39TDS Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 I can't understand why anybody would shoot a woodcock or snipe at all. How is it any different than shooting swallows for example? or barn owls for that matter. (yes I know barn owls are bigger and slower but don't forget it's usually dark) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 I can't understand why anybody would shoot a woodcock or snipe at all. How is it any different than shooting swallows for example? or barn owls for that matter. (yes I know barn owls are bigger and slower but don't forget it's usually dark) Am I missing something here?Woodcock and Snipe are on the quarry list,and are shot to be eaten.The opposite applies to Swallows and Barn Owls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkfanz Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 so when you an your dog are upto the armpits in knotweed the pheasant thats flushed isnt shot cos its not high enough,,,,we dont all have beaters to do the donkey work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ant1 Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 39tds have you ever tried woodcock or snipe? woodcock is one of the best tasting bird you could have.also snipe are very nice.try walked up snipe very testing bird to shoot . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickologjam Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 I can't understand why anybody would shoot a woodcock or snipe at all. How is it any different than shooting swallows for example? or barn owls for that matter. (yes I know barn owls are bigger and slower but don't forget it's usually dark) Did you eat that mushroom from your profile picture??!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sx3 clay breaker Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 Too be honest if it safe and you want to take the shot take it but like what nearly happened to me last sat I was a stop the gun had seen me he was shooting phesants about 6 foot above my head so I thought maybe he'd realised what he was doing but then a phesant came out at my shoulder height I turned round and he started to lift the gun so I hit the deck and he shot the pellets when straight toward me and just missed me by maybe a foot at most now this gun is supposed to be a excellent safe shooter but he carried on taking low bird I wasentb offering a sporting shot but he still had a go at me if it happens again hell be having the flag inserted right where the sun don't shine Rgds sx3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39TDS Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 No I haven't eaten either of them, have you ever eaten swallow or barn owl? My point was that I personally don't consider it "sporting" to shoot them, which is what the thread was about. Swallows would make a testing shot too but I don't want to shoot them either. Puzzles me why they are on the quarry list, they are hardly pest species are they. Just my opinion, I am neither expecting or asking for anyone to agree with me. I only see one maybe two woodcock a year, wouldn't enter my head to shoot at it. Loads of snipe if I want to shoot at them, but I don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guest1957 Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 No I haven't eaten either of them, have you ever eaten swallow or barn owl? My point was that I personally don't consider it "sporting" to shoot them, which is what the thread was about. Swallows would make a testing shot too but I don't want to shoot them either. Puzzles me why they are on the quarry list, they are hardly pest species are they. Just my opinion, I am neither expecting or asking for anyone to agree with me. I only see one maybe two woodcock a year, wouldn't enter my head to shoot at it. Loads of snipe if I want to shoot at them, but I don't. Because they are traditional British quarry in the same way partridges are. The authority to shoot them is somewhat different to the authority to shoot pests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39TDS Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 I thought that was probably the case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catweazle Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 I too am often confused when people write about "sporting" shots, how can it be more sporting to shoot at a pheasant 60yds up and let it fly off with a pellet in its back end than to take one a 40yds and kill it stone dead ? Some people seem to regard a "sporting" shot as one which is near the end of their ability, "testing themselves", well I think you should test yourself on clay pigeons and shoot live quarry when you have a good chance of a humane kill. We wouldn't do it with rifles, why do it with shotguns ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickologjam Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 I consider both Woodcock and Snipe to be the most testing and sporting shots of all. Their flight patterns are unpredictable and erratic and are challenging at most safe shot heights and distances. They are also amongst the best eating birds. For the record the 'Quarry' list contains species which can be legally hunted for sport or food without justification or reason providing it is within the various closed seasons. It bears no relationship to pests which appear on the 'General Licence' or otherwise which generally require some form of justification to shoot. I would never shoot a pest species for sport, only necessity. Even though I love eating and shooting pigeons and acknowledge what a testing shot they can make I rarely shoot them as the permissions I shoot over do not justify or require it. I suppose then as previously stated the sporting shots debate can only really be applied to game shooting by definition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MM Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 If i want something to eat, then sport aint an option, they will get walloped sat on the ground, flying in the air or walking past blindfolded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39TDS Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 How does shooting something for the sport of it differ from shooting something for the fun of it? (serious question) I never shoot anything for the fun of it, or for the sport of it. I only shoot things as pest control. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy shooting rabbits and pigeons and I think it is very often what you are referring to as a sporting shot. I have no interest in shooting anything just for the sport or fun of it. Then again, I am happy to go fishing just for the fun of it.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catweazle Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 I never shoot anything for the fun of it, or for the sport of it. I only shoot things as pest control. But you're a farmer. Most people here enjoy shooting animals for sport, we don't do it because we are some kind of farmer support charity, we do it because we enjoy the hunt and there is a useful bonus of a decent meal. I once offered a landowner a few pigeons I'd shot and he turned his nose up at them, for him they were just vermin, but to me they are a tasty end to an enjoyable morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
castletyne Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 (edited) ok after reading some of the posts on here i find that a lot of people in the shooting world (yes us lot) seem to have a different opinion on what is sporting and what isn,t and what you can and what you cant shoot (the mind boggles at some write ups) i am reading things like" dont shoot when bird is too close" ," only shoot the high birds" "dont shoot them on the ground" " shoot them just as they land " "shoot them as they take off" "i only shoot the high challenging birds" "dont shoot every bird" "shoot everything that moves" "only shoot for crop protection" " i decoy over grass" "dont shoot a roosting bird" "shoot roosting birds" the list is endless but it is pretty obvious that everyone on here has different views, please can you explain this as i know my views but they certainly differ from a lot on here be it wrong or right, one of the main things i cant understand is how a flying bird (pheasant) at 25yrds is classed as not sporting but a pigeon,woodcock,and any other legally shot bird at the same distance is classed as sporting please can anyone explain what they think of above and tell us your views we will now just see how different they all are looking forward to this topic and guys and gals, no arguing please i,m asking for your views in your opinion HERE GOES, GOOD LUCK and all the best cheers evo I dont see anything wrong with a 25yrd pheasant for me 25-40 yrds is my ideal distance and i still miss them When i here people say they would just let them go at that distance i wonder what distance they want 60-80 yds ?? how many clipped or runners do they get or are they all Digweeds Edited December 31, 2012 by castletyne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amazed Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 What happens when the humble phesants stop being game and starts being a pest ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontbeck Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 How does shooting something for the sport of it differ from shooting something for the fun of it? (serious question) I never shoot anything for the fun of it, or for the sport of it. I only shoot things as pest control. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy shooting rabbits and pigeons and I think it is very often what you are referring to as a sporting shot. I have no interest in shooting anything just for the sport or fun of it. Then again, I am happy to go fishing just for the fun of it.......... If you really enjoy shooting rabbits and pigeon you are doing it for the fun and sport, not only for pest control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39TDS Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 If you really enjoy shooting rabbits and pigeon you are doing it for the fun and sport, not only for pest control I very much agree, but it isn't just for the fun of it as I can justify it to myself as being pest control. When pheasants become a pest they get shot too, and my "favourite" way of doing that is with a rifle. Probably deemed as extremely unsporting. I do tolerate pheasants more than I should, but that's just me. I'm not imposing these views on others, it's just the way I feel comfortable about things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontbeck Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 I know a grouse keeper who tells the pheasant keeper on the same estate that as far as he goes pheasant are vermin on the moor and will treat them as such Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amazed Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 If I don't own a gun and don't shoot one every shot i take will be perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontbeck Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 If I don't own a gun and don't shoot one every shot i take will be perfect. That needs an explanation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big bad lindz Posted January 1, 2013 Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 Sport is organised or unorganised recreation. Today it usually implies competition, usually implies following rules, and often means competitive sports and games. Originally in English, sport is leisure, as in hunting or fishing wildlife for entertainment rather than for subsistence or for the market The above is an extract from wikipidia regarding `Sport` and its definition. With regard to a `sporting shot at a bird` as in some previous posts should all be down to the indivdual (IMO) I am sure at some time in our shooting most of us will have fired a shot at something that was to close and minced it and something that was to far away and only pricked it. I know I have and I have only been shooting game & fowl for 5 years. I put it down to my learning curve and possibly trigger fever `I must get it at all cost ` or at least try. I now try and take each shot at live quarry with some thought before I pull the trigger, can I hit it clean, is it worth it etc etc, remembering you only have a few seconds to decide. BBL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted January 1, 2013 Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 The only prerequisites (if that's the word I'm looking for) I apply to a shot are: Is it safe? Can I kill it from here? And will it be fit to eat if I shoot it from this close range?(This last one only applies to game and pests which are to be eaten). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted January 1, 2013 Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 woodcock don't normally get high in the air so most of them that I shoot are low, in sayin that today I flushed 3 and didn't fire a shot at one of them, the first one lifted 6ft from me and flew off 4ft off the ground I let him go as I'd have to shoot him before he reached bushes which would have meant I'd hit it very hard, second one was shootable through light bushes but I didn't want the chance of just wounden' him so I let him go the 3rd one the dog pushed right at me less than 20 yards it came straight at me I lifted the gun knowin it would have to clear the trees to get by me but when it did I realised I'd have blew it a sunder so I just let it go, it was great to flush them but it was equally as good to let them go as this is the second time I've flushed them from the same place so they could be there If I go back again for a hunt before the end of the season. Self control for the right reasons, that's a pretty decent account of what would have been unsporting had you shot any of them. To me unsporting is if you shoot at a bird that's going to get more than it's fair share of pellets, mullered in other words, be it game or pigeon. I also consider shooting at game so high as to need 50g loads and Full choke as treating living creatures as target practice and therefore unsporting. A decoyer making things easier for himself by bringing things up close and shooting them with a Skeet choke is fine but a hot shot mincing everything with Full choke at the same distance is disrespectful in my view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catweazle Posted January 1, 2013 Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 A decoyer making things easier for himself by bringing things up close and shooting them with a Skeet choke is fine but a hot shot mincing everything with Full choke at the same distance is disrespectful in my view. The hot shot is the more humane of the two shooters, we ordinary shooters allow a compromise in humane kills in order to eat our quarry. It's a balancing act that most people get right in my opinion, but there will always be those who ***** distant birds with small shot because there is a chance of a kill. They probably don't know it's happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.