodpigeon around the buildings perched on top of barn roofs, silage containers and perched on top of telegraph poles. They will also sit in the small trees surrounding the farm yard if there are some. If your permission sounds like the above then best practice would be to stalk quietly and slowly around the farm buildings. You should also stalk where possible around the buildings in the direction that favours you. What I mean by this is that if you are right handed and shoulder the rifle into your right shoulder then you should walk around buildings in the anti clockwise direction. If you are left handed then you would move around buildings in the opposite direction. The reason for this is because as you round the corner of the building you need to be rifle first so that if you spot a target you can shoulder the rifle whilst staying as close to the wall of the building as you can and even use it as support to take a more stable shot especially when shooting at an upwards angle. If you try this method the next time you go shooting you will see that less of your body will be showing to the target and should provide better results.
Open Fields
If your permission is open fields surrounded by borders of trees and fences then your shooting style will be much different from that around the farmyard. You will not have the opportunity to use buildings and farm machinery to block the view your target has and get closer. The more practical approach in these circumstances would be to hug the border of the field and move very slowly constantly watching the tree along the border line. Woodpigeons have excellent eyesight and are wily creatures. Nine times out of ten they will see you along time before you identify them and will beat a hasty retreat to safety. This method of pigeon shooting is probably the most difficult of all and requires excellent field craft and lots of patience however there is a more effective way to deal with these situations using hides and decoys. I will cover this section in my next blog update as this is how I have effectively dealt with our friend the Columba Palumbus!
Woodland Permission
For those fortunate to be able to shoot in a woodland permission then this can sometimes be the most effective way to shoot woodpigeons and provides hours of fun and entertainment along with the opputunity to shoot other members of the UK vermin register such as crows, magpies and squirrels. The trick here is to move again slowly through the woodland and find a tree that the provides evidence of where the woodpigeon likes to roost or and. The tell tale signs here will be lots of droppings on the trunk of the tree or around the base of the tree indicating that the tree is well used for resting after a busy morning or afternoons feeding. You can also do this a few days before your shoot, simply visit the area and do a reccy of the woodland. This will mean when the day comes to shoot you know exactly where you need to head to and get set up waiting for the first pigeons of the day. Whilst waiting for them to land whilst its still you can even spend some time practising your ranges by shooting dead twigs up in the tree learning what hold over or hold under you will need when looking through your rifles scope. Remember to find yourself somewhere where you can see the tree in question and arrange a comfy seating area in the shadows or behind some natural cover to break up your outline. Full camo clothing is also essential along with a face cover and hat. You have to remember that the woodpigeons eyesight is one of the keenest of the bird kingdom and they will spot shiny skin in the sun light or the flash of metallic objects.
Closing Comments
Remember that to hunt this species you must be patient. Now and again you may find yourself fortunate to have that lucky moment where you ambush a sleepy pigeon or one lands near you against all the odds and you manage to get that shot off but for the best part it will be hard work and take a lot of time to be successful. I wouldn't urge you to go shooting planning to use your target quarry as the nights dinner either as you may end up going home hungry, they really can be that difficult to successfully hunt.
Woodpigeons can be shot all throughout the year and with this in mind provide for excellent sport. No matter what time of the year you decide to shoot them though make sure you take with you supplies to make your trip comfortable. In the colder months make sure you put extra layers of clothing on as sat in a windy wet patch of woodland feeling the elements and no opportunity to get up and walk about can become depressing to say the least. Always take a pack lunch with you and a flask of the hot stuff to keep hydrated. The good thing about pigeon shooting is it can be sociable, taking along your shooting partner and having a good old chin wag whilst waiting for the Columba Palumbus to land!
My next blog update will show how I successfully shoot the woodpigeons on my permission using hides, decoys and patience.
Until next time, all the best
Mawders
