Young Shots from the south-east of England got to experience wildfowling for the first time last weekend thanks to an event run by BASC and the Chichester Harbour Wildfowlers and Conservation Association.
The idea behind the event was to offer Young Shots an introduction to wildfowling and consisted of two days running consecutively in West Sussex. The “preliminary” day was a prerequisite to the wildfowling outing where Young Shots were taught about the skills required to be a competent wildfowler. This included an introduction to the use and construction of hides, decoy patterns, shooting positions and quarry identification.
Two weeks later, the Young Shots were paired up with members of the club who acted as guides on the morning flight. Unfortunately, conditions weren’t on the Young Shots side, but despite a low bag count the Young Shots still had a fantastic experience, learning to set up their positions, identify the calls of the quarry species as well as recognise them in flight.
BASC SE regional officer, Jenni Thompson, said: “This was a wonderful opportunity for the Young Shots, the CHWCA members were excellent mentors and even though not everyone had a shot, they all got a true taste of the experience of wildfowling and the skills required, the anticipation and the preparation involved in an outing and everyone certainly went home having had a fantastic experience.”
ENDS