View Full Version : Pigeon
I live in a part of Wales not blessed (or cursed depends on your opinion ~#) with huge acres of crops. The pigeon numbers in my part of the world though do seem very high, i'm seeing large flocks every morning.
What about the rest of you??
Cheers
Aled
speycaster
21-12-2008, 20:02
plenty in cheshire mate huge flocks of them pity i dont shoot lol or it could be pigeon pie for xmas |\
Teifi-Terrorist
23-12-2008, 11:28
To be honest Aled, I'm seeing the opposite :: which, in a way, is a real shame. They make an extremely sporting shot, and offer some awesome meat for the table.
I'm seeing huge numbers of snipe this year though, literally 60-100 each time I walk the marsh, which isn't exactly a huge marsh. This is very encouraging, especially with their numbers reducing, by all accounts.
Woodcock have also been showing up in decent numbers. I heard reports from a friend of 2 heavy bags being taken last week in my home area; one day of 16 and one day of 19, which is an excellent bag for these parts.
Indeed, even ground-game has been increasing, and we're seeing a lot more rabbits this year.
I hope you and the boys are up for the challenge Aled! Don't have too much Christmas pud, and get those walking boots on!! ;)
Steff.
Had the pleasure of plucking a couple of pheasants for the first time in my life on Sunday, went quite well for a first time, only a little tear or two. Great fun doing it outside with a stiff breeze, feathers everywhere! My spaniel had a great time.
Must admit I've noticed seeing quite a few pigeons down the valley from Steff, more than I have seen in the past. Time to open your eyes Jones! New specs for xmas?
BTW - Seasonal Greetings to all and I hope that 09 focuses more on the positive things in life, than the dreadful doom and gloom we've had over the last 12 months.
PS Wish I could go salmon fishing over xmas..........
Hello All
Boxing Day, a great day in the sporting calendar! Off to see the hounds go from Llandeilo Square at 11am, and am looking forward to donning boots and cartridge belt tomorrow for a good old fashioned rough shoot. hope my fitness is up to it.
Cheers
Aled
Well the Terrorist took us on a rough shoot i can tell you. He marched us up the hill and down again. Had a great days sport, but our skill with the gun will need to improve. Still both Arwel and i managed a sporting firs my first teal and his first mallard. Cracking work by the dog team as well.
Diolch gyfaill.
Aled
Ugie Fisher
31-12-2008, 22:45
well up here in NE scotland the skies are grey with them in the country. I go shooting now and agin for pheasants and woodcock but everytime we see them when shooting they are too high but when you don't have the gun they are well in range. Sods law i supose.
Teifi-Terrorist
05-01-2009, 20:47
Well the Terrorist took us on a rough shoot i can tell you. He marched us up the hill and down again. Had a great days sport, but our skill with the gun will need to improve. Still both Arwel and i managed a sporting firs my first teal and his first mallard. Cracking work by the dog team as well.
Diolch gyfaill.
Aled
What a day!! :> superb fun, and what it's all about! However, I do think that some of the local cattle are now suffering from lead poisoning due to all the shots fired that day!! :@
Taff, Bonnie and Teifi were out of action for a few days, as was I!
Great day, and great to catch up with you both Aled.
Finding that woodcock flight line at the end of the day was a right result! I've never tried it before, and the sport you boys had was just amazing. I went back a few nights after and sure enough it is a regular route, with another dozen or so coming over, and some snipe from the top fields.
Regarding the shooting lessons; at the start of the season my shooting was absolutely pathetic! couldn't hit a barn door! If my casting went the same way I would go and see an instructor, so I thought why not with shooting? So I made some inquiries and came across the Tree-Tops clay shoot near Newport. In a word; awesome! It's a game simulation set-up with loads of various shots to cover. £66 gets you 100 cartridges, an hour's tuition, and a fitting service - money very well spent I can assure you. They got me sorted in about 15 minutes. I would highly recommend the place - I believe the instructor's name is Andrew, he is extremely patient.
Got a few days coming up over the next few weeks that I'm really looking forward to, even some pheasants, which will make a change.
TT.
Cheers Steff your right, great days sport|\ Big thanks again, wanted to write more detail but Ifan was sat on my lap at the time and wanted to see Bob the Builder web site! Good news about those Woodcock.
Been looking at a day at the tree tops, all being well will make a visit soon.
Cheers
Aled
ps After seeing Taff work i'm wondering is a black labrador the dog i really want??
Teifi-Terrorist
13-01-2009, 09:44
Had a nice day out on Saturday chasing pheasants. Took the cocker, Taff, on her first outing after pheasants, and she performed well and retrieved her first pheasant - even though it looked bigger than her!! Saw a load of woodcock and snipe, and could have had some great sport if it weren't for the ban.
The current (voluntary) ban on shooting woodcock and snipe has curtailed the rough shooting element somewhat, but all being well this should be lifted before Saturday. This mild weather will get the ducks back on the ponds and snipe back on the marsh with a little luck. Here's hoping!
A few updates here for those interested:
http://www.basc.org.uk/content/severe_weather
Looking forward to a few days before the end of the season.
TT.
Teifi-Terrorist
13-01-2009, 09:48
Not sure how many of you have followed this series, but I found it thoroughly entertaining and useful.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search/?q=kill%20it%20cook%20it%20eat%20it
For those of you that have been watching; what did you make of it? I thought that it helped show what the sport was about, and certainly put it in 'better' light.
Well worth watching.
TT.
I watched the duck shooting programme, I did enjoy it i must say, and agree with you about how it portrayed the sport.
I thought it was worth watching for the scenary alone!Cheers
Aled
TT and i had a hard days rough shooting on Saturday in my little corner of Wales, and what a day it was! Sadly for me i missed every chance that came my way, however TT put two woodcock and a pigeon in the bag. However we saw 30 woodcock, over the day, flushed from very dense cover, to small hedges, the dogs worked well, and most imprtantly all of us enjoyed. A big thanks to Steff and his team for their hard work. Anyway guns to be put away for a while now until i get down to the shooting ground for a lesson. :@
Tight Lines
Aled
Teifi-Terrorist
01-02-2009, 14:57
TT and i had a hard days rough shooting on Saturday in my little corner of Wales, and what a day it was! Sadly for me i missed every chance that came my way, however TT put two woodcock and a pigeon in the bag. However we saw 30 woodcock, over the day, flushed from very dense cover, to small hedges, the dogs worked well, and most imprtantly all of us enjoyed. A big thanks to Steff and his team for their hard work. Anyway guns to be put away for a while now until i get down to the shooting ground for a lesson. :@
Tight Lines
Aled
Sorry for not following up on this sooner Aled. WHAT A TOP DAY!!! I can sincerely say that this was one of the best and most fun days I have ever had hunting. It wasn't the bag size, it was the true pleasure of seeing the birds, being a new, wild place, and sharing a superb day with a friend. Shame Arwel couldn't make it, perhaps next time. Thanks once again Aled, I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though the dogs and I did take a few days to recover!! That was some cover! :>
Finished my season off with a quick woodcock flight late yesterday afternoon. Lovely to see the birds, and a great way to end the season. The gun now goes back into storage and the fishing 'head' gets back on. Only a couple of weeks to go and I get to tussle with a few Grande giants!! Can't wait.
TT.
Ugie Fisher
14-05-2009, 22:28
has anyone tried these before? If so are they any good.
UF
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJg7SA_LH3M
Teifi-Terrorist
09-06-2009, 12:25
Flappers are deadly, UF. I went pigeon shooting last year with a friend of mine near Oxford. He had 2 of them setup and they pulled them in like crazy! You then formed a pattern from the ones you shot, which added to the flock, and pulled them in even stronger.
A deadly bit of kit, and a great way of controlling big numbers.
TT.
Not long now until the 1st crops are cut, and the decoys dusted off, if this weather behaves!
I know it's slightly off topic - but how does everyone cook them? Any good recipes to try?
Cheers
Chuck.
Ugie Fisher
10-06-2009, 23:50
Pigeons are excellent to eat. I breast them out then soak the brasts in milk for about 1 hour before tossing then in flour then wrap streaky bacon around the and either grill them or put them in the oven. The bacon goes crispy and takes all the major heat while the breast gets slowly cooked inside.
Teifi-Terrorist
12-06-2009, 13:25
That sounds very nice UF, nice one. |\ Will be trying that.
Pigeon meat is very underrated. You get quite a lot from what is - after plucking - a very small bird. Very rich meat, with great flavour.
I tend to de-breast pigeons, woodcock, snipe etc. then freeze them down. When I've got a decent stock I chuck them all in a pie.
I find pigeon meat works very well with parsnip as well as bacon, as UF pointed out.
Give me a shout if you need some company Chuck!! :@
TT.
will do TT, I find the birds slightly more reliable than fish, so should be able to get enough for a pie or 2!
do you reckon PhilRich would be any good as a 'picker-up'/retriever???? {;
speak soon
Chuck