How to Hunt Woodcock

By eHow Sports & Fitness Editor

Instructions

Things You’ll Need:

Light, short barreled gun
Retrieving dogs, Spaniels work well

Step 1:
Make sure it is hunting season. Woodcock are protected by the federal government and poaching can get you a large fine and even jail time.
Step 2:
Locate an area likely to be populated by woodcock. They are migratory birds largely found on the Eastern part of the US and they favor woodlands, swamp areas and streams. They also like wooded areas with birch or aspen trees.
Step 3:
Go hunting at dawn or dusk. These are the birds typical feeding times so they will be out from hiding.
Step 4:
Search for a place that looks like it has been recently inhabited by woodcock. Look for droppings or nests. When you spot an area they are likely to be in or under, such as beneath some bushes, flush them out.
Step 5:
Shoot quickly when the birds are flushed. They fly up to thirty miles per hour, so you have to be incredibly fast. They tend to flush closely however, so if you shoot one the pellets are likely to hit another.
Step 6:
Retrieve the birds with the help of your dogs. The woodcock is so well camouflaged that without the dogs you are unlikely to find all the birds brought down.

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