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So, how's your season going?


-Mongrel-
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Been a funny season really. Plenty of mallard in September, unfortunately I was unable to hit a barn door at the time though! Stack of teal arrived on the 27th of October, and we had consistent shooting at them for November and most of December, before things quietened down again on Christmas week, as in they all deserted us! We had an early, albeit small push of widgeon in September, before they disappeared and have never materialized since! Unfortunately they are our bread and butter shore shooting on The Foyle, and we are meant to be an Irish stonghold for them, but not this season. Geese came and went in a week in November, with some arriving last week and leaving again. Very poor.

 

Without consulting the diary, I have only 3 greylags, and around 70 ducks, mainly teal, with a few mallard and only 2 widgeon, which I shot on the 29th of September. Normally I would have a stack more widgeon, but last year there were few teal, so swings and roundabouts I suppose.

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It's been a very poor season on the duck, but a good season overall on the geese.

 

Scores so far - Inland - 15 greylag, 12 canadas, 11 mallard,3 teal. Foreshore - 12 pinks, 5 mallard,4 teal, 1 wigeon.

 

Hopefully a few more birds will find their way into the bag before the end of the season, where i shall be turning my attentions back to the pigeons.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've got coated in mud, ended up with a broken gun and the game bag is still empty. Enjoyed every flight i've been on though!

 

Sorry to hear that! Mark of a true sportsman though to see the positive side, and sometimes that ain't easy! When I leave the house for a flight, my aim is not just murder, (as good as that is) it's to learn something that will help me kill in the future. The more you learn, the better you get, but you still need luck on your side. Hope you have a good end to the season!

Edited by rusticola
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Been a funny season really. Plenty of mallard in September, unfortunately I was unable to hit a barn door at the time though! Stack of teal arrived on the 27th of October, and we had consistent shooting at them for November and most of December, before things quietened down again on Christmas week, as in they all deserted us! We had an early, albeit small push of widgeon in September, before they disappeared and have never materialized since! Unfortunately they are our bread and butter shore shooting on The Foyle, and we are meant to be an Irish stonghold for them, but not this season. Geese came and went in a week in November, with some arriving last week and leaving again. Very poor.

 

Without consulting the diary, I have only 3 greylags, and around 70 ducks, mainly teal, with a few mallard and only 2 widgeon, which I shot on the 29th of September. Normally I would have a stack more widgeon, but last year there were few teal, so swings and roundabouts I suppose.

 

The (or at least some of them) wigeon are on Lough Neagh- I have had a bumper wigeon year. Mainly wigeon, then teal, then gadwall and lastly mallard. Havent even seen a pintail this year.

 

The hard weather on UK mainland seemed to boost numbers here last week.

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The (or at least some of them) wigeon are on Lough Neagh- I have had a bumper wigeon year. Mainly wigeon, then teal, then gadwall and lastly mallard. Havent even seen a pintail this year.

 

The hard weather on UK mainland seemed to boost numbers here last w

 

It seems you are not the only person to have had a decent widgeon season on lough Neagh. Numbers improved here last week also, until the flood water ruined everything again. Never had the widgeon numbers we should have had though. Did finally manage one on Friday, but my life- long search for a cock bird continues...

 

yy

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Well not proper fowling but had a cracking flight this evening, they fly over ky permission to a neighbour's lagoons.

Mainly mallard and greylag woth a few teal at back end of season, majority are too high for ashot. I managed to get my hands on some hevi shot and took the new (to me) Winchester 1300 pump out after work.

Good strong wind brought a few within range..going like missiles though.

Started of badly with 8shots at greylags for nothing.

Had some food and a drink and while the next few passed over unsaluted,

The teal were putting on quite a display zigzagging through the wind, then a single greylag caughy my eye. Side slipping into the wind, he came over nicely in range and dropped with the first shot. Plenty more geese went over out of shot. Then the mallard came, and alot of them, I pickes my shots, a nice pair followed by 3misses at 1duck, 2shots put a teal in the bag followed by another 4 misses at mallard. Then a huge group of mallard hurtling towards me, light fading fast bit eager to put a couple morw in the bag, up the gun came and i zoned out, just me and the duck in total silence..a strange feeling butworked, 3shots and down came 3 mallard.

I put the gun in the slip and collected the fallen then sat back against a fencepost to watch the rest of the duck sail by high up on the wind. Nice to sit back and forget all life's troubles for a while.

Although I wasn't on the foreahore it was a flight I will never forget.

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