The UK’s best pigeon shooting locations

The grouse season is over. The pheasants are no more. But there is one incredibly popular bird for which there is no close season. One of the United Kingdom’s finest sporting birds, in fact. The humble wood pigeon.

There are three methods for pigeon shooting; decoying, flighting and roost shooting. Decoying remains by far the most popular. So, we decided to seek out the UK’s best locations for pigeon shooting & decoying.

1)  Aberdeenshire

The Scottish Highlands is always one of the finest locations for any type of game shooting – but particularly pigeon shooting. And nestled right in the heart of the Highlands, the jewel of Scottish shooting – leafy Aberdeenshire.

Perhaps the best time to shoot wood pigeons is early spring when farmers plant crops in March/April as flocks and flocks of birds will graze in the field. May is often quiet but June and July draw plenty of pigeons again when the Rapeseed crops are cut. Since Aberdeenshire has plenty of farming land, places like Mintlaw see some of the best wood pigeon shooting around.

2) Oxfordshire

Unlike clay pigeon shooting, wood pigeon shooting requires a lot of space. As mentioned previously, wood pigeons enjoy fields of crops to nest and feed in. That’s why the more affluent areas of Southern England are often some of the best for pigeon shooting – since there is more open land and fields for them to inhabit.

Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire and Cambridgeshire are all well-known for great wood pigeon shooting, but Oxfordshire outranks them all. From Chipping Norton and Banbury right down to Didcot, shooting is a large part of the social fabric throughout Oxfordshire – and pigeon shooting especially, particularly when other birds are out of season.

3) Devon

Devon might not be the first place in the UK that springs to mind when thinking of choice wood pigeon shooting spots, but it’s somewhat of a hidden gem thanks to an unexpected number of birds.

There is much discussion amongst pigeon shooting enthusiasts as to whether pigeons migrate. There are current conflicting theories from experts about what prompts the vast number of pigeons in Devon, Cornwall and Hampshire.

Some argue a few flocks of continental birds from the Netherlands flying south get off course and cross the UK in an East-West diagonal. Others, meanwhile, suggest that they have only migrated from Wales to Devon or Cornwall and then go back again later in the year.

Either way, it means there is top-notch pigeon shooting to be had in Devon, particularly around Plym Valley – and that’s good enough for us!

4) Somerset

As the home of Cheddar Gorge and Wookey Hole, you might have the impression that Somerset as a county is largely comprised of rocky, coastal areas – but you’d be wrong.

Thanks to locations including Exmoor National Park, Quantock Hills and Mendip Hills, dubbed ‘Areas of National Beauty’ - there are a ton of shoot locations offering some of the finest pigeon shooting in the UK.

With acres of countryside spread right across the county, there’s a style of woodland or field to suit any shooter – whether it’s decoying or flighting. So why not head to the South West and try out a brand-new pigeon shooting location?

Specialist shooting insurance through Ripe

Whenever you’re on a shoot, it's worth knowing you have protection should the worst happen. With specialist shooting insurance, you can ensure you’d be covered if you were to cause an injury to someone or damage third-party property while on a shoot.

Learn more about specialist shooting insurance through Ripe or get an instant online quote today.