December pigeon shoot

Labowner · 12-22-2009, 05:24 PM

George, Scott and I finally got out to thin out a local farmers pigeons this afternoon. We had gotten permission earlier this year while pheasant hunting. We managed to drop about ten birds in a few hours, that's not to say we didn't do allot of shooting though. The wind was a good ten to twenty mph and temps. in the mid twenty's. The last bird I dropped happened to be three feet behind the one I was shooting at, hard to adjust leads with the wind. We are going to give another try in the morning.

Dean Romig · 12-22-2009, 05:30 PM

Bob, it looks like you got some rain at the tail end of that last snow.
I've never shot barn pigeons but it sure looks like it would be fun.

Labowner · 12-22-2009, 05:42 PM

No rain, we just got a dusting from that last storm.
Tomorrow we or I should be dressed for it. These two farmers have a batch of pigeons, George and I drove by one day this fall and the cow barn which is 100 feet long was just covered with birds.

10 bore · 12-22-2009, 05:43 PM

some times i call them corn buzzards, barn parrots, and pigeons. i loaded some shells tonight, 1 1/8 7's .for the light 10 ga EH (2 frame) i hope it is not as windy. see you in the morning bob , scott

Dean Romig · 12-22-2009, 09:34 PM

I made the 'rain' judgement by the crust on top of the snow that is strong enough to support a dog.

Labowner · 12-22-2009, 10:53 PM

I think it's just wind pack as it has been pretty cold here this month. I need a couple days above freezing to get this ice out of my drive way.

Big D · 12-23-2009, 09:29 PM

Different twist on pigeon shooting. Years ago, whn I was involved in Field Trial Springers, we needed lots of pigeon for training - no "flush 'em and fly back to the coop. For spaniels, it's "find 'em, flush 'em and fetch 'em" As a result, a typical training session meant going thru several dozen pigeons. To ensure an adequate supply of sky carp, we would set up an explosively-launched net (think Marlin Perkins) near a grain elevator, then retire to the truck with a supply of adult malted beverages, and wait for the pigeons to come down in front of the net. If we were lucky, we might get a shot, and get the chance to crawl around under a net on a muddy (sh***y) parking lot to get several hundred birds. If we weren't lucky all we got was a hangover.

Old and Reliable · 12-27-2009, 04:41 PM

I grew up shooting barn pigeons- was out at area dairy farm this past Tuesday afternoon and did some "barrel stretching" with a M12 and some AA hulls- Here's something you fellows might try on your NH 100 cow barn farm- set out in a field area where there is some winter cover (old machinery works great and wear white- put out some crow (aka- "Black Duck") foolies in the corn rows covered with cow poop- if there are pigeons in the area airborne, I'll almost guarantee that they'll circle and even land with the crows- even the K-Mart plastic ones-

Sometimes we add a few dove decoys as an extra- can't shoot doves in MI but you can use the plastic ones, same as you can use geese decoys in a duck spread even when the goose season is closed (but ducks are still legal, of course).

We had a tower release of Amish raised barn pigeons several times at a Club near Marion, MI- but Chuck, the owner-host may not have his Amish source, and those pigeons were raised and would "home" back to the tower, or land in the marsh areas near the stands or roost in the trees, awaiting our "pick-up" shoot later-I'll darn near jog through a forest fire wearing a kerosene speedo and Reeboks to get in a shoot at pigeons, anywhere, anytime. I can't speak for doves, or shooting in SA, but IMO, I don't think there is a sportier feather target awing than a pigeon--

Dean Romig · 12-27-2009, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Francis Morin

I'll darn near jog through a forest fire wearing a kerosene speedo and Reeboks to get in a shoot at pigeons, anywhere, anytime. --

'scuse me a minute while I burn out my 'mind's eye'.

Old and Reliable · 12-27-2009, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

'scuse me a minute while I burn out my 'mind's eye'.

-- Point taken, that sight would most likely scare off the children and stampede the horses in the street--How 'bout this-- "I'd stroll through a brushfire wearing an Armani suit, Johnson & Murphy shoes, Brooks bros. shirt and rep tie- all bearing traces of 'eau de diesel' instead of Chaps- to get great shooting at pigeons"--