Ducks and Snipe

Padc

Anybody seeing any snipe. Haven't seen any yet.

ESB Spaniel

Padc wrote: »

Anybody seeing any snipe. Haven't seen any yet.

Been out the 1st and today covered over 30km of rivers and bogy fields between the 2 days and not 1 snipe met yet.

richiedel123

Padc wrote: »

Anybody seeing any snipe. Haven't seen any yet.

Seen 4 Friday nite on a pond i was standing on. Came in near dark. Was after duck so they were safe

J.R.

Over the past number of years I've noticed that snipe seem to be getting very scare...I've seen fewer & fewer each year.

Rushy, marshy fields where I hunt held loads of snipe years ago..each step taken through the field would rise a few.

Now I am very lucky to come across one or two in these fields.

The fields haven't been drained - they are still wet and waterlogged , as they always have been , so I don't know why the snipe have forsaken these "ideal" spots.

Birdnuts

J.R. wrote: »

Over the past number of years I've noticed that snipe seem to be getting very scare...I've seen fewer & fewer each year.

Rushy, marshy fields where I hunt held loads of snipe years ago..each step taken through the field would rise a few.

Now I am very lucky to come across one or two in these fields.

The fields haven't been drained - they are still wet and waterlogged , as they always have been , so I don't know why the snipe have forsaken these "ideal" spots.

You need cold weather on the continent to get the big numbers later in the autumn/winter. Last few winters have been very mild over Europe so many don't bother coming this far West. Its a trend showing up in certain types of waterfowl too. In any case even in an average year I find its well into October before one starts putting up Snipe in decent numbers, even in ideal habitat.

Ecotone

Came across 4 yesterday evening at a pond.

stevep1018

Couple of snipe in my fields but no duck.had a great spot for the duck but the opw decided to drain it.not a drop of water now.I don't know of any other spots near me in North tipperary so I guess it's to the supermarket for the duck

marleypoint

Padc wrote: »

Anybody seeing any snipe. Haven't seen any yet.

Was out yesterday evening and saw 6, shot at 2 and missed. I was on a different bog today and seen 2, missed them as well :-)‚. This is my first year to hunt and shoot so hopefully I'll bag some next weekend :-)

stevep1018

marleypoint wrote: »

Was out yesterday evening and saw 6, shot at 2 and missed. I was on a different bog today and seen 2, missed them as well :-)‚. This is my first year to hunt and shoot so hopefully I'll bag some next weekend :-)

Snipe require an expert shot. I'd say I missed 10-20 when I started 3 years ago.I still miss the odd one nowadays

cookimonster

marleypoint wrote: »

......This is my first year to hunt and shoot so hopefully I'll bag some next weekend :-)

It might sound obvious but shoot the snipe as quick as you can, otherwise they are so fast they'll cover ground so quickly they'll easily be out of your shooting range. Once you hear and or see one get up shoot. In my opinion its very instinctive shooting, when I started shooting them first it took me a while just to acknowledge the little birds getting up. They are one of my favourite birds to hunt because it's so instinctive, I only wish they where a bit bigger for the plate.

marleypoint

stevep1018 wrote: »

Snipe require an expert shot. I'd say I missed 10-20 when I started 3 years ago.I still miss the odd one nowadays

Yeah there hard feckers to hit. I thought yesterday it might of been the cartridges 32g 6. So changed today to 28g 7.5 which I think might be better suited. Not trying to blame the cartridge for my shooting, just trying to fine tune it :-)

marleypoint

cookimonster wrote: »

It might sound obvious but shoot the snipe as quick as you can, otherwise they are so fast they'll cover ground so quickly they'll easily be out of your shooting range. Once you hear and or see one get up shoot. In my opinion its very instinctive shooting, when I started shooting them first it took me a while just to acknowledge the little birds getting up. They are one of my favourite birds to hunt because it's so instinctive, I only wish they where a bit bigger for the plate.

Yeah it's a bit of a panic when one does break. A sqauk helps me a lot coz then I'm sure it's a snipe. But I tend to try and follow it's path rather than instinctively shoot and by the time I'm on it, it's out of reach or zips and zaps. I'm looking forward to tasting one for the first time.

cookimonster

I usually don't bother with them until the Nov season, during which my go-to cartridge is 6 32g for rough shooting and unless you hit 'em at point blank usually doesn't do too much damage. But if I'm shooting a spot I know which is predominantly Snipe the 28g 7.5 are perfect.
I know lads will often dismiss chokes but if you have the option use a fairly open choke - 1/4 & 1/2 and you'll still get good distances as long as your not sky blasting. Swing hard and don't think about it. Best of luck.

The meat the little there is beautifully sweet.

Rimfire Shooter

When they rise watch them..............they fly out, in, out & in...........So when it rises aim straight ahead wait until it's just staring to turn in the 2nd time & fire straight ahead. Do it right & you'll hit very time

When the old timer told me when I was younger & knew it all I didn't believer it either

marleypoint

Rimfire Shooter wrote: »

When they rise watch them..............they fly out, in, out & in...........So when it rises aim straight ahead wait until it's just staring to turn in the 2nd time & fire straight ahead. Do it right & you'll hit very time

When the old timer told me when I was younger & knew it all I didn't believer it either

Thanks for the tip

stevep1018

Rimfire Shooter wrote: »

When they rise watch them..............they fly out, in, out & in...........So when it rises aim straight ahead wait until it's just staring to turn in the 2nd time & fire straight ahead. Do it right & you'll hit very time

When the old timer told me when I was younger & knew it all I didn't believer it either

Very good tip.sounds like it anyway.now I just have to wait for my next day off to prove it works

Padc

Seeing plenty of snipe this last week. Even seen them in green fields.

Crow Pigeon and Pheasant

Friend shot one on the first! Saw a few around recently!

outinthefields

Out yesterday evening and springer put up about 30 of snipe. Shot n picked 6 of em.