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This farm in Fife is plagued by pigeons. I have
already had success during the day, but to really get on top
of them we plan a night time assault. The reason I am wearing
a mask tonight even though there is no light here, there is a
full moon, but even then it is faint, we are going into the
sheds and is going to be completely black, is that
when I switch the illuminator on to this Nite Site and it
shines on my face it does provide some reflection.
I do have shockingly white skin, so I am covering up my hands,
covering up my face anything which is going to be around
the screen which will help to break up the light so that they
won't even know we are there.
So that's the plan.
This is the size of the problem. There are literally hundreds
of pigeons in here. The mess on the floor is pretty bad. You
can just see from the shear numbers they have no concern
of the fact we are here, no idea that we are here. This
Nite Site really is an incredible piece of equipment.
Look at those. I will zoom out a second here and give
you a full picture. Look at that.
The barn is full of cattle and we only have the one
centre aisle from which to shoot.
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There is a couple and I have had to take two shots there.
There are a couple I have given hair cuts to.
There's still plenty more, in fact I would say there
is about at least 300 pigeons in here. So by the time
I have finished there might be another 50 less. We will
see how we get on. In a second I am about to reload
and I shall have to go and get some more air. This rocks.
I think I have run out of air. Back to the car reload
and bring in a spare magazine.
So, we have had to reload, we have had to put some air
in the gun. This is intense. It is probably the most insane
pigeon control exercise I have ever done in my life. There are
simply hundreds and hundreds of pigeons
in there and they have absolutely no idea we are here. I have
actually taken my face mask off now because even with the
light on full illumination, they are not even bothered, they are
not even looking at us. We have probably got about fifty, fifty-five
on the deck at the moment. I'm taking body shots mainly
as you will see from the footage a little bit later.
Head shots, neck shots on pigeons in a barn like this,
they are not advisable really. There is plenty of penetration
with this .177 12ft/lb Air Rifle.
If you stick it up near the head and you miss you are
going up through an asbestos roof and causing damage and
that's not what we are here for. We are here to keep
these winged menace under control and we have done
a pretty good job so far.
So loading up, spare magazine, more air and we are going
back for more.
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The Huntsman and nightsight combo is incredibly efficient and the
birds keep falling. The only problem is having just ten
shots in the magazine.
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After the latest recharge I take up position outside the
barn. It's another great vantage point although the cows are getting
a little too close for comfort.
So one of these cows is a new-age hippy type cow because it
was licking the end of my barrel and nearly got itself a piercing,
so I think what we will do now as we have got far too much
interest at this end of the barn, I am just going to
get down and do another little tour of the inside, reload
find a new position in the middle of the floor, probably
seated this time and then we're just going to work our way around
the rafters again.
Amazingly I am now nearing my century: ninety-six,
ninety-seven,
ninety-eight,
ninety-nine
and 100. 100 feral pigeons.
It's my personal record. I've got one in the mag so why not one for luck?
Andy Richardson is a guide with a nose for pigeons and
he has certainly delivered the goods tonight.
How did the relationship start with you and the farm, how did
you find this barn?
Myself and this particular farmer used to drink together when we
were in our teens, so it has been a thirty-year friendship.
We were in the Young Farmers together.
So what you are suggesting is that if you go down to the
pub more often you bump into cool people you get decent shooting?
That's right, yes.
I must tell my wife that.
As the night has gone on we have got bolder and bolder
throwing more and more light around the shed. Now we are
going full on and using a foxing lamp to show just
how big a problem these pigeons are.
And for my grand finale I see how many birds I can
knock down with my last full magazine.
So it's my last ten shots, my last mag and Andy
has challenged me to see if I can get ten out of ten,
so watch and learn.
One,
three,
five,
seven,
nine,
ten.
Andy says a lot of the fallen birds will be trodden into
the cow's bedding, so I start clearing up.
Looks like a lot of these fellows have been trodden
in already so I have got a bit of work cleaning up. I've spent
about two hours having a whale of a time, now comes the dirty work.
Go on, get on.
It was all going so well when one animal feels I
am invading its personal space. He looks a little shifty so
I keep an eye on him.
Aaah!
However, he's too fast for me.
The dairy cross bull puts me on the deck and I exit
the barn as fast as I can.
Are you all right?
Blimey! Yeah.
Behind the camera David offers some reassuring words.
Where did it get you? in the knee?
No, the chest.
While Andy suppresses a laugh.
What's happened here?
I lost an argument with a cow.
He rammed me against the wall.
It's OK.
Are you sure Ian?
I don't think I broke anything.
You ought to sit down, catch your breath.
I'm winded and we later discover I am nursing two cracked ribs.
But the show must go on.
Ugh.
Right.
Just explain what happened then.
Well, I was just in there trying to gather the pigeons up,
these cows look a little bigger than the other ones
and I think there have been a few half eaten around here.
I think they have been chewing on them, but I lost an
argument with a very big beef cow, one like that. In fact
that might be him right there. I tell you what: he will get it.
So, what a phenomenal night.
That has to be one of the greatest night's shooting
of my entire career. 110 birds on the floor, ten
out of ten on my last magazine and that wasn't
even the only excitement I even got rammed against the
wall by one of those huge pedigree bulls in there as
I was cleaning up the birds.
So a night I will never forget, but I will be sore
in the morning.
Ferals and Harford being hit hard.
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