I tried a new dove hunting spot and stumbled upon lots of Wilson’s Snipe. Flushing snipe is fun.

Why isn’t snipe hunting more popular?

I think they are a great upland bird. Maybe because they are migratory, they may not taste as good as other upland birds. Also, they may not be around next weekend.

I have them around duck holes that usually are large flat fields and I stop up the water at one end.They seem to like the edges looks like they poke for worms. Seem to tast a little like duck maybe a notch or two better.Usually mid to late January
Monty

Snipe are a fun and challenging target. As far as table fare, I consider them to be better tasting than any dark meat game bird excepting maybe a woodie. Finding huntable populations for some is an issue. Fortunately it isn't for me.

Hiya,

I love snipe shooting, as I think they are a very sporting bird (possibly one of the most sporting) and great to eat if taken in the right place. It is also generally the case that when you have them on your land you have enough to make some decent sport.

Flooded meadows and the like make for good eating, but birds off of the fore shore or those muddy cockle beds are a bit fishy.

I'm away again tomorrow for two weeks and the highlight of the trip for me will be the last two days spent snipe shooting.

I'll try and get some video up when I return.

K

Snipe is probably the best shooting and year's ago we had it very good up here,I loved it !...but the shagging no-tox rule's got up here and ruined the game for me ,the shell's are very difficult to get up here in "snipe size " load's ,and what we can get is very cost prohibitive .

I do have two box's of steel 7's I run through a stoeger 20 bore ,I save it for those special day's when I put a few in my pocket,pick my shot's and bring home a couple for supper.

Very sad really my,Drathaar is death on these..they turn him into a statue,his favorite bird four paw's down !!!

I've never had an issue on this side of the pond with our Wilson Snipe feeding on saltwater denizens. Here's a limit of snipe (hard to see against the tree; harder to see in the grass before flushing) taken with my 1922 Sterly 16.

I've shot them here and in the UK, a tremendous game bird to be certain. Wish I could get into them a bit more locally, but I've looked a bit and only got any shooting on one occasion.

Destry

had lots of them on the old family farm back in MO... once took two with one shoot... one of those crazy once-in-a-lifetime deal where they just happened to be crossing as I was following one bird... hard as heck to find after the shot without a dog though... anyways, tons of fun and if you got them, you should hunt them if they are legal. The best part is in MO, the season often crosses with several others like Dove, Squirrel, ducks and possibly rabbit (and coot though never again)so you can come home with quite the assorted bag...

Ain't that the truth.

Snipe is a classic quarry of hunting over bird dogs in Russia and Europe. I always wondereв why not in the US...

To me, they--and sora rail--taste a lot like woodcock. And I like woodcock.

For those that tout grouse and woodcock as being a challenging pair of gamebirds because of the differences in speed, the way they maneuver, etc . . . they should try mixed bag shooting for snipe and soras. Soras fly low, slow, and drag their landing gear. Snipe are sort of like woodcock with jet assist takeoff.

[quote=ASavageFox]and coot though never again)

Very wise words there grasshopper......

When I was stationed down on the slower lower eastern shore of VA we would gun for rail/snipe. On a high tide that would cover the flats, all you had to do was bump your boat into duck blinds (they were the only thing above water) and blast away.... tho that only happened once or twice a season, the rest of the time we'd walk the flats and tumps.

As noted taste like timberdoodle, and I like doodle!!!

Gary

"Snipe" at one time was an all encompassing description of long billed shorebirds including Wilson's Snipe which is what we legally hunt. It is not the same as the common snipe which is pursued on other continents. Our Wilson's Snipe specializes in freshwater wet areas, mostly shunning saltwater flats. In 1941 there was a total ban on hunting Wilson's Snipe. Shorebird hunting was illegal long before 1941 and had been banned totally by the 1920s. When Wilson Snipe populations rebounded by 1953 and the season re-opened, a lot of hunters lost interest and didn't resume hunting again which suits me just fine. I know some who use dogs, but I would never endanger my Brittany here in the low country of Georgia. We have mild winter days during the snipe season and venemous cottonmouth mocassins and large gators frequent the same marshes where I hunt snipe. On mild winter days, these two reptiles become active. I am aware of some hunters who use pointing breeds and flushers to successfully hunt snipe.

From my experience, dogs are of more value when wading for sora rail. (I've only hunted them in the Midwest.) Most places I've found snipe, they were more out in the open and did not need much encouraging to flush. I think duck hunters may miss a bet, however, by not using those birds as a tuneup for waterfowl, where the snipe and rail seasons open before duck season.

GLS

I agree that Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata) is not the same as the common snipe(Gallinago gallinago) at gunpoint from wikipedia (the differences are for experts only). I hunt areas with Gallinago gallinago (Common snipe), Gallinago stenura (Pintail snipe) and Gallinago megala (Swinhoe's snipe). I have to say that all are extremely sporting birds and are indistinguishable on the table. All are excellent!

Anybody who has the opportunity should give the birds a try.

Wonderful hunting!

All the best

Skeeterbd

GLS - Thanks for the info on the two snipe species - I didn't know that.
I mostly hunt them without a dog, just walking the mudflats and hoping one happens to fly into my pattern. Upland hunting, however, for early season sharptails and huns, my French Brits often point snipe, which means I actually have a chance to hit them.
And yes, they are great table fare - otherwise I wouldn't shoot them.

A limit of snipe ready for the grill. I like'em best plucked with skin on. No shortcuts on these delectables:

For a wonderful read find a copy of J.J. Pringle's book on snipe shooting in the south. There are some reprints
available.....originals go for around 5 grand. Great book for the gunner's library.

GLS, I wish you would have put a ruler or your hand in that picure so I can see how big snipe are when ready for the frying pan. Them things don't look much bigger than a meadow lark.

Smaller.

Man, can snipe turn on the afterburners! I actually find them a succulent meat. Steve

This evening I shared a single snipe as an appetizer: plucked (it takes about 30 seconds), butterflied, sautéed briefly in butter and olive oil, salt and pepper. Deglaze the pan with a little white wine, add a pinch of Italian parsley to the sauce. Phenomenal.

They look a bit like anorexic woodcock when cleaned. But sora rail are even smaller.

Thanks Dave in Maine. Bet I could eat a dozen!

Jerb, nice thing about the leg and thigh bones is that they are so small and delicate, I just chew the whole assembly. The breasts are about 2/3 the size of a mature mourning dove breast. Between the skin and meat is a nice layer of tasty fat which adds to the flavor.

GLS, you guys down south know how to eat. I'll have mine with a slice of pone soaked with butter and sorghum syrup.