Intro

Donalmit

Hi All,

Just found this forum today. I didnt know that there was an Irish only hunting bulletin board available (great stuff). I live just outside Slane, Co Meath and am a member of the local Gunclub. I hunt over a lab and 2 GWPs. We rear and release 400 cocks each year and the returns for the past 2 years have been really exceptional ie over 75%. I am wondering if other clubs are seeing this sort of improvement lately or are we suddenly getting a huge number of neighbouring birds that prefer our ground? I am planning to rear 50 partridge myself this year and, if others have done so in the past, is there anything I need to look out for that would be different to rearing Pheasants? Where would the best place be to get day olds, and what should I be willing to pay for them. Sorry about all the questions.
Cheers,
Dónal

thehair

Donalmit wrote: »

Hi All,

Just found this forum today. I didnt know that there was an Irish only hunting bulletin board available (great stuff). I live just outside Slane, Co Meath and am a member of the local Gunclub. I hunt over a lab and 2 GWPs. We rear and release 400 cocks each year and the returns for the past 2 years have been really exceptional ie over 75%. I am wondering if other clubs are seeing this sort of improvement lately or are we suddenly getting a huge number of neighbouring birds that prefer our ground? I am planning to rear 50 partridge myself this year and, if others have done so in the past, is there anything I need to look out for that would be different to rearing Pheasants? Where would the best place be to get day olds, and what should I be willing to pay for them. Sorry about all the questions.
Cheers,
Dónal

hello donal and welcome i only shoot crow and field target
donal have a look and enjoy steve
http://www.nargc.ie/Upload/Docs/NARG...ETY-MANUAL.pdf :cool:

Donalmit

Sorry Steve,

Brain must be switched off; dont get ya....

Dónal

thehair

Donalmit wrote: »

Sorry Steve,

Brain must be switched off; dont get ya....

Dónal

the link is from N A R G E .ie web site safety book to read:)

Donalmit

So?

Vegeta

Hey Donal welcome to boards. There is some great info on here and some great lads. We have our bitching sessions but life would be boring if we all agreed.

Sounds like you are in a fairly active gun club and have a decent bit of knowledge to share with us.

On the partridge, the gun club next door to our one have been releasing them for a year or two. The only thing I have learned is that compared to pheasants they will group (covey) around the feeders and will not travel very far from the hoppers you put out to feed them. I cannot remember specifics (I think certain strains will stray farther than others) but will talk to the brother about them and get the details.

Vegeta

Donalmit wrote: »

So?

Just a handy thing to have. I don't think he means anything by it

thehair

Donalmit wrote: »

So?

donal i am not saying you are not a safe person to have a firearm
the link when you or me go to renew my rifle cert the fire arms officer
can ask have you read the safety book I.E link new law i think will
be in force by 31 july steve it is my way off saying hello

Donalmit

Thanks Vegeta,

Thanks for the welcome. We released 30 or so adults over the past couple of years and never saw them again (Redlegs) lol. Hoping that if I rear them from day olds they will stick around a bit longer.

Dónal

Donalmit

Hi Steve,

No offence taken..Didnt know the new law. Shooting over 30 years now without incident but "you never know"!!

Dónal

thehair

Donalmit wrote: »

Hi Steve,

No offence taken..Didnt know the new law. Shooting over 30 years now without incident but "you never know"!!

Dónal

i am new to shooting i could learn a lot from you looking forward
to reading and asking question in the future;)steve
no offence taken you want to see some off my ans:eek:lol:D

Hezz700

welcome aboard Donal:)

you sound like you''ll fit in just nicely around here.

Hezz

Vegeta

Donalmit wrote: »

Thanks Vegeta,

Thanks for the welcome. We released 30 or so adults over the past couple of years and never saw them again (Redlegs) lol. Hoping that if I rear them from day olds they will stick around a bit longer.

Dónal

Did you have feeders/hoppers out for them? What's vermin control like at the club? (its crap in ours, yours sounds pretty organised as far as clubs go)

The guy who was releasing them near us said post release they would make their way back to the original pen and feeder (bit of a pain, expect for training setters ). He advises putting a hopper at the release area and they will hold around that.

They are a bird known for staying in groups. Odd you never saw any of the 30 again.

As I said I will get some more info from my brother (another hunting fanatic) and get back to you.

How do you find the GWP, I hear loads of praise for them. For years we have hunted with springers/cockers but this year due to our cocker getting knocked down (escaped while my brother was at work) we bought a trained lab and setter. Should be an interesting season for us.

Hezz700

Veg,

We NEVER bitch in this forum:D its a downright scurrilous lie and i demand an immediate apology:D:D:D:D:D:D

Hezz

Vegeta

Hezz700 wrote: »

Veg,

We NEVER bitch in this forum:D its a downright scurrilous lie and i demand an immediate apology:D:D:D:D:D:D

Hezz

I sincerely apologise that you took offence to my factual post, you have clearly gotten as soft as a small girl who cries a lot and I should take this into consideration when posting around such fragile creatures



joke, just in case tone is lost in text

whitser

welcome donalmit,welcome.

bunny shooter

Hello, welcome, please feel free join join in in any bi..chfesting that grabs you're attention

foxshooter243

welcome fellow jaegermeister:D

mallards

Hi Donal,

I've released both greys and red legs. the greys will covey until the next spring and the reds will break of into ones and two's soon after release. remember if releasing either don't clip their wings like you might do with pheasants as the moult pattern is different and they will be on one wing for a good while!!


Cheers,

Mallards

jwshooter

thehair wrote: »

hello donal and welcome i only shoot crow and field target
donal have a look and enjoy steve
http://www.nargc.ie/Upload/Docs/NARG...ETY-MANUAL.pdf :cool:

welcome ,are the wgp any gud have three myself ,had a few rashers in the ole post office this morning

Donalmit

Hi Veg & Co,

We released ours beside the pen they had been kept in with a few feeders to hold them there. One story coming back from the first year was that a farmer had spotted a convoy of 12-15 walking the edge of the road about 2 miles from the pen. That was the end of them. Now I have just heard that one of our idiot members decided to hunt his new spaniel through the group we released last year. I have therefore decided to rear some myself this year. I can use them for dog training (bringing on a nice pup at the moment) and shoot a few during the season also. I only started back into the german pointers a few years ago. I used to have shorthairs 30 years ago when shooting in Roscommon but they were poorly trained bird crunchers. Great hunters though....Went to springers for a while and now I just couldent be bothered sprinting 200 yards up a plowed field just to see the tail feathers disappearing into the distance. My fault for not steading the springers correctly, of course. Not the dogs fault.
Mallard, thanks for the info. Did the greys survive for a few years? did they ever breed? and are they easier/more difficult to rear than the reds? Do you have anyone in mind that could sell about 50 day olds to me? I have spent the past few days getting a pen ready. I will post a few pics when it is completed.
JW. I have a 2.5yo bitch that does fine as a hunting dog; not a strong retriever from water though. I have a year old dog that is showing some promise but next season will tell the tale. I also have a pretty good lab that I use exclusively for ducks. I live in Rosnaree on the way over to Donore. I have been breakfasting in the OPO almost every Wed, Sat and Sun for the past 15 years. Our paths have surely crossed.....What gun club are you a member of?

Talk soon,

Dónal

stevoman

welcome donalmit. great to see more pheasent shooters on the forum!

Donalmit

Stevoman,

Yeah, my partner thinks I am a complete hunting fanatic. Mostly pheasants, duck and woodcock in season. Out of season I shoot up to 2000 pigeons and crows per year. I also trap for Greys and Magpies this time of year. My mate and his dad do most of the fox/vermin control year round and that is the main reason for the successful return on pheasant numbers. My partners fear is that I might take up fishing; if that happens then I am "history"....dont think I will test her..lol..

mallards

Hi Donal,

To be honest I never found much difference between reds and greys rearing them. But they are like chalk and cheese to release. For greys I set a small pen out like this,



It has a mesh roof. I only put about 10 greys in the pen. After about a week I let one or two out. Every other week I do the same until they are all out. I only put 10 to start for two reasons,
A) If they break out after a while, which has been known as the release pens are temporary affairs, they will move off in a super covey and best to loose 10 birds than 50!
Also when about 8 have been released they seem to be self sufficient as a group and will settle at that round the release area. If you let more than 10 or 12 out then they will break off into 2 or 3 groups, and as only one group will hold territory around the release area, the rest will feck off to your neighbours ground!.

When you release the birds the others in the pen will call them back in. Use this to your advantage and keep some in the pen as long as you can but have them all out before the season starts of course.
The greys are a savage bird to hunt but be careful, when flushe dthey make great sport but will land again only a field or two away. It would be easy for them to be shot out in on day if lads were like that.

The reds are a different fish, The pen is the same but when you release them they will fly away easily so let them out gently, again in ones and two's. For a day or two they will stay around the pen but within a week they will keep in touch with the one in the pen but from a field or two away. You always find though one or two will stay by the pen, but the rest will spread out like your pheasants.

The reds tend to run a bit at first rather than fly like the greys but all you need to do is get the dog on them and they soon get the idea come the start of the season.

I have been trying to breed them in the wild on my shoot especially the greys. Last year I only released red poults and adult greys earlier in the year. We hunted the greys over pointers and GSPs before any of the release birds were let out. The idea was that if we flushed a covey then it had to wild reared. Sadly no confirmed breeding yet in the wild although there still are past years birds about. We release on to hilly pasture, rough grass and bog. They seem to like this well. The reds maybe go for drier ground but you can find them nearly anywhere. I know that the reared birds don't do that well in the wild anyway due to them being selected for the ammount of eggs they produce rather than their incubating and mothering skills. This could be a reason for low hatch rates in them. I do have a plan to let wild pairs 'adopt' some released poults and rear them in the wild. This would give me a better chance of getting wild broods next year but we will see.

Also there is more meat on the red and is not as dark as the grey. My missus doesn't eat game as it is too.....Gamey as she says. But will happily eat a red as she says it tastes like... yes you guessed it....Chicken!

I don't have a contact for greys at the moment as the guy we get them off is packing it in due to ill health, but when I find an alternative I will PM you. I have Pm'd you the details of a guy in west Meath that could sort you out with reds.

Cheers,

Mallards.

jwshooter

Donalmit wrote: »

Hi Veg & Co,

We released ours beside the pen they had been kept in with a few feeders to hold them there. One story coming back from the first year was that a farmer had spotted a convoy of 12-15 walking the edge of the road about 2 miles from the pen. That was the end of them. Now I have just heard that one of our idiot members decided to hunt his new spaniel through the group we released last year. I have therefore decided to rear some myself this year. I can use them for dog training (bringing on a nice pup at the moment) and shoot a few during the season also. I only started back into the german pointers a few years ago. I used to have shorthairs 30 years ago when shooting in Roscommon but they were poorly trained bird crunchers. Great hunters though....Went to springers for a while and now I just couldent be bothered sprinting 200 yards up a plowed field just to see the tail feathers disappearing into the distance. My fault for not steading the springers correctly, of course. Not the dogs fault.
Mallard, thanks for the info. Did the greys survive for a few years? did they ever breed? and are they easier/more difficult to rear than the reds? Do you have anyone in mind that could sell about 50 day olds to me? I have spent the past few days getting a pen ready. I will post a few pics when it is completed.
JW. I have a 2.5yo bitch that does fine as a hunting dog; not a strong retriever from water though. I have a year old dog that is showing some promise but next season will tell the tale. I also have a pretty good lab that I use exclusively for ducks. I live in Rosnaree on the way over to Donore. I have been breakfasting in the OPO almost every Wed, Sat and Sun for the past 15 years. Our paths have surely crossed.....What gun club are you a member of?

Talk soon,

Dónal

hope its not the big hearty you have three times a week ,was on the way to mill hill to shoot the irish open i too have a pup in training going to be a ringer of bell

stevoman

Donalmit wrote: »

Stevoman,

Yeah, my partner thinks I am a complete hunting fanatic. Mostly pheasants, duck and woodcock in season. Out of season I shoot up to 2000 pigeons and crows per year. I also trap for Greys and Magpies this time of year. My mate and his dad do most of the fox/vermin control year round and that is the main reason for the successful return on pheasant numbers. My partners fear is that I might take up fishing; if that happens then I am "history"....dont think I will test her..lol..

Oh the fishing would be the nail in the coffin alright! thwe women just dont understand! Im decoy myself and am bringing on a pup this year which i hope will pay off on Nov 1st. I also ferret and help the lads out with their larsen traps. Great to chat to like minded people!