A bit of hide and sleek

Do we pay enough attention to our sense of touch? It is as vital in pigeon shooting as camo clothing and elaborate hides, believes Gough Thomas

- Gough Thomas

A Dorset reader, and a great believer in the advantage of a well-fitting gun, raises an unfamiliar point in this connection. It was brought home to him by his attempt to camouflage his gun for the purpose of pigeon shooting from a hide. He considered that the shooter’s gun is the thing most likely to catch the eye of an otherwise decoyable pigeon and to turn it away.

This is true in many cases, especially when the hide is a scanty one. Then the gun barrels — or at least their forward part — are likely to be conspicuous for their straight blackness, or their reflecting power, according to the angle of the light.

There was a time when I attached much importance to this point. I had a phase when I tried pretty successfully to dispense with the hide in favorable circumstances and to rely on personal camouflage and background for concealment. For example, when decoying over a stubble, I would sit on the ground with my back up against the gatepost and my legs are strewn with straw.

I would probably have a scrap of camouflage netting over my shoulders and wear a broad-brimmed hat, an ancient and battered one with some vegetable trimming. My hands would be gloved, and I would wear a gauze mask. With old faded clothing and due regard for the direction of the light, I could certainly escape being seen.

But I always used to camouflage my gun. And I will describe my simple trick a little later after I have dealt with my reader’s point. What he did was to make a camouflage sleeve out of one of his wife’s nylon stockings. I gather that the sleeve used to come down right over the far end and the action, in which case he would have had to push it up out of the way to reload. Though I don’t suppose that caused any trouble.