doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Tell me about the best wing shot........

That's what they say, but there's no accounting for what some people will do to try and catch a really big bass. He went by boat, I do know that much.

I have fished in the mouth of one of the creeks, Steele Creek, that flows out of SRS, but never been very far up in there. Security is waaaay tougher now than it was back in the 60s and 70s. I have been tied up at the mouth of the Lower Three Runs fishing for big rockfish and seen Wackenhut Security riding four wheelers along the riverbank. Nobody sneaks in there anymore I don't think.

SRH

I never knew shooting stories could out do fishing stories...

Not sure where this Par pond is....you guys talking about sneaking into the Savanna River Site ?

Ever heard the old quip "The first liar doesn't stand a chance"?

Yes, that's the place. Right across the river from me, and up just a tad. When I was younger it was common for people to sneak in. The fine was not much more than a hand slap. Not so, anymore

SRH

Never knew the old guy, but a friend of mine hunted quail in the countryside around Athens, GA when he was in school at UGA. He stopped by a country store one day and happened to meet an old quail hunter from the area, and they became friends. Friend said he had never seen anybody kill quail on the rise as fast and as deadly as the old man. One day he asked him how he did it. Fella thought briefly and said he didn't know, and that all he did was shoot when he saw the bird's eye clearly.

Now, that's sharp vision and focus. If Ted Williams could see the stitching on a fast ball, I guess it's possible.

SRH

I�m not a great wing shot. Pretty good, but not great.
I routinely see the birds eye, their hackles, beaks.
Occasionally the eye comb on grouse.

Out to about 25 yards or so.

There�s more than eyesight to being a good wing shot. But it�s an advantage I guess. Great eye hand coordination and experience is probably more valuable.

Agreed, and I can do it on an incoming or crossing dove. But, if you've never shot a covey rise of wild bobwhites, it's hard to imagine the quickness with which they attain their full flight speed, and most are going away, either straight or at some angle.

Shooting clays can be good practice for that. I can often see the rings on a clay bird and many times can see the rotation. But, focusing on a flushing quail's eye is just over the top.

SRH

There isn't much chance of paddling, much less motoring up Steel Creek through the swamp. And it would be a long trip.

I worked there in the late 80s and 90s. My field crews were regularly seen jumping fences and hiking along roads within the SRS where we had all the security clearances. Various do-gooders would then race to the security posts to report them and dogs, helicopters, you name it were then scrambled very time although they knew damn well who it was.

Not sure what they were being so secure about - realistically, I'm not sure there was that much at risk, but it was a great place to do field work since no one messed with our experimental gear in the timber and clearcuts and the USFS was user helpful instead of mostly obstructive as is often the case in other USFS experience I've had.

40 years ago I knew some local duck hunters who'd sneak into the bomb plant up Steele Creek to shoot mallards in the winter. The warmed water attracted the birds. I never went with them, but accounts were that it was unbelievably good. As Stan stated, security was not too tight back then. Gil

The best wingshot was a deceased brother-in-law: Roger Duane Finney simply killed every bird he shot at with a Winchester Model 12 30" full choke non-vent rib gun that actually belonged to his Dad. The gun must have "fit" him, as he could just bring it up, shoot, and go pick up the dead bird. He could do that on Ducks, Pheasant, Prairie Chicken, and even on barn Pigeons.
He died some years ago, and had no sons, but he was the best.
Sam Ogle, Lincoln, NE

That sounds pretty believable. I'd love to know what those ducks looked like through the eyes of a Geiger counter.

There are a ton of SRA/SRS stories that could be told. Some of them are even true It is a very strange place to be sure and it used to be a lot stranger.