Ballymac Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 Other than commerical/driven day's will you be out shooting right up to the last available day of the season? I was out today with two others and we each got a woodcock, raised a few hen pheasants which we would not shoot at this time of year and the cock pheasants were too skittish and got up far too early for a shot at. Now this is only a personal thing, but due to the fact that the pheasants were 'wild' i.e we did not put them down in this area we felt it would be better for the local population to leave the hens alone. Now had we of released 100's of birds in the area and were going to do the same again next season things may be different. What do you do in your area? Remember this is aimed mainly at those who do rough shooting or release a small amount (less than 500) birds and have a d.i.y. shoot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaniel Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 Yep booked the day off ready for it.....I shoot on a small DIY shoot and i expect it will be a walk around with the dogs etc. Looking forward to it to be honest and i expect that will be the day that Woodcock decides to fly my way.... :unsure: but he will be safe until next season. Hopefully there will be a few Pheasants around and those elusive partridges may even show up for a show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markyboy Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 get your birds shot. the hens wont be there next season. when you say wild birds they have been realeased at some point. the majority of the bird that lay eggs will just leave them or they will get eaten by crows or somthing else. dont rely on wild birds there chance of survival would be pretty low. by all means put feeders down and pull other birds into your area next season. but any you see get them shot. years gone by on a keepers shoot at the end of the season,it was cocks only as they use to catch up the hens and incubate them thereself and realease them. dont rely on the birds breeding and making your numbers up for next season. it dosent work like that. they will be truly wild and wander for miles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millrace Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 simples.......shoot anything that is stupid enough to fly past have a laugh then off to pub for several pints,,,, more pints and then just maybee couple more for the road!!!!!!!!!! unless you want to feed the foxes get em shot.........very few will be there next year.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scolopax Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 (edited) get your birds shot. the hens wont be there next season. when you say wild birds they have been realeased at some point. the majority of the bird that lay eggs will just leave them or they will get eaten by crows or somthing else. dont rely on wild birds there chance of survival would be pretty low. by all means put feeders down and pull other birds into your area next season. but any you see get them shot. years gone by on a keepers shoot at the end of the season,it was cocks only as they use to catch up the hens and incubate them thereself and realease them. dont rely on the birds breeding and making your numbers up for next season. it dosent work like that. they will be truly wild and wander for miles Cannot think of a diplomatic way of saying this, so here goes, the comment above is utter rubbish! Reared hens will and can rear broods in the following summer, not as successful as bona fide wild birds but overwintered reared birds can contribute to next years stock. Spring feeding and predator control are essential. One thing is for certain though, they will not breed if you shoot them at the end of the season. Edited January 21, 2010 by scolopax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markyboy Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 ive been told by a couple of keepers,what part is rubbish enlighten me with yer p--h Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piebob Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 Calm down boys - you're both right but it very much depends on the ground you have. If you don't have suitable nesting ground and aren't on top of predators then guess what - you won't have many chicks next year. Have the right mix and the you'll get more wild birds. Tagged pheasants have been found up to 15 miles away so it seems they will have a good rake about if they feel like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piebob Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 As for the original question - on my DIY shoot we will shoot up to the last day as long as we are still seeing a few birds about. We only put down around 300 birds each year and I believe what we shoot is pretty much all our own birds. Having said that, we have a few coveys of (wild) grey partidges now that seem to doing quite nicely - so much so now that we take a few each year. If we see the numbers falling away we'll stop, just as we did with hares which have now recovered to much greater numbers again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted January 25, 2010 Report Share Posted January 25, 2010 Mark its bad policy to hammer the hens at the end of the season. I shoot on a couple of wild bird shoots where the hens do rear young well though it depends on the weather. Last summer was a bumper one with wild pheasants everywhere this winter. We have had wild pheasants this year out on the marshes where we have never seen pheasants before. And there is no game rearing within 10 miles. One large estate had a dozen days shooting close by averaging over 100 birds a day with some days getting over 300 and they never rear a bird. they are all wild. But they are hot on foxes and crows. I cant say i never shoot a hen at the end of the season , but only take the odd one that offers a good sporting shot and mainly go for the cocks. If your keeper friend cant be bothered to control predators breeding success will be lower , but even so some hens will rase young birds next spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbart Posted January 25, 2010 Report Share Posted January 25, 2010 Mark its bad policy to hammer the hens at the end of the season. I shoot on a couple of wild bird shoots where the hens do rear young well though it depends on the weather. Last summer was a bumper one with wild pheasants everywhere this winter. We have had wild pheasants this year out on the marshes where we have never seen pheasants before. And there is no game rearing within 10 miles. One large estate had a dozen days shooting close by averaging over 100 birds a day with some days getting over 300 and they never rear a bird. they are all wild. But they are hot on foxes and crows. I cant say i never shoot a hen at the end of the season , but only take the odd one that offers a good sporting shot and mainly go for the cocks. If your keeper friend cant be bothered to control predators breeding success will be lower , but even so some hens will rase young birds next spring. I am sorry but i find that very hard to believe Getting 300+ bird days and not releasing any birds !! I would think that is unique and unheard of anywhere in the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docholiday Posted January 25, 2010 Report Share Posted January 25, 2010 I am sorry but i find that very hard to believe Getting 300+ bird days and not releasing any birds !! I would think that is unique and unheard of anywhere in the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted January 25, 2010 Report Share Posted January 25, 2010 Unless you border a massive commercial shoot and accidently put feeders out We had our first walk and stand at the weekend, and I have now realised I much prefer walking to standing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted January 25, 2010 Report Share Posted January 25, 2010 I seem to remember hearing of a large estate near Kings Lyn that had a good wild bird population but it was massive so not sure about 300 a day but there could be some truth to it. I know where you're coming from Stuart standing can get hellishly boring and cold if theres not much about and if like ours the guns seem to spend half the time talking rather than getting on peg etc. Nothing beats a good beaters day fortunately am out on Saturday and Monday so should be fun. Soberingly on a decent syndicate on saturday I saw a gun pepper his next door gun in the leg while stupidly shooting at a fox, drew blood and the guy swore at him well at 25 yards I'm surprised thats all it did but its a definite reminder at this time of year for beaters days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted January 25, 2010 Report Share Posted January 25, 2010 I am glad it isn't just me then Alex. The walking is more like a decent rough shoot, my missus was beating she put a partridge up, it turned back, so I shot it, and my mates dogs retrieved it - doesn't get much better than that Compare to hanging about on a peg for half an hour starting to get a bit cold (dressed more walking than standing). A fox got shot, but the instructions were very clear at the breifing, only ground game called by the keeper were to be shot at, and even then only if it was 100% safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted January 25, 2010 Report Share Posted January 25, 2010 still can't understand why you'd shoot at one as it goes through the line, in front was safe, behind was its not hard. I think he was being greedy and the fox was nearer the guy he shot. Very very lucky and I'm amazed it didn't do more damage, worst bit was the gun was the best part of 65 so should have known better. I'm really ****** as my GWP has been coming on well all season and had been looking forward to taking her on a small syndicate beaters day to have a few shots over her and she's come into season last week. But yes shooting over dogs is great and walked up generally, I've had driven days in devon that were fantastic but a lot depends on company and how many birds you're after, you need to be on a decent sized shoot where the beaters are organised and doing one drive swiftly after another to make the most out of standing. That said i'll usually offer to be a walking gun anyway as you see more and get more varied shots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scolopax Posted January 25, 2010 Report Share Posted January 25, 2010 Looking at Markyboys location I will agree pheasants will find it more difficult to breed in south west Scotland due to the wetter weather, but with good predator control some will still be successful. Raby estate in Durham I guess has a similiar climate and I think is a well known wild bird shoot In the drier, warmer east, especially East Anglia, wild bird shoots can achieve big bags after good summers, 300 is not out of the question, and that may well be cocks only. Some of the Norfolk estates are farmed very sympathetically with wild game in mind and have game keepering teams which give vermin no quarter whatsoever. A friend of mine shoots in the fens and bags can often reach 100 wild cocks in a day, but they cover big acreages and the game covers may each only be shot once or twice in a season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbart Posted January 25, 2010 Report Share Posted January 25, 2010 It get's better 300+ a day on a wild shoot and that is a cock's only day Maybe i am wrong and nieve but i have never heard of anywhere that can provide wild bird shooting on that scale.Are there no predators at all in Norfolk ?or rain,or disease or roads.Does every bird hatch and survive to adulthood ? I know of a few wild bird shoots that would be ecstatic with 300 a season never mind in one single cocks only day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.