What exactly counts as wildfowling?
Is it any pursuit of wild ducks and geese, or does it only become wildfowling once you are cold, wet, deep in estuary mud and questioning your life choices?

Jake Woolf, Avian Sandercock and Sam Turner attempt to get to the bottom of one of Britain’s oldest and most demanding forms of shooting.

They look at the traditional world of foreshore wildfowling: early starts, evening flights, shifting tides, slippery mud, quarry identification and the importance of joining a club whose members know how to get safely onto and off the marsh.

The conversation also covers the dogs, guns, cartridges, calls, decoys and clothing involved; why a synthetic semi-automatic may be more useful than Grandfather’s best gun; and whether a muddy Labrador is easier to clean than a spaniel.

There is also a look back at the formidable punt guns once used by commercial wildfowlers, before attention turns to the most important question of all: what should you do with a duck or goose once you have brought it home?

Plus duck cooked over coals, smoked goose, wildfowl burgers, questionable jerky experiments, Teflon Labradors, baritone chickadees and the familiar suggestion that a badly cooked Canada goose may be less appetising than the brick beneath it.

In this episode:

• What wildfowling is — and whether mud is an essential part of the definition
• Why traditional wildfowling is closely associated with marshes, estuaries and the foreshore
• How clubs manage access, sporting rights, mentoring and local safety
• The importance of understanding tides and learning an unfamiliar marsh from experienced members
• Recognising legal quarry before taking a shot
• Why Labradors are so closely associated with wildfowling
• Calls, decoys and attracting ducks and geese
• Why electronic bird calls cannot be used
• Choosing a robust shotgun and suitable non-lead ammunition
• Why an inexpensive synthetic semi-automatic may be a practical choice
• The history and extraordinary scale of punt guns
• Clothing, communications and emergency planning on the foreshore
• Why newcomers should not venture onto unfamiliar tidal ground alone
• Keeping both wildfowler and dog warm in difficult conditions
• Cooking duck and goose over fire, in a wok, as burgers, smoked or made into charcuterie
• Why Avian may finally have talked himself into trying wildfowling

• BASC introduction to wildfowling
• BASC wildfowling permits, handbook and code of practice
• BASC guide to quarry species and open seasons
• UK Government guidance on hunting and shooting wildlife
• The Crown Estate — wildfowling and foreshore sporting rights

Please note: Wildfowling law, quarry lists and local restrictions can change. Always check current government guidance and the rules of the club or land over which you are shooting.

Part of the SideCountry Network.

DISCLAIMER
Views are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.