Snipe hunting on the Altamaha

[Mills Morrison]

These photos are of Champney Island and Butler Island which are old rice plantations now managed for waterfowl, snipe and a host of other wildlife. The water is now drawn down for snipe season. Not a whole lot of luck today, but still a good time. The Parker is an 1890 GH 12 with the early GH engraving.

[wayne goerres]

Is the checkering completely worn off the but stock or did the gun not have any.

[Mills Morrison]

The checkering is worn off and the stock needs some work. A great shooter though

[charlie cleveland]

lovely area you are hunting..the snipe and the old parker go good together..it s been a while since i ve killed a snipe..pull a snipes head off and it looks to be a quail to me...just don t fly like a quail though..keepem coming... hope i do as well squirl hunting to day weather is nasty this morning its raining and 34 degrees.. charlie

[will evans]

Nice. A few questions: Do you hunt snipe with a dog? What's the difference between a snipe and a woodcock? They look almost identical. How do you tell the difference?
How are they as table fare?

A buddy has moved to Savannah recently. I'm planning to take my duck boat down to his house to resume hunting that area again.

[Mills Morrison]

I do not hunt snipe with a dog. They are too skiddish to hold for a point. Snipe like marsh or muddy fields and woodcock like swampy woods. Woodcock are a little bigger

[Russ Jackson]

Mills ,Great Pictures and a nice looking Snipe ,don't forget to mention the Snipe seems to me ,to be at least twice as fast in the air as a Woodcock ! Congrats on Good Shooting ! Russ

[Ed Blake]

Can you use lead shot?

[Mills Morrison]

You can use lead shot in Georgia.

[Dean Romig]

Snipe aren't covered under the Federal Migratory Bird Act???

[Russ Lindsay]

Dean, they are, but non-toxic shot is not a requirement for all Migratory Bird Treaty birds. Dove for example are another.

[Dean Romig]

Thanks Russ, I knew about woodcock and dove but wasn't aware that snipe are excluded as well.

[Russ Lindsay]

I believe they make the distinction between waterfowl and other types of migratory birds, such as we have referenced. Non-toxic shot being required for waterfowl and all birds they place in that category and any shot type for all migratory birds that are not part of the "waterfowl" category.

[Kevin McCormack]

In many cases it is ultimately up to the State as to requiring the use of non-toxic shot for non-waterfowl migratory birds. For many years after the imposition of the lead shot ban on migratory waterfowl, the State of New Jersey allowed the use of lead shot for railbird hunting in its wonderful riverine marshes. After early teal season opened, the lead ban went into effect in those areas as well.

This was a great benefit, and much to the state's credit, since to my knowledge at the time of the ban the smallest shot size available in non-toxic loads was #7. Of course the wonderful old loads for the tiny birds in #10 or #11 (#12s 'pulped' the meat too much) lead were just the ticket, regardless of gauge. (My rail hunting mentor's favorite quip was, "No choke is too open and no shot size is too small").

Eventually, the State succumbed to pressure from the 'green' groups and extended the lead shot ban a few years ago to include railbird hunting as well. We owe much to the NJ DNR and State waterfowl management programs who supported and enforced this exemption for the use of lead shot in railbird hunting; it gave us almost 20 years of being able to use lead for rail shooting after the early 1980's ban(s).

[Dean Romig]

Good information Kevin. It is unfortunate that there is no non-toxic shot made in the smaller sizes, but I guess snipe shooters are too few and far between to make it a viable enterprise for the manufacturers... and so goes another generation of hunters to the history of sport-shooting in America and "the way we were".

[charlie cleveland]

well said dean..... charlie

[Russ Jackson]

[QUOTE=Dean Romig;131692]Good information Kevin. It is unfortunate that there is no non-toxic shot made in the smaller sizes, QUOTE]

I agree Dean ,I am assumimg you are talking about Small Bores ,410, 28 etc. and I hope RST or some one is working on this ,as eventually all upland hunting may require the use of a Non Toxic shot ! Sad to say I think the writing is already on the wall !

[Jack Kuzepski]

Kevin,

I was talking to a gamewarden in NJ not too far from Mauricetown last year about woodcock hunting. He told me about some young guys he checked and busted for hunting woodcock that season using lead shot. So NJ is going more no-tox than a little!

Jack Kuzepski

Jack Kuzepski

[Mills Morrison]

In Georgia, it is legal as long as it is not against the Migratory Bird Treaty. SC does not allow 10 gauges on WMA's for waterfowl hunts, which blows me away, but they are otherwise very liberal (errr maybe conservative is a better adjective here) in their game laws.