Pest control on covercrops drillings

After a very early alarm call I was up and on the drillings setting the decoys up, in anticipation about what the morning pest control would bring. Shooting over the drilled crops gives me a rare chance to get stuck into our limited supply of pigeons. However, enticing both pigeons and crows to decoy in front of a hide can be a challenge. I set the decoys up in a wide M-shaped spread, which combined a typical horseshoe of pigeon decoys, and an L-shaped crow spread just off to one side. I was surprised by how well it worked, with the different birds committing to the different decoy layouts. The old Laurona did its job and pulled down some extraordinary shots, including one pigeon shot with full choke and trusty Victory whites 35g 5s that landed stone dead 82 yards away from the hide. It also made light work of one or two decoy-shy crows at long range.

The operation was, all in all, a success, with plenty of crows thinned out and a few pigeons to throw on the BBQ. The crops are now well and truly sprouting up, ready for next season.