The Simple Joy Of Summer Shooting

With long days to savour, Will Garfit invites you to join him in a pigeon hide to experience the thrilling combination of testing sport and pest control

- Will Garfit 

Pigeon shooting, in shirt sleeves, in the summer is a chance to get out with the gun in the otherwise doldrum period between game seasons. There are always opportunities for clay shooting, either on charity shoots, simulated game days, or just a visit to a shooting ground with a friend to keep your eye in. These can all be fun and good practice but do not compare with the excitement of shooting live quarry – and no live quarry, in my experience, compares with the challenge of shooting woodpigeons. This is a truly wild bird that demands many skills to make a bag. The heart of the hunter is fully exercised by reconnaissance, fieldcraft, and a shooting experience to test the best. This bird can fly higher than any pheasant, as fast as any grouse, or it can be deceptively slow one moment and yet jink like a snipe the next. No bird can produce such a variety of interesting shots and challenges all in one day.

As an agricultural pest, the woodpigeon can cause damage, or even devastation, to crops throughout the year and therefore is permitted on the General Licence to be shot throughout the year.

A local farmer phoned to ask for help on his peas and so it was an opportunity to plan a day’s shooting. When I say day, in midsummer it is usually an afternoon and evening as pigeons do not usually fly out to feed until between 3 pm and 8 pm. Therefore, timing is a crucial part of reconnaissance. It is important not only to be on the right field, on the right day but at the right time of day.