Culling cormrants

[Wiggum]

Hi all i've been asked by my fishing club to cull 3 cormrants that are decimating the fish stocks on one of the lakes.The club has all the necessary permits so thats not a problem but i would just like to ask if anyone has ever culled cormrants and what are the best methods ?. I was thinking of being there for first light in full camo and wait for them to flight in also what cartridge would you reccomend i'm assuming a steel load as i will be shooting over or around the lake. I will be using a 3 1/2" chambered steel proofed semi auto for the shooting so most loads can be considered.

Any info or advice would be a big help

 

Thanks Wiggum

[marlin vs]

Alphamax BB will do the trick.

[UK fowler]

we use 4mm steel reloads work a treat .they dont take much killing to be fair they look big in the air but are all head and wings 31/2 steel #1s or BB will stop them as far as you can hit them .this is the second year we have had a DEFRA ticket to kill 4 a month works best with two shooters one stays hid on the flight line out the other keeps on the move.The birds are looking at the gun in view and often dont notice the one who is hidden untill its to late .for the record you can shoot cormorants with lead shot aslong as your not on a site of special scientific interest is a good way to use up some of those old wildfowling shells cheers UKfowler

[CharlieT]

Remember that the person/s doing the shooting need to be named on the license.

 

You probably know this but I thought I should mention it.

 

Charlie

[Evil Elvis]

There not as tough as you might think, but a nice heavy Alphamax BB will do the trick as marlin said.

 

Do you not have rimfire? As long as you have good backstops rimfire to the head is great you can get a few before they realise whats going on? .They richochet like mad on water though if you miss!!!

 

22lr is very effective, so is the hmr but noisier....I have removed them at close range with fac to the head too. The quieter you are the less likley some doogooder birdwatcher will see you and give your club hassle wether you have a liscence or not. Our club had permission to cull 4 a year!!!

Edited February 18, 2010 by Evil Elvis

[al4x]

There not as tough as you might think, but a nice heavy Alphamax BB will do the trick as marlin said.

 

 

to be fair EE you could shoot a horse with an alfamax BB and it wouldn't know much about it

Edited February 18, 2010 by al4x

[UK fowler]

rimrire???not on my licence !condition number 7-" birds must be shot only with a 12,16or 20bore shotgun.no other type of firearm to be used" yours must have less conditions than mine can,t even use my 10g

[Evil Elvis]

rimrire???not on my licence !condition number 7-" birds must be shot only with a 12,16or 20bore shotgun.no other type of firearm to be used" yours must have less conditions than mine can,t even use my 10g realmad.gif

 

Its what we applied for, rimfire, fac air and shotgun, didnt specify which size of shotty, technically its classed as vermin not wildfowl. The rimfire was the better option if there was more than one bird on the water. We also used an 80ftlb career with some huge japanese fac pellets in it but that was louder than a rimmy, killed them well!!

 

They stink to high heaven when you retrieve them too!

 

to be fair EE you could shoot a horse with an alfamax BB and it wouldn't know much about it laugh.gif

 

Yep, but the trick is getting close enough to them, to make sure, theyre very spooky birds, i found it best to wait until they were under, run up as close as I could get then whammy them as they stuck thier head up again!

[vulpicide]

Alphamax BB were all we used.

[Wiggum]

Thanks for the replies chaps Im off to check out the lake on saturday morning and will let you know how i get on

[gunsure]

took one down last friday with 7 cart pigeon no problem

[Cranfield]

As has been said, they are quite small birds and not hard to kill.

The main problem is how close can you get to them, that will influence the cartridges you will need.

 

Sit by the lake with a fishing rod, when I do that they fly by in .410 range.

[anser2]

If you wound one do not use a dog to pick it up. Shoot it again. A wounded cormorant will peck at a dogs eyes and it you pick it up the serrations on the bill will shreed the skin in your hands

[BIG 5]

I have no remorse for these horrible birds. They belong on the coastline, not inland. Give the black bags some lead and watch them drop like umbrellas.

[Popgun]

I've shot hundreds of them we used to get paid £1 each for there beaks when i was a nipper on about £3 or £4 pound a week wages i could shoot 30 or 40 over the week end so it was big money to me you had to get a permit from southern seas fisheries the secret is to kill them in the air they are hard to kill when wounded in the water they dive and can stay under for a long time.a standered goose load will do the trick i used to use 1 1/4 ozs no 3 in lead which was leagal in those days, you only want 3 so wait till there close your not eating them so meat damage is'nt a problem, good luck i whis i could shoot a few for old time sake,we use to decoy them and put a line of stakes on the marsh points which had a bit of cover in range then the decoys were put on the post and in they came happy times.

[henry d]

Alphamax BB will do the trick.

 

No pattern and it will be over water ?

 

.....they dont take much killing to be fair they look big in the air but are all head and wings 31/2 steel #1s or BB will stop them as far as you can hit them ..............

 

We used to shoot them and sawbills with 5`s & 6`s lead and they fold no bother ! I watched some guy try to shoot a Goosander that was on the water with his load of BB`s and the bird flew off with the shot and by the splashes it was in the centre of the pattern.........go figure. Lead BB`s have no place in shooting a relatively small bodied bird.

[UK fowler]

No pattern and it will be over water ?

 

 

 

We used to shoot them and sawbills with 5`s & 6`s lead and they fold no bother ! I watched some guy try to shoot a Goosander that was on the water with his load of BB`s and the bird flew off with the shot and by the splashes it was in the centre of the pattern.........go figure. Lead BB`s have no place in shooting a relatively small bodied bird.

we are shooting canada geese foremost the cormorants are a bonus and we dont shoot geese with lead #6 & #5 do we? so thats why we use steel BB and we never shoot them ON the water as 90% of the bird is out of sight so they will fly off untouched goes without saying !

Edited February 19, 2010 by UK fowler