To all vermin control officers

Collioure

My gun club is setting up a scheme where every AGM a prize will be given to the top 3 people with the most vermin eliminated.
My thoughts are on how it will work is
1. As some people may be into eliminating different types of vermin I think the most equitable way to calculate who gets the top 3 is to calculate what the NARGC will give you. Eg if one person get 10 fox tails and 10 pairs of magpe wings it will be (10 x €2 = 20 for the tails and 10*.65 = 6.50) that person total is €16.50 for the competition.
2. People will keep the tails themselves until the night before AGM, too complicated having a collection scheme during the year
3. The vermin control officer will count the tails etc in car park half an hour before AGM.
4. For the prices, the top three counts will be given half the amount back in cash with an option of donating it., eg above would get €8.25 back when the when the gunclub receives the cash from NARGC
5. If your tails/ wings are not counted half hour before AGM, they are not counted at all and are not included.
So may I ask the people who organise these what they make of above....is this a good way of doing it or is there a better and easier way????????

Eddie B

Collioure wrote: »

My gun club is setting up a scheme where every AGM a prize will be given to the top 3 people with the most vermin eliminated.
My thoughts are on how it will work is
1. As some people may be into eliminating different types of vermin I think the most equitable way to calculate who gets the top 3 is to calculate what the NARGC will give you. Eg if one person get 10 fox tails and 10 pairs of magpe wings it will be (10 x €2 = 20 for the tails and 10*.65 = 6.50) that person total is €16.50 for the competition.
2. People will keep the tails themselves until the night before AGM, too complicated having a collection scheme during the year
3. The vermin control officer will count the tails etc in car park half an hour before AGM.
4. For the prices, the top three counts will be given half the amount back in cash with an option of donating it., eg above would get €8.25 back when the when the gunclub receives the cash from NARGC
5. If your tails/ wings are not counted half hour before AGM, they are not counted at all and are not included.
So may I ask the people who organise these what they make of above....is this a good way of doing it or is there a better and easier way????????

• I think you might be complicating things with that set up! If everyone had to hold onto their vermin for the year till the A.G.M then that means everyone will have to buy a deep freezer or a couple of them!
• I think the norm is to nominate a member of the club to count the vermin during the year, keep note of each members tally and then announce the winners at the A.G.M! Simple!
• I don't see any problem when it comes to keeping magpie wings instead of the whole bird but gray crow wings and rook wings are pretty similar. Whats stopping a lad throwing in a few dozen rook wings especially when there's prize money involved!
• When it comes to prize money, i think a fixed sum is the way to go! Prizes in our club are, 100 euro for each, foxes, mags, grays and mink! I think its a great incentive to do a bit of vermin work through the year!
• Wouldn't it be a shame if a member of your club was out all year doing good work reducing vermin numbers, filling a couple of freezers, and due to circumstances beyond his control couldn't make the A.G.M!

meathstevie

Our club has an old freezer in one of the lad's shed. Just drop in as you acquire. I for one I'm not going to freeze a stinking fox tail in the same freezer as the spring lamb.

jwshooter

its a bad state of affairs when a club has to pay its members to shoot vermin

johngalway

jwshooter wrote: »

its a bad state of affairs when a club has to pay its members to shoot vermin

They tried to set up a gun club in the local parish a couple of years back. I was at a few of the meetings with my shooting buddy.

They talked about signs, they talked about NARGC, they talked about clay pigeon comps, they talked about pheasants, they talked about grouse...

I'd enough after a while and said if ye don't make an effort to control foxes, magpies, greycrows and mink ye'll be left with SFA except talk!

I never saw a bunch of lads more interested in their bellybuttons, shoes, and fingernails when it came to talk to being stirred out of the house to shoot or trap something they couldn't eat.

That was me done with that.

Eddie B

jwshooter wrote: »

its a bad state of affairs when a club has to pay its members to shoot vermin

I know what your saying! But i think you have to agree that its the same story in virtually every club in the country, its the same few lads that are out controlling virmin while everyone else are hunting game!

I don't think a lad can hand in a plastic bag with a handfull of tails or mags in it and honestly say he's done his bit for the club! saying that, most lads hand in nothing at all!

So i think giving out prizes for virmin controll is a sort of thank you to the lads that put in the effort during the year when others don't do any, or nothing till the game season is over! I mean, we have prizes for pheasant and duck competitions!!

patsat

Just an idea my club are planning.

They plan on catching a magpie and tagging it, releasing it and putting a bounty on it!

Basically the person who hands back this bird to the club get a years free membership or 100 euro.

this will get everyone out trying to shoot the magpies yet if it doesn't have the tag then they don't need to hand it in! Also this will get people in the area who are not in the gun club involved as they can still claim the cash!

I think it would be a great idea!

greenpeter

patsat wrote: »

Just an idea my club are planning.

They plan on catching a magpie and tagging it, releasing it and putting a bounty on it!

Basically the person who hands back this bird to the club get a years free membership or 100 euro.

this will get everyone out trying to shoot the magpies yet if it doesn't have the tag then they don't need to hand it in! Also this will get people in the area who are not in the gun club involved as they can still claim the cash!

I think it would be a great idea!

Sounds like a great idea.
What do i get if i get him in Meath?

Collioure

greenpeter wrote: »

Sounds like a great idea.
What do i get if i get him in Meath?

Wouldnt like to be that magpie

Collioure

Eddie B wrote: »

• I think you might be complicating things with that set up! If everyone had to hold onto their vermin for the year till the A.G.M then that means everyone will have to buy a deep freezer or a couple of them!
• I think the norm is to nominate a member of the club to count the vermin during the year, keep note of each members tally and then announce the winners at the A.G.M! Simple!
• I don't see any problem when it comes to keeping magpie wings instead of the whole bird but gray crow wings and rook wings are pretty similar. Whats stopping a lad throwing in a few dozen rook wings especially when there's prize money involved!
• When it comes to prize money, i think a fixed sum is the way to go! Prizes in our club are, 100 euro for each, foxes, mags, grays and mink! I think its a great incentive to do a bit of vermin work through the year!
• Wouldn't it be a shame if a member of your club was out all year doing good work reducing vermin numbers, filling a couple of freezers, and due to circumstances beyond his control couldn't make the A.G.M!

good info...thnx a lot

johngalway

What happens if he's shot/trapped the first week?

greenpeter

johngalway wrote: »

What happens if he's shot/trapped the first week?

Go again

johngalway

Jesus that'd get expensive Peter lol.

Going with the tagging theme, how about tagging an undisclosed number of birds and releasing those. The tags are numbered or coloured, whichever. But, no one knows what prize relates to which number/colour, and no one would know when they'd all been culled, providing incentive to keep after them.

patsat

greenpeter wrote: »

Sounds like a great idea.
What do i get if i get him in Meath?

Come and collect 100 euros! thats what makes it good the surrounding clubs may get into the hunt hoping the bird is after coming into their area!

greenpeter

johngalway wrote: »

Jesus that'd get expensive Peter lol.

Going with the tagging theme, how about tagging an undisclosed number of birds and releasing those. The tags are numbered or coloured, whichever. But, no one knows what prize relates to which number/colour, and no one would know when they'd all been culled, providing incentive to keep after them.

I stand corrected John, this is a super idea would really encourage lads to get out and do there bit.

vermin hunter

i like that idea john i might bring that up at our meeting because ive a pain in me hole being one of the only lads bothering his arse to make the effort over the last few years. lads think because youre vermin control officer that ive persnoly get all the vermin on me own. thankfully theres 1 or 2 lads who do a lot of fox control that helps me out but out of 35 members thats not great is it. so hopefully someting like that magpie hunt might stir a few heads.

johngalway

Just make sure only one or two people at the most know how many tagged birds are released. That way no other member will know how many tagged birds there are!

homerhop

Thats a novel idea John, I think a lot of clubs may have that one suggested at their AGM's. Dont ya just love the way things can just pop up with a little banter on here.

J.R.

johngalway wrote: »

Just make sure only one or two people at the most know how many tagged birds are released. That way no other member will know how many tagged birds there are!

Same problem in our club regards vermin...only myself and shooting partner are shooting vermin. Rest talk a lot about it but do nothing.

That's a brilliant idea John - How and where would you place the tags on the magpie? ....would it be a leg ring (like tags on pheasants) .....just wondering if lads with a scoped rifle would be able to spot the tag and select him for the shot to win a prize.

jap gt

J.R. wrote: »

Same problem in our club regards vermin...only myself and shooting partner are shooting vermin. Rest talk a lot about it but do nothing.

That's a brilliant idea John - How and where would you place the tags on the magpie? ....would it be a leg ring (like tags on pheasants) .....just wondering if lads with a scoped rifle would be able to spot the tag and select him for the shot to win a prize.

thats true about men with rifles, but most lads that would be spending a bit of time shooting vermin, will shoot every magpie they can not just look for the one with a tag

dicky82

probably a stupid comment but watching the magpies round here they wouldnt stay still long enough to get a look at a leg ring never mind get a shot off. . (roll on the 'i only need a split second' comments):rolleyes:

johngalway

I'll leave the "hows" of ringing or tagging a magpie to those who know about that kind of thing, not me

I would suggest colours or codes instead of numbers. Harder for schmart lads to be working out what they think a prize is or how many special birds there are.

Eddie B

patsat wrote: »

Just an idea my club are planning.

They plan on catching a magpie and tagging it, releasing it and putting a bounty on it!

Basically the person who hands back this bird to the club get a years free membership or 100 euro.

this will get everyone out trying to shoot the magpies yet if it doesn't have the tag then they don't need to hand it in! Also this will get people in the area who are not in the gun club involved as they can still claim the cash!

I think it would be a great idea!

One of the lads in the club done something similar two years ago! Caught a fox in his larson trap, tagged his ear and released him! He then notified the club members and sponsored the prize money himself! Thought it was a silly idea at the time but it certainly got lads out with the lamps and snares! The fox was finally shoot just a couple of months ago in a neighbouring club!

Think your idea with the magpie is an even better one! Surely there's leg rings small enough for the job,ones used for partridge maybe!

cavan shooter

Our club has the following incentive

2 cartrdiges for every vermin shot/presented

it works, we also have vermin weekends.

The Big Fella

Sure sounds like agreat idea. Anyone shoot mink at all?

Eddie B

The Big Fella wrote: »

Sure sounds like agreat idea. Anyone shoot mink at all?

Only when the occasion arises! which is very seldom, unless you have a serious mink problem! I think the majority of mink are caught with traps rather than shot!

vermin hunter

youse different colour cable ties if there put on with care and correctly cable ties will do nicely on the birds leg.

Dusty87

Me and a couple of friends have come up with an idea for the off season.
We both set a date and time frame of 24hrs.
Everyone put in few bob into a kitty.
x amount of points for fox, y amount for magpie and so on. Any species of 'vermin' like fox, mink, grey crow, magpie, grey squirrel (if any), even rat.
At the end of the 24hrs the points are added. Winner gets the few bob or ammo or whatever ye decide on.
We havnt done it yet as we only talked about it but it might be a bit of craic whilst keeping vermin in check. Im not a member of a club, but release a few pheasants and like to do my bit for vermin anyway but the other lads (although in a club, arnt as keen on vermin (do their small bit though)).

Just wondering what yis think of the idea???
Obviously ya need lads ye can trust not to have vermin saved up for it.
Any feedback would be great, posite or better still anything negative with the idea