Can you shoot canada geese all year round??

[shootnfish]

Don't see nowhere near as many as i used to round here now reservoir at the back of my house used to get hundreds on so did others that i used to fish but now your lucky to see a dozen. Just loads of greylags. People probably shoot them just because they think they can weather they have a good reason or not.

[anser2]

Kitchrat where on earth do you get your information from. I think it myst be from a guy down the pub who heard it from someone else who thought he read about the subject somewhere. Non toxic is very close to lead in killing ability indeed its becoming my preferred shot for pigeons. The main problem is some people have not tried modern steel shot and many do not know how to shot it as its very different to lead. A good quality steel shell ( say gamebore or Remmington ) kills almost as well as lead and only at the very limits of range will you notice any drop off in performance. I usually find the most avid critics of steel have not used the new type of shells or do not know how to use them. As for why can you use it over dry land , simple you have to have a blanket ban as the shooting community cant be trusted to use it on one site , but not another. I know of several people who still use it over wetlands. How is the law going to know if a duck is shot over water or land unless they check you in the field , A situation none would want. Just think about it , you have just set your decoys out , the first duck of what looks like being a good flight start to come in and over comes PC plod to check what shot you using. O and while he is there he will probably want to check your shotgun licence and if the landowner has given his permission . By the time that’s sorted out the duck flight is over. Alendil 99.9% of waterfowl are shot with shotguns not rifles. Waterfowl pick pellets up for mistake for grit to aid their digestion. A bullet is going to be a bit big for that. When will people realise Steel kills and kills well. You just have to learn how to use it.As for the canada question , get the scare rockets out , much more effective than shooting or wait until next September.

Edited February 19, 2013 by anser2

[CharlieT]

Point is its the spent lead shot which gets ingested that poisons wildfowl (allegedly)They are highly unlikely to swallow a bullet ,but shot falls in the mud ,ducks swallow grit to aid digestion ,ps defra told me when i asked about canadas ,you are supposed to try all other means before shooting ,and being a fowler i can already see a reduction in numbers this year due i,m sure to overshooting, culling ,etc

 

You must have mistaken DEFRA's advice. There is no requirement to try other means before killing them. In fact DEFRA's preferred method to achieve cull numbers is to round them up whilst they are flightless and then kill them.