Thank Your Lucky Stars

The stars alligned for Peter Theobald and his shooting partner Paul as the pair managed a record bag on winter rape.

- Peter Theobald

A whole host of favourable criteria has to fall in place if you're going to make a good bag of pigeons on rape during January and February. Occasionally all the stars align and a constant stream birds pile into your decoys. The following is an account of one such day.

Paul and I first shot the field in question after the farmer had phoned him to ask if he could sort out the pigeons that had started to hit his rape. The farmer agreed to lay off the bangers and kites for a couple of days until Paul had assessed the situation. Further reconnaissance revealed 350 pigeons contentedly munching away at the plants, certainly enough to warrant a sortie. We chose a nice breezy day, setting up halfway down the hedge on the upwind side of the field – a position from where Paul had shot many times before.

First outing