Totsy Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 Generally, do people find they see more birds on the foreshore when in a gale as tradition would suggest? Also, do guns hit rates increase or decrease in windy conditions? I found a recent session using steel in high wind infuriating. Lots of birds, lots of misses. Birds stalling against high winds would seem an easy shot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 Windy conditions are what most of us pray for and a wind off the sea seems to stir up the birds more than a still day, though there are exceptions. I have found that when decoying the creeks in the middle of my marsh in midwinter if the winds are light we get quite a few little packs of duck that seem to just want to have a fly around from the nearby reserves for excersise and little packs of duck decoy better than big mobs. On such days I may only see a couple of dozen duck , but almost all of them have decoyed in to my spread. On the other hand on a stormy day the duck just sit in shelter all day. However this is a quirk of this particular marsh and on the whole give me plenty of wind. Birds can be harder to hit on windy days as they have only to slightly alter the angle of their wings and they are yards away across the sky, but as for hitting them in these conditions I do not think it makes a lot of difference that you are using steel. I find the same problem trying to shoot pigeons in a wind with lead. Its just the wind makes the target harder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie10 Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 Generally, do people find they see more birds on the foreshore when in a gale as tradition would suggest? Also, do guns hit rates increase or decrease in windy conditions? I found a recent session using steel in high wind infuriating. Lots of birds, lots of misses. Birds stalling against high winds would seem an easy shot! Just your shooting not the steel. Better having wind where we are keeps birds off the main river. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandalf Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 Usual problem in high winds is that the bird looks stationary. It probably is relevant to the ground. However it is still flying at 30 - 40 miles an hour relevant to the air mass that it is flying in. So you shoot straight at it. However, because the wind is blowing at 30 - 40 miles an hour your pellets are also affected by the air mass. Result is a miss well behind the bird. Any rifle man will explain wind drift but we tend to forget it when swinging a shotty. I love windy days for fowling - Stirs everything up. Including me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 I would rather have a decent wind rather than no wind , as other said it gets the birds on the wing more I find , having said that, give me tide over wind any day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misser Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 seem to do better in a good wind...when it blows a real hoolie for a couple of days tend to do ok on the first evening flight but the following ones not much cop...geese possibly sit inland if too bad to head back...may be wrong sure others will point it out if they disagree... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperGoose75 Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 seem to do better in a good wind...when it blows a real hoolie for a couple of days tend to do ok on the first evening flight but the following ones not much cop...geese possibly sit inland if too bad to head back...may be wrong sure others will point it out if they disagree... I tend to agree' although it may vary what fowl do from place to place. If a gale is strong enough then it will drive fowl inland even the hardier sea birds like Brent and Shelduck will seek shelter inland when it gets to Choppy on the Water. I would disagree with the OP's opening sentence that tradition states it sends Birds onto the foreshore' unless of course as Anser2 points out they find some sheltered creek. When winds are forecast here' it is not uncommon to see loads of gulls about inland even before the real winds start. For me there is nothing better than a good blow at evening flight' when ducks are flighting. It is said that a goose shot on the foreshore is worth 5 or 6 shot inland' well when it comes to duck shooting the same applies for me. Give me high fast flying Ducks 'preferably with a wind in their tale anytime, A couple of these sorts of Shots if successful ' are more memorable than any number taking over decoys with paddles down. And on most occasions' wind is a neccessity to bring geese' down to a shootable range when crossing the seawall. Yes ' there will be more miss's' but who cares..? Its what makes it Sporting' and for me that whats its all about' If i was hitting everything I shot at' it would soon loose its appeal. So give me wind anytime' as long as its not blowing Slates of the roof. Of course there are other conditions i enjoy such as' Squally weather and snow blizzards and Even still frosty weather' where i have always found Ducks' particularly mallard will fly at a shootable height' im not sure if its to do with air temperature or what' but these are my findings over the years. I am in no position to comment on Steel shot' as I can still shoot the toxic Stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 One problem I have found with steel is that if its been in very low temperatures for any length of time it is a lot less effective. The powder used for steel does not seem to work well in very cold conditions and by cold I mean lower than -10C for perhaps 24 hours. I have found this to my cost twice when I left shells in my car over night. Fortunetly on the last occasion I had some spare shells that had been kept at room temperature and they worked fine. From the cold shells I dropped one wigeon ( but not dead ) for 10 shots , though 4 others were clearly hit including 2 that got up and flew again just before my dog reached them. From the warm shells I dropped 6 birds for 7 shots and no runners. I do agree with misser that on the first night of a strong gale the geese will battle it out to their roost. While on succeding nights fewer geese apear , but how much is due to fighting the head wind or how much is due to a combination of wind and being frightened the previous night I am not sure as I have known this to happen on calm nights too. I can remember one night on the Wash when the geese were feeding just behind the sea wall. My friend and I dropped 6 from the sea wall as they made there short flight out to the roost. There were 10,000 plus pinks that came out in two waves. All apeared to settle on the roost and I returned to try and find a lost goose at dawn the next morning. Only 17 pinks came in off the roost . The remainder had cleared off during the night. Had one stroke of luck though. I found the missing goose , it had lain unseen 10 yards away from where another fowler had done the morning flight!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misser Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 have also seen as per anser 2 says, thousands going back...following morning thinking itll be a decent flight and hey ho...nowt....that's the beauty and unpredictability of wildfowling.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawntredder Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 When the wind and rain is on that's when the duck shooting is at its best,especially on Lindisfarne....fantastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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