We all had to start somewhere, and few people these days are lucky enough to grow up in the countryside with a shooting parent or relative on hand to show them the ropes from an early age.
You’ve read about pigeon shooting in Sporting Shooter and elsewhere, and you’re drawn by the idea of outwitting a truly wild, wily quarry, one that presents some of the most exciting and challenging shooting you’ll ever find – driven grouse included!
However, all the articles and videos are aimed at people who already have some experience of pigeon shooting and – the biggest hurdle of all – have shooting permission all lined up. What if you’re brand new to the sport, and want to learn the absolute basics?
Well, you’ve come to the right place – here is our Pigeon Shooting 101, the beginner’s guide that will get you started and help you make sense of the more advanced tips in articles by experts like Andy Crow.
Meet your quarry: the woodpigeon
The humble woodpigeon is one of the biggest pests that farmers face, but also one of the most sporting quarry species in Britain. It also happens to make very good eating, with firm, tasty breast meat that’s arguably as good as beef steak and every bit as nutritious.
The woodpigeon is nothing if not versatile. It is common throughout the woods and arable land of lowland Britain, it adapts well to living in towns and cities, and you’ll even find a few in the far-flung Highlands and islands of Scotland.
They pair up in spring to breed, and will typically produce one, two or even three broods of one or two young each year. Young pigeons, or squabs, quickly mature and join flocks of adult birds, where they can be distinguished by their lack of a white neck ring.
Outside the breeding season, the birds tend to congregate in flocks of anything from 20-30 up to 500 or more. These large flocks can cause massive damage when they descend on a food source – often an arable crop such as oilseed rape, beans, or wheat that has reached a vulnerable stage.
If you’re going to shoot pigeons, you will need to learn to tell woodpigeons from their cousins such as the feral (town) pigeon, collared dove, and the (protected) stock dove – not just in a bird book, but by their silhouette and manner of flight.
They’re pests, so I can shoot them anytime, right?
Yes and no! The way our law works, all birds start-off protected unless they are covered by an exception, such as those made for game birds that can be shot in season. Woodpigeons are covered by the General License system in the UK. The licenses are renewed annually by the relevant government agencies in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. They allow anyone with a farmer or landowner’s permission to shoot woodpigeons, so long as your follow the terms and conditions. In particular, you must be shooting them primarily to protect crops, not simply for sport or for the table.
What equipment will I need?
Most pigeon’s shooters use a 12-bore shotgun although the 20-bore has its fans. Any decent game gun or dual-purpose Sporter will be fine, while some people prefer a semi-auto because it holds three shots and is easier to load in the confines of a hide.
There is much debate about shot size, loads, and chokes, but as a newcomer, you won’t go far wrong if you choose 30 or 32g of no. 6 lead shot. If your gun has interchangeable chokes, start with something around half to three-quarters and concentrate on putting your pattern in the right place rather than faffing about the chokes.
Bear in mind that farmers don’t like plastic wads and cases littering their fields. Choose shells loaded with a fiber wad, and pick up your empties at the end of the day. The same goes for sandwich wrappers, plastic bags and anything else – don’t leave a mess and get pigeon shooters a bad name!
On top of your gun and ammo, you will need some good weatherproof clothing, equipment for building a hide, and a selection of decoys to draw the birds within range. You will be out for much of the day, so take something to eat and drink, and a stool or empty barrel to sit on. Nowadays I doubt anyone needs reminding to take their mobile phone, but it’s a valuable aid to safety as well as being handy for bragging about your success on Facebook!
All this can add up to quite a load, and it’s easier if you can get your vehicle close to the spot where you plan to shoot. Check with the farmer before diving on his fields, even along the headlands, and park away from the hide before you start shooting. The vehicle will scare approaching pigeons – indeed, you can place it strategically to divert them away from an alternative feeding ground. Ropes of bird-scaring bangers can serve the same purpose.
First, find your pigeons
The big secret to successful pigeon shooting is reconnaissance. You can’t expect to go and set up any old where, in the hope of bringing the birds to you. The pigeons will be feeding on a specific patch on a particular field for a reason. You need to go out days in advance, find the birds and see what they’re eating and why.
It might be a freshly drilled field of beans, for instance, where hard, dry earth hasn’t allowed the drill to bury the seed properly. At another time of year, it could be a young crop with soft, nutritious green shoots. Alternatively, nearer harvest time, it might be a patch of ripe wheat that’s been knocked flat by a storm. In February, pigeons may descend on patches of maize cover crop when they are cut down at the end of the game season, providing a good opportunity to shoot birds that are also devastating nearby oilseed rape crops.
The birds will pick a certain part of the field and you need to work out which bit and, ideally, why. Perhaps the crop was knocked back there by rabbit grazing damage earlier in the year, or the soil isn’t so good. Maybe the seed is nearer the surface because the drill wasn’t set correctly, or the combine missed a patch of the crop.
Take time to talk to the farmer and learn about his crops, on what stage they’re at, and which pigeons are harming. Park up in a good vantage point and watch, perhaps with binoculars, to learn which part of the field the birds are favoring. Check the flight lines of the pigeons and the wind. Discover where they like to rest up when they are full, perhaps in a nearby spinney or wood, and what time they come back for their next feed.
It’s all part of learning to think like a pigeon. Every successful pigeon shooter develops this vital skill over many years of observation as well as simply shooting.
Build your hide
Hide building is an art, and one that the top artists often disagree! Traditionalists will build their hide against a thick hedge or woodland, blending in as much as possible with the surroundings. Others – and Andy Crow is an example – are quite happy to construct a massive bush in the middle of a field, where you’d think it would stick out like the proverbial sore thumb. Both can work well in the right spot, so long as they are properly constructed to conceal you from the birds until it’s too late.
The crucial point is that the hide has to be within easy shooting range of a spot where the birds want to feed – which is where all that reconnaissance starts to pay off.
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