There aren’t many pigeon shooters who don’t look forward to this time of the year. The harvest offers the perfect opportunity to manage good numbers on farms and estates. I know some people get funny about shooting over stubbles, complaining about shooting birds when they have young on the nest or arguing that you are not actually protecting crops, but I think it’s only sensible to put these statements – often repeated by knowledgeable Shots – to bed. Firstly, when it comes to young on the nest, it is well documented that pigeons can breed throughout the year. They are very good at bringing multiple broods of two off the nest through the year. I can confirm that the end of winter breeding was successful in many areas and I saw healthy squabs on the wing from early spring. Both parents can feed squabs in the nest and the percentage of young lost due to shooting is incredibly low. Therefore, I see no problem in controlling pigeons through peak breeding times, because those seas