wildfowler.250 Posted October 5, 2012 Report Share Posted October 5, 2012 I'm not sure the word etiquette is correct but here goes. Most guns I know in a club go out for geese and aren't fussed for ducks. They leave the ducks because it will 'spoil the goose flight'. Now everyone that's shot geese has fired at one skien and another bunch will take the same route over the wall ten minutes later. So surely shooting at ducks at the start of the morning will make little difference to where the geese will go? My opinion is..if you get there first then you can shoot at ducks if you wish. And if someone is out before me, I wait for the geese. Seems daft though? What's your take on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver pigeon 3 Posted October 5, 2012 Report Share Posted October 5, 2012 Personally i am happy shooting ducks or geese so will not turn up the chance of a duck while waiting for when (or if) the geese come over. The only time this may be different is if i can see geese moving in my direction and then a duck comes over. But this is where i shoot and to be honest having geese over you, or even seeing them on a flight is a bonus. On marshes where geese are the main quarry i can see why some people may be a bit funny about people shooting at ducks early on. Like you though i have shot at geese and a few minutes later more come over, so as long as you are well hidden i wouldn't have thought it to be much of an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfowler.250 Posted October 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2012 Cheers! As i say if there's people there before me i just leave the ducks but I have spoken to a few folk and opinions are quite split. But you don't want to upset someone if possible. I still hate watching a duck fly clean over me and thinking,'I might not see anything else all morning'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted October 5, 2012 Report Share Posted October 5, 2012 Most of my shooting is grey geese. If you think there will be a chance of a goose then only shoot at geese. Once the season is well underway they wise up quick and will exit elsewhere. If you want to shoot duck then shoot duck, just let anyone else know that is what you are after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfowler.250 Posted October 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2012 Most of my shooting is grey geese. If you think there will be a chance of a goose then only shoot at geese. Once the season is well underway they wise up quick and will exit elsewhere. If you want to shoot duck then shoot duck, just let anyone else know that is what you are after. Thanks for the reply Henry. Generally when I am out there's always a good chance of a goose and half a chance of a duck appearing before hand. It's the old, 'bird in the hand.." scenario. I have shot birds late into the season and they have taken a very similar line most of the flight. Interesting to hear your take on it I'm of the opinion that I don't want to any hassle when I'm out shooting so try and keep everyone happy,(even if that means going home empty handed). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nic Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 on the marsh i have shot most, on morning flights, there is quite a time difference between the ducks flighting and the geese lifting. so it makes no odds if you shoot ducks first. however if say on the solway where people have only gone for a chance at a goose, i would leave the duck alone if it flew past Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrelhall Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 Depends where you are and where the geese are. if the geese are in a small bay or have been washed close to the shore by the tide or/and wind, then no if you dont want some funny looks, and comments when you come off the marsh. If they are well back why not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 (edited) The first thing you want to think about is being a club marsh is your fellow members. Most marshes have favoured goose areas and favoured duck areas. If possible if you wanted to shoot ducks then go the the duck area. On several of the marshes I shoot the geese will drift close into the marsh edge on the tide and maybe only a few hundred yards away from the waiting gunners. To take a shot at a fleeting duck in poor light will cause the geese to lift and move a long way out onto the mud. On a still morning this will ruin the flight for others wanting a goose. On the other hand once there has been a few shots at the geese a shot or two at duck is unlikely to effect the chances of others. So you need to bear the above thoughts if you want to makes friends in your club. On the other hand on a personal level I always perfer to shoot duck rather than geese. So most of my wildfowling is done in areas well away from from the regular goose shooters , but I will never forget the look on one members face when as a skien was beating up to him very low he fired while the geese were still 80 yards from him. After flight he came over beaming " I got a mallard ". Edited October 14, 2012 by anser2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigger Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 As anser says most marshes have duck and goose areas, I'm more of a duck man myself so when the geese turn up and goose fever hits the marsh I leave them to it but at the end of the day you have as much right to be there as they do funny thing is most of the time when the geese lift a few breakaway and usually fly down the edge of the marsh right over me so I get the best of both worlds but they can't see that...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ayano3 Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 I am not sure if its wrong or right to shoot at duck if the geese are there but if I do shoot its because I have been on the marsh pretty much every weekend since the start of the season and midweek too and put a lot of time in chasing wildfowl. If someone arrives for their first flight just because the geese are in they can't criticize anyone who choses to shoot duck in preference to their chosen quarry. That don't mean I would shoot at duck if I thought there was a far better chance of a goose but to turn down a good shot in hope the geese come your way is a tough one to call. I have left duck and waited for the pinks only for them to go in the opposite direction. If you get a chance take it as it could be the last one you get for some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muncher Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 Well one of club im in' and on the commitee, when we get complaints about duck shooters , the reply is always the same . This is a wildfowling club ,not a goose shooting club . But i dont shoot a ducks if the geese are close in, if they are far out then by all means i would. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markyboy Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 If I'm after geese al just take my goose gun and a goose load ! There seems to be alot of duck moving in the mornings just now! But to be fair if your there and you get a chance just have a shot at it cos your not always going to get the geese over you! A shot at the change of light in morning isn't going to make much odds of the geese are a few hundred yards out on mud! 2 seasons ago I went out and it broke daylight and there were around 4 hundred pinks 100 yards infront of me half lifted and I got a right n left, the geese that were left must have easily seen 2 of their pals fall from the sky but it didn't stop them lifting 5 minutes later over the same flight path for me to drop another ! When the geese want to go a certain way a shot won't stop them flying the way they want to ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfowler.250 Posted October 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 Thanks for the replies, was interesting to hear people's opinions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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