shooting snipe & rails

[Herb Hewlett]

I'm looking for info. on shooting snipe and rails in Maine.Do we have a viable population? When do they migrate? Fish & wildlife says you can shoot 8 snipe & 25 rails but I've rarely encountered them,even tried to find some in merrymeeting bay to no avail. Sloshing around in ankle deep mud at low tide seems like it could be fun. Any help amongst flashlight and sack guys out there? I can see myself and my Parker mud encased in the near future. Thanks, Herb

[Dean Romig]

Here snipe... here snipe...



It surprises me that you haven't been able to find any in Merrymeeting Bay. Have you tried along the banks of the Kennebec between Waterville and Augusta? Soon after they breached the Edwards Dam those shorelines looked like prime snipe and rail terrain.

[Destry L. Hoffard]

Snipe and rails are both where you find them. I've killed both down in Southern Illinois where I'm from but it took a lot of looking and very little shooting most of the time. To most folks they're mystery birds, I'm literally the only person I know who's ever hunted them down that way. My guess is Maine is about the same, it's just not one of the areas that there seems to be a hunting culture for them. Both birds must pass through that area in good numbers, it would just be a matter of figuring out when and where. After the first frost both will be long gone so if you're going to find any this season you'd better really start looking.


Destry