Flyers

[camlo]

I am a self confessed addict to this sport and curious how many other like minded individuals there are on here. Pigeons have contributed to a serious reduction in my hunting activities since 2019.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I have always been a bird hunting junkie, mostly because it means working with my dogs.

To my left and right as I write this.

I also shoot trap, skeet, and clays on a weekly basis weather permitting. Shooting moving targets leaves paper ones in the dust.

 

[Sika98k]

Pigeons ! Wood pigeon provide excellent sport here in the summer over crops.

 

[BeeMaa]

I am a self confessed addict to this sport and curious how many other like minded individuals there are on here. Pigeons have contributed to a serious reduction in my hunting activities since 2019.

Not sure exactly what you mean by this.

Are you saying that going to the range to shoot clays (aka pigeons) has reduced the amount of hunting you are doing?

IMO - If this is the case you may need to reevaluate your priorities and put those skills gained at the range to good use in the field. Dove and pigeon can be incredibly good game meat.

Don’t get me wrong. Shooting trap, 5-stand, skeet, wobble and sporting clays is fun…but it’s not a replacement for hunting.

 

[Red Leg]

He is talking about competitive pigeon shooting.

The pigeon ring is the most demanding and enjoyable of all the shotgun games (also the most expensive and rewarding). I personally prefer box-bird events to columbaire, but both are great fun.

I have three dedicated guns. My favorite is a William Cashmore Nitro built just before WWII with 32” tubes choked tight and tighter. It is of course proofed 1 1/4 ounces. It has saved many a race on the final bird just before it reached the ring fence.

And yes, lots of disposable income has gone into those guns and events. Though, on good days, I have made a bit of that back.

It is still a fairly prestigious sport in Spain and Argentina. Obviously, shooters here in the States have to be somewhat more circumspect. The sport is perfectly legal in many states. It was, after all, a very popular Olympic event. But domestic pigeons, which are essentially flying rats, can draw unwanted organized sympathy in a way no rodent can.

 

[camlo]

Not sure exactly what you mean by this.

Are you saying that going to the range to shoot clays (aka pigeons) has reduced the amount of hunting you are doing?

IMO - If this is the case you may need to reevaluate your priorities and put those skills gained at the range to good use in the field. Dove and pigeon can be incredibly good game meat.

Don’t get me wrong. Shooting trap, 5-stand, skeet, wobble and sporting clays is fun…but it’s not a replacement for hunting.

No sir, Red Leg hit the nail on the head. Competitive live pigeon shooting. Box birds and Columbaire (hand thrown)

 

[Nevada Mike]

I shot box birds some years ago, but have long since quit competitive shotgun sports. A terrific sport and addictive. I used a Perazzi Mirage - a very effective weapon.

 

[BourbonTrail]

I didn’t even know this was a thing. Sounds like a classy coyote shoot for birds.

The stuff I learn on this forum could fill a small encyclopedia.

 

[Red Leg]

This is a box bird shoot in San Remo in 1938. It was THE international shotgun shooting sport from the turn of the century to WWII.

 

[Nevada Mike]

Pigeons ! Wood pigeon provide excellent sport here in the summer over crops.

I've been thinking of heading over to Scotland to visit my daughter and sneak in a few days of wood pigeon shooting. I like the idea of going in Summer!

 

[BeeMaa]

@Red Leg - I saw your post of your shotgun being choked tight and tighter. I was wondering what distances are these being shot at? From the video they don't look close.

 

[Red Leg]

@Red Leg - I saw your post of your shotgun being choked tight and tighter. I was wondering what distances are these being shot at? From the video they don't look close.

They aren't.

With box birds, the shooter is staring at seven to ten boxes or traps across his front. That makes them farther away as they launch to either end of that line. The nearest box is typically 33 yards and the farther two as much as forty. In the States, the boxes are usually spring loaded to toss the bird into the air. Each time in the ring, the shooter will normally get five birds. Each bird is launched when the gun calls for it. The gun will say "ready," the trapper will respond "ready," and the next noise from the shooter will launch a bird. The shooter does not know which box the trapper will activate. Obviously, keeping track of empty traps is a key technique for picking up birds. Normal matches are 25 birds, occasionally 30. The ring is typically 50 meters in diameter and is surrounded by a chain length fence twenty-inches in height.

To score the bird must fall into the ring. Should he fall wounded and mange to takeoff and get out of the ring it is lost. Only doubles or OUs are used and both shots must be fired (for safety reasons as much as anything). Shells are limited to 2 3/4 inches and 1 1/4 ounces of shot. Shot size typically cannot exceed #7. Most shooters use both on the bird regardless how well hit with the first barrel because of the wounded bird rule. Whenever the shooter scores five in a row (that can be a combination of two five-bird flights) he must move back a yard. Competitors shoot from a mounted gun position. You can do the math on range to target in order to shoot a perfect score, which unlike skeet and trap is pretty rare.

Typical guns are very tightly choked. With 7 1/2 shot, my purpose built 32" Cashmore shoots 75% right barrel and nearly 90% with the left. Remember a stone dead bird one-inch beyond the fence is lost, and a large hard driving bird like a pigeon can be difficult to stop in its tracks.

At large matches, lots of money is wagered.

The other form of pigeon shooting is called "Columbaire." Though both games use live pigeons, they are about as different as trap is from sporting clays.

In a Columbaire match, the bird is tossed into the air by a live human being to the shooter's front. The ring is typically twice the size of a box bird ring. Four ten-foot poles connected by white rope at the top mark a thirty-foot square. The columbaire, or thrower, moves to a throwing position within the square and says "listo" or "ready." The gun takes up a firing position and says "pull" or something equivalent. The thrower then attempts to throw the bird in such a way as to be very difficult to hit. He may remove feathers to cause more erratic flight. The shooter can only fire at birds above the white ropes. Anything below is considered "no bird." Some of these throwers have the arm of Nolan Ryan and the scheming mind of Machiavelli.

As you might imagine, Columbaire takes a different gun. 28-30" are typical with improved modified or mod for the first barrel, and improved modified or full for the second. I typically use a 30" M/F AYA OU for Columbaire.

Needless to say, Columbaire is not a sport for an inexperienced shooter.

@camlo please fill in what I left out.

 

[Red Leg]

Lol. Wish I had found this before cranking out the previous post. It is a very thorough article written by Chris Batha from "Shooting Sportsman."

A Tale of Three Hats | Shooting Sportsman

Competitive live-pigeon shoots in the US may be more common than you think, but they are private events by invitation-only because the sport is controversial.

shootingsportsman.com

 

[camlo]

@Red Leg you’re pretty much spot on. For box birds I’m typically choked improved modified/full or full/extra full depending on time of year and weather conditions.

When shooting columbaire I am exclusively shooting improved cylinder/full. My preferred shell is a 1.25oz #8 in the 1330fps range. I had always heard about the sport but it was the stuff of legends to me. I got my first exposure in 2019 and I haven’t looked back since. To me it is the finest thing you can do with a shotgun except for maybe bobwhites over a good dog. I love the history of the sport, the innovation it brought to the firearms industry and most of all the challenge.

I cannot compete with professional skeet, trap or sporting clays shooters in their world but the pigeon ring is a great equalizer.

 

[Red Leg]

@Red Leg you’re pretty much spot on. For box birds I’m typically choked improved modified/full or full/extra full depending on time of year and weather conditions.

When shooting columbaire I am exclusively shooting improved cylinder/full. My preferred shell is a 1.25oz #8 in the 1330fps range. I had always heard about the sport but it was the stuff of legends to me. I got my first exposure in 2019 and I haven’t looked back since. To me it is the finest thing you can do with a shotgun except for maybe bobwhites over a good dog. I love the history of the sport, the innovation it brought to the firearms industry and most of all the challenge.

I cannot compete with professional skeet, trap or sporting clays shooters in their world but the pigeon ring is a great equalizer.

Absolutely! A driver will make a mockery of screw-in chokes, adjustable combs and tilting butt plates. I started shooting box birds in 2000 when we moved to Northern Virginia. Our local ring was just over the state line in West Virginia, and I shot several times in Pennsylvania and twice in Argentina. I hope to shoot in Spain next year. We moved to Texas about ten years ago, and I only shoot quarterly now.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Sounds like one more activity to try with that scatter gun.

 

[camlo]

Sounds like one more activity to try with that scatter gun.

Be careful what you wish for. My first Safari is on the books for April of 24 and the excitement I feel for that trip is comparable to what I feel heading to a pigeon shoot. You will treat clay pigeons with contempt, have a soft spot for Helice (zz birds) but once introduced, flyers will be all consuming.

 

[mark-hunter]

Interesting subject, till now I did not realize this sport still exists!

 

[Tgood1]

This was rather popular when I lived in southwest GA 20 years ago. I observed but never participated. Very high end shotguns used and tremendous amounts of cash trading hands as well.

 

[Tucketed]

When I was a kid besides a trap line to raise a little money for myself I would trap pigeons. We would take them to an auction in Lancaster PA twice a month. They were used in live pigeon shoots. A few hundred birds a month at $.5 to .75 each allowed me a great income at the age of 13 and 14.