Now for the decoy pattern; I could give you several thousand words on the theories but, the editor has allowed me but a few.  So, just take my word for it and set out a basic 'U' shaped pattern, watch the pigeons on their approach to your pattern and go from there.  Pigeons like to feed with their friends, you therefore need a few (a dozen will to do to start with), decoys to get the ball rolling. 

A 'U' shaped pattern will give the most encouragement to the birds to
land and, with the wind behind you, give you the easiest shooting.

There are many artificial decoys  in the shops, they should not shine in either the sun or the rain, and the lightest are usually the best as they are the easiest to carry long distances.  Set the front of the pattern 25 yards from the hide, leave 2-3 yards between each decoy and extend the arms of the 'U' at least 15-20 yards from the front of the pattern and finally make the open end of the 'U' at least 15 yards wide. 

Once you have been successful with the 'U' you can experiment with other shapes.

A basic rule of all patterns is that, if the birds don't come into land and jink away from your decoys; you and not the pigeons have got something wrong.