A lifetime’s passion

Geoff Garrod reflects on a half century of decoying, his approach to shooting and the changes he has seen

It’s been 50 years since I started pigeon decoying and it’s been a passion ever since. I have a vivid memory of my first day in a hide on my own. I must have been seven or eight; my dad set me up on the other side of a hedgerow from where he was shooting. I had my own pattern of decoys and my bolt action .410 shotgun. There were 17 cartridges in my duffel coat pocket and I bagged 17 birds, all of which were shot through a peephole in my hide as they landed in the pattern. I have never lost the thrill of seeing birds cross a field after being fooled by my decoys. What’s new Decoying has and hasn’t changed over the years I have been…

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Sporting Gun (Digital) - 1 Issue, July 2020

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