Bodies of evidence

Peter Theobald finds he needn’t have worried about whether his charity day was going to produce full bags for the winners of the auction

Regular readers will know that I donate a day’s pigeon shooting for two to a charity auction, the proceeds of which have benefited many good causes. The auction takes place after a popular clay shoot and the bidding is usually brisk among shooters who may or may not have access to decent pigeon shooting. The same pair have outbid the rest for the past two years, so it came as no surprise to see their hands go up at regular intervals and secure the day for a not inconsiderable sum of money.

Because I had managed to find very good days in the past (they had fired more than 500 cartridges on both occasions), the

pressure was on for me to find something similar this year. While Paul and I have had some huge bags since harvest, they have been difficult situations often demanding extremely advanced tactics, not something I would expect relative novices to cope with. So, what I was looking for was an easy situation, potentially capable of providing 500+ shots. Sounds easy if you say it quickly but, one by one, situations came and went, until there were only one or two capable of producing what we wanted.

Fresh arrivals

A block of bean stubble looked promising but, despite regular checks, was only attracting some 200 birds. On closer inspection, we found the main reason was that it was being shot by another decoyer, who was not allowing numbers to build up. However, some six weeks after being harvested, I noticed a subtle change in numbers coming and going. On driving into the fields on one of my scouting trips, it was immediately apparent that there were more pigeons on the ground, and a regular line of fresh arrivals. More importantly, they were reluctant to leave, simply swirling round behind me to land once more. This made it difficult to assess actual numbers, but certainly there were in excess of 600 birds.

I warned the two lads that they would need to drop everything if they got the call, but they were as keen as mustard to get at the pigeons the next day. An early start to make sure we arrived at the fields before any other shooters saw us pushing the 100 or so birds off at about 9.30. I was confident of the approaching flight lines, having shot this farm for more than 30 years, so set the two up on the furthest field from the roost woods, in two hides 50 yards apart. A line of decoys strung out between the hides, with a whirly in the middle, completed the picture. With 100 acres to cover, it was imperative that I found a position that would keep the pigeons moving without interfering with the line heading to their field. I knew from experience that while the birds should head to where I had set the two lads up, they would start dropping short once the line had been bashed up.

Fusillade

I was soon set-up and had birds over the decoys straight away, killing 10 in quick time – but still not a shot from the boys. Had I got it wrong? Thoughts that I might have to swap positions were soon dispelled as Robbie and Steve started to open up. It was gratifying to watch birds ignore my set-up, only to decoy like lambs once they spotted the lads pattern. Come midday they were having a war, a non-stop fusillade of shots. I prayed that they were connecting with at least half.

As expected, my position started to liven up and come late afternoon we were all shooting continuously. Come five o’clock, and with the duo still hard at it, I fired the last of my 200 cartridges, a total of 138 on the clicker. I went over to help them pack up and found two tired but very happy decoyers, plus a scene of carnage around their pattern. Dead birds were everywhere. Robbie remarked that there simply had not been time to go out and tidy things up. Steve had fired his slab of shells and Robbie was 50 into his reserves, making a total of 550 fired. They had performed really well in the circumstances, with a total of 306, making 444 in all.

A fantastic day by any standards, but how am I going to top it next year if the lads buy the day again?

“i found two tired but very happy decoyers”