Canadian Geese

[MC]

That is exactly what I mean Dazza,

 

Only some people don't want to admit that as they only go shooting for "Pest Control" :wacko:

[chrispti]

Thanks for the comments the lakes are smack bang in the middle of a free range chicken fields which give free range eggs, ropes have been used on the lakes but they walk round. The geese eat the chicken food and attack them bangers are not aloud as they stop the chickens laying which is a no no as thats the buisness,i have spoke to my FEO and they are classed as vermin, they come in large flocks whic seem to get bigger a shot gun means you have to get close and all they do is fly into the chicken fields. I use a .22 rimfire with sound mod at 50yrds and get three to four before they take off.

I always go for a head shot but i heard to shoot at the lower throat area as this was better thats why i asked. Is this True?

( i should of worded it better in the first place)

 

Nothing wrong with that at all, you have already stated you eat what you kill, which is an added bonus for you.

 

All the best with it mate

[Dekers]

Someone else say something...its been nearly six hours!!!

[Dave-G]

I don't feel the need to justify my "KILLING" I shoot for sport and to eat. Not for the sake of it. I like everyone else goes shooting because they enjoy it. Using the guise of pest control is just plain BS and you know it.

 

I shoot to eat as I eat meat and am fully aware that to be able to eat meat has to start with an animals death,

 

Everyone says they go pigeon shooting to help the good old farmer out because he is a good old boy. What absolute **** in the first degree. You go shooting because you A) want to, and because you enjoy it.

 

All my shooting is done as a sport and is as sporting as I can make it by shooting wild birds on the foreshore or on a flight pond or by decoying pigeons or roost shooting.

 

Surely if the farmers wants them thinned out a bit then fine go and do it and for them to learn it is a bad place then you have to make them aware of it. Shooting them with a silenced rifle isn't going to do that is it? Go and put a few up with a shotgun. Do this often and they will move on and in doing so will solve your farmers problem. Shooting loads in one sitting with a silenced rifle will not.

 

Sorry for the late reply MC - work and other stuff etc. You make some very valid points in a much more sensible and explained manner than RDS or whatever his handle is. We're seeing this through the eyes of two differing disciplines: yours in the previous posts here, mine below.

 

You kill birds for sport and food - His kill will be for a meal under the banner of vermin control. He had to jump over a lot more hoops than a sporting shotgunner (unless he has a FAC) to get his gun if I can use that term in this instance? He's not allowed a rifle just because he wants one for "sporting purposes". His rifle vermin control justification rarely puts a bird on the table so I'd say he wants to make a meal of it while they're at it - pardon the pun. If you are under a flightline more will happen along soon - and you get to take a variety of birds through the respective seasons?

 

A dead Canada goose on the ground with one bullet in or through seems a better meal than one with several pellets spread at differing depths around it's anatomy when it falls from the sky, hopefully where it can be retrieved. Sporting shooter lurks stationary or in a hide for the unsuspecting wild goose to happen over - flying towards someone's land, and sometimes even lures it to "his" land, then shoots them when they're currently doing no harm. Some other discipline shooters are a movement that can attract the eyes of his quarry, gets to and takes a calculated rested shot in their own time from a position of choice to Canada's that are proven to be affecting their farmers income at the precise time they are shot. He doesn't have the option of other fowl - why not exploit it and have a few? The others will get to see their mates dying and will soon scarper. If not drop the sound mod off for a final few shots. The end result of either method is that some subterfuge was used and a few geese get eaten.

 

I shoot because I want to, and I want to have a reason to bear a firearm - as both I and probably you wish every Englishman would. How big is the shot pattern when it reaches one of your sporting shot birds? A typical bullet from someone only average would be within two inches of POA - and most likely within one inch at typical HMR range. From my eyes - if I wanted to bag a few Canada Geese I'd guess a moderated rifle would be a better tool for the job than a shotgun and I would have to justify it as vermin control.

 

As for sound moderators they are common sense politeness for neighbours and livestock, yes more covert, and have health reasons for their use.

Edited February 26, 2010 by Dave-G

[Mr_Logic]

Speaking as one who has cleared out a considerable number of canada geese, the best way to kill them is with a decent calibre rifle. A 22LR is OK if you can get close enough, HMR I found to be wholly too small. 243 with 90gr SP is very good for lethality, and allows the bird to be eaten if someone wants to.

 

In terms of the vermin thing - yes, they are wildfowl, BUT they are also vermin to firearms departments - general license. They absolutely can be shot with a rifle, and it works very well.

 

This argument is pretty pointless thus far, simple case of how to get the job done. The relevant caveats are in the licenses, so if you're going to shoot the geese be sure that methods have already been tried or are inapplicable (and have a damn good reason why). Scarers are OK for arable land, but not for situations where livestock is present and the faeces present a health and safety issue.

 

In terms of shooting for sport, let's forget the word 'sport'. To me that is used by many to be shooting for the sake of killing, and I don't do that. I DO shoot for fun, but what I do IS pest control. While I enjoy shooting, farmers expect to see the vermin numbers (and for me that includes deer, they are a major pest round these parts) controlled. In return I find they don't mind when I set up my target rifle on their land. Seems to be a fair trade to me.