THE SHOOTING SEASON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18080, 3 May 1922, Page 6

THE SHOOTING SEASON.

EXPERIENCE OF SPORTSMEN. Tho shooting season opened in the Auckland district on Monday, and reports from the Lower Waikato indicate that the duck-shooting is not so good as usual. At Hamilton and Tauranga, however, game is more plentiful, and good bags have been secured. Many sportsmen are in the Tauranga- district. Duck and quail are plentiful, and pheasants fairly plentiful. Tho best bag of pheasants so far reported is seven birds for one gun on the opening day. ,j v .'.'.' Sportsmen who have returned from the Mercer and Rangiriri districts report that duck do not appear to be plentiful. In fact, the number of birds obtained by parties is, on an average, only about a quarter the number obtained last year in the same time. The weather conditions on Monday and yesterday were not good for shooting, and not so many sportsmen as usual were out. In the Mercer and adjacent districts tho duck that have been secured are in good condition. The bags contained a fair percentage of swan. Bettor sport, however, was obtained near Hamilton. A party consisting of Messrs. J. E. Chitey, T. S. Cray, and A. C. Cave, shooting over country only 12 miles from Hamilton, returned at mid-day yesterday with 20 hares, 10 brace of quai', and seven brace of pheasants. Tho birds were in good condition. Largo numbers of quail wore seen. WILD DUCK SEEK SANCTUARY. ENVIOUS SPORTSMEN. [BY TELEGRAPH.OWN correspondent.] WANGANUI. Tuesday. The shooting season has not opened very auspiciously, and only small bags so far have been reported. With the opening of the season wild duck have flocked to several sanctuaries of the district as if they knew where safety for them lay. Not for years has St. John's Lake afforded shelter for so many wild birds as at the present time, the bulk of the feathered visitors having migrated there within tho past day or two. Sporting enthusiasts look with envy upon the huge flocks that are within easy reach of their guns but which they are not permitted to destroy.