Ducks are some of the most controversial birds we pursue in the sporting year. For a start, the word ‘duck’ covers a wide range of species with a dizzying variety of habits and habitats. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to duck shooting, and no sooner is variety introduced than people begin to rank the variants in order of preference. Controversy always ensues.
There used to be a trend for releasing mallard and shooting them in drives off ponds, but this kind of shooting takes a steady hand and a fine sense of balance. All too often, the ducks become difficult to flush; and when they do go, they’ll rise in a single flock and simply circle round and round above the Guns until everybody’s had their fill. The gamekeeper’s role is simply to stop the drive when enough birds have been shot. I don’t think there are many people who
