Snipe Hunting - Yes I am serious

[Specklebelly]

This is not technically waterfowl, but thought this would be a good place to post this one.

Anyone out there snipe hunt?  No, not the kind we all go on when we join Boy Scouts and go to the woods with our burlap sack in the middle of the night.  I mean the Wilson Snipe.

I am wanting to try it next year and have been reading up on it.  Just wanted to see if anyone hunts them here at Graybeard.

[dukkillr]

I have.  I snipe and rail hunted several times last year because it seemed to be a good way to train my dog.  The rails are out in the water and the snipe are in the mud around the edges.  This happens here (Kansas) around mid-september through the first real cold spell.  I shot steel 6s but that's only because i didn't have any steel 7 1/2s.  Any other questions?  The difficulty of the shooting is vastly over-rated.  Doves are harder to hit.

[NONYA]

i get a few during the first couple weeks of the waterfowl season,usually take them in the water or on the shore,got 7 with one shot 1 time

[jrlinz]

Do you eat them?  If so how do you cook a snipe?  What does it taste like?

[dukkillr]

1) I give them away if possible, if not:
2) I treat them like doves and use dove recipies

[jrlinz]

Thank you.  I think I am going to try it, if I can find any snipe down here in the Houston TX area.

[Carutht]

I live in Florida and shoot Snipe on the St. Johns River Marsh. A Snipe hunt is great exercise and a challenging shotgunning experience. I can offer a few tips for success if you can find a population of Snipe in your area. Try to walk into the wind. Use a short barrel and an open choke. I use a 24" barrel and a skeet choke, others use IC. Use small shot, I use #8 but some use larger.
Pick your shots. Snipe will get up from 10 yards to 90 yards as you approach and they can get up from anywhere in reference to your position. I like to take a shot at a Snipe that gets up at 15 yards, this gives me plenty of time. A shot at 20 yards is OK but you have to move faster. If they get up at 30 yards they do not get shot at unless I feel like I need to miss some more. Snipe, bless their hearts, will tell you when they have flushed. Listen for them to say Snipe, spin to the sound and try to pick them up in range.
You will miss a lot and this is the sport. They can fly 90 degrees away from their original path in a microsecond. Once you harvest one and prepare it for the table you will be suprised by its size and flavor. My wife and my Mom like them. Works for me.
One last tip and I am not being vulgar. Shoot him before he (censored word). After that he is going on some vector far from his original course.
I have missed them by 10 feet and more after they dump.

[Specklebelly]

Thanks for all the information.

Can they be hunted solo or do you need a bunch of guys with you to flush them?  The reason I ask is I doubt I will be able to get anyone to go with me.  Everyone thinks I am nutz for wanting to give them a try.

Carutht - They flush fast from what you are saying, would they be equivelant to quail?  What gauge do you use?

Dukkillr - FYI - I have read that Cheyenne Bottoms is the place to go for snipe in KS. This is probably no big secret as anything related to water is great at CB.

For anyone interested in snipe, look up the book "Reflections on Snipe".  I bought it off Amazon and read it and now want to give hunting them a try.

I found this website this evening if your interested:   http://snipeunlimited.com/index.htm

[dukkillr]

i've done cheyenne... it's a cool place, but crowded... I've never hunted snipe other than alone... they'll let you get close enough by yourself...

[jrlinz]

A lot of info, thanks.  I will probably buy the book.  The only shotgun I have with a barrel that short is an old single 12, 2 3/4" chamber, Improved Cylinder.  Sounds like I won't be needing a fast second shot anyway.  I am going to start looking for a good area to hunt snipe.

[Bill in IL]

Specklebelly
Just saw this thread about snipe hunting on another site.
http://www.varminthunters.com/cgi-bin/anyboard.cgi/forum?cmd=iYz&aK=126597&iZz=126597&gV=0&kQz=&aO=1&iWz=0
 Good luck

[RBishop]

26" barrel will do fine. My favorite for this hunting is a model 12 16 guage with a 26" barrel, straight English stock. Very light-weight which is good when you are tromping thru the mud! 

[dukkillr]

something no one has mentioned:  You'll need to shoot steel most likely.  They are covered by the Federal Migratory Bird Act.  Someone said the hunt them with 8s, i've never seen steel 8s. 

[Bill in IL]

You also need to remember to get HIP registered.