guy baxendale

What gun you going to be putting it down?

I use various coarse grain powders in mine i wouldnt worry too much about exactly which one. Drop me a PM and i'll send you some excerts about powder/ shot charge for guns. I use wads cut from hard wool not oakum.

I load 4oz in my 4 and typically load BB's but i have also loaded AAA. I know someone that even loads 6.1mm !

Surprised half of them are still above ground !

I have seen BASC's new sustainable has generated posts here and elsewhere and has come in for a fair amount of criticism, some thing its too many birds and some not enough, some think they are shrowing us under the bus etc etc. Some context needs to be understood as to why they are doing it and the hell of a lot of stuff that has happen behind the scenes. I went to a BASC on this last night (attendance was terrible). Having been to two events in the year i have gone from neutral on BASC to very pro. I see load of BASC bashing but most fowlers are simply unaware of what they are doing (part of that is because they have deliberately kept a lot of it under their hat. The next few months will be quiet but they will be publicising it a hell of a lot more in the run up to September 1st. It is not aimed at wildfowlers it is aimed at everyone......it is wildfowlers that will suffer though as most rely on consents for their shooting at Natural England are taking the 'precautionary approach' to shooting (despite the fact that someone 50 yards over the sea wall can (if they are so minded and can hit them) shoot as many in an evening as most wildfowlers will shoot over a whole season. Well what have BASC been doing. Lobbying Ministers, Defra and Natural England, teaching them about wildfowling and even taking them on outings They have been trying to get ahead of NE and their precautionary approach (which is NE's default position in the abscence of data). We are still signed up to European legislation that forces the government to take action where declines are identified. Essentially the government is already in default with Pintail and they should have actually taken them off the list 2 years ago......it will happen unless they can show they are taking action to reverse declines. BASC are trying to avoid this happening by showing that the shooting world is self regulating (hence the two pintail limit). Pochard have problems right across the flyway hence the voluntary moratorium. Mallard, Wigeon and Teal also have worrying trends and the data we currently have simply isnt good enough. Data is the key to protecting ourselves - the wing survey is one part of it. BASC have also undertaken an internal one showcasing each species and issues with effecting each one. They have also 50% funded an external study. Run by Tom Cameron from the University of Essex. He spoke and was super impressive. Big picture is unless we have the data to show what a 'sustainable harvest' is then the default from NE etc will be 'precautionary approach' and we will see absurd bag limits like on the Humber. What can we do? Put up nesting tubes (IMO every shot pond should have at least one) send in your wings to BASC, form a local ringing group, clubs can decide whether to put the BASC recomendations into hard rules (he didnt say it outright but James Green i think could certainly use that as ammunition to show we are doing the right thing). spread the word - try and encourage others in the shooting world (particularly inland) to curb their excesses when shooting wild ducks. attend BASC events (As i say the turnout last night was woeful), see what they are doing and help spread the word further. Get the BASC wildfowling team to come and tell your club what they are doing - i am pretty sure you will be impressed and want to get on board. BASC dont have the W in the name anymore but so what....they have a far bigger voice and a wildfowling team that love it just as much as us. I leave you with the most worrying thought......if we loose Pintail then shooting in low light/ mis-identification comes under the spotlight and we could lose that like in the USA.

I was a probationary member of an Essex club a decade or so years ago where the average age of club members was to be polite 'on the senior side'. Club meetings gave me the impression that most members didnt really go wildfowling anymore (or very little). There was no organised/systematic system to pass probationary members out so i gave up on it after two seasons.

Great stuff 👍

Sadly that it was lost - Was it down to Natural England?

I have been fortunate enough to shoot the marshes next door to the syndicate a few times. A fantastic spot with a great variety of ducks (and plenty of breadlags).

Facebook killed most of the old fishing and shooting forums

Its an LNR hence wildfowling could be banned or restricted very easily. Its flown well below the radar and naming on a forum is ******* stupid. Anyone that has been wildfowling for any length of time will be able to tell you of lots of places that have been lost or silly restrictions introduced.

Generally they are made to the mould of the chamber of the gun in particular.

That isnt the one i was referring too.

You boys are very foolish naming places on a open Forum - particularly when they are already subject to LNRs, anti's already have their eyes on them and all the council needs to do is put a ban in place to stop all wildfowling. I suggest you edit to remove place names.

In low light any old thing will work. Both the GHG and Avians are good - i traded up to the Avians but they are expensive.

Two single pinks calling at each other while I was painting windows on Saturday near Swaffham.....very odd indeed to get them this early. A reminder to pull my finger out and get my (many) jobs done before the proper fowling starts

Long old necks - Swans or Canada's

I have a cheaper version of one of these. https://hirewitness.co.uk/product/black-heavy-duty-nylon-kit-body-armour-carrier-bag-hw230/

The old brass whistles were always rather quiet...i remember as a student attaching a 35mm film canister to the end as an amplifier! These days I have one from Muddy gutter calls and another from Lucky Hunter that are able to be blown much much louder if required.

3 1/4oz of Black to 16oz of ITM in 1.3 inch gun

I generally give a quick flick of a torch back towards the seawall if i see or hear other folks,

I would willingly trade September for February, although agree that we should give nothing up without a fight. That has been proven with the removal of quarry species off the list never to return. Make no bones about it that NE have their eye on Pintail and Pochard next. I made a very rare (for me) September outing last week, 23 degrees and thousands of mossies wasnt my idea of fun. Just a tiny handful of Mallard about (i did get one), the marsh seemed quiet without the chorus of waders and didnt even smell 'right' (that might have been my imagination!), i will leave it another month before heading back unless we get an early gale. I do seem to have a couple of lots of Teal and Gadwall visiting my pond - not sure if they are resident or migrants. They will be left quiet for at least another month as well.

My double 8 is: .782 and .784

Ideally loose

Does anyone have any of the old Hevi shot gathering dust in a reloading cupboard that they would like to sell? Thanks Guy