gle-barreled Iver Johnson held together with electrical tape, or with a $20,000 Purdey custom shotgun made in Britain. The bird is found almost every-
where in the world. Populations are high and stable. The birds are a nuisance. Pi- geons nest on buildings, under bridges, on cliffs, in caves, and silos on frail stick and straw nests. Manure, feathers, and dirt accompany the nesting. Pigeons make a mess and are rarely welcome anywhere. They produce six to eight squabs per year, sometimes more. In most states, pigeons are classi-
fied as pests and can be hunted, trapped, or killed by anyone with any weapon that is legal. It is considered a varmint almost everywhere. There are a few ex- ceptions. My boyhood home state, Iowa, respects the pigeon and has a hunting season for them. The old summer am- bushes of 1955 would now be illegal. That is a shame. Pigeons do not need protection; they do just fine without it. Shooting them gets a lot sportier when they are hunted. After they have been shot at a few times, they get real smart at maneuvering, avoiding ambushes, and finding hidden nesting places, which boys can’t get at. The pigeons around Vinton, Iowa,
between 1952 and 1962, were real trophy-class birds. We used to have to shoot them with scoped .222s; nobody could get into shotgun or .22 range of them. We had to set up traps or ambush them at night. For those of you who enjoy hunt-
ing all year, pigeons offer a good op- portunity. Where are the best places to hunt pigeons? Sheep and cattle feedlots and dairies near big cities generally are wonderful places. Pigeons fly to them
year around to feed. The best shooting is usually when there has been snow on the ground for several weeks. Stormy, cloudy, windy days usually produce outstanding shooting, sometimes rival- ing the dove shoots we read about from Africa or South America. I usually position myself at a
passover point where they are flying into the wind to feed. It works best to hide behind a feed bunk or in a blind so pigeons do not see you and flare out of range. It pays to sit still, facing the birds with a camouflage face cover and clothes that blend with background colors. If weather conditions are right,
birds will fly at a low altitude and give lots of sporty shooting. On good days in my favorite place, hunters might shoot 50 to 100 birds each. On terrific days, that number might reach 500 birds each. That is fast and great shooting. Decoys help. We usually collect the
birds we shoot and place them behind us in a half-moon shape spread about 20 yards away. When the flying birds see the decoys, they swing downwind, turn, and fly upwind toward the decoys directly over us, for excellent shooting. We save back several five-gallon buckets full of pigeons and freeze them so we can use them for decoys on the next trip. In some locations there may be
5,000 to 20,000 birds feeding in large sheep or cattle feedlots. Many feedlot operators are happy to let safe hunters shoot as many as they can. Pigeons carry sheep diseases between feedlots, and really mess up things. Safety rules are simple: Never
shoot very low-flying birds, birds sitting on the ground, or in the direction of live- stock, buildings, machinery, or people. If the sheep are nervous about shooting, then position your shooting stand out away from the sheep or in empty pens. If you shoot at a feedlot often, the sheep get used to the noise. I use every shotgun I have. My fa- vorite pigeon gun is a 20-gauge double,
THE LOWEST RATES & CLEANEST ROOMS!
LOCALLY OWNED, MIKE & JODI
Closest Motel to the Fort Pierre National Grasslands with over 200 square miles of free public hunting
300 feet from a Missouri River boat dock 6 miles from the V.H.A. Range & Clubhouse All Outside Entrances
211 S 1st St • Hwy 83 South Fort Pierre, SD
1-800-286-0895 • 605-223-3111
2¾" shells with 7/8 ounce of 6 or 7½ size shot. It works great with the right weather. If the sky is blue and there is no wind, then I use my Ithaca 10 mag. with two ounces of No. 2 or No. 4 shot. Pigeon shooting is fun with any scattergun or load for that matter. Pass shooting these tough birds takes talent and plenty of shot. It is a good place to use old moldy reloads, lead shot, and gun show and garage sale deals. My favorite ammo for pigeon
shooting is reloads made up of old cases of every kind and color, paper and plas- tic. Some I pick up, some I buy at gun shows cheap, and some I get at garage sales. Powder, shot, primers, and wads are all mixed brands with two criteria: They have to be cheap, and they have to be in good condition. For a load, I search the old reload-
ing manuals until I find something that comes close to my combination of components. Then I start loading at 10 percent below the minimum suggested powder charge, make up 10 shells and fire them. If there are no pressure signs,
www.varminthunter.org
Page 125
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212