Airgun Hunter: Pigeon Problems

Pigeon numbers seem to be on the increase - at least where I live in Shropshire. They are a particular nuisance this time of year, where everything is planted and starting to flourish. They love picking the heads off the crops, so if a flock of a few hundred hit a field, within a very short period of time they can greatly reduce the yield. On the particular farm that I was visiting on this occasion, some oil seed rape was already too high to decoy the birds over with the air rifle. Once they had landed, there was no hope in spotting them. It was ideal shooting with a shot gun but they’re far too noisy for me. I much prefer silent stalking with the air gun and making one precise shot, wherever possible.

Grass roots tactics

With decoying the pigeon over the rape out of the question, my eyes were drawn to a neighbouring field, in which I had seen a good number of birds on the day before. It looked like your everyday grass field with sheep in. I thought it very unusual for pigeons to be feasting on grass, there had to be something more that I couldn’t see from the car. Upon closer inspection it looked like they were picking out the clover from within the grass. The sheep had kept the levels low, so I reckoned decoying here should be a doddle.

I remembered where in the field the pigeons were landing from my last visit. I always like to make mental notes for future visits; this often makes the bag much bigger. I think knowledge of the ground I hunt is the greatest weapon of all, knowing the best routes to stalk in on sitty trees, the best trees to sit under and the times of year in which to focus my efforts. This kind of background knowledge can never be underestimated. I had a bird that I shot earlier that morning on an off-chance visit to a horse paddock I have permission for, on my way over. This one dead bird proved to be the key to the door of a successful day.

Saddle up!

I gathered all of the kit I believed I needed; the dead bird, my bean bag cushion, bipod, pellet pouch and various bits of camo net. I hopped the fence and headed down to a dip in the field where I would place the decoy. I got to the location and cut a ‘V’ shaped stick out of the hedge, approximately 12 centimetres long. I like to push it into the ground and prop the pigeon’s head up in the V. This has been very successful for me in the past, even with just the one bird out. I set the bird at 35 yards; right on my zero, then checked the wind. I picked some grass and threw it into the air; it drifted to my left, so I set my deek in the direction the wind was heading.

Placing the bean bag against a tree, I sat back for what could be a long wait. No camo net was needed in the end, as the natural cover was sufficient. It was good overhead from a hazel tree bursting into leaf and I was behind a bank of nettles, which were growing along a fence. I settled myself behind it. The first bird of the day didn’t land near the decoy, or even on the ground. I heard a flap from up behind me. A pigeon had landed in a willow tree. It was 20 yards away at a 40° angle and there was a lot of foliage in the way, so I needed to move my position. Getting up as quietly as I could, I made my way forward on my hands and knees, hoping for a clearer shot. I could see the pigeon, it was facing away and its head was down, so it would have to be a spine shot with the pellet hopefully travelling through and entering the heart and lungs for an instant kill.

On your knees

I managed to get onto my knee without being spotted but as I started to shoulder the rifle, I caught the pigeon’s eye and its head popped up showing that brilliant white bar on the neck, the head starting bobbing back and forth, as they do when looking for danger. I froze, knowing that any more movement would spook it and the chance would be gone! With being head to toe in camo, the pigeon had picked up on the movement of the rifle. After 20 or so seconds, which seemed like forever kneeling like an uncomfortable statue, the pigeon went off ‘alert mode’ and easily moved its weight from side to side. I continued to shoulder the rifle for a shot. I spied a gap where the branches seemed to part, perfectly for me to post a pellet through. I wasted no time and the shot was gone, that satisfying ‘thwack’ soon followed and the pigeon dropped. One down!

I was just putting down my rifle and about to gather the bird, when another swooped in and landed directly above me. I manoeuvred myself slowly into a kind-ofcomfortable- ish position, not easy when looking up at 90° degrees! I wound the magnification right down, as it was at close-range and I needed to be able to see any twigs that might ruin the shot. The woody must have heard me and he stuck his head right out, the rifle was already on line, I aimed for the neck and again, with no time to waste, the trigger was squeezed and the pellet was away. Because of the steep incline and less gravitational effect the pellet hit high, this was fine for me because it meant for a head shot.

Sit and wait?

I retrieved the both birds and wondered whether it would be worth waiting further and just sitting underneath this tree? However, I find changing from the original plan often means a smaller bag, so picked the birds and set them out and created a pattern in the field. I don’t tend to use any particular shape, such as the horse shoe or an L, but I do make sure more or less the birds are facing into the wind.

I parked myself back down on my bean bag and waited. Within 10 minutes there was some activity. A pigeon had swooped down and landed in the pattern. Before I could get the gun on him though, he was off! At least I knew the pattern was effective and looked convincing. Another soon came in and I was already in a position to shoot. It landed level with the birds already out, so no need for the range finder. I went for the head shot, as there was barely any wind. There was instantly a heck of a lot of flapping and backward roly-poly, it looked like I hit him good and proper. I left him where he sat for a while just in case something else came in and it did!

And another

Another bird tumbled in; again I was already on aim. This one was a bit jittery and didn’t want to hold its head still. The previous shot bird lying on its back was obviously making it uneasy. As it was facing side on, I opted for a shot to the heart and lungs. The .177 hit square on, unfortunately this time it wasn’t an outright kill, so I reloaded into the single shot tray of the S400 and fired again and the pigeon was dead. I left my position to be 100% sure it was dead and set them both up as decoys. With five now in the pattern the pace really started to up and it seemed birds were dropping in left right and centre. I couldn’t shoot all of them, either the shot was obstructed, or I was just to slow on the trigger!

I stuck it out and more birds began to fall. I must have got the pattern just right and this goes some way to confirming my preference for dead birds over shells or other types of plastic decoys. I dropped another two, bringing the bag up to seven. I was happy with the number and my own shooting. The decoys worked fine. There were still some birds that flared at the last moment, maybe because they saw me, or the pattern wasn’t quite right. I just don’t know but I can work on it next time.

Gathering the bounty

Gathering all the woodies in my game carrier, and my rucksack on my back, I headed back up to the car. There was a lone woody sat up in a tree, 35 yards into the wood on the way back. I couldn’t resist. With ½-Mil-Dot hold over it dropped with little fuss, a head shot was a good way to end the day.

With eight birds now in the bag, the land owner was happy. A few less pigeons to be damaging the crop on the farm. Being very hungry and well past lunch time I headed home and thought to myself ‘pigeon is definitely on today’s menu’ and a short while later, it was.