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E27N_JD
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i'd like to join my local club, i am new to wildfowling. having shot pheasants, pigeons,rabbits ect i now want to try my luck wildfowling.

can anybody tell me what kit i would need to buy to be able to go wildfowling. best gun for the money, cartridge,size brand ect.

thanks. E27N_JD

 

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A 3 inch chambered steel proof gun is needed for serious wildfowling. Do not worry about spending too much money on your first gun its needs to be robust to stand up to the mud and wet and a second hand gun in good condition may fit the bill . As for side by side , Over and Under or Semi Auto all have there advantages and drawbacks pick one that suits you , but be wary of super magnums , they are fine if you are going to be mainly shooting geese , but difficult to hit duck with in poor light until you get experianced with them. If after a season or two then you can think about a new gun and if you do much goose shooting you will want to upgrade to a 3.5 inch chambered gun. You will need a good waterproof and warm coat similar to the one you are already using when pigeon shooting. As for cartridges you will not go far wrong with Gamebore mammoths, RCs or Eley Lightnings 3 for duck and BB for geese. Thigh waders are important for coastal and many opt for waist or chest waders. Its not so much the depth of water you will be wading through , but more the places you are likely to be sitting in or kneeling to shoot. I would not worry about decoys to start with though a hide may come in handy on some marshes. Ask when you join your club. Attend as many meeting as you can and you will soon make friends in the club who in turn will show you the marsh and the dos and dont's and with luck will show you a few good spots. Do not spend to much on fowling gear until you decide its the sport for you , but three items I would suggest , a tide table and a compass , both may save your life one day and think about getting yourself a gundog . You will be shooting over water at times and much of the flighting will be at dawn or dusk in poor light making it hard to find any downed birds.

 

One final point read as much as you can about the sport , there are some very goods books out there.

 

Be aware though , if you catch the fowling bug there is no cure , but in my opinion it is by far the most exciting of all the shooting sports and the rewards come not just from the bag , but also the magic sights and sounds you will experiance wile pitting yourself against a wild quarry between the ever changing tides of the coast.

Edited by anser2
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Good advice on a dog , and some clubs insist on it .

I know some manage without but for me personally I could not contemplate being on the marsh without one be cause they will put birds that would be lost into your bag .

 

Only Tuesday night I shot at a pair of wigeon , thinking I had missed the first I changed to the second which was presenting a better shot , I dropped that one and was dismayed when the dog despite my protests headed off in the wrong direction , he returned a couple of mins later with a winged cock wigeon in his mouth , he had seen it drop while I was occupied with the second one .

 

If I did not have a dog with me I would not even have looked for the bird thinking I had clean missed it.

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brilliant advice thank you. i have my miroku i use for general shooting but i don't really want to run steel through it. what guns would you guys recommend

 

I think it is fair to say that most fowlers prefer to use a semi auto now days not all but most .

 

If it was me personally I would buy a good quality 3.5" chambered gun , 3" should suffice for most of your shooting but it is nice to have the option of heavier loads should they be required .

I would also opt for synthetic stocked gun that is designed with wildfowling in mind , that will help avoid rust and wet issues , the camouflage coatings that come on many guns now days also help in that respect.

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brilliant thankyou ill take a look at a maxus or an escort :good:

 

The Escort would never get on any list of mine !

Perhaps the best value gun at the moment is the Winchester sx3 , don't consider the cheapest black shadow version though as they are prone to rust .

Other good buys would be a Beretta xtrema 2 ( if you can find one ) and Maxus, I use a Remington versamax which has been problem free for the last three seasons.

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There is nothing wrong with a hatson auto bought mine four years a go it is the 3.5 inch chambers with synthetic stock bought it at the shooting show for £300 put thousands of cartridges through it never jams up if you use 70mm cases or above will sometimes jam if using 65mm cases.Last year went out on the punt with the big gun on was out all day never had chance of a shot decided at 3pm to head home with a rowof two miles half way from home with dusk approaching fast five widgeon flew over me and landed 80 yards in front luckily I had not unloaded the big gun so decided to have a go at them got down and gently paddled towards them got to about 60 yards I could just see they getting uneasy so pulled the lanyard and let the left barrel of a great bang and a cloud of smoke started to row to them 3 stone dead and one swimming 20 yards away got the hatson out put three cartridges in gave it a shot just has it was going to dive started to flap so rested thehatson on the deck next to the big gun lent over to pick the duck but it lunged forward I grabbed it but rocked the punt sending the hatson into 20 feet of water what was I going to do now.Attached to the big gun I have a nylon rope with a 5litre plastic container filled withexpanded foam and painted orange just in case I hit a big wave and lost the gun over board.I undid it from the gun and tied to the anchor and through it over board. Next morning when the water had gone I went back to find my gun found the marker but could not see gun in a seaof mud then trod on it picked it up covered in mud left the cartridges in it an took it home then washed it of in hot water and emptied the magazine then put it on the aga for 24 hours a good spray of oil as good as new. If you want a cheap gun that will take some abuse it may be the gun for you.

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i'd like to join my local club, i am new to wildfowling. having shot pheasants, pigeons,rabbits ect i now want to try my luck wildfowling.

can anybody tell me what kit i would need to buy to be able to go wildfowling. best gun for the money, cartridge,size brand ect.

thanks. E27N_JD

 

 

Cartridges upto your choice mate, i usually keep 32g 4's, 36g 3's these be enough for you if you strict yourself to shoot ur quarry in reasonable ranges. Gun wise dont go for wood try to go for synthetic, again depends on ur budget and what mounts/suits you well. As you been into other shooting so you would already have wellies in addition you need decent waders (neoprene). I went for one over e bay not too expensive and they work brilliantly. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hug-Flight-5mm-Neoprene-Camo-Chest-Waders-Fishing-Shooting-Waterproof-Boot-/361282577928?var=&hash=item541e1ea608:m:mWlAQjlMtRSGQbN5vsIrHNA .Don't think you need any decoys for now, as the club you be joining you probably be going to have a mentor (difference clubs different rules you might need to be a probationary member for a year or 2). I love wildfowling, but it is not easy for lots people... the worst the weather is the better day you might have :D. Gud luck

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As you can see E27-JD, there is never a shortage of good advice for the new fowler. Only trouble is everyone has their own opinion.

Try find a mentor who has been at it for a long time and has tried all these different theories.

The world is full of two season 'expert' fowlers. I've been learning for well over fifty years and I still change my mind on a regular basis.

Anser2 gave good advice on his reply. Keep it cheap and simple. Can't think how many new guys I have taken out who have only lasted one season - or even less!

It is not a sport for the feint hearted or those of a delicate disposition. A morning flight out on the Wash marshes in a force eight with a rising tide is not quite the same as sitting in a pigeon hide... A bit of rain or snow makes you wonder why the hell you do it too...

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Some good advice above you need a good coat for sure, waders are not nessasarily needed all places but there will most probably be a time quyite soon when you will need them.

Dogs or well trained dogs are nesesary you can get by without one some places but by and large you will need one.

Guns. Dont rush out and blow a load of your hard earned on the curent in vouge waterfowl special, you can certainly for a start probably get by with the gun/ guns you already have, a three inch gun is ok, and many newer modeld beretta browning etc are three inch chamber as standard on the O/Us semis etc, so you may well have a three inch capable gun but just never needed it.

Get out and find out for yourself exactly what you can and can not cope with then start looking around and buying the gun you need rather than what others expect you will need with their own spin on it based on what they most probably own or favour.

Trouble is with guns esspecialy if you buy new you are 100% every time going to lose money if what you get is not what you want.

Dont overlook old either, some great old guns out there perfect for wilfowling the Remington 1100s the browning long recoil A5 older SBEs and Extrema mk1s all can be bought used and sold easily for what you got them for or perhaps even more. This forum is as good a place as any to pick up a used wildfowl gun should you decide you need one. Three of the guns i curently own came off these pages over the past few years.

Edited by TONY R
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i'd like to join my local club, i am new to wildfowling. having shot pheasants, pigeons,rabbits ect i now want to try my luck wildfowling.

can anybody tell me what kit i would need to buy to be able to go wildfowling. best gun for the money, cartridge,size brand ect.

thanks. E27N_JD

 

There is a lot of differences in what and where you go fowling

 

Some clubs the lads like little or no choke and light shells as they mainly shoot over floods and flashes

 

Others it's pure flighting and heavy shells tight chokes and magnums are the thing

 

Decoys etc? Again depends I know some guys who likely don't have any after many years others who like me have rather too many

 

Dogs? All for it won't shoot without one but I also know some clubs that actually don't allow them. OK others say no dog no shoot

 

It honestly depends I recomend you join first and then quiz the members what they think

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When you say join your local wildfowling club where do you live and how far are you from the area you intend to shoot over ?

 

There is some excellent advice from the members above but one post that was close to the mark was Grandalf , a hardened fowler with many years of experience under his belt.

 

Like he said , on your first year keep it simple , if your gun you use now can use steel well that will be fine to begin with , warm clothing and waterproofs plus a decent pair of water boots would also be a good start.

 

Why I asked how far away are you from the marshes or foreshore is normally that will determine how often you will be going out , most clubs work on the basis the first year you join you will have to go with a mentor for the first six times out , so if you only intend going a few times you will have company each time you go , and by the end of the season you will have a better idea weather fowling is for you or you will stick to pigeon shooting .

 

I would say for every 10 who take up wildfowling only 1 or 2 will still be keen and active after five years , the rest will get fed up with the sights and sounds after the rain have found it way down most parts of your body and your bag is the same weight going home as when you started out . Good luck if you give a go , you never know you might be 1 of them still doing it after five years.

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Most don't last to join a second season others are just nuts and never get out of it till thier body says enough. Some pay no attention to what thier body says and still crack on

I know what your saying Kent , for the last year or two my head can still do it but my body don't always do what my head want it to do as far as fowling goes . :yes:

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Some pay no attention to what thier body says and still crack on

I can relate to that Kent after the last 2 seasons of having health problems. .

 

I found myself this year really having to push myself to get up and get out there at times due to my health ..That's the first year out of the 27 years I've been fowling I've ever had to think twice about going fowling ...

Edited by washwildfowler
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I have two mates that come to mind one who had a good old dose of the big c another who had a heart attack both went out same season as thier treatment

The heart attack victim put it like this to a guy who questioned his sanity " no point surviving it if you don't do nothing with it is it now?"

I think all true hunters have a respect for the value of actually living over spending your life dodging the reaper

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i have been shooting the wash since 1969 so its been a long while as you can imagine i have some very good memories of the old days when there were many more fowl on the marshes there are still the odd time you can have a good flight or two if you are lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.i like some of the above still use the marshes i did probably 20 to 30 flights this year caught up with a few duck but blanked on the geese through poor shooting on my part i met a lot of old friends and made a few new ones as well . i like others on here take it steady now being careful on what i cross and where i go i dont have a problem motivating myself when i am there or getting up at silly oclock but tend to take the easy routs on and off the marsh some times only going out two to three hundred yards from the bank as small creeks seem to get wider every year i still enjoy my fowling and the day i dont i will cash my chips in but not yet i hope i will be 68 this year and hope to carry on for many more seasons yet if my health lets me i think anybody who put in the effort and time this year did reasonably well i dont see many youngsters joining our sport and wonder were it will be in twenty years time with no new blood coming in to it i shoot mostly in the week so perhaps there may be a few youngsters weekend i dont know car parks in the week seem empty now to years ago is this a sign of the times i dont know hope not or the only people able to afford the shooting rights will be RSPB in the future as the clubs wont have the finances to pay for the leases they hold . any way guns cleaned decoys put away already eagerly anticipating next year hopefully i will get a goose if i shoot straighter next year. so until then old friends and new have a good summer and cant wait til September

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I have two mates that come to mind one who had a good old dose of the big c another who had a heart attack both went out same season as thier treatment

The heart attack victim put it like this to a guy who questioned his sanity " no point surviving it if you don't do nothing with it is it now?"

I think all true hunters have a respect for the value of actually living over spending your life dodging the reaper

I was out fowling 4 Days after mine .. a good friend agreed to have a steady walk out for a pink .. we did mange a shot but nothing in the bag fortunately. ..

 

You have to keep going ...

Edited by washwildfowler
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