SHOOTING DUCK.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 102, 3 May 1933, Page 5

SHOOTING DUCK.

LAUNCHES ON PIAKO. " LESS POACHING THIS YEAR." "LOOS" THAT ARE " JUMPED." \ Duck shooting on the Piako River is reported to be "patchy." Those who went to the district a few weeks before the opening day and stood by their "loos" got good bags, but others, who were only able to get on the ground at the last moment, are not very pleased with the result of their _ outing, some enthusiasts not even getting a bird. A judge of the Supreme Court wno is keen shot is reported to have shot one duck only. A feature of the shooting was the good bags secured by a number of fishermen, who took their launches up the river and camped for a few weeks prior to the opening day. Being on the spot, they were able to see that the positions they marked off were not "jumped," as happened in the case of others, who constructed hiding places prior to the opening day, only to come to the river on May 1 to find that tliey had been pulled down. Other "loos" had been built nearby. Two Large Bags. ' Two large bags were sent from the Morrinsville railway station. On Mon- ! day a "parcel" of 90 ducks was railed, and yesterday another parcel of 100 j birds was dispatched. "The shooting was not quite as good as last year's," said a sportsman this morning. "Around Mercer it was exceptionally poor, and so it was at the Black Lake at Ohinewai. "I am pleased to say that there was not as much poaching before the opening day as in former years," he continued. "There is a reason for this. Sportsmen this year 'sat' on their 'possies' to prevent 'jumpers.' My opinion is that the Acclimatisation Society should do something in respect to the regulation of genuine stands, which have been pegged out before the commencement of the season. My; igact® met _. aumerflufi

campers, some of whom had been on the ground for five or six weeks await- : ing the opening day; others were com- i fortably camping in launches. It seems that if a bag is required a sportsman must practically sit in his 'loo' for weeks in order to get a cliance. Shooting at Night. "The inspection is not good. According to the rules, a sportsman cannot shoot later than half an hour after dark, and yet I heard shots fired all night. I don't suppose anybody was practising at target shooting. The rangers do not seem to have much of an opportunity to prosecute, as there are so many ways of dodging them. "I can frankly say that the Acclimatisation Society's rules in regard to I restriction of the bag and in other ways are a 'wash out.' There are far too many avenues of evasion. For instance, a member of a party of five may shoot 100 birds, and the others practically none; but when the bag is distributed who can say any one of the party shot|

more than the limit? It may be found necessary later on to limit the number of rounds of ammunition a shooter can carry to, say, 50, but I suppose that would be evaded by borrowing." Pheasants are reported to be fairly plentiful on the Miranda coast, and a number of sportsmen obtained six birds each.