Snipe Hunting

mallards

Took the lads out after snipe this weekend. I flushed around 20 birds, fired seven shots, but they were too good for me!






Click on the video to play.





Mallards

jap gt

lovely dog, i got two alright yesterday but i dont shoot them too often as you could meet them in every field, hard lads to hit, great for training the pup

widespread

Brillant Day out a bit of snipe, I got two to-day, But if I'm honest I was lucky. Is that a brittany in the vid.

Often thought about getting one.

mallards

Yip that's my old bitch. She is usually a bit smarter than that but the snipe had run and she got a little too close following it!

Birdnuts

Don't be too hard on yourself Mallards - I flushed at least 70 early last week and only hit 2(in front of the daddy too for extra embarresment!!):(

PS: Love the Pics and that bitch is a fine lookin girl;)

pedroeibar1

I was out after snipe a week ago in Kerry .... saw very few, shot only one. Still too early for that far south I think.
P.

Birdnuts

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

I was out after snipe a week ago in Kerry .... saw very few, shot only one. Still too early for that far south I think.
P.

We've snipe coming out our ears here - not many woodcock yet buts its still a bit early in the winter for them going on past experience:)

pedroeibar1

Birdnuts wrote: »

We've snipe coming out our ears here - not many woodcock yet buts its still a bit early in the winter for them going on past experience:)

Lucky you! Saw two woodcock and about a dozen phezzies , all safe (for the mom.;)) as it before the 1st when I was out. Our migratory 'cock don't arrive until December.
P.

mallards

Yip I don't expect to see any woodcock for another couple of weeks. Heading to the clay range on Friday to shoot a few rounds of sporting. Hope it straightens me out!

Mallards

jap gt

we have a heap of snipe in north cork, talks of woodcock not too far from me but have yet to see them this year, another week or so should do it

Vegeta

I shot a tough snipe on Saturday and then later missed a beautifully presented pheasant, still cant understand the miss. Was raging with myself.

Brilliant post mallards

CJhaughey

I don't have a dog, so I just walk through the reeds and try and shoot any that flush.
I haven't seen any near me this year but I saw a young guy with a couple of dogs flush one yesterday just walking along a field near the shore.

mallards

It's actually quite frustrating to use a pointing dog to hunt snipe. Quite often snipe see or hear the dog first and will flush. As the dog is working ahead of you, many will flush out of shotgun range. When you walk them up by yourself, they will flush closer and maybe offer a shot. But when your working a dog and it quarters the ground nicely and at pace, then suddenly jams on the brakes and locks to point. You close in on the dog, straining to see a bird in the short heather in front of it, only for it to pop up six feet to the left of where you thought it was. A quick change of stance, gun up , bang, it twists in the air, you missed, bang, it folds and drops in the heather and your dog makes a great retieve.
For me, there isn't much finer shooting to be had.

Mallards.

KareMart

Vegeta wrote: »

I shot a tough snipe on Saturday and then later missed a beautifully presented pheasant, still cant understand the miss. Was raging with myself.

Brilliant post mallards

Hi Vegeta,

I had the same problem last week. My setter pointed 4 snipes and 3 went to the bag. Later the setter pointed a nice pheasant that raised 3 meters in front of me. I missed the pheasant and still raging. The setter looked at me in disbelieve.

Regards,

Karemart

cavan shooter

Funny thing I was out yesterday for 3 hours in spots that are normally havens for snipe and only flushed 3, because of that I havent shot any. Also woodcock as of yet are scarce in my normal haunts

God I love flushing woodcock:D:D
I think its better than pheasants:)

CJhaughey

I am fairly new to bird shooting with shotgun so I have still to learn ranges, I blew a couple to smithereens last year shooting too soon, they fly so fast that it is split second between mince and miss.

Tackleberrywho

CJhaughey wrote: »

I am fairly new to bird shooting with shotgun so I have still to learn ranges, I blew a couple to smithereens last year shooting too soon, they fly so fast that it is split second between mince and miss.

On my Da's land there are loads of Snipe in Winter. I never bothered shooting them though.

I really only use my shotty for the odd Phezzies; moreso Pidgies, Ducks and the Corvids

tfox

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

On my Da's land there are loads of Snipe in Winter. I never bothered shooting them though.

I really only use my shotty for the odd Phezzies; moreso Pidgies, Ducks and the Corvids

Tack snipe shooting is some of the most rewarding testing shooting you can get, you're very lucky to have so many so close !! The small size, rapid speed and abililty to jinx around in the air make them a very hard to hit target !!

I would walk for as long as my legs could carry me after snipe, absolutely love it Only thing that comes close is woodcock !!

Tackleberrywho

tfox wrote: »

Tack snipe shooting is some of the most rewarding testing shooting you can get, you're very lucky to have so many so close !! The small size, rapid speed and abililty to jinx around in the air make them a very hard to hit target !!

I would walk for as long as my legs could carry me after snipe, absolutely love it Only thing that comes close is woodcock !!

Ah, I know some love shooting them.
I assumed they were quite common in Ireland, especially in disadvantaged farmland areas.

I like to eat the Birds I shoot (unless Corvids of course)

jap gt

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

Ah, I know some love shooting them.
I assumed they were quite common in Ireland, especially in disadvantaged farmland areas.

I like to eat the Birds I shoot (unless Corvids of course)

snipe is nice to eat, snipe brains are a delicacy with some hunters

Feargal as Luimneach

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

Ah, I know some love shooting them.
I assumed they were quite common in Ireland, especially in disadvantaged farmland areas.

I like to eat the Birds I shoot (unless Corvids of course)

Why don't you eat the crows which you shoot?

Tackleberrywho

jap gt wrote: »

snipe is nice to eat, snipe brains are a delicacy with some hunters

My Mammy told me never to go after a bird brain :D:D:D

Seriously though, I never bothered with them.
Just did not appeal to me.

Never saw the attraction.
I knock more sport trying to sneak up on maggers in the back field.

Anyway, more meat on a butchers Knife!

patsat

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

Why don't you eat the crows which you shoot?

Do u?

Birdnuts

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

Ah, I know some love shooting them.
I assumed they were quite common in Ireland, especially in disadvantaged farmland areas.

Pretty much anywhere with rushes - during last winter's hard weather they were even turning up in peoples gardens. Indeed one night I recently disturbed some on the local GAA pitch!!

Birdnuts

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

Why don't you eat the crows which you shoot?

Feargal , do you eat the rats your Terrier catches??:rolleyes: - Lets keep the sillyness out of a good thread!!

Feargal as Luimneach

Birdnuts wrote: »

Feargal , do you eat the rats your Terrier catches??:rolleyes: - Lets keep the sillyness out of a good thread!!

I have eaten grilled rat in India:D. My terrier mangles the rats he catch so not much feeding on them.
A valid question I asked! Why not eat the crow's people shoot? Young rooks are eaten in the UK I believe.:cool:

landkeeper

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

I have eaten grilled rat in India:D. My terrier mangles the rats he catch so not much feeding on them.
A valid question I asked! Why not eat the crow's people shoot? Young rooks are eaten in the UK I believe.:cool:

ok post up your address and we'll send you all the grey crows and magpies we shoot
why would you want to eat something that spends it's life sticking its beak into unmentionable filth

Birdnuts

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

I have eaten grilled rat in India:D. My terrier mangles the rats he catch so not much feeding on them.
A valid question I asked! Why not eat the crow's people shoot? Young rooks are eaten in the UK I believe.:cool:

And some people eat roadkill but this is not the subject of this thread:(

Sparks

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

Why don't you eat the crows which you shoot?

For the same reason that you don't eat clams without leaving them in clean water for a few days first. But none of this has anything to do with shooting or the original topic, so please, back to the point...

Vegeta

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

Jesus they look gorgeous.

It wasn't me!

Vegeta wrote: »

Jesus they look gorgeous.

Aye, bit of light salad and a freshly made salsa, bit of grilled ciabatta or something similar, perfect.

tfox

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

My Mammy told me never to go after a bird brain :D:D:D

Seriously though, I never bothered with them.
Just did not appeal to me.

Never saw the attraction.
I knock more sport trying to sneak up on maggers in the back field.

Anyway, more meat on a butchers Knife!

I know they are a lot of work for very little eating but boy I think it's worth it !! Mind you we have a plucking machine at work so takes the hassle out of that end of it, grilled in the oven on a slice of bread, food fit for a king !!

You just need to shoot enough of them to make a meal

mallards

They look great, I like mine wrapped in a rasher and roasted. Great eating and the finest of shooting!

Mallards

kfod

do you eat guts and all?
There is a recipe in one of the river cottage books knocking around here and its snipe on toast and he uses the blended guts / heart / kidneys etc to make a kind of pate. The thought of eating guts really doesn't do it for me though.

tfox

mallards wrote: »

They look great, I like mine wrapped in a rasher and roasted. Great eating and the finest of shooting!

Mallards

Ooh yeah, forgot the bacon

kfod wrote: »

do you eat guts and all?
There is a recipe in one of the river cottage books knocking around here and its snipe on toast and he uses the blended guts / heart / kidneys etc to make a kind of pate. The thought of eating guts really doesn't do it for me though.

Yeah bird is cooked whole, just plucked !! Eat the meat, spread the innards on the toast and enjoy :rolleyes: making me hungry

mallards

Yeh I always ate the guts. I don't know where I heard it but snipe crap when they are flushed. Because they eat worms etc there digestive system works very fast and they say they will eat two three times their body weight in worms each day. So their innards are completely empty when you shoot them. When you then roast them, their insides dissolve to nothing and just become part of the gravy juices in the pan. Dip your bread in it. First class!

Mallards

jap gt

mallards wrote: »

Yeh I always ate the guts. I don't know where I heard it but snipe crap when they are flushed. Because they eat worms etc there digestive system works very fast and they say they will eat two three times their body weight in worms each day. So their innards are completely empty when you shoot them. When you then roast them, their insides dissolve to nothing and just become part of the gravy juices in the pan. Dip your bread in it. First class!

Mallards

an old man once told me a snipe always craps when in flight and has no waste when shot, he used to shoot one and straight away he would cut of the the feet and pull out the sinew and the legs would be very moist after cooking, he would the roast them on toast and cut from th e back of the head down to the beak and eat the brain, he claimed it was the best part of the bird

muckyprawn

Rook pie apparently...the birds have to be young "dancing on the branches!"

pedroeibar1

jap gt wrote: »

an old man once told me a snipe always craps when in flight and has no waste when shot, he used to shoot one and straight away he would cut of the the feet and pull out the sinew and the legs would be very moist after cooking, he would the roast them on toast and cut from th e back of the head down to the beak and eat the brain, he claimed it was the best part of the bird

Cooked and eaten whole is not to everyone’s taste, mine included. I mean, do you guys not look at cowpats to see if snipe are around? Ever note the little holes where they probe for worms/grubs? Their lower mandible is jointed for that purpose.
A snipes brain is so small it would be hard to find, let alone identify a taste.
If served the French way, the beak is used to pin the bird , the spread is called a ‘salmis’ and the piece of toast is a ‘chapon’. I save mine until I have a good few and use them in a game pie.

P.

tfox

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

Cooked and eaten whole is not to everyone’s taste, mine included. I mean, do you guys not look at cowpats to see if snipe are around? Ever note the little holes where they probe for worms/grubs? Their lower mandible is jointed for that purpose.
A snipes brain is so small it would be hard to find, let alone identify a taste.
If served the French way, the beak is used to pin the bird , the spread is called a ‘salmis’ and the piece of toast is a ‘chapon’. I save mine until I have a good few and use them in a game pie.

P.

Yeah fair point but I love freshwater crayfish too and we all know what they live on

remi243

great post mallards..cant beat a bit of snipe action:) my springer flushed one snipe on sunday missed by a country mile but we made up for it with a few phesants and a nice woodcock:D might be a few around my way after all this rain...roll on the weekend:p

mallards

Thanks Remi. I often come across woodcock and snipe in the same place. Although I have had the opportunity to shoot a right and left of woodcock and snipe at the same time, I've never succeeded! I wonder has anyone else done it?




Mallards