Round two – a knockout

Perseverance pays for Geoff Garrod over a field of spring drillings

- Geoff Garrod

The number of pigeons in my area were on the rise at last. I had been keeping an eye on a newly drilled field of wheat that the flock had found, and it couldn’t have looked any more promising as a perfect decoying situation. It was also a good chance to keep the farmer happy.

I’d planned to cover the large field with one of my local friends, so that we could have a hide on each side of the field. This way we could cover off the two flightlines that were arriving from a nearby wood. As is the case with most spring drilling, the birds often cover large areas of a field, and don’t pack up closely when feeding. Food is everywhere and spread fairly evenly on drilled fields, so the flock tends to be spread out in search of the thinly scattered food. We both chose the spot where we wanted to set up a hide, and we watched from a concrete pad at the top of the field as the birds piled in. We’re both experienced pigeon shooters and we were relishing a great day’s sport.

Wishful thinking