Wood pigeons once again crossed the October skies in numerous flocks, leaving us on some days to admire unparalleled natural spectacles, and this is always wonderful news, perhaps the most important for us hunters: the full health of the species. For those who have been awaiting the arrival of these wild birds since early October, the wait has been truly exhausting this season because the first important groups of wood pigeons arrived between 15 and 16 October. Intense days, always with bated breath and the gaze lost in the colours of the sky continually interrupted by the movement of birds in flight. For those who manage stands, this is not the best of expectations, because after so much effort spent over the course of the year on preparing and maintaining the hunting site, the desire would be to gradually and steadily enjoy beautiful days of migration. Instead, in seasons like this everything happens suddenly, as if an ocean of people suddenly turned up at a carefully prepared private party. Adrenalin is undoubtedly not lacking, but also mistakes, distractions and difficulties come as a result. When hunting with friends, one knows that every aspect then becomes a source of fun and irony, and thus unforgettable days take shape. A second great migratory wave took place on 20 and 21 October, when the hunting grounds were once again invaded by wood pigeons which, moving in large flocks, hardly paid any attention to the calls, leaving themselves only to be admired at impossible heights. On the whole, October proved favourable to migration and less generous to hunters, who nevertheless had their moments of intense excitement, albeit concentrated in a few days.
Our hunting days
We returned to the stages along the Adriatic coast in the southern Marche region (Italy) set up by Claudio Tomassini, a friend and expert pigeon hunter and lure pigeons fancier. His tree stands manage to surprise us every season with the addition of new details, improvements in every technical or simply aesthetic aspect that give the impression of being welcomed into a sort of fairy-tale village where hunters, men who have been able to keep alive the child inside them, still know how to get excited at every sunrise from the treetops as they look out over the sea.
Baschieri Mygra Colombaccio, F2 Classic, MB Extra cartridges
We brought with us different types of Baschieri & Pellagri cartridges, which we alternated, adapting to the changes in humidity and temperatures that are often sudden and clearly evident on autumn days. Hunting on alternate days with both 12-gauge and 20-gauge, we chose to use the dedicated Mygra Colombaccio cartridge with a 36-gram load of #5.5 lead shot in 12-gauge and a 31-gram load in 20-gauge. Next we chose the F2 range for powder consistency and velocity, with F2 Classic and F2 Extra respectively. The F2 Classic cartridge features a 34-gram medium load, which is ideal for medium-range shots in wood pigeon hunting. The available shot numbers ranging from the smaller diameter #12 to #4 actually allow a wide use of these cartridges in other types of hunting, from small game to medium-sized game. In our case we used #5 shot. Completing our load options was the MB Extra cartridge, available with both felt wad and a cup for use in medium and long range shooting, relying on the good pattern distribution and the MB powder velocity. Here again, the shot numbers available for MB Extra cartridges range from 10 to 4, which can be used in various hunting situations. During our days, we noticed that the F2 cartridges were most effective during the early hours when humidity was most noticeable, while in the middle hours of the day we preferred the MB. Baschieri's Gordon Hull proves to be an important technical feature for smooth shots on days when the stability on the shoulder and consequently the hunter's accuracy and concentration make all the difference.
For more information please visit the Baschieri & Pellagri website.
