good day?

whitser

how did lads get on at weekend? was the first a disaster or did everything go well?
i was out with my hounds sunday and had some excellent hunting and got some more work for my terrier but the fox outwitted us all and ran for another day.

k_d

first day out and brought my springer, never had him out before. was only 10 minutes in a field and he put up a lovely bird,1st shot missed...to far away for 2nd,

driving down road to another spot, got me a driveby shot....seen a fox sittin inthe middle of a field, dug out a bb and nailed him out the window of the van..

went back out to first place in the evening to see did the missed bird go back and sure enough dog put him up and i bagged my 1st pheasant,
now the dog was almost catching him before he landed, brought him straight back to me but would not drop him!!
very happy wit him, 1st bird to be shot over him and his 1st bird to retrieve...

no luck sunday morning but the dog hunted very well...really got a scent for them now. went looking for some duck sunday eve and got another nice cock..was full shore he was gone, he landed in the middle of very marsh cover but 10 hard minutes work from the dog had him back and
im looking forward to 2 nice dinners and more days with the dog.

ill post a few pictures soon

stevoman

i never put the gun to my shoulder on the first day. shot myself in the foot as i wentout too early and the birds where still in roost. did a lot of hunting but didnt get anything. the dog made a lovbely flush of a hen but unfortunatly go you cant shoot them.

got a fine cock yesterday, the bitch workd him in high grass stuck her nose in a tuft of weeds and up he got and i nailed him. she retreived from cover. got 2 snipe aswell yesterday so all in all a enjotable weekend. going oput again tomorow and might have some more luck. the bitch needs more time to mature methinks and get her hunting better but it all take time.

Vegeta

k_d wrote: »

driving down road to another spot, got me a driveby shot....seen a fox sittin inthe middle of a field, dug out a bb and nailed him out the window of the van..

This was a private road right, not a public one, because that would be illegal.

On your dog not letting go of retrieves, does that include dummies and stuff like that. If so my advice is to get a thin dummy, let her fetch it and when she brings it back to you, instead of pulling it out, push it back, this will be slightly uncomfortable to the dog so she will release it (don't do it with something small like a hand ball as you don't want her to swallow it). You can couple this with the word "dead" or "drop it" and reward her when she does it. keep going until she will leave it be when you say dead or drop it.

Sounds like a good day lads, looking forward to pics.

Myself, I had to drive 40 miles to the brothers place. Roads were icy on the way up so this delayed us a bit. Got there just after 7, load up the car and off we went to the first spot. On the drive to the first place we saw 8 fallow doe in the front lawn of a big country house.

So we get to the first spot anyway and my dad, my brother, his friend and I get out, guns out of slips, woolly hats on to combat the frost and dogs out of box. This spot is about 2-3 fields of pasture with large expanses of knee high rushes. We give the setter his head and let him run wild for a few minutes. Nothing on in the first field so on to the second, this is more promising, the setter is on to something and already I have to try and calm the buck fever. Brother calls the setter in close as he is afraid the bird will flush before the dog sets. Dog moves towards a group of holly trees with briar underneath. We cover both ends of the thicket and I hear the beat of wing in cover, heart in mouth but brother calls hen.

Nothing in the third field so we head into the rushes. The four of us spread out wide and start walking in a parallel line to see can we flush any birds. My brother and dad are on the drier side of the field and the dog looks like he means business. He sets and my brother gives him the command to move on, another hen. This happens about 2-3 times more.

We decide to turn about and head back to the car, on the way back we spot a cock and maybe 6-8 hens close to a sparse ditch. My dad and I go one side and my brother and his friend go the other. We walk along together and can see each other through the ditch as its not very dense at all. The birds are somewhere in the ditch and the dogs know it. In the setter goes and then hen after hen break from the cover. Where the hell had the cock gone. Our lab who has been walking to heel the whole time so far, is told get back and away he goes. He's quite a good hunter himself but we don't usually give him free reign incase he wild flushes birds the setter is on.

The 2 dogs converge on one spot and up gets the cock, closest to me. Wouldn't you know it he tries to go through the ditch right between the 2 groups. No shot for me, its just not safe. The bird goes out the ditch and flies along it, shot is now on for the lads on the other side. Brother is an excellent shot and so fast off the mark it can be frustrating to be out with him at times, one shot rings out and hear the brother tell the lab to fetch, success.

Lab had a bit of a hard time finding the bird as it was a blind retrieve and the bird dropped dead so left no scent to follow. Got him after about a minute or so. Happy days. First of the season in the bag.

We walked on for another 3 hours and got more birds but I'd be here all day typing it.

One thing I will comment on is the amount of hens we met. Went over the brow of a hill at one stage and 40 hens go up. Absolute madness, don't know how the dogs were coping at all. Must have been scent everywhere. The cock I shot, I flushed myself. We were walking along, I was close to the ditch and I saw a cock skulking past me, I looked and looked again and up he got, I let him out aimed for the head and boom. Instantly dead, dog retrieved him no probs. Happy days

whitser

well done lads. sounds like all had a good start. the roosters will be a lot more wily from now on though.

Limestone1

Vegeta wrote: »

This was a private road right, not a public one, because that would be illegal.

I didn't know that - shooting something on the road or shooting from the road is illegal ?

Anyway - tremendous weekend of pheasant shooting, I've never seen so many birds in my life. One image sticks with me as I entered a maize field - our rather over enthusiastic springer had lost the run of himself and was already reaching the far corner where he rose up what can only be described as a flock of birds , at least 5 cocks and 15-20 hens. We had already bagged a few birds so I was able to appreciate this beautiful sight without being annoyed with the dog !

k_d

didnt know that either vegatta. have permission to shoot in those fields anyway but didnt know you werent allowed to shoot from a road.

good job it Was a private road tho;)

ya goin to have to work a bit with dog,hes like that whith anything in his mouth, again tho it is his 1st bird..
a bit of work and hopefully will work. ill give your ideas a go,

thanks

Da Frog

you are not allowed to shoot from your vehicle. moreover, you are not allowed to carry your gun in the car unless it is in a carry sleeve or dismounted.

Da Frog

Had one cock pheasant myself and that's all. missed 2 snipes and saw one woodcock i couldn't shoot.

Vegeta

Da Frog wrote: »

you are not allowed to shoot from your vehicle.

Ok I am not 100% sure of this but I don't think that is true. You cant do it from a public road (cant shoot from the road full stop, be it on foot or in a vehicle) but if you drive into a privately owned field or similar then I think shooting from a vehicle is no problem at all.

moreover, you are not allowed to carry your gun in the car unless it is in a carry sleeve or dismounted.

Have never seen this mentioned before either so again imho this is not the case.

Not 100% on the above as I wouldn't be able to quote the exact wording of the law off the top of my head but I would be confident of it.

Cbeirne82

I went out on Saturday morning with my usual shooting buddy and his GSP. We were in the field for about 8 o clock. It was a great morning for shooting and we had a good show of birds but unfortunately it turned out to be one of the most unlucky opening days I’ve have to date!

We were out about twenty minutes when we raised two mallard out of a river running through a field. I shot one of them and it landed in the grass the other side of the river. The GSP does not retrieve and there was no way across the river so we had to go back up to the road and cross a bridge and come back down the other side. When we got back down to the spot there was no sign of the duck and we couldn’t find it for love or money (and we look for ages). All that remained was a single mallard feather.

We carried on slightly peeved off but knowing the day was still long was some conciliation. Shortly afterwards we saw a cock pheasant picking next to a hedge in a field up ahead, so I broke out the other side of the hedge and my mate went up toward where we saw the cock with the dog. The dog picked up the scent and was following the trail along the hedge with my mate just behind and me on the other side. We were sure number one was in the bag because we had each side covered. But Mr. pheasant had other ideas! The dog followed the scent right up to the corner of the field and the pheasant ran out into the next field and flew off without either of us getting a shot at him.

Our next encounter occurred as we were driving to another hunting spot. I spotted a cock next a hedge in a field about fifty yards down from the road. Again I went one side of the hedge my mate and the dog when the side we saw the cock. The dog got on a scent straight away and followed it down along the hedge way passed where we had seen the cock from the road. I had followed down as far as the corner when the cock flushed from behind of the hedge that was now in front of me blocking me from going any further down. Id say he was just at the edge of range so I fire one shot at him and my mate fire two but the cock kept going. We were then talking to each other wondering how the f**k he got down so far so quick when another cock (the original one we had seen) flushed right in front of my mate (who had two empty cartridges in his gun) I had opened my gun at this stage but closed it again quickly with only the one cartridge in it and fired but he was just out of range and also got away harmed.

We saw another few birds after that but the morning had set the tone for the rest of the day with the same kind of thing happening each time. Either the cock would flush before the dog had a chance to set him or they would fly out of a hedge in the only spot where neither of us could get a shot at it and when the dog would get a set on open ground it would turn out to be a hen. All in all we seen seven cock pheasants, three hens, three woodcock and a few snipe and we only bagged one woodcock and one snipe. But that is pheasant hunting I know. It was still a good day’s craic and im looking forward to my next day out already.

Da Frog

Vegeta wrote: »

Ok I am not 100% sure of this but I don't think that is true. You cant do it from a public road (cant shoot from the road full stop, be it on foot or in a vehicle) but if you drive into a privately owned field or similar then I think shooting from a vehicle is no problem at all.



Have never seen this mentioned before either so again imho this is not the case.

Not 100% on the above as I wouldn't be able to quote the exact wording of the law off the top of my head but I would be confident of it.

This is the law in most of EU countries. I'm sorry i can't find the dail eireann text but i would think it is the same considering that the irish laws on firearm are the tightest in europe.

especially on the carry case part. Driving from one field to another part of the gunclub is considered as transportation and the gun needs to be in the carrycase or taken a part. certainly not in direct condition of use as "pick and shoot".

spideog7

Good few pheasants around my way this year, alot of stubble fields (very unusual for this neck of the woods in the West- but because of high prices a load of people nearby chanced a bit of tillage all the same year) and some grain that was never harvested but got lodged with rain.

Out at 8am in the frost on the first, myself and the young dog, she's nothing special and hasn't got much training, I'm not around enough for it, she has a good nose but no obedience or sense, makes for frustrating shooting sometimes, but other times she'll do everything right.

Bad start, got a tip off from a few of the lads I happened to meet, who were after shooting two of four cocks. I was on foot so was covering more rough ground than they were with the car, headed up the back of the field anyway and put up the pheasant, he got up as we were coming close, I think he was a bit edgy after seeing his mates go down pulled both barrels on him, saw him flutter and the undercarriage came down. I was sure I'd get him sitting in a tight spot so went searching, spent about 40minutes looking for him but no sign, dog was definitely on the scent but she wouldn't retrieve or find him if he died in the cover, was a bad start, disheartening when that happens. Saw 2 more cocks run into a ditch dog put them straight up for me, one went the wrong side of the ditch, got the other.

Sunday I spent most of the morning covering alot of ground and only put up 3 hens, came to a field of stubble and spotted a flock no less !! About 8 altogether. They spotted me so I gave them time to sit in the ditch cause they were running, dog made a mess of them she spotted them running and took off after them, sent them flying all over the shop. I watched where a few of the cocks went and headed just a field over, dog went straight in on one in the cover and put him straight up, knocked him over the cover and spent 15 minutes trying to get him The other lad was sitting about 15yds away the whole time in long grass, dog nosed him straight away, knocked him too, was delighted, saw three more on the walk home but didn't even bother loading the gun, was satisfied with what I had. Only bad thing is I was close to all of them when I shot them, so they're well riddled.

Top it off I was sitting in the house about an hour later, looked out the back field and there was a big cock (bigger than any of the ones I shot), didn't bother try shoot him, stepped outside the door to let try the dog on him and he got up along with another cock and a hen that had been sitting in the ditch, hadn't seen them at all !!!

Had one roast for the dinner this evening, delicious, the rest of him is in the fridge for sandwiches, pulled 6 pellets out of him before eating him though !!

Great start all in all, in fact I'd say it's almost the best season so far for me, a lot of them around. Pheasants tend to be a bit of a rarity around my area most years, certainly a very high acre to pheasant ratio

Vegeta

Da Frog wrote: »

This is the law in most of EU countries. I'm sorry i can't find the dail eireann text but i would think it is the same considering that the irish laws on firearm are the tightest in europe.

On further investigation (thanks IRLConor) it does indeed seem to be illegal to hunt from any type of stationary vehicle. Regardless of location or type of vehicle.

I will double check but I was nearly sure they could do this in Britain. Well I have seen a lot of pics on other forums of people doing it, so either its legal or they are breaking the law and don't care (not very bright at all).

I will check on this.

especially on the carry case part. Driving from one field to another part of the gunclub is considered as transportation and the gun needs to be in the carrycase or taken a part. certainly not in direct condition of use as "pick and shoot".

I do not think (again I checked with the other mods on this one) there is any specific law. What you say makes common sense and I practise it myself. You don't spend nearly 2 grand on a shotgun to let it fly around in a car or jeep strong box/boot.

Now you do have a requirement for the secure storage of your firearm at all times. It could even be argued that a slip is not enough secure storage. A slip wouldn't exactly keep out many thieves.

To sum up. Don't shoot in public places. Get out of a vehicle if you're going to hunt (anything, includes fox) and you must keep your firearm securely stored, this does not necessarily mean a slip but something secure. Good talk

k_d

cool,thanks for checking that out.

meathstevie

To the best of my knowledge there's no specific regulations on how to transport firearms except the fact that the have to be secure. In a moving car I'd say an open shotgun will fit the bill nicely. Same for a rifle with let's say a loaded magazine in your pocket and open bolt.

As for using a mechanically propelled vehicle for hunting : it's a big nono. You can't for example flush ducks from a river using a boat with an outboard engine. What's perfectly allowed though is anchoring the same boat in the bank and using it as a stationary platform with the engine off for a bit of flighting. Just like you can use the bonnet of a parked up 4x4 in a field as a "benchrest" for nailing a fox.

Vegeta

meathstevie wrote: »

As for using a mechanically propelled vehicle for hunting : it's a big nono. You can't for example flush ducks from a river using a boat with an outboard engine. What's perfectly allowed though is anchoring the same boat in the bank and using it as a stationary platform with the engine off for a bit of flighting. Just like you can use the bonnet of a parked up 4x4 in a field as a "benchrest" for nailing a fox.

Its not so clear as that Stevie, I'm afraid,



Courtesy of IRLConor

Section 36 of the Wildlife Act, 1976 as amended by Section 44 of the Wildlife (Amendment) Act, 2000 says the following:

1. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act apart from this section but subject to, section 42, a person shall not hunt or disturb for the purpose of hunting—
   1. any protected wild animal by means of a mechanically-propelled vehicle, vessel or aircraft, whether it is being so propelled or is stationary,
   2. any protected wild bird by means of such a vehicle, vessel or aircraft while it is being so propelled.

Think the red bits crossed out are the amendments made in 2000

So even a stationary vehicle seems out of bounds. So if one was to be very very cynical they could say even using the bonnet as a rest or a parked boat to shoot out of, you are still using a vehicle to hunt.

I'm just getting paranoid now.

pullandbang

Myself and my mate had a fantastic two days. On Saturday we got three cocks, two ducks and a snipe. We put up quite a few cocks and I managed to miss two. We were doing a ditch, one on either side and we met four lads coming towards us - all four of them on the same side of the ditch

Anyway one of their dogs was set on a bird and the four of them were fanned out in a semi circle around the dog. Naturally the cock wasn't going to go out their side so I waited paitently and sure enough out flew the cock on my side:D. Dropped him with the second barrell:D:D

On Sunday I brought my two pointers, the mother and pup. They worked brilliantly and I was only sorry I didn't leave the gun at home and bring the camera. It's fantastic to see the two dogs setting the one bird and both were rock solid. We had one particurlarly memorable hunt and retrieve which all in all lasted about 20 minutes between coming on the scent and eventually bringing back the shot bird. Even the shot was superb - at least 50 yards with the second barrell just as it flew out of view behind a bush.

We ended up with another 4 cocks on Sunday.

The one disappointing aspect of the two days was the lack of hens. We never put one hen up and we covered a lot of ground.

macnab

I was supposed to go out with 2 friends (Navan/Slane area) but the dog picked up an injury the day before so it was called off. I went out on my own just outside Trim and I didnt see a thing, except tyre marks and boot prints.

Mellor

Vegeta wrote: »

Its not so clear as that Stevie, I'm afraid,



Courtesy of IRLConor


Think the red bits crossed out are the amendments made in 2000

So even a stationary vehicle seems out of bounds. So if one was to be very very cynical they could say even using the bonnet as a rest or a parked boat to shoot out of, you are still using a vehicle to hunt.

I'm just getting paranoid now.

You are missing a key point,
The restriction on stationary vechicles only applies to wild animals, not wild birds.
You can shoot ducks from a boat that is stationary.
Can't hunt from any mechcanically proppelled vechicle while it's propelled.

Using it as a rest for fox is also fine, as its not protected.
The only grey area is, can you use a bonnet as a benchrest for deer. Somebody may say its "using a vechicle for hunting". Personally I wouldn't say that. Just as I would say that resting the gun on a stick, is hunting with a stick.

Vegeta

Mellor wrote: »

You are missing a key point,
The restriction on stationary vechicles only applies to wild animals, not wild birds.
You can shoot ducks from a boat that is stationary.
Can't hunt from any mechcanically proppelled vechicle while it's propelled.

Ah yes well spotted, I thought I was losing my marbles as that is what I always took to be the case with duck etc.

Using it as a rest for fox is also fine, as its not protected.

Doesn't matter, the Wildlife (Amendment) Act, 2000 removed the word protected, so it now applies to all animals, from my reading.

The only grey area is, can you use a bonnet as a benchrest for deer. Somebody may say its "using a vechicle for hunting". Personally I wouldn't say that. Just as I would say that resting the gun on a stick, is hunting with a stick.

I too would not say "its using a vehicle for hunting" but maybe a ranger/judge/garda might.

Da Frog

we need to fight poaching as much as we can. And we all have to agree it is spraying very fast in the country these years. Especially with deer opening so early in the mating season that you can easily shoot a few deers along the road, take the head and take off...

That's also the best poaching practice for pheasants or rabbits. spinning on the roads, you will see a lot of birds. Not sure the gun clubs would appreciate having some people coming around shooting at birds from cars and taking off...

having an open gun in the back sit is as suspicious as having it on your laps. No offence to anyone, just my opinion.What would an officer think stoping you with a gun on the side sit and an open window ? I think everyone here comes on the forum to talk about passion for hunting and would pass their way if they were killing for money ... so i'm not doubting anybody. Just debating


concerning pics seen on UK magazine , i suppose these people are professional stalker or varmint shooters. Maybe they have some privileges granted by the laws.

Glad to share my concerns to keep a clean image of our sport.

J.R.

Vegeta wrote: »

Its not so clear as that Stevie, I'm afraid,



Courtesy of IRLConor


Think the red bits crossed out are the amendments made in 2000

So even a stationary vehicle seems out of bounds. So if one was to be very very cynical they could say even using the bonnet as a rest or a parked boat to shoot out of, you are still using a vehicle to hunt.



I'm just getting paranoid now.

Not allowed for protected mammals (deer etc.) - but okay for foxes, rabbits & vermin etc

Okay to use a berthed, stationary boat for duck - a protected bird

IRLConor

J.R. wrote: »

Not allowed for protected mammals (deer etc.) - but okay for foxes, rabbits & vermin etc

That was true until 2000. Since then all wild animals are out of bounds.