DECOYING

If you have birds damaging winter rape, for example, and you are hoping to get a handle on them by decoying, I strongly advise against roost shooting or certainly over-roost shooting. The reason is that there is no better way for large numbers of birds to become irritated and jumpy than if they keep getting disturbed at night.

Do not overshoot when trying to decoy.

Timing is key.

Many people head out way too early. Let the birds find the field and gain confidence, then shoot mid-morning to mid-afternoon.

Make sure you shoot in a good wind; from 15mph up to no more than 25mph would be ideal to break up the flock.

If there is a lot of roost shooting in the area, you may struggle to decoy until birds settle down. Work with your farmer and his birdscaring tactics. On large ground you can condense the birds to one spot.

Decoying is my favoured method of control at this time of year. If you get the conditions right and the birds haven’t been too pestered, you can make good bags. It is so important that you manage your outings; don’t just go out for the sake of it. You will only make birds jumpy and encourage them to widen their feeding area.

If the pigeon problem is severe, I will sometimes combine roost shooting and decoying. The conditions have to be perfect to do it. I will decoy from about 10am till 2pm. Then I’ll make a quick turn-around and get into the roosting woods and catch them out there. Finishing slightly earlier on the decoying gives them a chance to calm and have a feed. On really windy days, if the ground allows, this can be a brilliant way of boosting numbers killed.

If you are shooting large areas of rape, work with your farmers.