Woodpigeon Hints & Tips 04:

Decoys

The latest developments are generally the best. Flocked or foam are where it's at today. Forget all those old plastic ones that shine and spend some money on a decent set of lures. I even prefer them to the real thing, mainly because of the fly problem, partly because of the hassle but also because the real thing can get to look pretty scrawny by the end of a day. I also think that detail isn't as important to Woody as it is to us. The white recognition patches on Woody's neck and wings are the main attractors.

There's a whole range of styles, shells, full bodied either head up or head down, but as long as it's none shine and looks like Woody from a distance it should work. Add to them some bouncer sticks and some decoys that are specifically made to add movement and you've got yourself the beginnings of a decoy set-up.

If like me you love the toys as much as the game then you can add lofters, bouncers, spinners, flyers all of which will help some of the time but as always it's worth remembering that Woody doesn't always do as expected. I haven't mentioned rotaries as they are now de rigueur for the pigeon shooter only you've got to know when to turn them off. In general I'm not a great fan of the many of the many new electronic, mechanical devices which to my mind are designed to attract pigeon shooters rather than pigeons.