Wellington Weekly Hunting Report – June 01 2017

Pick Your Weather - Clean Up

Image right: There aren't any mallards about in the Wellington region - Yeah right! Three generations of the Galloway clan with a great bag of mallards and other species. 

Looks like another pretty good weekend for hunting on the cards, and a long weekend at that!

A change to strong southerlies on Sunday and through Monday could make for some very productive shooting.

The gloomy conditions and rain setting in tomorrow should have ducks on the wing early morning and evening too but the best looks to be towards the middle and end of the long weekend.

And don't discount paddock shooting if your ponds aren't producing during the day - there are some sodden parts of the region, with more rain forecast, and mallards have been seen happily feeding in surface water puddles. 

We hope you can get out and have a great shoot this weekend.  

Here are the prospects for this weekend:

Wellington/Wairarapa

Three day rain forecast

For the latest rain forecast click here

Friday, June 2	Saturday, June 3	Sunday, June 4

Don't Leave Your Decoys Out

Resetting your decoys each hunt will improve your success (Credit: Hamish Carnachan)

It's common practice for some to leave decoys out on the pond for the duration of the season. Okay, it saves time but is good practice?

To start with, the same decoy set up seen by ducks that survived the Opening Weekend harvest will look very suspicious. Further, the decoys actually quite quickly start to look unnatural as the colours fade, become coated in algae growth from the pond and, worse, some even begin to sink.

The anchor lines also get coated in weeds making the decoy movement sluggish, unnatural and even easier for the ducks to see from the air.

Just leaving decoys out overnight can actually have the opposite effect of luring ducks in as they get covered in frost or are wet and shiny on clear mornings – again, it looks unnatural.

To get the best hunting opportunities from your decoys keep them dry, clean and in good condition, and then set them in the right location and spread pattern each time you go out to hunt.

For example, as the wind direction changes, so will the ducks landing area and the part of the pond they wish to set down. If you do not setup correctly for the conditions, ducks will be wary or the shooting will be more difficult than it has to be.

Also consider that later in the season ducks are often in smaller groups made up of pairs and individuals which require a little personal space. So, if decoys have been left out since Opening Weekend in a big bunch, it screams out to the real ducks that ‘there is no room here, go away!’

Bringing in the decoys and resetting them for each hunt will keep them looking more natural and give you better hunting opportunities. Plus, it will ensure you’re actively engaged in one of the primary skills of duck hunting – effectively luring the birds into good shooting range.

As we all know, achieving this is never easy so why make life harder by leaving your decoys out and effectively warning birds away?

Safety Comes First

Opening Weekend is behind us but there's plenty of duck hunting ahead over the season - firearms safety still comes foremost

1. TREAT EVERY FIREARM AS LOADED

- Check every firearm yourself.
- Pass or accept only an open or unloaded firearm.

2. ALWAYS POINT FIREARMS IN A SAFE DIRECTION

- Loaded or unloaded, always point the muzzle in a safe direction.

3. LOAD A FIREARM ONLY WHEN READY TO FIRE

- Load the magazine only after you reach your hunting area.
- Load the chamber only when ready to shoot.
- Completely unload before leaving the hunting area.

4. IDENTIFY YOUR TARGET BEYOND ALL DOUBT

- Movement, colour, sound and shape can all deceive you.
- Assume colour, shape, sound, and shape to be human until proven otherwise.

5. CHECK YOUR FIRING ZONE

- THINK! What may happen if you miss your target? What might you hit between you and the target or beyond?
- Do not fire if you know others are in your firing zone.

6. STORE FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION SAFELY

- When not in use, lock away the bolt, firearm and ammunition separately.
- Never leave firearms in a vehicle that is unattended.

7. AVOID ALCOHOL AND DRUGS WHEN HANDLING FIREARMS

- Good judgement is the key to safe use of firearms.