Search Results: hide

The RSPB has again been accused of incompetence and receiving unjustified grants in its ineffective attempts to make a meaningful impact on the black grouse population of North Wales (News, 24 July).  The Campaign for the Protection of Moorland Communities (C4PMC), a group dedicated to protecting moorland communities and driven grouse shooting, has taken aim…

Pigeon shooting provides a vital service in protecting farmers’ crops. Happily, it also offers delicious wild meat and scintillating sport. There are around five million pairs of woodpigeons in the UK and this number continues to grow. Woodies target oilseed rape and canola after drilling, grain crops at maturity and peas and brassicas at every…

When duck approach Little Oakley and District Wildfowlers Association’s (LODWA) 50 acres of meadowland and lagoons, they come from all directions. It’s late October and as daylight slips away, I can hear wigeon calling overhead; a wedge of mallard is silhouetted against the glow of Harwich Harbour to my front, looking likely to pitch into…

Last week I opted for old-school shooting. A bale hide on stubble took me back to the days when diesel was 50p a litre and I was a dozy student who spent as much time asleep or shooting as I did studying. A bale hide then was a great place for sport and for late-summer…

Crows are a year-round problem on most of the farms where I shoot and particularly on the holding where I’m targeting them today. These birds can be ruinous to cereal farming crops when they descend on fresh drillings and join rooks and jackdaws to devour the seeds. Although crop protection is an important part of…

When I acquired my first shotgun, aged 14, I became obsessed with the pursuit of the few woodies that lived on our farm on Canvey Island. Though the farm was mainly arable, it was rare to see populations of more than 20 to 30 birds. My tactics, therefore, usually consisted of stalking any bird that…

Almost all of us, at some point over the course of a season, will end up shooting from a hide of some sort, be it a duck hide, grouse butt or, if you’re lucky, a dove blind. Each quarry species requires differing skills but the principles of shooting from a hide, or something like it,…

When pigeon shooting, there is nothing more important than the position of your hide.

Pigeon shooting: Is it okay to build a hide in the centre of a field or is it best to stick to the hedgerows and margins?