Pigeons, barley and a muzzleloader.

I look over some barley fields this time of year for a farmer that lets me have what ever I want hunting wise all year around. So when the pigeons start flocking up on his barley I make a lot of noise shooting at them. Sometimes I connect with a few!
This year I have been lazy! I confess to using breach loaders so far. Have I done any better? Certainly not, as demonstrated today with my double 12g Pedersoli. I connected more with the muzzleloader than with the breach loader! What a coo, made me chuckle.

The shot I used was salvaged from old damp damaged cartridges given to me recently. #5&#6.
I was loading pretty much square loads based on 1&1/8oz loads.
Shooting didn't last long today. Some years a flight line will establish bringing distant birds one after another but not so this year just yet which means the barley raiders this year are local birds and they know the score when I turn up!
Nevermind, I got enough for a meatloaf.
Powder...looked like mighty fine stuff to me!


B.

Fantastic hunt Brits Congrats!

How does pigeon eat? I might have had it at a couple Chinese restaurant’s, but I thought it was chicken

CoHiCntry said:

How does pigeon eat? I might have had it at a couple Chinese restaurant’s, but I thought it was chicken

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Nothing like chicken.
More akin to liver in flavour. Easily overcooked.

Good shooting Brit, they look like our morning doves around here when they are flying good the shooting can get real busy.

CoHiCntry said:

How does pigeon eat? I might have had it at a couple Chinese restaurant’s, but I thought it was chicken

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They are much like mourning doves only bigger. Not quite as gamey as wild ducks but similar.

Breasted out and browned and then cooked in cream of mushroom soup they are delectable My mother used to do them up that way when I cleaned our barn of them. Still fix them that way myself when I shoot some "country" pigeons.

Nice! You sure do a lot of hunting & having fun. Good for you!

TNGhost said:

They are much like mourning doves only bigger. Not quite as gamey as wild ducks but similar.

Breasted out and browned and then cooked in cream of mushroom soup they are delectable My mother used to do them up that way when I cleaned our barn of them. Still fix them that way myself when I shoot some "country" pigeons.

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My Grandmother called the younger mourning doves squab and would cook them up a number of ways if I brought them to her.

Bravo friend! Thanks for sharing. I've been snowed under with work and other responsibilities lately. Thought today that I need to make some smoke soon. Your thread is more encouragement.

Best regards, Skychief.

Good hunting and story!
My Mother would grind pigeon breasts up and mix with a little fatty pork or bacon and make a casserole dish. One of my favorite meals. ! Thanks for bringing back some good memories.

Thank you kind gents.

B.

Well done friend.

While the English wood pidgeon is classed as vermin . It is a worthy challenge far better than Pheasants who are more akin to shooting Chooks. I regard the Willey 'Woodie ' as the finest Game bird in England . A view shared by a head Keeper of a Duke I had dealings with .
I once shot four in one shot from a 24 bore double flint gun letting off both together nothing heroic they where feeding on chick wood not in flight . Old Friends & the Cooing Woodie is what I miss of England .
Regards Rudyard

They look just like the feathered rats that plague our cities. There was a pidgin season when I grew up at the same time as dove seaso.
As they are closely related birds I figured they would taste similar and I enjoy dove. But have never had pidgin.
I had understood squab was young pidgin, but never had it.
Looks like a fun hunt

Eaten lots of pigeon when I was younger. Local farmers found out we would shoot them AND pick them up to eat. Seems they liked the pigeons removed from their farms and buildings, but were unhappy with folks who just let them lay. Anyhow, once word spread we actually had them contacting us, to the extent that we had to book appointments which ended up a few weeks ahead of time! This lasted one whole year and is a great memory in my late teen life. All were eaten and none tasted bad.
Walk

The farmers around where I grew up would pay you a Nickle each for the ones you shot not a very profitable adventure as shot shells ran about 15 cents each then, but they made good slippery pot pie. Shot a bunch of them.

The UK wood pigeon has a taste of its own a truly wild bird in my part of the UK we call them cusharts and the barn or homing pigeon does not taste anything like the wood pigeon Stew or roast them whole or just the breast they taste first class, They are a bird that is shot all the year round and does not have a close season the month of August and September on the barley and wheat stubble are the best with large bags of 100 plus easily done ,in the past . I shot a lot of woodpigeon on pest control but with new EU laws to the game dealers who would refuse to take them if they were not chilled I ceased to shoot them in any quantity and no way would I shoot them to be wasted and left for food to foxes etc A first class sporting bird which give many different types of sporting shots which should be recognised the same has driven partridge and pheasant and also the red grouse
Feltwad

Feltwad really knows his' Woodies' They are not to be compared to bellfrey & city ferolls or lesser doves. They are a magnificent sporting bird . Big as pigeons go . The NZ pigeon is eaqualy big but is by its evolution so tame it is definatly off limits.( Untill man arrived in NZ there where no four legged predators hence by evolution birds had no fear and today only snared or shot for Maori cultural reasons) .
I was once working on a culvert when we noticed sploshes of bird droppings we looked up and bare 4 foot above us was a native pigeon happily feeding No fear at all. But they don't coo that's the sound gets the likes of Me, Feltwad &, Brit Smoothy going .
Well I can only speak for myself but it takes me back to my youth & happy days after them and I would be supprized if they saw it any different . Since we all used MLs I don't see this as off topic .I have been critisized for waxing poetic.
Regards Rudyard

Well done @Britsmoothy!

Britsmoothy, if I ever get to your neck of the woods your the kind of friend I would want to chase the game with. HAPPY HUNTING.