First geese

[birdsallpl]

No, opposite for me , all about the location. Rather blank on the mud than shoot half a dozen decoyed on a stubble.

I believe most true Wildfowlers will feel the same scolopax. But each to their own. If the stubble lads enjoy their shooting that is great for them. We could do the same but choose not to. So let and let live I say but don't expect anything other than disapproval from the true Wildfowler mob.

[loriusgarrulus]

Maybe you could be marshfowlers and landfowlers.

[Blackpowder]

Maybe you could be marshfowlers and landfowlers.

The difference is inland duck and goose shooting can be extremely easy at times. Duck and goose shooting below the high water mark is always difficult. Well thts my opinion.

 

Blackpowder

[fendrover90]

The long and short of it is we're out there shooting geese and duck to our hearts content Call it what you want we've got a pot of gold permission with lakes a river and access all along so it is what it is providing huge amounts of duck and about 200 odd risident geese No doubt all the "proper" wildfowlers would turn this down on the ethical grounds that it downwright outrageous to shoot more than three geese per season But the fact is we're absolutely loving the shooting it provides and will carry on doing so Like I said in a previous post I couldn't give a duck what you call it It's damn good shooting

[loriusgarrulus]

Think I would use a punt.

[motty]

The long and short of it is we're out there shooting geese and duck to our hearts content Call it what you want we've got a pot of gold permission with lakes a river and access all along so it is what it is providing huge amounts of duck and about 200 odd risident geese No doubt all the "proper" wildfowlers would turn this down on the ethical grounds that it downwright outrageous to shoot more than three geese per season But the fact is we're absolutely loving the shooting it provides and will carry on doing so Like I said in a previous post I couldn't give a duck what you call it It's damn good shooting

I'm with you, there. I much prefer shooting on the marsh, but I certainly wouldn't mind doing a bit of what you've been doing. Had another failed attempt to kill some geese inland tonight. Hopefully i'll have more luck in the morning.

[harrycatcat1]

The long and short of it is we're out there shooting geese and duck to our hearts content Call it what you want we've got a pot of gold permission with lakes a river and access all along so it is what it is providing huge amounts of duck and about 200 odd risident geese No doubt all the "proper" wildfowlers would turn this down on the ethical grounds that it downwright outrageous to shoot more than three geese per season But the fact is we're absolutely loving the shooting it provides and will carry on doing so Like I said in a previous post I couldn't give a duck what you call it It's damn good shooting

 

I dont give a monkeys what its called either, I did comment on a previous post the went along these lines. Pedantic springs to mind.

 

Despite what you said there would not be many refuse an invite no matter what its called

 

Regards

 

Hcc

[fendrover90]

I'm with you, there. I much prefer shooting on the marsh, but I certainly wouldn't mind doing a bit of what you've been doing. Had another failed attempt to kill some geese inland tonight. Hopefully i'll have more luck in the morning.

I think you'll be bang on it when the pinks arrive you seem to be very good at getting under them by what I saw on our trip to the mud

[kent]

Maybe you could be marshfowlers and landfowlers.

 

Wildfowling is and always has been the pursuit of Ducks , geese and waders below the mean high water mark. Goose and duck shooting is the term we use for inland (the Americans use waterfowling which is rather more appropriate for some purposes)

[kent]

The long and short of it is we're out there shooting geese and duck to our hearts content Call it what you want we've got a pot of gold permission with lakes a river and access all along so it is what it is providing huge amounts of duck and about 200 odd risident geese No doubt all the "proper" wildfowlers would turn this down on the ethical grounds that it downwright outrageous to shoot more than three geese per season But the fact is we're absolutely loving the shooting it provides and will carry on doing so Like I said in a previous post I couldn't give a duck what you call it It's damn good shooting

 

Don't start exaggerating what has actually been said. I know a few who only shoot the coast and yet bag a terrific amount more in the course of a full season (though its less predictable) weather and tides play a big part in it all and its this puzzle the wildfowler likes. I know a few who bag 80-100 coastal geese and a terrific amount of duck quite predictably in a season but at the same time not be able to go everytime and fire a shot. I hope this explains to you we are not all nuts, looking to make life hard.

The respect you gain for the quarry when you pursue it below the MHW is high and has lead Wildfowlers like the late Sir Peter Scott to set up his Slimbridge reserve, you see when you have to understand something you tend to empathise with it.

Biggest duck bag I know of on the salting to one gun is 64 pintail and when his Dad found out he took his gun away till he learned some more respect, even though he was no child at the time! (sometimes its too easy and restraint should be shown)

[fendrover90]

Yawn

Edited September 13, 2014 by fendrover90

[fendrover90]

oops there goes another two plastic geese

[la bala]

Dog is looking well chris, you not feeding her too much goose are you

[loriusgarrulus]

Nice looking dog. Congratulations on the geese.

 

Think I would prefer the salt, mud and water free version, but appreciate the hard work the ones who shoot in the marshes put in. Are the land based geese any more wary or just as bad as the ones in the marshes.

 

Was enough trouble checking the tide tables to take the Grandchildren for a paddle off the beach without having to walk a mile to the water.

 

It must take a lot of skill to be able to safely negotiate the channels around the coast to go shooting and avoid sinking in the mud and not get cut off by the tide. Keeping your gun rust free must be a nightmare with all that salt water.

[Chad63]

This all reminds me of a day a couple of years back. Me and a mate decided to go for evening flight, he chose the foreshore I chose to flight some naturally formed splashes on freshwater marsh just inside the sea wall. He shot two semi tame overweight American imports (Canada Geese) I shot shot two migratory Wigeon. According to him I was "Duck Shooting" and he was "Wildfowling"..........

 

Load of old romantic b-----ks if you ask me..... BB has certainly got a lot to answer for

[anser2]

Quote "It must take a lot of skill to be able to safely negotiate the channels around the coast to go shooting and avoid sinking in the mud and not get cut off by the tide. Keeping your gun rust free must be a nightmare with all that salt water."

 

That’s why it’s called wildfowling!

 

Seriously wildfowling is so much more that inland goose shooting, though both are great fun. I do both but when shooting inland it lacks the interest of the shore. For me listening to the marsh waking up is just as important as shooting a bird or two. In the darkness you hear the calls of the roosting geese that instantly gets you wondering if you have chosen the right place, anticipation is a big part of wildfowling. As the light grows the darkness revels dark shaddows out on the silver muds catching the first glimmers of light , duck start to move and the marsh wakes up. Waders may be moving before the tide, gulls starting to flight inland and perhaps something a bit special, spoonbills perhaps, egrets, or an early hunting peregrine. You have one eye on the rising tide as the first geese start to move and the sunrise illuminates the magical landscape around you. It’s not the shooting, but the atmosphere of the place that separates it from goose hunting inland from and below the high tide line. And in the same way separates goose shooting from wildfowling . But there is more. The weather plays such an important role in both sports. A gale with driving snow can transform both sports not just increasing the chance of a bird or two in the bag but changing the feel of the day. A homely farmland stubble becomes a wilder place in such weather as the cold starts to bite, the wind takes your breath away, the birds have to battle their way to your chosen spot and perhaps in the eyes of some transforms goose shooting into wildfowling. While I accept that many will always feel that wildfowling only takes place below the tide line I have also shooting on major inland marshes also have the atmosphere of the coast. While the tides may be missing there can be the same excitement as birds start to flight above the flood waters, the saltings can be replaced by miles of waving reeds and secret pools, you may see bitterns, harriers, kingfishers, otters and a host of other wildlife, you will see the same dawn bringing light to be reflected on the pools and lakes, all that make a wildfowling experience.

 

For me wildfowling can take place in many places, but all have one this in common, wild landscapes and atmosphere, something I personally find lacking on an arable field.

[Chad63]

And what really makes me laugh is that most of these die hard traditionalist go out on the shore with their camo semi-autos My word what would Denys have thought of that?????

[fendrover90]

Dog is looking well chris, you not feeding her too much goose are you

jesus dave!!! You've used 14 words in this post that's nearly 7 posts worth

[fendrover90]

i think she's looking great for a 5 year old with one litter under her belt

[Big Mat]

Looks in good shape to me Chris!

[fendrover90]

Quote "It must take a lot of skill to be able to safely negotiate the channels around the coast to go shooting and avoid sinking in the mud and not get cut off by the tide. Keeping your gun rust free must be a nightmare with all that salt water."

 

Thats why its called wildfowling!

 

Seriously wildfowling is so much more that inland goose shooting, though both are great fun. I do both but when shooting inland it lacks the interest of the shore. For me listening to the marsh waking up is just as important as shooting a bird or two. In the darkness you hear the calls of the roosting geese that instantly gets you wondering if you have chosen the right place, anticipation is a big part of wildfowling. As the light grows the darkness revels dark shaddows out on the silver muds catching the first glimmers of light , duck start to move and the marsh wakes up. Waders may be moving before the tide, gulls starting to flight inland and perhaps something a bit special, spoonbills perhaps, egrets, or an early hunting peregrine. You have one eye on the rising tide as the first geese start to move and the sunrise illuminates the magical landscape around you. Its not the shooting, but the atmosphere of the place that separates it from goose hunting inland from and below the high tide line. And in the same way separates goose shooting from wildfowling . But there is more. The weather plays such an important role in both sports. A gale with driving snow can transform both sports not just increasing the chance of a bird or two in the bag but changing the feel of the day. A homely farmland stubble becomes a wilder place in such weather as the cold starts to bite, the wind takes your breath away, the birds have to battle their way to your chosen spot and perhaps in the eyes of some transforms goose shooting into wildfowling. While I accept that many will always feel that wildfowling only takes place below the tide line I have also shooting on major inland marshes also have the atmosphere of the coast. While the tides may be missing there can be the same excitement as birds start to flight above the flood waters, the saltings can be replaced by miles of waving reeds and secret pools, you may see bitterns, harriers, kingfishers, otters and a host of other wildlife, you will see the same dawn bringing light to be reflected on the pools and lakes, all that make a wildfowling experience.

 

For me wildfowling can take place in many places, but all have one this in common, wild landscapes and atmosphere, something I personally find lacking on an arable field.

i totally agree with this , but by the statements of one or two on our inland shooting pics it deems it to be an inferior type of shooting which it isn't it's just good fun with good returns of geese and duck I shot my first pink last year on the wash right out on the mud as the tide was pushing us back off only for it to be nicked by a seal as the dog got halfway out to it And laying in the bottom of a creek at the break of day for countless times only to be 150 yds or so off the flight line so I think I know a bit about this below high water shooting Some like to slog away at the pigeons year round fair play it's not for me come September it's all about the wildfowl in whatever environment we choose to shoot them in . Wild horses will not hold me back when them geese start flighting the wash Even to the point of changing jobs this year so I can be more flexible having days off when I want so for some to come on here looking down they're noses and huffing to themselves that this bloke probably never seen a salt marsh and labeling our pictures as this or that well crack on Somebody actually said to me yesterday of two particular famous long Sutton / Sutton bridge "wildfowlers" Do you think they'd really cycle right down the bottom and walk the marsh for geese when they could drop a few in the field five minutes from the house and be home within minutes with two brace , well that said it all for me so I'll not be bothered one bit about what you label it if it was good enough for Sid and Kenzie then that'll do for me !!! Good evening

[loriusgarrulus]

Very whistful at the description. Will not be able to go wildfowling in the coastal marshes as not fit enough and still learning to shoot. You couldn't get a Tramper to go through the water and mud. Sad I only started to shoot once my health was not so good. Very envious you are so lucky to be able to do this.

[anser2]

Sorry to hear this . Of course I do not know what is wrong and I hope you can recover , but if it gives you confidence in the future I had a stroke last year , at first I could do little for myself . It took me 4 months to recover to the stage I could hold a gun again. Last year my wildfowling was restricted to areas close to the sea wall and inland marshes but at least I was shooting ducks again something that was in serious doubt in the summer. I have had to accept my limitations, soft mud and long walks across across rough ground are out of the question , but by picking my spots at least I am still wildfowling and after some pretty poor shooting last season so far this season I am pretty pleased with my aim..

 

Never give up.

Edited September 14, 2014 by anser2

[kent]

A day will come when each of us can no longer venture out into such places. Inverted elitism has no place in such thoughts, what one man chooses (to prefer personally) should not influence another IF the balance of what one puts in and what one takes out is correct all is good either inside or outside the seawall.

[kent]

Yawn

 

Pork, educate