why some shooters do this???

[Browning]

Every thing i shoot is food,And ALL Of it gets eaten,I Would,nt shoot anything i,m not going to eat,But hey ho,Everyone to there own thing

 

Interesting to hear exactly what and how many you shoot?

[GRamsay]

Interesting to hear exactly what and how many you shoot?

I shoot mostly rabbits,pigeons,I dont shoot anymore than i can handle,The thought of shooting hundreds and then having to clean them all when i get home, eh,no thanks, maybes about a dozen give or take, pigeons and rabbit,as for corvids 3 or 4 probably

[Actionpigeons]

Interesting to hear exactly what and how many you shoot?

I shoot 1,000 pigeons every year. I use steel shot, as I know I can sell every one I shoot to a falcon breeder. Happy to pass his number on to anyone that uses steel shot. he pays 50P per bird

Edited January 11, 2012 by Actionpigeons

[scolopax]

This kind of thread came up a while ago and generated a very heated debate that time too.

 

With edible quarry I'm firmly in the camp of if you cannot put it into the human food chain then do not shoot it. I'll even pick up someone elses dead ferals and deliver them to somebody with ferrets rather than see them rot in a ditch.

[Billy.]

I dont shoot anymore than i can handle,

 

So if you're asked by a landowner to shoot the plague of rabbits which are destroying his crop, you tell him that?

Edited January 12, 2012 by Billy.

[GRamsay]

So if you're asked by a landowner to shoot the plague of rabbits which are destroying his crop, you tell him that?

The land i shoot on has,nt got a plague on it,So i only thin the rabbits out now and again,If i wipe them all out,There,s no rabbits left to shoot, So i keep numbers down to an acceptable level,Then everyones happy, I know i can go there anytime i want and take 6 or so all the time

[Richie10]

Funny excuses, I'm doing the farmer a favour by shooting the rabbits/pigoens/crows so doing as I am told. Does he pay you? If not you are doing it for your own benefit and you have no respect for the quarry and the countryside.

The other thing that separates you from these gangs that kill animals is that you have permission no different.

When taking loads of rabbits more than 10, it takes no more than a minute to skin and paunch one, for ferrets or dogs leave it in the skin,you have no excuse it takes too long. Breasting a pigeon 15 seconds.

This must be the new generation of shooters, as I said in my other post, shooting for the sake of it.

[Billy.]

Funny excuses, I'm doing the farmer a favour by shooting the rabbits/pigoens/crows so doing as I am told. Does he pay you? If not you are doing it for your own benefit and you have no respect for the quarry and the countryside.

The other thing that separates you from these gangs that kill animals is that you have permission no different.

When taking loads of rabbits more than 10, it takes no more than a minute to skin and paunch one, for ferrets or dogs leave it in the skin,you have no excuse it takes too long. Breasting a pigeon 15 seconds.

This must be the new generation of shooters, as I said in my other post, shooting for the sake of it.

 

Each to their own.

 

There's nothing illegal about shooting for the sake of it, nor is there a law saying you have to sell what you shoot.

 

I've done all that preparation and faffing around trying to sell what I shoot. I just can't be bothered with it. If someone wants them, I'll give them away, if not, they become fertiliser.

[cloudwalker]

I can't believe some of the posts on here. :(

 

I also shoot on some shared ground and sadly I often find Pigeon stuffed down rabbit holes. Apart from the waste of good food, what sort of message is it giving Mr Joe Bloggs - Talk about fuel for the antis

 

All the Pigeons and rabbits we shoot go to the game dealers. He is paying 35p per Pigeon and £1.00 a Rabbit. Some of you guys must have money to burn if you are leaving £50 worth of meat in the field. Even if you haven't got a game dealer near you, buy a cheap chest freezer. In most of the Shooting press there are adverts from Game dealers offering to collect game from your house.

 

The only birds I leave in the field are the 3 off my magnet and flapper and only after they have been frozen and thawed at least 3 times. Even then I leave them out in the field. This way the Buzzards soon clear them up and hopefully this stops them taking other game.

[FreddytheFox]

Stanley Duncan, would turn in his grave on reading some of these posts !.....Opposition to shooting and field sports is still rife, out there.....since 1954 to present day the likes of BASC(WAGBI),GA,SGA,Countryside Alliance,Etc,Etc,Etc....have been fighting our corner, against Governments and "Do Gooders", that want us all to go away and get lost !!!.....There are more RSPB members, than all our Field Sports associations put together....And this "If it fly's it die's, attitude does not go down at all well....BASC's Magazine is called "Shooting & Conservation" I think the "new kids" on the block should take heed of this, as they are only out there shooting and fishing, through the efforts of people like Stanley Duncan....The Handgun Folks were hung out to dry....Fox Hunting was next....Anglers have been pecked at....I have a disease called "Pigeon Shooting", and I want to keep doing it as long as I am able to get out in the field and squeeze a few shots off....I don't want to be just a clay buster because some faceless "****" in Parliament says I have to.....Pick yer Bunnies/Pigeons/Corvids/Cartridges/Etc,Etc,Etc. "UP"....and please dont give any oppertunity for these people to take us out at the stroke of the pen......Regards FreddytheFox.

[Actionpigeons]

Stanley Duncan, would turn in his grave on reading some of these posts !.....Opposition to shooting and field sports is still rife, out there.....since 1954 to present day the likes of BASC(WAGBI),GA,SGA,Countryside Alliance,Etc,Etc,Etc....have been fighting our corner, against Governments and "Do Gooders", that want us all to go away and get lost !!!.....There are more RSPB members, than all our Field Sports associations put together....And this "If it fly's it die's, attitude does not go down at all well....BASC's Magazine is called "Shooting & Conservation" I think the "new kids" on the block should take heed of this, as they are only out there shooting and fishing, through the efforts of people like Stanley Duncan....The Handgun Folks were hung out to dry....Fox Hunting was next....Anglers have been pecked at....I have a disease called "Pigeon Shooting", and I want to keep doing it as long as I am able to get out in the field and squeeze a few shots off....I don't want to be just a clay buster because some faceless "****" in Parliament says I have to.....Pick yer Bunnies/Pigeons/Corvids/Cartridges/Etc,Etc,Etc. "UP"....and please dont give any oppertunity for these people to take us out at the stroke of the pen......Regards FreddytheFox.

Well said FreddytheFox.

I worked in hunt service most of my life until I retired. During my life time the government, because of pressure from Joe public have banned Badger digging (now they are culling them) banned Hare coursing, and the latest one, banned Fox hunting. As one guy I know said our generation has had the best of field sport in the past, so the younger generation needs to look after what they have got. What will they move to ban next?

Edited January 13, 2012 by Actionpigeons

[Richie10]

Well said FreddytheFox.

I worked in hunt service most of my life until I retired. During my life time the government, because of pressure from Joe public have banned Badger digging (now they are culling them) banned Hare coursing, and the latest one, banned Fox hunting. As one guy I know said our generation has had the best of field sport in the past, so the younger generation needs to look after what they have got. What will they move to ban next?

 

Exactly right both of you.

[The Essex Hunter]

From what I read, the problems arise from a general lack of understanding on why we go out shooting. People shoot as a hobby then eat and sell any surplus quarry, this is a free service, and a form of part time pest control with all but a very rare financial input from land owners, with all of the cost is burdened by the shooter. Unfortunately compared to the number of people whose work involves shooting as part of there their living, this service will lead to very small minority of people leaving quarry in the field, as I will explain.

I and a great number of shooters have been brought up with guns and taught from a very young age the ways of the county side.

 

Shooting is very popular these days and the number of new people coming in to the sport is growing day by day, with this increase there will be lots of people who were never exposed to crawling through black thorn hedges to set nets, waiting hours for a ferret to come back, long cold wet days picking up, whacking rats with stick, and watching your Dad skinning rabbits in the shed…granted you don’t have to do any of that to pick up a gun and kill something, however having a better understanding of your quarry must help. Thankfully not all the country traditions have been allowed to carry on, with the long chats I have with my father who is 85 and grew up in working on farms in the Fens, his speaks of the cruel ways birds were trapped etc….

 

With the modern pace of life, in my opinion there is a certain amount of people who will bypass the importance of dealing with your particular quarry for what ever reason they have.

We live in an age where people discard a perfectly good item just because it is a little out of date, this attitude well eventually spill out in to the shooting world and you will find people dumping what they have shot for what ever reason they have, because it has only cost them the price of a shell, the effort or the lack of skill to deal with there quarry is out weighed by the rush of the kill……….

 

 

 

TEH

[Biggest]

These are probably the same people who fly tip down a nice contry lane instead of taking their **** a few miles further to the local tip!

[Wriggler]

Some people don't have the means to dispose of the amount of quarry they have shot or don't have the ability/time to prepare these for eating so rather than take home 20 or so birds/rabbits they leave them in a field where the local wildlife will dispose of it for them.

 

The only alternative would be to take it home and put it in the bin which is not really an option in my opinion.

[sitsinhedges]

I freeze then sell my pigeons whilst it's viable to do that but what do people expect someone who goes out and shoots maybe a dozen pigeons to do with them Most people don't really want to eat them and the idea of driving for hours to drop off a few birds at a game dealers which wont even cover fuel costs is absurd.

 

Before I got set up to sell them in the feather I would crown them in the field and mostly give them to my mother in law for her cats but all that skinning soon loses its novelty esp when you're giving the damned things away and she wouldn't think of crowning them herself.

 

It's first and foremost pest control and sport for us, and not really any different to shooting crows. Anyone fancy eating a crow for tea

[Frenchieboy]

I have to aggre with all that TEH says - It makes a lot of sense!

I started my "Field Sports" career (If that is what you call it) back in the very early 60's. Times were hard then with my parents having 8 kids to support and feed so it was a case of "waste no want not" and everything that was shot, trapped or forraged (that was edible) got eaten. Fortunately I was taught at an early age to skin and gut rabbits and to pluck and dress poultry or to "breast" pigeons so it comes as second nature to me - I can skin and gut a rabbit in under a minute if I want to and it doesn't take me any longer to breast a pigeon.

Having said that I can also see things "from the other side of the fence" and can (To a certain extent) understand what "sitinhedges" is saying, but surely it only takes a little practice to learn how to breast a pigeon or skin a rabbit so that the "usable" meat is easy to carry and the remains can be left "Out of sight of the general public" for Charlie or the carrions to clear up, and they will clear it up in no time at all. A dozen pigeon breast will fit into a poly bag in your coat pocket quite easily so they are not very heavy to carry and will take up very little storage room in your freezer.

I will likely get a few "negative replies for saying this but I will sat it all the same - Come on guys, if you are prepared to go out and kill things you really ought to be prepared to get your hands dirty skinning/plucking and dressing your (edible) quarry.

We are now in times when the economy is so tight that so we ought to be thinking of making use of what is edible that we shoot. Game, Rabbit, Pigeon Breats etc is in fact a very healthy meat to eat and is not filled with the "chemical preservatives" that we find in so much of the shop brought meats nowadays so why not benefit from what we shoot and have a slightly healthier diet for our families at the same time?

 

p.s. As for eating crows, I have to admit that I have necer tried them but with a good recipe I would be more than willing to try them! Don't knock it till you have tried it I say!

[Mr Potter]

These are probably the same people who fly tip down a nice contry lane instead of taking their **** a few miles further to the local tip!

Really can't see the analogy between leaving shot birds on the ground and fly tipping.

Many things that are shot don't go into the food chain, crows, rooks, feral pigeon, jays, stoats, weasels, etc. Not all wood pigeons can, readily get onto a plate, close shot birds, fly blown birds etc. Also if you shoot that number that is too many for friends and family but not enough to interest the game dealer. Do you stop shooting at say 20 birds cos you know you can use them or carry on and hope you get to 100+ then the dealer will be interested. Stop shooting and the farmer will be over the moon won't he - NOT.

 

So in an ideal world every wood pigeon shot would end up on a plate but we certainly don't live in an ideal world and pigeons along with other quarry will end up as a waste problem. The question should be how do we dispose of our waste? Bag it up and dispose of to landfill via. the bin or the local waste disposal & re-cycling facility (the tip!) or leave it on the ground/hedgerow to feed other birds and beasts.

In the relatively little amount of pigeon shooting I've done I'm not ashamed to admit I've done all three, taken all birds picked home to end up (well the breasts at least) on plates, brought the bag home and the surplus in the wheelie bin (double bagged) and I've left birds scattered in the hedgerows for nature to do it's bit. These last two options I've done with a clear conscience and to be honest I take great exception to being tagged alongside those inconsiderate louts who fly tip.

 

 

Potter Esq.

[tomhw100]

This is ridiculous getting fed up of all these **** excuses...you wanna shoot something you dont just leave it where it fell! if you cant be bothered/dont want to prepare and eat it or you cant be bothered or havn't shot enough to warrant a trip to the game dealer or cant be bothered to prepare it for anyone or know anyone to give it to do the decent thing and either burn them,bury them or if you havn't shot to many lose them in thick undergrowth where they'll never be seen again untill charlie finds them. There isnt any other excuse it just pure unsportsmanship and lazyness i pest control other thousand of acres but still dispose of the shot animals properly!

Edited January 14, 2012 by tomhw100

[JR1960]

Really can't see the analogy between leaving shot birds on the ground and fly tipping.

Many things that are shot don't go into the food chain, crows, rooks, feral pigeon, jays, stoats, weasels, etc. Not all wood pigeons can, readily get onto a plate, close shot birds, fly blown birds etc. Also if you shoot that number that is too many for friends and family but not enough to interest the game dealer. Do you stop shooting at say 20 birds cos you know you can use them or carry on and hope you get to 100+ then the dealer will be interested. Stop shooting and the farmer will be over the moon won't he - NOT.

 

So in an ideal world every wood pigeon shot would end up on a plate but we certainly don't live in an ideal world and pigeons along with other quarry will end up as a waste problem. The question should be how do we dispose of our waste? Bag it up and dispose of to landfill via. the bin or the local waste disposal & re-cycling facility (the tip!) or leave it on the ground/hedgerow to feed other birds and beasts.

In the relatively little amount of pigeon shooting I've done I'm not ashamed to admit I've done all three, taken all birds picked home to end up (well the breasts at least) on plates, brought the bag home and the surplus in the wheelie bin (double bagged) and I've left birds scattered in the hedgerows for nature to do it's bit. These last two options I've done with a clear conscience and to be honest I take great exception to being tagged alongside those inconsiderate louts who fly tip.

 

 

Potter Esq.

 

On balance I have to admit I agree with the above view.

 

When I started shooting in the 60's nothing went to waste because if your family didn't eat it there were more than enough eager mouths that would gratefully take anything that was offered. Sadly all that has changed, most people I know, and I now live back where I was brought up, would snear at freshly shot game. There are one or two that will take the ocassional pheasant if offered but that's about it. Most people won't accept anything that isn't sanitised and wrapped in plastic. My step-daughter for instance won't allow any of it in the house in case it infects her children!!! That maybe moronic to our eyes but that's the way they've been brought up.

 

My kids love it, but they have been brought up to believe that if you are prepared to eat meat then you should be prepared to kill and prepare it yourself and vice versa. And they have on many ocassions. But at school (even out in the sticks) most people think they're animals!!!

 

I don't agree with people having absolutely no intention of ever eating what they shoot. But with the best will in the world there are ocassions when i have shot rabbits and pigeons for pest control, when i have full freezers and nowhere to dispose of the quarry. Are you suggesting in that scenario that I simply tell the farmer I can't offer him crop protection because I have no-one that will eat it???