GreenDrake

I am very familiar with the Auburn birds. Awesome watching them come in at evening. Its close to that here as well. I hunt the flyways and get them coming out in the morning and heading back to roost in the evening. It took me several years to really figure them out and proper set ups and calls. We hit them pretty hard now. Drove me crazy for years. I became obsessed. Wife and I drive thousands of miles finding birds...their flyways...etc. they are tough but fun. Pigeons are just a slaughter-fest. 250 bird shoot averages.

One of our summer decoy shoots

I decoy pigeons heavily in the spring and summer in cut wheat or grain fields. Have 6 Mojo pigeons and 2 dozen assorted full bodies, socks and 8 flock flicks. In Winter we do not decoy them as they are usually going into corn bunkers to feed and onto silos to sit. We get them coming and going. Crows I always decoy. I try to set up in low scrub areas in their flyways. Put some decoys in the trees and a few on the ground and call. They come over nice and low and present for easier shots. We killed 30 last Sunday in an hour.

We killed 25 this afternoon. Hard snow. Heavy wind. Farmers grandson joined us. New to hunting. Very safe and courteous but moved around a little too much. He will learn.

I am a 16 gauge junkie. I have 6 Belgian sweet 16s...savage 720 which was my fathers from the 40s....2 grade 7 Citoris....stevens pump which was my fathers first gun in the 30s...and a battle cart side by side. My fondest memory as a child was watching my father load those purple Federals while pheasant hunting. Since then I’ve been a 16 gauge fanatic. I own over 30 12s...20s from Perazzi to Baretta...and everythin between. I always go to the 16.

My beautiful wife blessed me with a new Dickinson plantation grade 16 gauge side by side. It has 28 inch barrels...case hardened side plates and a single trigger. Wood is beautiful. Pictures to follow. I am truly blessed to have such a beautiful life partner. Nephew bought me 2 of the new Lucky Duck spinning wing pigeon decoys. We will now be running 6 spin wing decoys along with the other assorted hard bodies....carousel....bouncers...socks..........flock a flicks...etc.

My wife and I watched one on our new property opening day of rifle. It walked right by the box blind. Was a beautiful animal.

Dixie found a couple this weekend.

Mine are all 4 x 6 feet, as they were on property borders and we never had to shoot behind us. In the future, now that the property I hunt enables me to shoot 360, I would definitely build them 6 x 6 feet. Makes it much easier to sit in the middle and swivel behind me to shoot.

I have 6 of these built now. All have smaller windows as I learned that anything more than 12 inches high only caused sun blinding and exposure to deer. I built them in panels in the garage and made for easy field assembly and transport. All are made of treated plywood and lumber. About $500 in materials in each all said and done. I built one per night once I got in a groove. Some are 10 years old and are going strong. All are now on 10' or 12 ' 4x4's. On the new property I just acquired, once I learn exactly where I want them, I am building 2 of them on 24 foot poles.

Grouse hunting is without question my favorite type of hunting. My setters are itching to get out once the SZ deer season ends. I may take them this afternoon to a great spot I have in the NZ. Picking up a new Dickinson Prestige 16ga sxs this morning. Need to break it in.

Now that my NZ deer season is over, I will start hitting the crows and pigeons pretty hard. Flight crows have been heavy here. We shot 28 2 weeks ago set up a half mile from the flyway. Couldn't get closer due to time constraints. Not a bad shoot for 45 minutes. The pigeons will be hitting the grain bunkers heavily soon. They have been hitting a cut corn field in the hundreds at one of my spots, but guys are hunting deer there and I do not want to ruin their hunt by shooting up the place while they are enjoying their hunt.

English Setter. Slow and methodical in the field. Very loving and regal

In the property I hunted for 20 years, our box blinds got ravaged by them. One was eaten right down to the studs. in the spring of 2019 we killed 11 in 2 days and killed another 7 throughout the deer season. One was in the box blind when I attempted to enter in one morning. My wife had one trying to climb into the one we named the "porcupine" stand. All she had was a pair of Nikon binos in her hand. She won the fight.

I have been hunting pigeons quite seriously the last 5 years. My best advice is buy at least one Mojo Pigeon decoy and a few silhouette decoys. At first light set up in a nearby cut corn or other crop field and have some fun. Pigeons decoy exceptionally well. This photo was from a wheat field shoot this summer. We run 4 mojos, 12 bag decoys, 12 hard shell decoys, 2 pole bounce flyers and 8 mojo flock a flicks. We had several 250+ bird shoots this summer. There is no season and no limit on pigeon.

Vernon National Shooting Preserve

My cousin owns a hunting preserve. My nephew and I go out a couple nights a week after all the hunters have finished and Hunt the fringes and rough areas for leftovers. Its as hard a hunt as The wild birds I hunted 25 years ago. We just hit every nook and cranny On his 600 acres. Sometimes we find them...other times one or 2.

This afternoon’s hunt. 2 1/2 hours and the setters had a ball. I agree Pygmy. I find myself getting so wound up to kill a deer and waste time That can be Spent with the dogs. When deer opened later there was a time for everything. Once deer started Opening earlier and earlier, I felt compelled to get out there after them.

Couple of recent hunts. Dogs are doing great and having a ball. I made a decision to scrap bow hunting most of the year to get the girls out as often as possible.

View from one of the box blinds we put in yesterday on the new property I am buying. 130 acres in the NZ.

Todays tally was 182. Just my nephew and I.