Woodcock hunting Ireland

Hi All,
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I was off work all last week, always take a week off at the start of December to get a bit of woodcock shooting done. Unfortunately, the temperamental Irish weather meant I didn't get out as much as I would like; however, I did get out 3 days and I managed to capture some footage from my outings.
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Day 1: Was a little late starting on this day as the weather was very poor in the morning but I had a good idea it was going to dry up in the afternoon. In total I flushed 8 woodcock on this day (including 3 from one whin bush!!!), but I only got a shot at 3 and I bagged them all. It was very windy so it made for testing shooting, bird 3 seemed like it had been shot out of a cannon it was going so quick!!! My cocker spaniel Dinky worked very well this day.
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Day 2: Dinky got a rest this day (don't like working a dog 2 days on the trot), so my Springer Spaniel Dawn joined us. The unpredictable Irish weather continued with bright sunshine the order of the day. Only flushed 4 birds with 1 offering a shot & being added to the bag.
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Day 3: Was steady rain all day and myself & Dinky got soaked!!! Only 1 woodcock again this day.
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Anyway I hope you all like the video. Sorry about all the slow-mo's, but I think it is sometimes difficult to make out woodcock in the video, so hopefully they are easier to spot on slow-mo.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kezyaQxk_k
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Please don't forget to like my video and subscribe to my channel for more videos in the future:
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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdX...bmKo0Ccm-vWRfw


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They can fair move! Is seeing 8 in a day good going?

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Originally Posted by Pointer

They can fair move! Is seeing 8 in a day good going?

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They are very tricky to shoot as quite often you are in the thick of the cover and have little time to shoot.

The 3rd bird I shot was one of the fastest I have ever shot, it circled me in a flash as there was a strong breeze behind it.

As they are a truely wild bird, you never know how many you are going to see. 8 in a day is good, but when the weather gets frosty or snowy it is not uncommon to see 10+ in a day. They migrate from Scandinavia & Russia when the weather gets cold in those countries, so our sport is dependent on them having a cold winter.

Thanks for watching.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by dretopshot

They are very tricky to shoot as quite often you are in the thick of the cover and have little time to shoot.

The 3rd bird I shot was one of the fastest I have ever shot, it circled me in a flash as there was a strong breeze behind it.

As they are a truely wild bird, you never know how many you are going to see. 8 in a day is good, but when the weather gets frosty or snowy it is not uncommon to see 10+ in a day. They migrate from Scandinavia & Russia when the weather gets cold in those countries, so our sport is dependent on them having a cold winter.

Thanks for watching.


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Hi mate, are you a member of the club?....or cant you be arsed wearing a tie????

The Gearach - woodcock shooting

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Originally Posted by Scouser

Hi mate, are you a member of the club?....or cant you be arsed wearing a tie????

The Gearach - woodcock shooting

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Yes I am lucky enough to be a member of the club. I have shot 3 right & lefts altogether, one of these I had witnesses, so that was enough to get me into the club.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by dretopshot

Yes I am lucky enough to be a member of the club. I have shot 3 right & lefts altogether, one of these I had witnesses, so that was enough to get me into the club.


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Sweet, good shooting mate!!!!

cool stuff mate looking forward to getting into some birds real soon.

Grew up doing that every winter. No8s in the 12g and Grouse, our spaniel flushing them. Woodcock and Snipe, maybe the odd pheasant.

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Originally Posted by gsp follower

cool stuff mate looking forward to getting into some birds real soon.

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What birds will you be hunting soon in New Zealand?

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Originally Posted by scottrods

Grew up doing that every winter. No8s in the 12g and Grouse, our spaniel flushing them. Woodcock and Snipe, maybe the odd pheasant.

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Yeah 8's or 7.5's are fine. I use 7.5's encase I get the chance of a pheasant or rabbit.


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I loved the countryside and the dog work. Do you use pointers ever?

Where I am out west we have no woodcock, but we have snipe that rest at springs in our desert as they migrate. Woodcock and snipe sure test a hunter's skills. Thanks for the post. :cool:

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Originally Posted by luv2safari

I loved the countryside and the dog work. Do you use pointers ever?

Where I am out west we have no woodcock, but we have snipe that rest at springs in our desert as they migrate. Woodcock and snipe sure test a hunter's skills. Thanks for the post. :cool:

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A mate of mine has a gsp but the ground is not really conducive to pointers because the cover doesn't suit there short coat. Spaniels are more practical & they are very versatile, so they can do most types of hunting.


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