SHOOTING SEASON NEAR

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 81, 22 April 1937, Page 4

SHOOTING SEASON NEAR

■» » $ . .. -• Sportsmen Now Making Preparations DAMAGE TO PROPERTY With the approaeh of May 1, and the opening of the shooting season only ten days' away, sportsmen are now busy making their preparations, Gunsmiths are being called upon to renovate and xepair guns, decoys are being purchased, and licences are being obtained. Whether there will be as many guns out this year as last will not be known -until the seasou opens, but the sellers of licences report that the number of licences so far issued is quite satisfactory. One ageiit ventured the opinion that there would probably be a falling-off in the number of licences issued this. year, and, when questioned as to the reason for this, he stated that it was becoming increasiagly diffieult for many sportsmen to find properties to shoot over, and in consequence, the amount of shooting was becoming more limited. An innovation on the licences issued this year by the Hawke's Bay Acelimatisatioa Society is the addition of a clause asking sportsmen to avoid causing any damage to properties over which they shoot and exercise courtesy, so that the owne.r of the property will have no cause for complaint about t those shooting over his land. If this clause is honoured, it is anticipated that a source of contentiou ou the part of property-owners will be largeiy obviated. j The erection of mai-mais in favoured spo.ts by duek-shooters is also proceeding, and when the moraihg of May 1 arrives, it will iee the sportsmen all ready to obtaitt limit bags, although whether they will be fortunate enough to obtain such results remains to be seen, Beports received, from the Hawke's Bay Acclimatisation Society regar.ding the numbers of pheasants seen north of Napier reeently ihdicate that the ehoott ing season in this respect will be ihe best for some years.. "The reports are very encouraging," said the secretary, Mr R; M. Chadwick, this morning. "The pheasant shooting last Season was Very good^ bnt indications are .that this season will be better." It has been reeently noted that more sportsinen are . adopting pheasant-shooting in preference to dnck shooting, although ths numbers engaged in duck-shooting are still far larger.