Among the Cattails and rushes
The best days are unplanned, and one Friday recently I had one of those unplanned days. I’m not a person for changing things, I tend to push anything I own on until its expired, vehicles being one of them. I owned a small Citroen van I bought very cheaply as a second vehicle which turned into my only one for 11 years. It had an impressive 389,000 miles on the clock when I finally changed and it went onto to serve a new owner very well for taking his dogs to the beach. Guns are no different, and I owned my last shotgun from I was 23 years old and only recently sold it, it had as many shells through the barrel as the Citroen had miles and with the two together, I have many memories. Had the gun now been as heavy as it was, I would have held onto it but I just got tired of its weight, especially if and when I ever took to the hill for snipe which is always a lot of walking over rough ground. Some years ago I bought a folding .410 and found I could shoot a lot better with it than I could the 12 gauge, however one has to consider the limits of a .410 as injuring an animal is out of the question. The 20 gauge was always on my mind but never really happened, as my part of the country the were never a popular calibre and never something the dealer had in stock, until one evening in late February when I called for something entirely different. I happened to mention I had been thinking of changing my gun and would like a 20 but they weren’t common. He said to me he had one arrived in just that day and it was a nice example. I had a quick look and it was exactly what I wanted. Now, the fact that I booked that gun in February, made an application two days later and collected the gun in very late October will give you an indication of how quickly my license was processed. I hope to never repeat the performance of applying for a gun license that I have just had again because it was nothing short of ridiculous, but the less said about it the better.
On a still Autumn morning last Friday, I put my newly acquired gun into a slip that was too big for it into the pickup, loaded a few Teckels in and set off for an area near home which I knew might have a duck or two moving. I have shot ducks around these areas since a child with my father who was a very keen shot and especially enjoyed duck shooting, because he shot for the pot and nothing else, even should a fox pass on an evening he never raised his gun unless it was for something that would go in the oven! To call him a wildfowler however would be totally incorrect as never did he lay out on mud flats or even get a blast of sea air in the pursuit of ducks, it was always among the in-shore streams and ponds full of duck weed and cattails, the winter splashes and harvested fields of autumn where they would come to feed. We knew every stream, brook and water hole in the local area that would hold a Teal or even better a Mallard when the colder weather bit a little harder. Some of these places were surprising, and no more than big puddles when they got a little rain but when conditions were correct, always sure to hold a duck or two.
I had with me three Teckels, two bitches and a dog. A Teckel could be considered a strange choice for someone shooting ducks or anything else but they are more than capable. I have kept the breed now for over a decade and most recently they have become hugely popular with people realising their usefulness as a somewhat all-round breed although this term often causes confusion and often disappointment with potential owners. What must he understood with Dachshunds is that while they are a multipurpose breed that will track an injured, flush a fox or retrieve a shot duck, they don’t all do everything well. I got asked quite often by potential owners about acquiring a pup and my first question to them is “What do you want it for” I have had people tell me various reasons from shooting pheasants to catching rats, and it is true that the breed will do all these things to a degree but to think he will do them all well is letting yourself in for disappointment. If you want to carry out fox control below ground, a terrier would be your choice. To get a dog for pheasant shooting a spaniel would be on the list & perhaps for serious duck hunting a Labrador. To expect a Teckel to work to the degree of any of these breeds is not realistic and the reason to owning one is to perhaps get a little bit of everything. The breed does have specific lines when it comes to perhaps fox work or blood tracking that excel better than other lines and it pays to search a breeder working and breeding for the specific discipline that may interest you, and I would definitely shy away from the school of thought that seeks a Teckel to do another dog’s job unless you too have variation in your sports and rather than keeping a few different breeds require a jack of all trades.
After an hour or so drive I arrived at an area of heavy cover, next to a poultry farm and the owner is always happy to see us coming as a couple of rifle shooters keep the numbers under control but the heavy cover gives the foxes plenty of room to keep out of the beam of a roving rifle by night. Flushing the cover by day with a few Teckels and guns is an effective way to deal with any lamp shy foxes or one that might have had a lucky escape or two. I am always how and often we flush more even when the shooters tell us they haven’t seen any in a few weeks.
As we were getting ready to go, a lady approached to ask what we were doing – I didn’t recognise her but she looked like one of those equestrian types so I sort of guessed what was coming next. It turned out she had rented some land next door to graze horse and asked us if we would mind not shooting. I couldn’t really say no and I knew there were a lot of rabbits on that particular ground so I wasn’t going to annoy her as I knew we would have no problem getting some ferreting there later in the season, so I duly agreed and she told me she would let me know when the horses were moved off and we could return. We moved further down the road and I entered Remy and a couple of bitches and within minutes Remy had flushed two foxes and a third was followed up by the bitches with all three going exactly on the ride where the gun would have been, but they will be there for again.
It was still early so I decided to move on, bid my friend good bye and arrived at a small stream a couple of miles further down. I had Remy with me and he walked nicely to heel as we kept far enough not to startle any ducks too soon but close enough for a shot. Remy, who is now about 2 and a half years old is turning out quite well. A German import from breeder Doreen Trepte of the “Vom Alten Friedrich” kennel in Germany, he is a lively young dog, very keen and enthusiastic but biddable and well mannered. As we walked a flock of Teal exploded from an overgrown section of water and sprung straight into the sky, I fired two quick shots and one bird fell into the water by a break in the fence and Remy fetched it up as quick as it went down. I crouched down, kept my head down and the birds came back over my head and I folded a second as they whooshed by at full speed. We were at the end of our permission on this stretch and headed back to the vehicle, followed by some very nosey Heifers that were very interested in the little German dog that was getting nervous!
I was pleasantly surprised to see our next spot had received a make over since our last visit. The drain had been cleaned with a digger which always encourages ducks and all the old rubbish and metal had been removed and the whole area tidied up and re fenced and it really looked good. We didn’t go far when a pair of Mallard broke and the hen fell to my first shot with my second missing the drake completely. I stopped and watched Remy find a spot to enter the water, cross over onto the open field at the far side and bring the duck back with him, an easy retrieve but still nice to see him do it. We moved further own, jumped a fence and got into another area. I was interested to see what the duck numbers here would be like as it is always good and a good indicator of the entire area, if there good here there usually good in general. I walked carefully, trying not to let the wet cow trampled mud under my boots make too much noise as Remy eyed the cattle suspiciously. We must have been 25 or 30 yards of the water when it exploded with Teal and Mallard, there was easily three dozen – Its been a while since I saw so many, and as I fired two quick shots, two drakes fell not far ahead. As the Mallard and Teal whirled above my head in panic, I reloaded for two more shots but stopped as I saw a figure up ahead watching intently. I had no idea who it was but I didn’t feel comfortable shooting while they were there, so I collected up the brace and stuffed them into my bag and headed towards the figure to see who it was. It turned out to be the landowner’s daughter home from university and heard the first two shots while walking on the far side and came for a look – She was more interested in the dog and I offered her a brace of ducks which she declined and we moved on. Normally if I shoot a brace or two that finished me for the day, I have no requirement for anymore but I was enjoying the 20 bore and felt I was shooting well with it so I decided to check a couple of more places before making for home.
I let Remy loose in a field full of Kale with the intention of crossing to a small drain on the far side, however he had other plans and took off right up the middle of the field with his nose down. I followed and assumed and old Hare or fox scent, but was quite surprised when he opened up and three Mallard flushed right in front of him and I had another left and right which really surprised me and confirmed that the choice of a smaller, lighter gun should have been made many years ago. Remy had no need to fetch the ducks up to me as I got to them before he did and I decided to grab my flask when I got back to the vehicle and we sat on the edge of the Kale in the Autumn and just enjoyed it. I enjoy these things as much as anything else and taking some time to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the day is important for me, I find a few minutes spent appreciating it all etches things on the mind a little better, because when its all said and done, memories are all we have.
I left the vehicle in the field and crossed the road, Remy at my heel. I had a few cartridges in my pocket and had one last place to try before I went home. In mind winter I rarely see this spot in full day light as by the time I reach here the light is disappearing fast and its sometimes needs a headlamp to find anything that goes down. Today I wasn’t holding much hope as it was badly overgrown and there wasn’t much signs of life. I kept dog in close and edged my way in and out, not close but not too far away when suddenly I saw a Teal dabbling along ahead with its back to me. I immediately headed out right and tried to gain a little ground before moving back in. As I sent Remy forward the drain erupted with birds, well over a dozen and as they went up and out, I tried two shots which to my delight brought down two birds. I hadn’t shot left and rights like this ever in the course of owning a 12 bore and perhaps it was luck today but I feel the gun just suits me.
With two birds to collect on the far side and wire on both sides and the Teckel was never going to get through and across so I left him where he was and crossed a fence across the water used to keep cattle from going up the stream, it was fixed acroxs the stream and not terribly steady. I was like something out of the Krpyton Factor (under 40 wont know!) as the fence rocked back and forward and I climbed sideways trying not to fall, all while the dog looked on thinking what a lunatic I looked like, but eventually I made it over and back and slipped the ducks into my bag.
We packed up in the field and as I was driving out of the village I remembered about an area I had found away back before the lockdown and had not visited since. There had been a few rabbits on it at the time and I was keen to see how things were. It is very rare now to come across ground were rabbits have sufficient to sit out, these areas usually full of rushes were common when I was a child and my father often used to run a springer through a few areas at home and flush rabbits to the gun which in my opinion is some of the finest shooting you can have. I had a Teckel bitch called Poppy with me who is ideal for this type of ground and has plenty of experience in this type of thing so I decided to give her a run. I entered her into the top of the field and made her wait while I got to the bottom and then waved her down. She hunted and worked her way through the rushes and from the left I spotted one crossing a break as she barked. I sort of anticipated where he would appear next and he obliged as I managed a quick shot , then another crossed as I moved forward and the dog worked towards me, and third time lucky another crosser fell. Poppy worked up the remainder of the field but we didn’t flush anymore rabbits and I decided to call it a day, we had plenty to take home and needed no more. I gutted the rabbits at the gate and laid them out with the ducks to cool as I opened my flask for the second time. It had been a fantastic day on my old home turf, the weather was lovely and everything went as it should. It felt like one of those days I would have been with my father on the Halloween holidays with a spaniel carrying home a duck or a couple of rabbits. This type of shooting I really enjoy, its not fancy or expensive but its good and its why when the leaves fall and the weather turns a little sharper, you will always find me among the cattails and rushes.
