blackstairs boy

Republic of Ireland the season is November 1st to January 31st. Most shooting is on Sundays and some gun clubs have a Sunday only rule.

If you have chokes for it I would recommend that you use cylinder and quarter chokes with 7 shot .. let pigeons in close about 30 yards and shoot as though you really mean it swing hard at the bird shoot and keep swinging with your head down and looking at the bird and never the gun barrels . When you kill a few you will gain confidence and then you can tighten up the chokes a bit to extend your range. I am not a fan of tight chokes or large shot and do all my shooting with either cylinder quarter or at a push half. every one to there own though, ATB

I agree with the above post there is no point in making big bags of woodies over stubble where they are doing no damage in august. The birds will either be nesting or else you will be shooting young and foolish birds who do not provide such a sporting challenge as an adult bird. I will of course shoot if the farmer asks me to get rid of woodies on flattened barley but do so reluctantly and I do not worry to much if I shoot badly and the most I do is frighten the daylights out of the birds ..... True they are pests but without pigeons alot of shooters such as myself would have no shooting... I

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Hi Lads, Just a quick poll to see where all the Wildfowlers are heading on the opening day. Are you heading inland for a flightpond or stubbles or maybe walking up rivers and drains or are you heading to the coastal marshes or out beyond the seawall to the foreshore. Just let me know where your heading at dawn or dusk so we can see what the most popular choice of location is!!! Cheers Boy

well lad, I ll go for a hunt with you if you want to folly me up to carlow. We will get our dogs together and face her for mt leinster You take the high road and i ll take the low road in me little suzuki jeep beep beep dowt t litel dittle dee i de dieetle on de dittledo ( so on so foward ) No seriously lad i am nowt but an ordinary man nothing special nothing grand i ve had to work for everything i own with a handshake and a cheque it seems easy to forget loyalty to the bad times and the good.... now the gamekeeper says he sad, cause the vermin are so mad but the lords of the hunt will never

Cheers bell. I ll have to sus out the situation there this year.

Well lads, I have just read a book called rough shooting in ireland by douglas butler (excellent book) and in it he tells tales of shooting duck (mainly mallard) over stubbles both at dawn and dusk. I shoot on land that grows both barley and wheat and is not far from a large shoot that rears plenty of mallard each year. So my question is how do i know where the duck are feeding, Is there a chance of them feeding on my patch (it is bordered by a smaller river that might act as a flight line) and is barley or wheat better? please give me any advice you may have and check out my other post in t

I started the same as you knowing nothing and with a father that did not hunt or fish. What you need to do if you are keen like i was is to approach people who shoot and ask to help if you are sensible polite and eager they will be more than happy to help you. I am not bragging but with that approach i now have free fishing on top salmon rivers shooting on lots of land and a whole pile of friends. when you have learned a bit then go and buy a gun or a dog. You need a bit of experience before buying a gun. all the best boy

I would keep at it pal. I had a labrador type before and she was like that sometimes she would work cover well and other times she would not. But when she worked there is no other springer that i have ever saw that was as good as her and that is a fact. Even when it seems that she is only walking around you and not hunting it may suprise you to find that she is scenting all the time. besides maybe she is more interested in pheasants than rabbits and i would advise you to do some dogging in next sep / oct you may be suprised at how much difference a few months might make.. stick at it mate.

Thanks lads What i m really wondering is when the big river about a couple of miles away floods will this drive ducks to the flooded splashes and meadows along my little river. When rivers flood what way do ducks react do they move of the river and on to little splashes or do they make for big lakes and other sheltered areas. The reason I am wondering is a book i read told stories of how when there river flooded the fowlers would get shooting that evening without feeding or prior reconnicence. I am wondering how they knew what spots to go to. Did they learn from experience or is there certai

it is usually a big flood for 3 days or so and the retreats leaving a few pools... could i just go down the evening of a big flood and see whats happening then? will duck move along the river in the evening of a flood?

Hi lads, I ve just got some new permission to shoot on a farm that is bordered by a middle size river. The river is about 15 metres wide and 1 to 2 metres deep. My shooting land that borders it is lowlying grassland that always floods. There is not an abundance of duck on the river but there is a large wildfowling club 3 miles away that releases alot of duck. I wonder what are the best tactics i should employ to maximise my shooting. When the pasture has flooded should i set up a few decoys in a likely pool and sit in for an evening or would I be best walking the duck up at first light. Any

I really feel for all you lads in england who have to beg for shooting or pay through your nose for it.. I pay 50 euro annually to have the rights ove 10000 acres of land for rough shooting pheasants pigeons rabbits duck and best of all woodcock. I pay another 40 euro insurance and im away...bags are not big my best day was two cock pheasants, brace of woodcock, half a dozen snipe and a couple of pigeons. Might be modest to you in england but that is a very good bag. Many blanks but who cares. The best thing of all is that i set of at dawn with a brace of spaniels and return at dusk sometimes