Woodcock

M12shooter

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
Putting up quite a few on my favorite ruffed grouse stomping grounds here in eastern Manitoba. Not considered game birds here but does anyone hunt these in other provinces? Appear to me that they would be quite tricky to hit.
 
Putting up quite a few on my favorite ruffed grouse stomping grounds here in eastern Manitoba. Not considered game birds here but does anyone hunt these in other provinces? Appear to me that they would be quite tricky to hit.


Are you sure they are woodcock and not snipe? Woodcock are not overly common in Manitoba but there are some in the southeastern corner. Woodcock are hunted extensively in eastern Canada and you are correct, they are tricky to shoot.
 
hehehe you said woodcock...

we have an abbundance of california quail here in southern BC, problem for me is dressed they are about the size of a chicken wing so i would need atleast 20 of em for dinner... figure a box of 12ga shell's at $7 or i kin hit the pub for .25c wing's an i dont have to clean em.... but they would be quite the challenge to hit on the fly thats for sure...
 
Putting up quite a few on my favorite ruffed grouse stomping grounds here in eastern Manitoba. Not considered game birds here but does anyone hunt these in other provinces? Appear to me that they would be quite tricky to hit.

Huh? :) Load open choked tubes with #7.5 or 8s and go after em' .... Woodcock (or Snipe) will offer great excitement/challenge in Wingshooting since response time will be quite short. Post some images if you able to.
 
You mean 'Timberdoodle' right????

These little guys are a blast to hunt..... if you like wallowing around in ankle deep mud and getting your eyes clawed out by alder branches!! Their flight pattern is like a butterfly on steroids though - fast and erratic.
I have to admit to giving the Mossy in the photo to the missus and buying a special 20ga. SxS with 20 inch barrels just for hunting them this year. Now I move though the thickets like an (armed) greased eel.

firstwoodcock.jpg
 
Are you sure they are woodcock and not snipe? Woodcock are not overly common in Manitoba but there are some in the southeastern corner. Woodcock are hunted extensively in eastern Canada and you are correct, they are tricky to shoot.

Yup, they are woodcock for sure. Scare them up in standing timber, alder thickets, etc. Also piles of them buzzing like bee's up and down bush trails at dusk. Googled the critters and they are apparently expanding their range into eastern Manitoba.
 
I truely enjoy a good woodcock hunt more than anything, when you get into a good flight of them they are a challenge and I like eating them.
 
Isn't there a type of Snipe hunting where you take a newbie hunting and have them stand in the brush holding a burlap sack while you drive the snipe to them?
 
Woodcock hunting, is by far, a riot! We spend our afternoons hunting these birds during deer season. There are always plenty of them where I hunt. Should be a good year for them in Southern Ontario, with all the rain we had this year. We are going to take out the new dog this year, see if he can point some out (6 month old Hungarian Vishla).
 
I've seen only 2 while upland hunting last year. They were gone by the time i got the shotgun in my shoulder.

Fast little buggers they are, and hard to shoot even if you have your gun shouldered at the time.

I hear they're tastey!

Maybe this season the dog will put a few up for me.

Mike Oxbig
 
Timberdoodles

They are a riot to try to shoot but I would not consider them "good eating" although many people love them, I'm just not one of them. I shoot woodcock when ever I have the chance and then give them to friends who like eating them. Here's a pic from a good day last season with my CZ Ringneck .410 which is my weapon of choice for timberdoodles. Get out and have some fun and see if you like eating them.
conestogalake2007029.jpg

Regards
 
As I said:

Reliable source said:
Snipe hunting is considered an art form by many. Ancient Caucasians began the practice by placing themselves in an open field at night, and holding open a large, black trash bag. Other hunters would circle around the field and drive all of the nearby snipes toward the hunters in the field. The snipes would be easily identifiable in the dark due to their red eyes. The hunters in the field would use the red eyes of the snipes to find them and capture them with the trash bags. The snipes must be killed by having their hearts stopped. This can be accomplished in many ways.

The mountain snipe is a bit harder to catch, and the technique is a bit more complicated. In the fall, the mountain snipe makes it's nest underground, so that it may hibernate for the winter. They usually do this around suburban homes, as the kids running around and cars going by tend to drive away predators. Even in hibernation, the snipes are light sleepers, especially at night. This is because there isn't as much human activity going on at night, which means that there's nothing keeping away predators. When the sun goes down, and you're sure most of the people in the neighborhood are asleep, grab a pot and spoon and run around the people's yards banging the pot and spoon together and scream "COODYHOO!" as loud as you can. This will drive the snipes out of their nests, making them easy prey. Some people might lean out of their windows and scream at you to shut the #### up. Ignore them. Remember that people are the snipe's best friend, and therefore, your enemy. The snipe might try to bolt towards the houses in hopes of finding a hole to crawl into, so you must trick them into thinking there are predators around the houses by throwing rocks or trash at them. If you see something moving in the grass, jump on it and begin hitting it with your spoon until it stops moving. If the police show up and tell you to stop, just inform them that you are snipe hunting.

Snipe hunting is a notoriously dangerous sport. No firearms are used, so snipes often are often killed by hand. This results in many hunters being mauled. In 2004, there were 60,000 snipe maulings in the Southern United States alone.
 
1899, that was funny!
Doubleman, I"ve shot woodcock with a 12 gauge(with varying levels of success!), so if your shooting them with a .410 you"re a beter man than me!
We start to see woodcock here around the first moon in November(they come down from northern europe, although a small number are resident)
They are pretty nocturnal, hiding up under broad leafed bushes like laurel and rhodadendron during the day. They can be shot at dusk(if legal!), and I have shot most when waiting for evening duck flights in bogs. Small shot, and lots of it!
 
They are a riot to try to shoot but I would not consider them "good eating" although many people love them, I'm just not one of them. I shoot woodcock when ever I have the chance and then give them to friends who like eating them. Here's a pic from a good day last season with my CZ Ringneck .410 which is my weapon of choice for timberdoodles. Get out and have some fun and see if you like eating them.

Regards

That's true.....they don't taste like the European or the Asian ones. I reckon somthing to do with their diet - those Ontario earthworms probably don't taste so good in the first place either :D

I agree, using a .410 for Woodcock indicates you as an accomplished shotgunner.
 
I have shot woodcock with nearly every gauge but also distroyed a few due to close range flushes. I like the .410 because I can hit them as fast as possible without to much meat damage and 1/2oz of 7 1/2 shot kills them very well if you do your part. I love my .410's and yes I have been clay shooting for 22 years which helps a bunch. I shoot about 50 phesants a year with a .410 and will use it untill the weather gets cold and the birds get feathered up. Although I love .410's I also do not recomend them for the average person because they must be used within there effective range which means passing up shots that you would normally take with a larger gauge. As to the taste of woodcock here they have a strong earth worm flavor for sure, I just wish they tasted like grouse because they are so fun to shoot.
Regards
 
Back
Top Bottom