Shooting Answers

WILDFOWLING

The imitation game

I have a pond that I would like to decoy ducks on but the water is too deep to wade. Do you have any decoy tips or techniques I could use?

Tom says: I will often use decoys on a pond to help guide the birds into the area I want them or to encourage ducks to commit. I have had the same issue in the past where I can’t enter the water due to its depth or there’s too much silt, for example. I will typically overcome this by adding the decoys to a motherline and throwing them in from the banking. This means that they can be retrieved safely from the banking when the flight is over without the need to enter the water.

If there is a wind and I want to ensure they stay in the intended location on the water, I will loop a weight through the motherline clip to act as an anchor. This should not interfere with the motherline system but will keep the decoys in place. This is a method I also use on low tidal creeks where I cannot enter the water but I would like more control over the spread.

LEGAL

What to do with the oldies

With the shift to steel getting ever closer I’m wondering what to do about my English guns, as they’re all 50-plus years old. Does the law require them to be reproofed for steel?

David says: No, unless there is some known defect with the barrels. We’re in the early stages of learning about the practicalities of steel shot in old guns.

Manufacturers are beginning to produce loads that are suitable for