doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Where are all the woodcock?

Agree that those look more like snipe than woodcock. My guess as to why you don't see more woodcock engravings is that woodcock, at least historically, have been a bonus bird and not the sole game species hunted, let alone dedicating a specific gun purchase to.

Maybe our UK friends could chime in on this, but as I understand it, woodcock are almost always a rare bonus in a days hunt on their side of the pond. In the US, historically, woodcock were also a welcome bonus during a days hunt for grouse. This is just my opinion, but the specific targeting of woodcock in the US, that is dedicating specific guns, and other various gear just to woodcock hunting, is a fairly recent phenomenon (20th century?).

Alternatively, the hunting of snipe is a very specific day of hunting, where snipe would be the main target species and other game would be the bonus. For a dedicated snipe hunter, it would be very reasonable to order a gun just for that purpose, which might include ordering one with game scene engraving of your main quarry.

Just thinking out loud, but feel I am not too far off.

The woodcock was the only bird on most Parker Bros. logos and letterheads. It is also easily identifiable in the engravings especially by the positioning of the eye - above all else, pointy wings, legs too long, etc., if the eye is positioned to the rear or uppermost part of the bird's head, or if the bird's 'bec' is thrust into the ground you may safely identify the bird as a woodcock.

It wasn't just snipe and woodcock that had long bills that were pursued as game in the late 1800s through the early 1900s until both Federal and state laws came into effect; yellowlegs, plovers (black bellied and golden), curlew (whimbrels), dowitchers, willets, peeps, knots, and other shorebirds were considered game birds and became endangered because of over-hunting during their seasonal migrations for both sport and market. The bans were phased in at first limiting species pursued, prohibiting sale and eventually became total after over a decade of legislation starting in 1913 through the end of the 1920's. It was only in many of our lifetimes that Wilson snipe hunting was legalized once again in 1953 having been banned in 1941. Shorebirds were lumped into the generic description as "snipe", but numerous species were hunted over decoys, Today, only Wilson's snipe and woodcock are legal game in the US. Some species of shorebirds are still legally and actively hunted in Europe. On Gr8day's fine Fox (date of mfg.?) could very well be shorebirds on the action, and the gun and its engravings artifacts of the glory days of shorebird hunting in the U.S. A.B. Frost, and others, painted iconic watercolors of the sport. Below: A.B. Frost and Thomas Eakin's "Whistling in Plover" (1874) Gil


"Snipe" decoys and whistle. Golden Plover on the left, Black-bellied plover on the right. All from New England late 1800's.

That's fascinating, GLS. I never knew that. Thanks for sharing those photos.

I just assumed they weren't good eatin'.

The rich both famous and un-famous prefer to chase pheasant, quail and partridges, therefore, adoration on their boutique bench made guns reflecta that.

Maybe, but I'd say it is a poor rendition of a European Woodcock; different bird from our American Woodcock...Geo

No shortage of woodcock here.

Very nice, Wild Skies.
I�ve seen modern O/U and SxS Bulino engraving depicting woodcock, and on a Flues someone depicted on a forum. I�ll see I can find that reference. It may have been in Walt�s Ithaca book.
Leverhead, aren�t you from NJ? The Delaware Bay side of Cape May was and still is a major stopover on shorebird migrations coincidental with horseshoe crab spawning in the spring. Migrant Red Knots from as far away as Tierra del Fuego stuff themselves with the NJ crab eggs before long distancing to inside the Arctic Circle for nesting.
There was major shorebird decoy carving and shorebird hunting on the Jersey shore. Here are a couple of Cape May curlews in original condition. The top one was swatted with what looks like a load of #4. Below the decoys is a group of curlews feeding in the Georgia marsh where they stopover before heading to Hudson Bay. One has a fiddler. A friend took the photo.

Neat stuff.

My little Fausti 20 gauge has a couple of birds on it:





But to answer your questions the birds are in New Brunswick come spring.