Wildfowling

[JustJon]

An honest request this one... I haven't got a clue.

 

I started shooting around 9 months ago. I've managed to try driven pheasants, clays, decoying for crows and decoying for pigeons. Having just moved to Lincolnshire I'm now wondering whether I should have a look at Wildfowling - I don't think it would be my main hobby, which is currently clays, but who knows!?!

 

However, I don't know the quarry I'd be likely to see, the rules, the seasons, the needed equipment and "how it's done" - i.e. clubs, permission etc?

 

So - I was wondering whether those keen 'fowlers would be willing to help out with a little info and explain the shooting they all seem to be so passionate about?

 

I did try a search "starting wildfowling" but can't seem to find many answers.

 

Thanks for any time you take in replying!

[scolopax]

First thing to say is you don't go wildfowling to go shooting. If you really like pulling the trigger then its not for you. But if you like the thought of persuing a wild quarry in a wild environment then you may take to it, well, like a duck to water. I regard my trips as armed bird watching, and every trip is an armed reconnaisance.

[tomhw100]

You have to like mud too!, id love to go wildfowling too purely just to see the wildfowl flying in bleak but beautiful surroundings.

 

Theres plenty of guys on here who should point you in the right direction,i think BASC can arrange wildfowling days with little cost if you are a member, i think they have a little booklet that shows you where you can go. Have a look on their website.

[harrycatcat1]

This is the club that I am in http://www.slwc.co.uk/

 

Check this out as well http://www.basc.org.uk/en/departments/wildfowling/wildfowling-permit-scheme-.cfm

 

Go on give it a go if you dont mind getting muddy but if you like regular birds coming thick and fast dont bother as its not like that, it takes some work,this is my second season and I am still learning and classed as a beginner.

Edited January 8, 2012 by harrycatcat1

[ayano3]

Like the previous post have mentioned, you need to understand that you wont be doing a lot of shooting unless you manage to be exactly in the right place at the right time. For that you have to put in the time to watch flight patterns and know the tides, the moon and the effects of the weather and so on. The marsh is also a dangerous place, over the years I have seen a few people stranded and a few stood in 3 foot of water waiting on the tide to go back out !!!

 

What you will get it to see is some lovely scenery as the sun rises and the many thousands of birds of all types that the marsh has to offer. (You will also me some very dedicated sportsmen). There is no better sight than that of the many skeins of geese coming towards you from their roosting grounds way out in the estuary. Or the duck flitting about the tides edge or coming back over the sea wall. If you're lucky enough to get a shot that's a challenge on its own. None of this 'correct feet' stuff. You're more than likely sat on your backside in mud with your feet firmly stuck in the bottom of a creek with 2 ft of water in it.

If you want to shoot birds dont go Wildfowling, you're in the wrong game. If you are happy to get out of bed at 4am, walk miles, sit out on the marsh in thick mud, get your gear covered in salty mud that rots everything, freeze your nuts off in sub-zero temperatures, pay £20+ for 25 cartridges and not see a thing before the long walk back and love every minute then you stand a chance. I find it a privilege to be there and an even bigger one to take something home for the table.

 

You dont become a Wildfowler....You are Born a Wildfowler.

 

You dont say where you are in Lincs, PM me if you are still interested in Wildfowling.

[ayano3]

This is the club that I am in http://www.slwc.co.uk/

 

Check this out as well http://www.basc.org.uk/en/departments/wildfowling/wildfowling-permit-scheme-.cfm

 

Go on give it a go if you dont mind getting muddy but if you like regular birds coming thick and fast dont bother as its not like that, it takes some work,this is my second season and I am still learning and classed as a beginner.

 

 

I have been going on The Wash over 30 years Harrycat and I am still learning and a beginner

[Fal]

I am in my first Wildfowling season this year, I have really enjoyed it. By far my fav type of shooting.

 

As everyone says above I think you will either love it or hate it. Getting up at 4am walking for hour or so sometimes to get into position through thick mud carrying all your gear, even if I do not get a shot I just enjoy being out on the marsh it is brilliant, especially first thing in the morning as the sun breaks. I have been very lucky this season, a very experienced wildfowler has taken us out each time I have learned so much. I have only been twice without having a shot. I think I have been averaging 3-4 shots, some people would not get out of bed for that but its plenty for me.

 

It is also a very dangerous sport, tide times, heights etc all need to be taken into account. 5-10 mins extra shooting with an incoming tide could be fatal.

 

I would get onto the BASC website and request the "Wildfowling Permit" book I think it is free if you are a BASC member.

[ayano3]

I am in my first Wildfowling season this year, I have really enjoyed it. By far my fav type of shooting.

 

As everyone says above I think you will either love it or hate it. Getting up at 4am walking for hour or so sometimes to get into position through thick mud carrying all your gear, even if I do not get a shot I just enjoy being out on the marsh it is brilliant, especially first thing in the morning as the sun breaks. I have been very lucky this season, a very experienced wildfowler has taken us out each time I have learned so much. I have only been twice without having a shot. I think I have been averaging 3-4 shots, some people would not get out of bed for that but its plenty for me.

 

It is also a very dangerous sport, tide times, heights etc all need to be taken into account. 5-10 mins extra shooting with an incoming tide could be fatal.

 

I would get onto the BASC website and request the "Wildfowling Permit" book I think it is free if you are a BASC member.

 

 

Thats quite a good average Fal, I am sure you are lucky in finding a good guy whos prepared to share his experience.

[silver pigeon 3]

I regard it as the Marmite of shooting, and i explain this to people before i take them out as a guest or on a taster flight. Give me a teal dropping in to a splash on last light over a bag of 50 pigeons any day.

The wonder of wildfowling to me is every trip is completely different, even if you go to exactly the same place 24 hours apart.

It is the most frustrating and rewarding branch of our sport, and gives you the time to just sit and watch for a while.

[Fal]

Thats quite a good average Fal, I am sure you are lucky in finding a good guy whos prepared to share his experience.

 

Hi ayano3, I am very lucky the guy who has been taking me out has been shooting the area for 20 odd years. He has showed me where all the known flightlines are, he has not held anything back at all. One evening flight I had 11 shots in about 10 mins, makes your blood pump, they are the best ten mins of my season so far!

[Right&Left]

Wildfowling is one of the most demanding but rewarding forms of shooting.

 

To me it's shooting in the purest form. Man against intelligent animal.

 

Hours / weeks / years of planning, learning and waiting.

 

But if / when you get that perfect shot, its all been worth it.

[pavman]

An honest request this one... I haven't got a clue.

 

I did try a search "starting wildfowling" but can't seem to find many answers.

 

Thanks for any time you take in replying!

 

 

I dont think you tried very hard did you

 

A good starting place to a lot of these types of questions is BASC

[ayano3]

I dont think you tried very hard did you

 

A good starting place to a lot of these types of questions is BASC

 

I searched Wildfowling and guess what.........About 37,200 results (0.11 seconds) :unsure: :o

[Albert 888]

I started wildfowling a few years ago and love it.Been shooting around 20 years with shotguns mainly pheasant rough and clays and in my opinion wildfowling is the best form of shooting availible.I was lucky and joined a club and i am being mentored by a very experianced fowler i have around 70 trips under my belt and learning new things all the time. BASC do a permit scheme and a very good book that covers the basics called wildfowling basc do a quarry list and if you go on the rspb website you can see better pictures and hear the calls of the waterfowel(dont tell the rspb) .You may start on flashes then move on the front once you have gained confidence and experiance.The hardest thing to get your head around are the tides and identifing quarry allways remember its better to be safe than sorry. All the best and enjoy Albert.

[mink]

Justjoin are you a fisherman, most widfowlers are. It is very similar in a lot of ways.

[Big Mat]

Whilst i am not a wilfowler ( would love to give it a go thought ), i can say i have never seen or heard anything better than a skein of pinks flying over. One year they flew over my house day after day and i'd just stand and watch. A magnificent sight to see and hear.

[ayano3]

Whilst i am not a wilfowler ( would love to give it a go thought ), i can say i have never seen or heard anything better than a skein of pinks flying over. One year they flew over my house day after day and i'd just stand and watch. A magnificent sight to see and hear.

 

I stopped on the way to work this morning to watch about 3000 pinks in skein after skein. Although they seemed miles up the call of those bird is magical. Why dont you give Wildfowling a go ??

[Spaniel]

When i speak to people about taster flights, i expalin it as it is just like fishing,

sat in mud waiting for something to happen

 

But i love it and it is my number 1 when it comes to shooting.

Im out shooting pheasants tomorrow and wildfowling sunday evening and guess what the wildfowling gets me so excited every time...

 

Like others have said BASC do permit days where you can pay up from £10 and a club member of the wildfowling club will give you a flight on the foreshore....learning duck and geese sounds will come and you can start by going down the local park, closing your eyes and try guessing which bird is making which sound....or go to the bird sanctuary and practise your duck calling, always go down well

[-Mongrel-]

Justjoin are you a fisherman, most widfowlers are. It is very similar in a lot of ways.

 

 

You beat me to it! I was reading the thread and thinking "It's just like sea fishing"!

 

Hours spent in uncomfortable and often potentially dangerous positions, in the cold and wet, damp mud never giving you any respite even if you aren't sitting on it. Never knowing if you are going to get a bite/shot, and yet you can improve your chances by learning about the patterns of tide and light, but even when you get it spot on, it's still generally sparse periods of activity, occasionally frantic...but normally not, interespersed with long periods of anticipation! But the buzz when it does go right !!!!

 

It's bloody fantastic!

[Big Mat]

I stopped on the way to work this morning to watch about 3000 pinks in skein after skein. Although they seemed miles up the call of those bird is magical. Why dont you give Wildfowling a go ??

 

I would like to give it a go, i just have never really looked into getting into it and have no idea where to start ?

[harrycatcat1]

I would like to give it a go, i just have never really looked into getting into it and have no idea where to start ?

 

Where are you from for a start so that you can be pointed towards a club ??

[Big Mat]

Where are you from for a start so that you can be pointed towards a club ??

I'm just outside King's Lynn. It used to say it in my profile but it had dissapeared Fixed it now thought.

[harrycatcat1]

I'm just outside King's Lynn. It used to say it in my profile but it had dissapeared Fixed it now thought.

 

 

Have a look here till you get other offers mate http://www.wildfowling.com/ you will no doubt get other advice

 

edited to say the link to the club that I am in South Lincolnshire Wildfowling Club does not work

Just put into google

Edited January 14, 2012 by harrycatcat1

[Rockers]

I agree with the comments made about watching the dawn rise while lying in a pool of mud waiting for the ducks to flight back. Its what the other bloke said you have to try to see why people love it or hate it. Following the death of my father I have made a promise to myself to get out there at least once a year for a week. it might mean getting up before light and freezing your nuts off for little chance of a shot but its not the numbers cartridges used its the experience that counts. the smell of the mud and the salt in the air makes you feel alive again. roll on my next holiday.

 

if you are planning on going, get a guide, get a compass, do a reccae and know and understand the tides. as they say tides and time wait for no man and unlike the ducks I can't too well in waders.

[JustJon]

The passion on this amazes me!

 

I think my conclusion is that I'd love to experience this - but at this point I couldn't do justice to the rare "sporting" shots that are available. maybe I'll re-visit this in 12 months time when the rare chances of a shot would be worth me trying to take.

 

Yes I fish, and being born and raised in the flat's of Lincolnshire I think the scenery would be amazing and so can see all the benifits and appreciate that a big bag isn't the aim!

 

Thanks to everyone for taking the time.