Pole Star Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 Dont forget this is a open forum & dont be supprised if the do gooders & anti's jump in & start calling foi a ban on the use of decoys ! .↲ A greedy gun on a good flight would be able to bag more the he needs just the same as any other numbers type .↲ I dont under stand your suggestion of banning decoys Scolopax ? . I think restraint is a better answer . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 (edited) Pole Star , your are right of course restraint is the answer , but decoys make it much more easy to entice large numbers of geese within range than just trying to intercept the birds comming into a field. No problem with responsible folwers , the big problem is there are a number of shooters ( note I do not call them wildfowlers ) who are not responsable. I know of two guys who shot just short of 500 pinks in East Scotland in a week with one gun shooting 70 in a single flight all over decoys. Such a bag would be almost impossible without decoys. I for one would not like to see them banned , but if pinks continue to decline and there are calls for fewer birds to be shot then compared to other potential restrictions such as a shorter season or bag limits imposed by law , I would find a ban on decoys a lesser evil. But lets just hope this fall in numbers is tempory and the birds have a run of good breeding seasons. Edited March 7, 2013 by anser2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfowler.250 Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 Pole Star , your are right of course restraint is the answer , but decoys make it much more easy to entice large numbers of geese within range than just trying to intercept the birds comming into a field. No problem with responsible folwers , the big problem is there are a number of shooters ( note I do not call them wildfowlers ) who are not responsable. I know of two guys who shot just short of 500 pinks in East Scotland in a week with one gun shooting 70 in a single flight all over decoys. Such a bag would be almost impossible without decoys. I for one would not like to see them banned , but if pinks continue to decline and there are calls for fewer birds to be shot then compared to other potential restrictions such as a shorter season or bag limits imposed by law , I would find a ban on decoys a lesser evil. But lets just hope this fall in numbers is tempory and the birds have a run of good breeding seasons. That is a disgusting figure but where do you draw the line? Limit guns to one shot? Limit the number of days shootable in a week? Anyone who shoots that number of birds needs their guns taken off them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scolopax Posted March 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 No, take away the right to use decoys, in 95% of situations that will remove the ability to achieve really big bags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfowler.250 Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 No, take away the right to use decoys, in 95% of situations that will remove the ability to achieve really big bags. If the birds are set on a field you don't even need decoys for a big bag. If you don't fancy using them then that's fine. I'll be lucky if I take them out once a year but still like having the option Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utectok Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 I like to use decoys sometimes but still inland I will shoot a couple and watch the rest. Just simple restraint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cumbrian top shot Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 I like to decoy pinks inland and enjoy it its the same old thing like so many have said "restraint". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pole Star Posted March 8, 2013 Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 (edited) I understand perfectly the thinking of banning the use of decoys chaps but are you saying just for Pinks ? or all geese ? & if such a ban went ahead it then opens the can of worms & what next Ducks ? Pigeons ? . Do you see what I am getting at perhaps we are better off with bag limits ? . The other thing is I dont believe in punishing the innocent for the sins of the guilty ! that reminds me of Tony B.Liars way of thinking ! . If we had a set of bag limits then we could prosecute the offenders & the sensible would be left alone to put their meat on the table ! correct ? . Edited March 8, 2013 by Pole Star Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M ROBSON Posted March 8, 2013 Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 (edited) Same old, same old!! You can tell it's the closed season lol We as wildfowlers hate to see big bags, we hold geese in high regard and see them as a sporting quarry that deserves respect and restraint. We'd love to see the population boom. For the government (the people who make the laws) they can be a pain in the ***!! In some areas they are an agricultural pest and cost them a lot of money. I'm sure they'll be quite happy at the thought of the Pinkfoot population slowing down from the rocketing numbers of recent years. With all the talk of massive culls in Orkney to reduce problem geese and out of season permits becoming easier to get now SNH are in charge, you're living in a pipe dream!! PS, I'm just waiting for the next scientific study to say we need to cull 50% of the goose population and watch the fun begin! LOL BAN BAN BAN !!! Edited March 8, 2013 by M ROBSON Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavman Posted March 8, 2013 Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 (edited) Sounds like a fair load of twoddle to me........ like wildfowlers are responsible and stopping decoys will help...... I have no idea how many clubs there are and what the seasons bag of Pinks is in the UK to shoulder gunners as a whole but I would suggest Wildfowlers are more in decline than Pinks. BASC was formed by Wildfowlers for Wildfowlers but now we account for a very small section of the membership. most clubs already have sensible bag limits and rules. In the last five years I have seen the Pinks splitting up into more smaller groups than one big lump we used to get on the reserve, now they can be found at Winterton and horsey and Fritton and unless you are counting in each area they will be missed. Bird numbers will raise and fall all the time but to my way of thinking its very little to do with Wildfowlers and more to do with weather, food and habitat. Clubs and BASC contribute an awful lot towards habitat with land management, work parties, litter clean ups etc that also benefits other species such as waders and without this a lot of areas would decline and there would be even less birds . Don’t expect to get any credit for the good you do and expect RSPB and Natural England antis to exploit any data that can benefit there cause like stopping shooting on HLS areas ......but hey ramblers is fine so lets make a corridor all around the UK for coastal access so folk can trample all over the place un restricted as clearly this will never have any detrimental effect. Edited March 8, 2013 by pavman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scolopax Posted March 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 Wildfowlers are very responsible and the foreshore bag of Pinks is a tiny fraction of that shot inland over decoys. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewluke Posted March 8, 2013 Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 Same old, same old!! You can tell it's the closed season lol We as wildfowlers hate to see big bags, we hold geese in high regard and see them as a sporting quarry that deserves respect and restraint. We'd love to see the population boom. For the government (the people who make the laws) they can be a pain in the ***!! In some areas they are an agricultural pest and cost them a lot of money. I'm sure they'll be quite happy at the thought of the Pinkfoot population slowing down from the rocketing numbers of recent years. With all the talk of massive culls in Orkney to reduce problem geese and out of season permits becoming easier to get now SNH are in charge, you're living in a pipe dream!! PS, I'm just waiting for the next scientific study to say we need to cull 50% of the goose population and watch the fun begin! LOL BAN BAN BAN !!! what's your bag limit when taking out customers? andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pole Star Posted March 8, 2013 Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 Note I for one dont want to see a ban on the use of decoys or bag limits imposed on us I would just like peopele to be sensible about the numbers they shoot . But perhaps some one knows how to achive this with out more dam laws ! . The problems up here Mark is not with Pinks its with Greylags & that is attracting more & more numbers Cretins to Orkney ! . And that type are another problem ! . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfowler.250 Posted March 8, 2013 Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 Note I for one dont want to see a ban on the use of decoys or bag limits imposed on us I would just like peopele to be sensible about the numbers they shoot . But perhaps some one knows how to achive this with out more dam laws ! . The problems up here Mark is not with Pinks its with Greylags & that is attracting more & more numbers Cretins to Orkney ! . And that type are another problem ! . As above. Scolopax, if you have any decoys ill take them off you cheap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scolopax Posted March 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 I have got plenty of goose decoys but could live without them as I do not shoot fields Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pole Star Posted March 8, 2013 Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 (edited) I have got plenty of goose decoys but could live without them as I do not shoot fields Are you trying to sell ? lol ! . ok any one up for a PW auction site for unwanted decoys Lol ! Edited March 8, 2013 by Pole Star Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfowler.250 Posted March 8, 2013 Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 I have got plenty of goose decoys but could live without them as I do not shoot fields I'm expecting a student discount as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scolopax Posted March 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 Ah, bit OCD with decoys, bit of a hoarder, must have 30 odd goose decoys and 50 some duck decoys. Always looking to increase my collection, not decrease it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pole Star Posted March 8, 2013 Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 Ah, bit OCD with decoys, bit of a hoarder, must have 30 odd goose decoys and 50 some duck decoys. Always looking to increase my collection, not decrease it. You mean you hoard them but dont use em ? . Now really scolopax that is most odd ! . Tell me did you ever use them . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ91 Posted March 8, 2013 Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 Ah, bit OCD with decoys, bit of a hoarder, must have 30 odd goose decoys and 50 some duck decoys. Always looking to increase my collection, not decrease it. don't forget to add the 5mallard and 6 greylag deeks I have sat here that you paid me for many moons ago haha. Will have to have a catch up sometime so you can pick them up to stash with the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scolopax Posted March 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 You mean you hoard them but dont use em ? . Now really scolopax that is most odd ! . Tell me did you ever use them . No, i mean i buy new decoys if i see some which catch my eye but never get rid of the older ones. Maybe i am hoping one day to be in a situation where i could use a big spread, on the washes or some similiar floods possibly. At the moment i use duck decoys but no more than a 12 or 14 at a time. Use goose decoys 2 or 3 times a season on the marsh, and will sometimes put a couple of full bodied goose decoys out on the mud next to a spread of duck decoys on the water, but the tide has to be just right for that one. Tidepool was selling off some top quality green head gear duck decoys a year or two back so I splashed the cash and bought a few boxes of hen wigeon and some shoveller decoys for contrast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackpowder Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 Pole Star , your are right of course restraint is the answer , but decoys make it much more easy to entice large numbers of geese within range than just trying to intercept the birds comming into a field. No problem with responsible folwers , the big problem is there are a number of shooters ( note I do not call them wildfowlers ) who are not responsable. I know of two guys who shot just short of 500 pinks in East Scotland in a week with one gun shooting 70 in a single flight all over decoys. Such a bag would be almost impossible without decoys. I for one would not like to see them banned , but if pinks continue to decline and there are calls for fewer birds to be shot then compared to other potential restrictions such as a shorter season or bag limits imposed by law , I would find a ban on decoys a lesser evil. But lets just hope this fall in numbers is tempory and the birds have a run of good breeding seasons. Shot 70 in one flight that is disgusting, 70 for one fowler in a season would be far to many. What do you do with 70 or indeed 500 dead geese, you cant sell them legally and finding enough friends to share these numbers with cannot be easy. Blackpowder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfowler.250 Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 Shot 70 in one flight that is disgusting, 70 for one fowler in a season would be far to many. What do you do with 70 or indeed 500 dead geese, you cant sell them legally and finding enough friends to share these numbers with cannot be easy. Blackpowder I'm not saying the quoted figure is wrong but its hard to believe that geese would continue to come in to an area in that numbers for a week when they are getting hammered daily. It's not like its been a cold winter and short on feeding. 70 for a season would be a hard push never mind a day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 (edited) The bag was taken about 10 years ago over decoys in East Scotland with a guide. As for what they did with them I gather the guide has some deal where the geese are plucked and prepared for the table with some locals. The gun gets up to half the bag and the locals have the remainder. Just where they go then is anyones guess , but it did hear something about a van from France with a cooler unit. I should clear up now i was not one of the guns , indeed I have yet to get my first Scottish goose though i did shoot and sadly lost a greylag one night on the Solway. It came down between another gun and myself in the last light of the day and just "disapeared ". Edited March 20, 2013 by anser2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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