should the hunting seasons be changed

stevoman

this was playing on my mind all weekend and i see it mentioned in another thread so i said id ask what other people think.

Do you think the change of weather patterns and breeding seasons have occured? If so then do you think that the changing of the shooting seasons should take place?

I was out at the weekend and came across pheasents that are stil very very young. like terrier said i have seen very young ducklings also.what really hit home though was the other day i was walking across stubbles and found broken up pheasents eggs that a hen was nesting on and of course the sombine got them. This is only around the last two weeks and the hens are still nesting in some parts.

I think that the ducks should be moved to November and the rest of game should be moved to at least December 1st and stay open until the end of Febuary. I dont hunt deer so i cant comment, but what do other people think?

Dusty87

Was driving home yesterday and seen a very young cock pheasant in front of the car. I think the duck season is too early, i havn seen many pheasants so cant comment on how young they are around here but like yourself i seen a broken nest in early august after the combine.

mallards

I wouldn't have a problem moving the pheasants to November. We only start to shoot them the last weekend of October anyway, same as the partridge although they seem to be ready to go at the start of October. The ducks could wait to October also at least. I can't see any real difficulty in shooting into February or at least half way through it. The partridges don't seem to pair up until the end of the month.

Mallards.

ronan nee

I too think the duck season is too early and as regards red grouse in my neck of the woods in west galway, I think there should be no season - reason -damm all of them about and it gets on my tits when I here lads that have come across them feel they have no choice but to take' em. this is my opinion for west galway. "where is conservation".

for mallard, should we only kill the drake?

regards ronan

EPointer=Birdss

(Lifted post form other thread)
Agree on the ducks. Havn't shot one since 1st morning & sorry I did. They were grand & all but would have been fine birds in a month or 2...

As for pheasants, we have a lot birds that are weeks away from been pinked up!
Scraggly little teenagers!

Only difference with pheasants is, you can generally tell when they get up if they are decent birds or not. Tail length & a good hearty crow always helps...
Had dog out in shooting grounds twice this week, brought the gun for any vermin that I might come across but I covered every bird he put up for a bit of practice. Half a dozen over both days that i would not have shot as were 2 small & only few weeks old. (Few I would also however - Bring on November!)

Morale of the story. Pick your shots, if in doubt leave him out! He'll be there the next day. Ducks not so easy though. November would help them alot.

Grizzly 45

mallards wrote: »

I wouldn't have a problem moving the pheasants to November. We only start to shoot them the last weekend of October anyway,

Errr.werent they always Nov1st here anyway??

Ironic,I remember when the duck season started mid August.
Actually,what we will proably get ,courtsey of the EU,will be shorter seasons on everything.The Continent it shuts down on midnite Dec 31st.:(.I cant see anyone agreeing to changeing the shooting seasons because of climatic changes.Rather that would give the weird beards and office conservationistas more of an excuse to cut us down even further on our shooting.

stevoman

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Errr.werent they always Nov1st here anyway??

mallards lives in the north afaik so their pheasent season starts october 1st.

stevoman

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Ironic,I remember when the duck season started mid August.
Actually,what we will proably get ,courtsey of the EU,will be shorter seasons on everything.The Continent it shuts down on midnite Dec 31st.:(.I cant see anyone agreeing to changeing the shooting seasons because of climatic changes.Rather that would give the weird beards and office conservationistas more of an excuse to cut us down even further on our shooting.

i wouldnt mind actually hearing what stance say the NARGC would have on this. I think us hunters, as conservationalists would like to benifit our quarry and give them more of a survival chance if you will. i think the seasons would be easier change here, then say, the uk, where driven shooting etc is big business and rough shooting isnt practised as much.

jwshooter

at the end of the day its about the hunt and a healthy meal.

i would leave small pheasants go ,even a cock that is a handy shot i would let them off.

if a duck is flopping into a pond under the gun whats the point .the real hunting does not start till after christmas .

cavan shooter

I dont shoot ducks till november and honestly think this is better in the long run I also think a bag limit should be imposed

Pheasants are grand but ditto on bag limit one of the clubs I'm a member of only have an open bag on the first and on Stephens day then there is a max 2 cock limit.

I would be interested on other peoples views on bag limits??

Sometimes we can literaly shoot ourselves in the foot

deerhunter1

stevoman wrote: »

this was playing on my mind all weekend and i see it mentioned in another thread so i said id ask what other people think.

Do you think the change of weather patterns and breeding seasons have occured? If so then do you think that the changing of the shooting seasons should take place?

I was out at the weekend and came across pheasents that are stil very very young. like terrier said i have seen very young ducklings also.what really hit home though was the other day i was walking across stubbles and found broken up pheasents eggs that a hen was nesting on and of course the sombine got them. This is only around the last two weeks and the hens are still nesting in some parts.

I think that the ducks should be moved to November and the rest of game should be moved to at least December 1st and stay open until the end of Febuary. I dont hunt deer so i cant comment, but what do other people think?

I have always said that, Duchks on 1st november till end of march then you would have good cold harsh wildfowling weather (seperate men from boys) rediculous duck shooting in september

Cass

jwshooter wrote: »

at the end of the day its about the hunt and a healthy meal.

i would leave small pheasants go ,even a cock that is a handy shot i would let them off.

if a duck is flopping into a pond under the gun whats the point .the real hunting does not start till after christmas .

Its a good practice that i also employ myself but a few shooters wouldn't. They would be more interested in quantity as oppose to quailty.

Originally Posted by cavan shooter

Pheasants are grand but ditto on bag limit one of the clubs I'm a member of only have an open bag on the first and on Stephens day then there is a max 2 cock limit.

I would be interested on other peoples views on bag limits??

Its also a good practice. My club is a small one but we still impose a 5 per bag limit on the first day and 2 on every other day. We breed and release 750 - 1000 birds per year. Most members go out on the first then it dies off till December. With national holidays etc lads spend more time shooting over Christmas. Would have no real objection to ducks etc being moved back to November even. (Each to their own)

ronan nee

deerhunter1 wrote: »

I have always said that, Duchks on 1st november till end of march then you would have good cold harsh wildfowling weather (seperate men from boys) rediculous duck shooting in september

I agree and a bag limit is not a bad idea, but who will police it. Do some shooter's even give a....s h 1 t..... if there is quarry for them again tomorrow. I believe that there are alot of lads out there that like to come home with (look how many I got) - GREAT WHITE HUNTERS.

I stress that not all hunting folk are like this

regards ronan

EPointer=Birdss

cavan shooter wrote: »

I would be interested on other peoples views on bag limits??

Unwritten rule in our club (not formal club-just a few of us with the interest & land to shoot) is 2 cocks max per day & the 2nd shot has to harder than the 1st. If you miss on your 2nd you default back to the start.
As said only shoot good birds, no puney ones!
I would never shoot a bird flying away on the 2nd shot either. Like to leave it a bit more challenging.

Last 2 weeks of the season is open season though as we try to kill off as many cocks as possible for the hens sake in the next few months! No matter how hard you try there's plenty still left to "Do the job" & keep a healthy population of wild birds!

homerhop

In all fairness if a lad/lass cant tell the difference between a bird that is too young to shoot they shouldnt be shooting.
As for bag limits, it is my personal view that any club that who is interested in their sport will have a bag limit. This crack of going out and blasting your way for the first week or so and then complaining that there are no birds just makes no sense to me.

stevoman

EPointer=Birdss wrote: »

Last 2 weeks of the season is open season though as we try to kill off as many cocks as possible for the hens sake in the next few months! No matter how hard you try there's plenty still left to "Do the job" & keep a healthy population of wild birds!

count yourself lucky!!!

bunny shooter

My opinion to question in OP = Yes

EPointer=Birdss

stevoman wrote: »

count yourself lucky!!!

Keep vermin down, put the work in all year & kick out any f*****s that only want to just shoot when Nov come around!
A few good lads on a small shoot are better that 50 on a few thousand acres! Be plenty of birds around all year for everyone!

ferret man

yea they should be changed and you cant just kick out the ones would shoot in november as they probally fish all summer

EPointer=Birdss

ferret man wrote: »

yea they should be changed and you cant just kick out the ones would shoot in november as they probally fish all summer

There's nothing wrong with having any other interests but do you think it's ok to let a few lads do all the work whiles you but your feet up on the river bank & then come Nov, saunter out shoot away?
Usually lads that do this are the 1st to complain when they shoot nothing!

I'm all for fishing but I'm all for for work ethic also. That's my point... :P