Thread: The first weekend in May.............

Originally Posted by bigbear

Another warm day here in the hills of gisborne, light frost this morning. Glad opening wasn't this morning here.
So how many years has duck shooting been the first weekend of May?

She was clear as here this morning....wouldn’t have being the best morning...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well, it wasnt opening day, but this afternoon more than made up for it.

Originally Posted by Allgood

Well, it wasnt opening day, but this afternoon more than made up for it.

Attachment 138438

Good work.

[QUOTE=7mmwsm;998286]Spent the day on a digger cleaning a drain below my main pond. While I was digging away a light bulb came on in my head and I thought "Bugger this, I could make another pond here".
So I did. Only small, but should be full of water by the time we get to shoot.[/QUOTE

South Waikato is close enough for a afternoon and evening shoot. I intend to start a post when the season starts. I intend to get around a few of the Forum members and shoot and evening with them as a way of meeting them. I have excellent shooting around here and on my pond, in Whakatane its not about the ducks it about the experience, so I might get to meet you.

Oh mate cray on the other side that would be different, Imcant dive anymore so now Im resprting to pottting after this lockdown. I can reciprocate that with Coromandell cray. Thats my next mission after the ducks.

when i resumed duckshooting -I met GSPF over the other side .having read his gooseshooting tales ,I thinks to meself 'this is the go "and I replied .he kindly offered me an apprenticeship which has blossomed into a mighty bunch of guys with very little change.
do i enjoy it Hell Yeah,scenery bar none ,fun bar none ,birds galore ,lots of pisstaking ,but if one goes down the rest stand to!
one cannot ask for better than that!
well boys saturdays loomin -forget covid 19 ,super18,jacinda adern(whose she-a bloody ranger) its just us and them wiley fat(hopefully) birdand at the end duckfat dribbling down ya chinas ya sit back and think sometimes life aint too bad.
hot barrells ,good mates ,good dogs -dont get hurt and sat night raise ya glass to the mighty wildfowl.

4 more sleeps

Repaired some leaky dekes today using foam aerosol. Will touch up paint tomorrow and try to feed the swamp. No sign of rain around Reporoa so paddocks are pretty dry.

at last look the dam is slowly rising up......the further is rises the easier it is to hide within range.....getting really keen now.

Originally Posted by Woody

4 more sleeps

Repaired some leaky dekes today using foam aerosol. Will touch up paint tomorrow and try to feed the swamp. No sign of rain around Reporoa so paddocks are pretty dry.

@Woody. Go to a plumbing supply shop or place that sells PVC pipe for irrigation ( Like Water Dynamics). Buy yourself some 4mm 'Goof Plugs'. If you end up with shot holes in a deke, just press the goof plug into the hole and it will do as a temporary repair. At the end of the season, pull the goof plug out, put a dab of silicon on the hole and press the goof plug back in and it will seal watertight........They come in black plastic and are almost invisible to ducks.....Will post a pic if you want.

Interesting. Please do.
Ive used hot melt glue gun in the past too but foam is foolproof; doesnt matter how much the pond piachers shoot my decoys; they wont sink !

Originally Posted by Woody

Interesting. Please do.
Ive used hot melt glue gun in the past too but foam is foolproof; doesnt matter how much the pond piachers shoot my decoys; they wont sink !

@Woody. Here is a pic of the 'Goof' plugs'. They come on a plastic frame of 10...Only cost a few cents/dollar from memory. Place it over the hole, push down hard'

The decoy plastic expands to accept the plug then closes over the shaft sealing the hole.



20c piece for scale..........

I should make my bro in law buy some...I swear its him who holes my dekes...funny thing is he gets the blame even when he not shooting with us...the bastard!!!!

Cripes. Theyre big plugs. Are they for buckshot, BB's or #3 steel ?!
The poacher holes in my dekes are about lead #6 size -- So far !

Originally Posted by Woody

Cripes. Theyre big plugs. Are they for buckshot, BB's or #3 steel ?!
The poacher holes in my dekes are about lead #6 size -- So far !

Where I shoot on the Kaipara, I use Steel #3's. Wounded birds get a finisher as soon as they hit the water because as soon as they hit the mangroves they are impossible to find. Cant use a dog as its feet get torn up on the oyster beds and oysters on the mangrove roots so sometimes a stray pellet will hit a deke or 2. The plugs are a tight fit to get in, but the tighter the fit the better the seal. Decoy plastic will stretch around the plugs then close tight.
I hang a plastic 'card' of 10 plugs on my duck call Lanyard. Its a simple task to twist one off and fix the deke when needed.

It beats having to remove decoys and stuff up a good decoy pattern if one or 2 start sinking due to collateral damage.......Just lift the deke out of the water, hold it so the hole is at the lowest point, Squeeze the deke to push the water out and plug the hole.

Where do you get these magical plugs from?look handy.