What are the options for doing some clay pigeon shooting around Calgary? I'm going to use a colleague as an excuse, who would very much like to try this (if he gets his work visa extension organized I can probably recruit him into the ranks of hunters/shooters), but the truth is, I performed very very poorly last year, on the huns and pheasants. A couple of rounds of clays may help me sort out what I was doing wrong. I'm almost tempted to buy one of these clay pigeon throwers myself and start practicing a bit a Sibbald.

Frans

Silver Willow Sporting Clays- by Carstairs is a great place. I've only been there once and was sporting an epic hangover, so I don't remember much!! Except the bang and thud of the gun against my throbbing head. The place has a great reputation. The thing that interested me is that it's completely off the grid. Everthing is run off solar power, composting toilet etc.

I can second the recommendation for Silver Willow near Carstairs. You might also consider the AHEIA range (formerly Calgary Trap and Skeet Club) near DeWinton. They have both trap and skeet ranges as well as a tower.

Silver Willow also has Pheasant shooting.
Grizz

Frans ... I got an idea .. come to think of it .. I always have some kind of an idea about something ... If you want to tune up your shotgun shooting skills a wee bit and have a lot more fun than whacking some silly clay pigeon perhaps you might like to shoot some feral pigeons. I get back from my summer hunting trips the end of August and and if you wish .. I'll take you pigeon shooting. I'm from Lethbridge and we can meet somewhere in the middle of the Calgary/Lethbridge route. It would be a blast .. (literally) and I reckon that we might even have some stories that we could exchange ... Extra company is cool ...

Scruffy,

You're on!
End of August my parents are over for a few weeks, but I'm sure we can find a day that'll work for both. Of course, around say, oh, August 25th, I might be busy, chasing curly-horned critters.

Frans (didn't draw for desert bighorn so I might as well try for a 'backyard' ram)

If you can shoot a real pigeon with the afterburners on.....you can shoot anything. We used to shoot lots in Sask. until the 'coons moved in and started eating young squab. Don't forget that pigeon is the best table fare.

the chef

What brand of pigeon are we talking about here? We used to shoot wood pigeon over in Europe, and they tasted delicious. But we also shot quite a few 'ferals', strayed postal pigeons, who spent most of their time scrounging for scraps at train stations and around garbage cans. They stunk when you opened them up. I never ate those buggers!

Frans

Any pigeon you shoot around here is a grain eater....maybe not the ones down by city hall but any wild one in the country.

I think the official fancy name is Rock Dove and they are the same bird that shit all over the world. I've never heard of anyone here eating them, but when I was a kid, we were told you could take them to Chinatown and sell them. Used to be lots nesting on the Glenmore dam. Usually when I see them, they are in or on a barn or granary and the trick is to wack the pigeon, without aerating his perch.
Grizz

Never heard of anyone eating a pigeon??? Wow, I'm at a loss-seriously I thought everyone ate 'em. Well I'll tell ya what you bring a mess of pigeon breasts and legs over and I'll cook them up, I absolutlydamnguarantee you'll like them as much as any prairie chicken or grouse you've ever had.

Talking about aerating the perch. I remember going into a really old barn with my dad to shoot pigeons and my uncle waited outside to get the escapees. Uncle said it looked like some kind of movie with us shooting inside and pieces of the roof flying off the otherside

If they can be made to taste even close to ruffed grouse ... Perhaps you should dust off your shottie and join us on this pigeon safari !

Hello Chef;
In your business though, you guys have creatively marketed them as sqab. I wonder how many of those gourmet diners really know what they are eating? Plain old Shit Hawks.
Grizz

Scruffy, I'd be delighted to accompany accomplished world travellers and bards such as yourselves. Besides anytime I can hunt with someone who is a better shot than myself....the game pot gets fuller faster.

OK, chef, but you gots to cook us up some of them there flying rats afterwards!

I'll pay for the

The best wood pigeon I ever had was just done like a steak. Dark red meat, a touch rare on the inside. Delicious.

Oh, remember, I'm just there to learn how to shoot again, so count on doing most of the killing if you want to eat!

Frans

If you guys want to practice your stalking .. we could very quietly sneak up to the ancient abandoned farm houses, barns, and granaries .. and you can blast them sitting ... !!! By the time the sun sets we'll be ready to shoot sand grouse, pheasants ... and guineas in their roosting trees !!!

Scruffy we could send you in after dark with a grain sack and you can pluck the poor little buggers off their perches with yer bare hands. That works particularily well but doesn't help our shooting skills.

What if the pigeon bit me ? No, I don't like that idea at all.

Wholesale Sports here in Lethbridge had their single annual sale yesterday and today. I rarely go there .. but everyone has to be somewhere .. so I wandered through. I noticed to my great interest that I could buy a flat of 250 shells of # 7 1/2 Remington with 3 drams of powder for $44.95 - 10% ... Wouldn't that ... and two bandoleers wrapped around me loaded with this ammo show that I was a serious pigeon hunter and a real going concern !!! ???

O.K. Frans and Calgary Chef1 .. and anyone else interested ... are we going to go whack some flying snacks or what ???

What date(s) did you have in mind? I'g gearing up for a moose hunt in 3 weeks but I may be able get permission from the warden ahem I mean wife.

Don't hesitate to contact me off-list these days, I can't get on from work anymore (during lunch hour only, boss!).

Yep, I'm in, but very preferably on the weekend. Actually not too long ago I thought about this, when I put a trigger lock on my shotgun. The reason for this I'll tell over coffee or beer. I probably still can't hit the barn door if it doesn't stand still, but I'm sure up for a day in the country. My parents are over from Europe, but possibly my father would enjoy some fresh air, even though he doesn't speak too much english.

Moose hunt, yep that's coming too, and antelope, and mule deer and a job change...!

Frans

Here is a suggestion .. Sunday .. September 9th ... I'm going sheep hunting on that Saturday ... and being a school teacher - back to work tomorrow... we could whack partridges and ducks too if we wait an extra week and go on a Saturday... but with your moose and my silly dream of a ram ... pigeons on a Sunday might be best .. for now ... Bring the father ...

You mean Sunday the 10th?

Sheep hunting ... pigeon shooting...


Hmmm, tough call...

F.

Duh, yeah, it is the 10th ... I probably have a much better chance of getting meat if I hunt pigeons ...

Come on Frans, go shoot some pigeons. I'll look after the sheep hunting for you. Next year, we won't have to drive so far to hunt bear. They found one in a tree in Olds, last Sunday.
Grizz

Hmmmmmm .... talked to a spy this morning ... he was out and about in early July and more or less stated that he was up to his hips in Hungarian partridges .... Since the limit on rams is only one .. maybe a guy should go whack at least a 33 incher ... and then do a combo ... partridges and pigeons .. with the occasional duck ... that would be a Saturday... but if the ram is in the salt ....

Oh, oh!! Huns, yes!
How are we going to plan this? Whack a ram fast Scruffy!

Grizz, how's the preparation for the sheep hunt coming? It's with pain that I will not make a serious sheep effort this year... not hunt sheep, voluntarily, what am I doing? I will go check one spot at the end of the season if the snow hasn't cut it off... I'm sorta planning on a big sheep effort next year, so I will only shoot a big one.

I got three antelope tags for Montana (one either sex, and two doe/fawn), I will go down there Oct 18. Moose at the sept/oct interface, and mule deer... if I have time, or my priorities will go to waste. New job maybe, will wreck serious mule deer plans....

Frans

We could hunt birds on the Saturday after huns open ...That could be the 16th ... I've hunted antelope (mostly around Roundup) a fair number of times in Montana .. Great fun .. Everyone, their wife and kid are hunting at that time of year ... It is great ... The weather is usually sunny with frosty nights ... Perfect ...No pressure to speak of .. miss an antelope .. wait around a bit and usually another herd will show up somewhere .. Heck, I even hunted one place where I was up to my hips in Sage Grouse ... !!! It has been closed since forever up here in Alberta ... I just happened to have a shotgun along and an upland game license from a spring turkey hunt on the Powder River .. so ..........You'll have a great time, Frans !

I'm in for the 16th, where do we meet?

I never saw so many wild animals in one day, as when I was down in Roy, MT, and the herds of antelope were kept adrift by the gale force wind and the -20 temperatures, a few years back. I sure hope to see those big herds again. And maybe shoot one or two.

Taking the kids clay busting in Carstairs on Monday... maybe one of them will develop a passion for the shottygun. Or any gun really.

Frans

looks like I'm out for everything in Sept. and the first week of oct. We got permission on one of the ranches south of town. Buddy has a moose tag, and lo and behold 20 min. after we got the permission we saw 3 mooses!! To top it off I got called to work, not a big thing for most people but I only work 10 days a year!! The damned boss wants me to work 12 days this year. October is looking much better for hunting now.

have fun if you guys get out!!

the chef

Heck, I'm taking the family out for busting clays on Monday, I'd love to go out and shoot some winged critters... I'm still game, Scruffy.

BTW, Scruffy, just read your trip report... feeling better now?

Good luck on the moose, Chef, and.. don't work to hard! Some of us work 12 days a year, others hunt 12 days a year...

Frans

Yo, Frans ...

Now who is going to cook those pigeons with The Chef Meister out chasing moose around the swamps ??? Ahhh ... we'll worry about that a bit later ... We can meet about half way between Calgary and Lethbridge ... I'll p.m you in week or so and we'll pick a good spot .. I'll get my spy to show us his hotspots ... and if he refuses to confess .. we'll just go get our limits at mine !!!! (if we can hit them ..) Thanks, I'm much better now ... the wild animals in Namibia got a bit of a reprieve from me .. for a while ...

Keep the breasts and legs...freeze them until you have enough for a little/big feed. I'm around in October and can cook them up for you then!! I'll bring some moose steak to round things out, and some nice red wine. Damn I can taste it already. You know come to think of it we chould have a hunters celebration around the end of the season!!! All the AR locals could get together and bring a little meat. I'll cook it up and we can tell hunting lies er um I mean stories. Then I can get famously drunk and show you how a Saskatchewan boy behaves under the influence

the chef

Now that is a great idea !!!

I'm all for it!! Remember, Scruff, this started off as a training exercise, because I can't hit anything, so you better shoot straight! BTW, I killed 16 out of 25 at the Carstairs range today, so there is hope I might actually hit a bird or two. Fun little club, I'll sure be back. Kids shot some too, but they need bit more training and some more arm muscles! My father needs glasses!

Frans