Home advantage

Geoff Garrod explains why roost shooting is a sporting challenge like no other

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Roost shooting wood pigeons in February is possibly the finest sporting challenge this country has to offer. We are also protecting crops and controlling vermin for farmers. To give yourself the best chance of a good couple of hours’ shooting, do yourhomework. If you can, spend some time the day before observing with your binoculars. Work out which wood they roost in, where they have been feeding, which line they prefer to approach the wood, and make a note of the wind direction. Visit the wood and walk around to look for signs of wherethe birds settle for the night. Droppings and feathers usually give this away.

Also, look for likely habitat. You will often see pigeons landing in a wood and could presume that is where they will stay for the night. That is rarely the case if they have landed in deciduous trees. Pigeons will stop off to check that an area is safe before moving to their roosting site, which is more likely to be in evergreen conifers or ivy covered trees that offer more protection from the elements.

Conditions

The weather plays a big part in roost shooting, probably more so than decoying. If you have the luxury of being able to choose when you go shooting, look for the ideal forecast,which is a strong wind, cold and cloudy. On still evenings, any approaching birds will arrive at a great height and drop in from all directions. This makes choosing the shooting position much harder.