World Championship of Duck Shooting

[Gareth Tawton]

With less than a week to go before the opening of Victorias duck shooting season it must be time to revisit the world championship of duck shooting.

Of course I am sure the "Parkinson" world championship (only open to male Parkinson's") will be as keenly contested as in years gone by. Rumour has it Graeme has been in heavy training over the last few months. While the title is currently held by Wayne who has a significant "Home Swamp" advantage. I suspectr Graemes superiour training regime will see a changinmg of the guard. Will Graemes nerve hold this time, as he puts his extensive training to the ultimate test?

Meanwhile after a couple years absense the "old Man" is making a comeback in the Tawton World Champs. Is he likely to regain his old form? Is the eye sight good enough? The reaction fast enough? I think not and expect the handing over of the title to be complete by next Sunday afternoon.

Remember boys and girls he/she with the most birds wins. In the event of a tie (all parties shoot the bag limit) The first back to camp to open a cold one wins!!! Good luck and great shooting.

Gareth

Does anyone else out there have their own version of the world duck shooting championships?

[Wayne Parkinson]

Gareth, Gareth, Gareth
There is a vast difference between training for something and being born ready for it.
Unfortunately for Graeme he missed his last training session and will peak a week late for the big event.
The World Duck Hunting Title looks safe from where I’m sitting.

As for the Tawton version Bob looks like he's on a role at the moment so you may not have it all your own way.
I do think the rules should be revisited to reflect the cartridge for duck ratio.

By the way did I mention it looks like Graeme might have a dose of pneumonia.

[Gareth Tawton]

Wayne,

We all know that part of the fun is pulling the trigger so we definately shouldn't have a duck to shell ratio. Also a duck to shell ratio wouldn't not allow some competitors to shoot in their natural manner. I personally have always used to plenty of lead (or steel) in the air method as actually aiming doesn't seem to work to well for me
For Dads sake I hope the altzheimers doesn't set in on Friday night

Gareth

[FOM - Lainee]

Sorry to hijack your banter between hunters, but I must ask a few questions:

What type of ducks do you hunt?
What are the limits?
What are your seasons?
Do you hunt public land or private?

My answers to my own questions:
I hunt in our Central Flyway which is main Mallards, some Pintails, Gadwalds and Green Wing Teal.

Limits are 6 birds a day with a total of 2 days worth in possession.

Seasons run in 7 to 10 day increments with a week off in between from Oct - January. Generally, they change from year to year.

I hunt most public land, between my dog habit and hunting habit I can't afford to pay for private hunting grounds.

Lainee, Flash and Bullet

[Jason Ferris]

Sorry to hijack your banter between hunters

Hi Lainee, Trust me this is no banter - these guys are serious. I've seen them in action!

What type of ducks do you hunt?
What are the limits?
What are your seasons?
Do you hunt public land or private?

Duck hunting in Australia is managed on a state by state basis. Currently Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, Queensland and the Northern Territory have recreational duck hunting seasons. New South Wales and Western Australia have pest mitigation hunting, where farmers can invite hunters to shoot ducks which are damaging crops (mainly rice) and fouling stock water. The Australian Capital Territory has no duck hunting.

The species hunted vary from state to state also, but generally in southern Australia the game species are Black Duck, Wood Duck, Grey Teal, Chestnut Teal, Pink-eared Duck, Mountain Duck, Hardhead and Blue-winged Shoveler. In the tropical north Magpie Goose, Water Whistle Duck and Grass Whistle Duck are also available. There are limited opportunities for hunting Cape Barren Goose in Tasmania and South Australia as part of population management programs. There are pictures and information on each species in A Guide to Australian Waterfowl. None of the Australian waterfowl are migratory, but are highly nomadic moving around the country depending on environmental conditions. Hunters are required to site a waterfowl identification test before they can apply for a hunting permit.

The seasons and bag limits vary across the states and from year to year, but here are a few examples for 2005:

Victoria: Saturday 19th March to Monday 13th June. The bag will be 5 birds per day plus an additional 5 Wood Duck for each day of the opening weekend. Blue-winged Shoveler may not be taken during the 2005 VIC duck season.

South Australia: Saturday 12 February 2005 to Sunday 26 June 2005. The bag limit is 10 birds per day with the exception of Wood Duck for which there is no bag limit.

Tasmania: 5 March 2005 to 5 June 2005, not sure of the bag, but it is usually 12 birds.

I don't have 2005 dates for Queensland or the NT, but in 2004 Queensland had a season from 29th May to 22nd of August with 12 ducks per day.

Access to land for hunting varies across states also. In Victoria and South Australia there are public game reserves where hunting is allowed. I believe there is some access to public land in the Qld and the NT also.

Hope this gives you some idea of our hunting. Good luck to everyone in Victoria working their retrievers in the field this weekend.

Cheers, Jason.

[Robert Tawton]

Hi Wayne,

Your proposal that the shells to duck ratio should be taken into account has my full support. These trigger happy youngsters have a lot to learn from the grey headed old fraternity.

I truly hope Graeme is over his malaise, as I know from personal experience that it can be very painful. Graeme, best wishes for a speedy recovery!

BFN, RWT

[Graeme Parkinson]

Well I'm back and healthy, sorry I didn't get down to the gunclub for that final practice though I feel a little bit under done. As for being born ready I think Wayne forgets he was born a long time ago now, some of that ready has worn off.

I hope you Gareth have a great time Bob, I don't think I would be letting him use those 3 inch shells though. 2 3/4 is a gentlemans cartridge I always say.

FOM..Anyone who wants to talk ducks is welcome in our conversations. We shoot on private land and are lucky enough not to have to pay for it (courtesy of my brothers contacts). There is plenty of public land around, although it might get a bit crowded but plenty of people bag out using these lands.

Graeme

[Wayne Parkinson]

Graeme that's the funniest thing I have read in a while.
I do hope the shells I have bought for you measure up to your expectations

FOM have you ever been Turkey hunting?
I have seen it on the television and spoken to an American who hunts them by stalking and he assured me it's great.

How did you get your start in hunting?
I had the good fortune to get taken out by my elder brother Graeme.

We live in a duck hunting area and mainly hunt the area around home The species we hunt are Grey Teal, Pacific Black Duck, Wood duck, occassionaly Hard head and on the odd occassion Chestnut Teal and Mountain Duck.

Teresa and I only live 5 minutes from the border so we get to hunt the Victorian duck season and then from the start of October till the end of January on the New South Wales rice fields. That's why we moved here.
We hunt 3 or 4 times a week during the season and a couple of times a week during the rice season.
We always have fun duck hunting and it's great to get the dogs out working. I just love watching the dogs work.

Bob give me the duck to shell ratio anytime. It shows a certain maturity and understanding.

[FOM - Lainee]

Jason - Thanks for the information. Hunting there sounds pretty much like it does here except we aren't required to take a bird identification test - maybe they should require it though! How can someone mistake a swan for a snow goose??

Graeme - I love talking hunting, ducks, pheasants, elk, deer, ect. I love talking about dogs, too. I defiantely would be against the counting of shells though - I don't think the ratios would work in my favor!

Wayne - I got started in hunting because of my pride and joy - Flash! I grew up a "city slicker." When I finally got a dog it happened to be a fine retriever, I spent his first year training him to run in hunt tests, when the fall hunting season rolled around I figured why waste all that fine training we did. I bought a cheap shotgun, posted a sign up at work and bingo I was off to my first ever hunt on opening day! The sky was black with birds and I was hooked ever since!! I got into big game hunting a couple years after that - I've gotten an elk and deer - not bad for only hunting big game for 4 years!

I have never been turkey hunting, but its on my list of things to do - drawing for a license can be difficult here in Colorado.

So how hard is it for an foriegner to get a licsense to hunt?

FOM

[Jason Ferris]

Wayne - I got into big game hunting a couple years after that - I've gotten an elk and deer - not bad for only hunting big game for 4 years!

FOM, don't talk to Wayne about big game hunting unless you want to see a grown man cry. On the other hand, I'm sure he would be interested in the elk!

So how hard is it for an foriegner to get a licsense to hunt?

Getting a licence is pretty easy, but can take some time - something that few international hunters have much of!

Assuming you want to hunt in Victoria, first you need to pass the Waterfowl Identification Test. You start by studying a video with example clips and then sit the test (in Australia). Normally there is a time delay in processing your results but you can pay more (A$55) and have your results fast tracked and get your Certificate of Proficiency in 24 hours. Once you have your WIT Certificate of Proficiency you can apply for a Game Licence for "game birds including duck", pay A$40.90 and have your licence issued immediately, and go hunting. I would suggest if you are thinking of hunting in Australia that you plan on having a week of "holiday" first to actually sites some of these birds in the field (which helps a lot with the WIT test) and get your licence sorted.

I understand that New Zealand has excellent hunting and more straightforward licencing arrangements. It would be great to see you in Australia, but maybe NZ is the place to go hunting!

Cheers, Jason.

[Howard]

Jason, how difficult is it to bring a shotgun into Australia? or buying one there?

[Jason Ferris]

Jason, how difficult is it to bring a shotgun into Australia? or buying one there?

Hi Howard

I don't have first hand experience on this question, so can't give you definite information. Perhaps someone else on the site can add more info?

I understand that it is reasonably straightforward to import firearms into Australia, there is a customs process that needs to be followed of course, but it is do-able. Once you got into Australia, however, you could have problems with possing the firearm. Firearms laws vary from state to state and you would need a licence to posses your shotgun. A standard firearms licence requires you to be a resident, undertake safely training and sit a test - none of these would work well for a visitor. I am not aware of arrangements for international visitors, but shooters arrived here in large numbers for the 2000 Olympics so it must be possible.

Buying a shotgun here would be difficult. Assuming you could get a firearms licence, there is a lengthy permit to acquire cooling off period in most states.

There are also fairly strict laws about the types of shotguns that can be owned here. We had a national ban on pump action and semi-auto shotguns in 1996, so only break action (side-by-side and O&U) shotguns are legal for most shooters (and all hunters).

Sorry the news wasn't better. I understand New Zealand is more welcoming in this regard.

Cheers, Jason.

[Prue Winkfield]

Like Jason, I don't know the details but do know that people come in from overseas to hunt and compete so it must be possible. There are also game farms in Queensland that apparently host Americans and there could be in the Northern Terrtory. So, if you are thinking of paying us a visit, suggest you talk to the nearest Australian Consul for advice. It would be great if you came and saw some of our trials and there is all sorts of hunting depending on the depth of you pockets!

[Gareth Tawton]

Victory is sweet and a little birdy tells me Graeme had the same taste

Gareth

[Wayne Parkinson]

The only thing Graeme should be tasting is humble pie.
I unvailed my new shotgun and the title was as good as in the bag,
but once again the world duck hunting championship has spiralled into controversy and confusion.

The has been name calling, accusations of claim jumping, hide poaching, duck stealing, even a dispute over ownership of a hare.

Personally I don't know what all the fuss is about.