The woodpigeon (Columba plumbs) is an extraordinary bird. Almost uniquely it has exploited man’s advances in agricultural technology to prosper. I know of no other bird that can provide the variety of sporting shots that the woodpigeon can. I have shot them flying backwards - in a strong enough wind - and even managed to shoot one flying upside down as it barrel-rolled out of the sky into my decoys. They say “every day’s a school day” in my part of the world and that applies especially when it comes to pigeon shooting. Just when you feel you understand their habits completely, and your reading of field and flightlines has you wondering if you have enough cartridges – they’ll change the script and teach you a lesson. Some guns specialise in high west country pheasants, some in grouse shooting, others wildfowling, clay shooting or partridge shooting, but the best all round shots that I have met (and by all round I mean courteous, spectacularly accurate countrymen; knowledgeable, yet humble) have always spent a good deal of their time in a pigeon hide.
Decoying is a truly egalitarian sport. Throwing money at it, buying the best kit, will never guarantee you a good day out. Of course you can hire a professional guide to take you out and put you in a hide, and they provide (for the most part) a good and valuable service introducing new people to this wonderful sport. But if you don’t get out and do your own work you are missing most of the point, the skill, and the satisfaction. If you use a professional guide ask them questions – ‘why did you build your hide there, and like that?’ – because if you don’t you’ve wasted your money and a golden opportunity to learn from their experience. If pulling the trigger is all you’re concerned about, google your nearest clay ground, there are some excellent ones around - this game is not for you.
One of the reasons you can never rest on your laurels is that pigeons learn – fast. It is the principal reason they are so successful in this country. It’s also the principal reason that non-lethal methods to control them quickly become obsolete. Gas guns, flags, streamers, glitterballs, and kites all lose their effectiveness over time unless they are used in combination with pigeon shooters to keep the birds honest. And that really is the point – pigeon shooting is a crop protection exercise and, because of the crops we now grow, this beautiful bird has exploded in population. I have been fascinated by them for the last 25 years and hope to share some of that with you here.
This should always be our objective, but how do cartridges do it? What separates a good cartridge from a bad one?
Read MoreWhat do we as pigeon shooters think constitutes a good day out? How do we measure our success? Do we need to measure our success?
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