GOOD SHOOTING SEASON

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1012, 1 July 1930, Page 16

GOOD SHOOTING SEASON

SPORTSMEN’S BIG BAGS SOME RICH DISTRICTS One of the best seasons for sportsmen in the Awaiti district for many years was the one which closed yesterday. Game is holding its own in the province, and ducks seem to be on the increase in spite of the fact that closer settlement is spoiling the natural haunts of the wild birds. A review of the season for duck, pheasant and quail was given by the president of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society, Mr. F. E. McKenzie. Nearly everyone shooting in the Awaiti swamp obtained limit bags on tho first two days of the season, he said. About ten days ago, a severe storm drove the ducks back from the coast to the Awaiti and To Aroha districts. providing more good sport. The season in the Mercer and Whangamarino districts was also the best for some years. Although the dry autumn meant that the ducks were not well scattered over the swamps at the beginning of the season, it also kept the mortality among young ducks very low. Pheasants had been slightly more plentiful this season, but one of the best grounds in the district, the Rodney County, was closed to sportsmen. The Taumarunui district was profitable for quail shooting, although generally this bird was not plentiful. In that district, one party had obtained 170 quail and two pheasants in a weekend.