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Early Season Mallard!


johnnytheboy
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For some reason I just can bring myself to shoot early season mallard, instagram is full of the pictures of huge bags of immature birds, I know everyone wants to be an internet legend but shooting out all the young ducks just doesn’t seem like fowling that I know! Most of these pictures are full of birds in eclipse! Just doesn’t seem right! 

Is early season not for shooting a few park geese for the table before the migrants and proper fowling weather arrive? 

Or is shooting 20 plus young mallard the done thing these days? 

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17 minutes ago, johnnytheboy said:

For some reason I just can bring myself to shoot early season mallard, instagram is full of the pictures of huge bags of immature birds, I know everyone wants to be an internet legend but shooting out all the young ducks just doesn’t seem like fowling that I know! Most of these pictures are full of birds in eclipse! Just doesn’t seem right! 

Is early season not for shooting a few park geese for the table before the migrants and proper fowling weather arrive? 

Or is shooting 20 plus young mallard the done thing these days? 

Just my opinion but shooting Park Geese would be no different or better. The Feral Greylag and Canada geese i shoot are equally as wild as Pinks and you certainly won't get them by throwing Bread about will calling here Goosey Goose

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Myself and a couple of others from this forum shot 13 mallard yesterday morning. One or two were on the young side, but they were a decent size and flew well enough. I don't see too much of a problem with it, the same as I don't have an issue with shooting young pinks when they arrive.

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23 minutes ago, motty said:

Myself and a couple of others from this forum shot 13 mallard yesterday morning. One or two were on the young side, but they were a decent size and flew well enough. I don't see too much of a problem with it, the same as I don't have an issue with shooting young pinks when they arrive.

Agree also a Eclipse Bird is a Adult having moulted and not got its full winter colours so would possibly look like a young bird

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September 1st is about a lot more than shooting a few duck. For me its a tradition, and the atmosphere of early season fowling that you never capture later on in the season.I must confess its rare that I target geese ( though if the odd bird comes in shot I will usually have a go at it ) until the weather cools down mainly because I find they go off so quickly in hot temperatures and need dressing out within hours of being shot.

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All down to the individual, some people won't change all their shooting life

I as others like just to be out with gun and dog was out on the 1st managed a few mallard between 2 of us and were away before they stopped coming in to give them a safe place for the day, think they had a decent breeding year as they 80+% were good sized birds and were very alert this early in the season. 

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It's all about tradition and a few birds for me

From next year i will start taking the wee man and showing him that hunting is not just putting decoys out and blasting pigeons; there is so much more to it and the lead up to the 1st day should be the most exciting part; not the bag count. next year i'm hoping to get to camp for a few days on the marsh; collect shellfish, bring the roads, and make an all outdoor few days for him.

I've been to 32 opening days of which 20 with my own gun and still can't sleep the night before ....

i never shoot big bag on first day and I often prefer to sit and watch once i got enough for the pot (if i'm lucky). I' m not talking geese here, i know they're pest but ducks probably need more care.  I would not want the 1st to go from my calendar but we know  that if we expose ourselves and are not careful, things will be imposed upon us so... let's think about it. 

 

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3 minutes ago, guy baxendale said:

I'm with you Johnny - just don't find the prospect of shooting mallard in T shirt weather that appealing. Roll on the migrants !

I would love a go at some resident geese but haven't managed to wangle it this year

To each their own, I wait till the midges have gone :oops:...for me the season could start and finish a month later

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20 hours ago, anser2 said:

September 1st is about a lot more than shooting a few duck. For me its a tradition, and the atmosphere of early season fowling that you never capture later on in the season.I must confess its rare that I target geese ( though if the odd bird comes in shot I will usually have a go at it ) until the weather cools down mainly because I find they go off so quickly in hot temperatures and need dressing out within hours of being shot.

I would have agreed with that but somehow the shine is taken off it for me! Every bloody gorse bush has someone in it on the first! I just don’t feel the same about the first! I think social media has a lot to answer for. However as soon as I hear that wink wink over the house that’s it! The hairs on my back stand on end! 

I just don’t get shooting huge bags of junville mallard like it’s pigeon shooting and plastering it all over social media? 

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2 hours ago, grahamch said:

Young birds of the year. We still have 3 week old ducklings locally

You are aware that it's not compulsory to shoot birds just because they are in season? 

And that there are adult birds present early in the season as well? 

Clubs can educate shooters on best practice, the majority of people exercise restraint early in the season 

1 hour ago, guy baxendale said:

Agreed - certainly till the end of Feb

Below mean high tide the season ends on the 20th of Feb, would you extend this season by a month into March then? if you make the season start a month later coastal fowlers are losing a month at the start of the season for a gain of eight days at the end. 

Leave the season as it is. 

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2 hours ago, ClemFandango said:

You are aware that it's not compulsory to shoot birds just because they are in season? 

And that there are adult birds present early in the season as well? 

Clubs can educate shooters on best practice, the majority of people exercise restraint early in the season 

Below mean high tide the season ends on the 20th of Feb, would you extend this season by a month into March then? if you make the season start a month later coastal fowlers are losing a month at the start of the season for a gain of eight days at the end. 

Leave the season as it is. 

It would make more sense if the season started on the 20 th September and finished the same day as the coastal below high water mark on 20th February , I don't think the coastal boys would be to concerned as very few go the first three weeks anyhow , you would then stand a chance of having more favorable weather for wild fowling and by then the fowl should be in peak condition .

It always seem a daft law with the 20 extra days in February for the coastal boys how you can shoot a duck one side of the river bank but not the other side which might only be a matter of a few yards away , things might have been slightly different when there was more punt gunning going on around the country but when I was talking to one of the hardy punt gunners at one of the game fairs he recon there are no more than fifty active punt gunners left in the country , this was a few years back and there now might be a few less than that number .

 

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I don't start until October as I don't like bringing down immature birds but have no problem with those who go out early season or those who may be skilful enough to pick out mature birds. Each to their own I suppose. A bit hypocritical really as I don't fret about younger birds in a bag of pigeons :hmm:

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Graham u cant put the season back because of young birds i agree lot of wildfowlers should be a bit more restrained shooting big bags Ive seen migrant birds coming in off the shore later on in the season flying straight into the decoys While were shooting them there mates still following With no fear It comes down to experience of the ducks as well they soon learn Which makes it harder for us hunters and in my opinion more enjoyable 

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2 hours ago, marsh man said:

It would make more sense if the season started on the 20 th September and finished the same day as the coastal below high water mark on 20th February , I don't think the coastal boys would be to concerned as very few go the first three weeks anyhow , you would then stand a chance of having more favorable weather for wild fowling and by then the fowl should be in peak condition .

It always seem a daft law with the 20 extra days in February for the coastal boys how you can shoot a duck one side of the river bank but not the other side which might only be a matter of a few yards away , things might have been slightly different when there was more punt gunning going on around the country but when I was talking to one of the hardy punt gunners at one of the game fairs he recon there are no more than fifty active punt gunners left in the country , this was a few years back and there now might be a few less than that number .

 

With all due respect. 

Don't generalise, I know plenty of foreshore gunners that are out on the 1st. Myself included, as I have been since I was a child with my father and grandfather and will continue to. 

Admittedly the shooting is quite restrained but it is possible to pick out mature birds, this year I shot a single drake teal out of about a dozen opportunities. 

If you extend the inland season at the expense of the extra days in September I will lose out and I'm not happy about that suggestion. 

Also, September is the only month of the year where it is still light enough to get my lad out on the marsh during the week after school. After that I am limited to weekends and school holidays. 

As for extending the inland season to match the season below the high tide I have no objection. I assume that the thinking behind it was that resident birds will be more likely to be inland whereas migrants may stay on the foreshore? 

I am also one of those fifty or less active puntgunners you speak of and will be until I can't physically drag myself into the punt anymore. I don't usually even think about punting until the weather comes in hard and the birds pack up which is usually early January. 

Edited by ClemFandango
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43 minutes ago, motty said:

I don't see any reason why the season start/end should change. Starting later would mean missing the start of the goose migration.

I don't do much foreshore shooting in September, but I enjoy my few visits.

Up the Wash is slightly different than down here ,  We don't see any goose migration till the third week of September , the only geese we have down this way are mainly the semi domesticated ones from the Broads , when I say semi domesticated , I also mean fairly tame , when I was shooting pigeons just before the new season started I went to give my dog a swim in the nearby reservoir there was 100+ Greys resting on the opposite side from where I was , I chucked a dummy in the water for the dog and the geese just walked straight in the water and started to swim towards the dog , by the time my dog brought the dummy back they were about half way across so I chucked it again to see how he would react with the geese , by the time he swam out and got the geese were no more than 30yds away and couldn't care less about me standing there, agree , they soon get street wise but the early wild fowl shooting is no longer for me .

At the end of the day no one forces you to go early September , so I have nothing against those who do go out early in the season , but sport wise , I am happy to leave it alone for a few weeks

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