Pigeon shooting: 6 pieces of kit you won’t want to be without…

1. Rotary Machine

This is one piece of kit I rarely leave home without.  I would choose as light a machine as possible because you’re going to have to hump it across the field with all your shooting gear. Make sure the decoys flutter realistically when it’s operating.

2. Pigeon decoys

The ones I really covet are handpainted, full bodied ones but they are quite expensive. In their absence, go for flock coated shells that are light – about 20 stacked together should weigh just a few pounds. 

3. Camo netting

Most camo nets will do what they say on the tin. I’d go for one with a good colour and with a close meshed ‘lining’ inside that prevents your gun snagging when you go to mount it.

4. Hide seat

There is much to be gained from shooting sitting down. Apart from cutting down the fatigue from constantly getting up to take your shots, your profile within the hide is much reduced. I have tried various purpose-made chairs or shooting sticks over the years and all have been either uncomfortable or collapsed after heavy usage. My seat at the moment is a lightweight swivel office chair which I found in a skip on an industrial estate!

5. Shotgun

I cannot complete a list of essential pigeon shooting gear without mentioning the gun I have used for more than 30 years in all my shooting. A Perazzi MT6 trap gun, modified with a skeet stock. It has survived constant abuse with barely a whimper of complaint. The important thing here is that if you’ve got a gun you like and shoot well with – hang on to it and get it serviced regularly!

6. Experience

The beauty of pigeon decoying is that you can notch up great sport and enjoy hours of fun with a bare minimum of kit and the most important bit comes free – it’s called experience!