Drizzt
May 8, 2005, 11:02 PM
Guns, dogs, mates
09 May 2005
By JEREMY ROBINSON
Ah, duckshooting weekend. That time of year when expert Kiwi marksmen take to the wilderness to compare and share their skill of shooting game on the fly.
But if you strayed near Graeme Watson's maimai at Myross Bush on Saturday, you would have witnessed something entirely different.
You would have seen more surfboards than shotguns, more beer than bullets and more plastic ducks than the quacking kind.
In fact, it may have been the safest killzone in Southland, with the lads more interested in reaching for a beer and fried sausage than a shotgun, and at times waving incoming ducks off so they didn't have to bother.
"The ducks are pretty safe but I'd say we've had a kill rate of about 50 percent," Graeme said.
"I went through about 50 rounds last year without hitting a bloody thing. But I can honestly say I got one this year ... (although) it may have been a heart attack."
Graeme said his gang included "the worst shooter ever, a guy who hasn't shot anything in 10 years and a guy who hasn't brought his gun for five".
They had started with the best intentions, with a solid 30 minutes of sniper activity, but the action had trailed off when someone got hungry. So the gumbooted feet had gone up on the "alfresco maimai (we go for comfort)" and the barbecue became the centre of the universe.
Despite that, the lads had managed a tally of about 20 kills, meaning the dogs had something to do retrieving the odd duck cast back into the pond.
Graeme said maimai policy on the property stated that anyone who didn't have his own dog had to paddle out himself, which was where the surfboards could be a handy advantage.
The lads had planned to shoot out to Colac Bay for a surf and then return for another crack at the ducks before tea.
"It's not really about the hunt, my actual goal was to get them to turn up without any guns. There's nothing better than sitting out front of the maimai on a good day having a good feed and a beer with the mates."
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3274622a11,00.html
09 May 2005
By JEREMY ROBINSON
Ah, duckshooting weekend. That time of year when expert Kiwi marksmen take to the wilderness to compare and share their skill of shooting game on the fly.
But if you strayed near Graeme Watson's maimai at Myross Bush on Saturday, you would have witnessed something entirely different.
You would have seen more surfboards than shotguns, more beer than bullets and more plastic ducks than the quacking kind.
In fact, it may have been the safest killzone in Southland, with the lads more interested in reaching for a beer and fried sausage than a shotgun, and at times waving incoming ducks off so they didn't have to bother.
"The ducks are pretty safe but I'd say we've had a kill rate of about 50 percent," Graeme said.
"I went through about 50 rounds last year without hitting a bloody thing. But I can honestly say I got one this year ... (although) it may have been a heart attack."
Graeme said his gang included "the worst shooter ever, a guy who hasn't shot anything in 10 years and a guy who hasn't brought his gun for five".
They had started with the best intentions, with a solid 30 minutes of sniper activity, but the action had trailed off when someone got hungry. So the gumbooted feet had gone up on the "alfresco maimai (we go for comfort)" and the barbecue became the centre of the universe.
Despite that, the lads had managed a tally of about 20 kills, meaning the dogs had something to do retrieving the odd duck cast back into the pond.
Graeme said maimai policy on the property stated that anyone who didn't have his own dog had to paddle out himself, which was where the surfboards could be a handy advantage.
The lads had planned to shoot out to Colac Bay for a surf and then return for another crack at the ducks before tea.
"It's not really about the hunt, my actual goal was to get them to turn up without any guns. There's nothing better than sitting out front of the maimai on a good day having a good feed and a beer with the mates."
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3274622a11,00.html
