Wales (UK) FNG

[omulally]

Hello all. Not sure on the etiquette, but this seems like the place to post as newbie.

I'm a 'hunter' (we don't use the term much, but I am involved with deer, gamebird, small game, sea angling, foraging) from the north of Wales.

I'm also an outdoor instructor/guide who works with people in remote and often mountainous areas. I have SAR and some overseas experience.

I work with a lot of North American clients these days, and a couple of them suggested I join Rokslide. So here I am.


Looking forward to being part of the extended community.

 

[realunlucky]

Welcome to Rokslide. Look forward to hearing about some of your experiences.

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[fngTony]

Welcome! That’s a great background, would love to hear some stories & advice on the sar stuff as well as what the hunting is like over there.

 

[eddielasvegas]

As the self-appointed chairman of the welcoming committee, it is my privilege to extend a laurel, and hearty handshake (virtual, of course) to our new member.



Eddie

 

[omulally]

Thanks for the welcome guys.

My SAR experience is very UK-centric but I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

 

[ozyclint]

Welcome!
Don't suppose your from Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch by any chance?




(yes, I had to cut and paste that)

 

[AndyB]

Welcome to Rokslide! nice to have someone else from North Wales about.

Ozyclint, locals call it Lanfair- pg, so dont sweat about having to copy and paste,

 

[Anglo-American]

Hello all. Not sure on the etiquette, but this seems like the place to post as newbie.

I'm a 'hunter' (we don't use the term much, but I am involved with deer, gamebird, small game, sea angling, foraging) from the north of Wales.

I'm also an outdoor instructor/guide who works with people in remote and often mountainous areas. I have SAR and some overseas experience.

I work with a lot of North American clients these days, and a couple of them suggested I join Rokslide. So here I am.


Looking forward to being part of the extended community.

Cumbria, here.

 

[Marbles]

Welcome.

 

[Grumman]

Welcome. I worked in Cardiff for a while and really enjoyed Wales.


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[TheGreek]

Welcome, I lived in merseyside for a short time and once played a game of union in Mold.

 

[omulally]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone, and especially my fellow countrymen.

I'm from the NE of Wales. Smaller hills, more trees and a different type of gene pool (still a bit shallow though...).

Welcome!
Don't suppose your from Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch by any chance?




(yes, I had to cut and paste that)

 

[bbell]

Hiya, I normally don’t read the intros but couldn’t pass it up when I saw Wales. I’m an Oregon Rokslider that is currently living in Cardiff, Wales for the past year. You’ll love the site if your even slightly into gear
Do you have much deer in North Wales? South Wales seems pretty scarce so not sure I’ll be doing much stalking down here.

You have a beautiful country here. Our family really enjoys it. Also have have found a new sport that we love, RUGBY!

Cheers, Brandon

 

[omulally]

Hiya, I normally don’t read the intros but couldn’t pass it up when I saw Wales. I’m an Oregon Rokslider that is currently living in Cardiff, Wales for the past year. You’ll love the site if your even slightly into gear
Do you have much deer in North Wales? South Wales seems pretty scarce so not sure I’ll be doing much stalking down here.

You have a beautiful country here. Our family really enjoys it. Also have have found a new sport that we love, RUGBY!

Cheers, Brandon

There aren't many up here, but we're seeing them in new areas all of the time. Roe have started to appear on trail cameras at the southern end of my valley, and muntjac are slowly spreading over from the English border. You can head over the border to find them easily enough though.

I think there are a few more in Mid Wales these days. I know that the forestry guys are having to deal with them more often, and the habitat is right for them.

 

[Anglo-American]

How are you doing with gray squirrels in your area?
I know that they are being seen on Anglesey recently and the reds are suffering for it.
They are getting pushed back here in the South Lakes. I shoot and trap them.
One of the biggest issues I face is getting permissions, especially by smaller landowners/homeowners.

 

[omulally]

How are you doing with gray squirrels in your area?
I know that they are being seen on Anglesey recently and the reds are suffering for it.
They are getting pushed back here in the South Lakes. I shoot and trap them.
One of the biggest issues I face is getting permissions, especially by smaller landowners/homeowners.

They're a menace. We're on the edge of Clocaenog Forest, which is one of the study sites for the reds. Two of my permissions border the edge of the publicly-owned forest and we're culling them heavily on those permissions.

I have been managing the woodland on one of those permissions for 8yrs, and over the last 2 years we have seen more tree damage than at any other time. I had to double check that these were actually squirrel - the top of that peeled section is 4ft above the ground and I was starting to think some roe deer had moved into the area.

 

[Anglo-American]

They're a menace. We're on the edge of Clocaenog Forest, which is one of the study sites for the reds. Two of my permissions border the edge of the publicly-owned forest and we're culling them heavily on those permissions.

I have been managing the woodland on one of those permissions for 8yrs, and over the last 2 years we have seen more tree damage than at any other time. I had to double check that these were actually squirrel - the top of that peeled section is 4ft above the ground and I was starting to think some roe deer had moved into the area.

View attachment 425927

They certainly are.
I use a 177 air rifle with good success.
Fern traps. I need to get some live traps as well to increase my permissions, but haven't yet got round to it. I'm assuming with Reds in your area you have to use live traps, if trapping?
Any you'd recommend?

- Happy hunting.

 

[Dos Perros]

If you don't use the term 'hunter' very much, what do you use?

 

[omulally]

They certainly are.
I use a 177 air rifle with good success.
Fern traps. I need to get some live traps as well to increase my permissions, but haven't yet got round to it. I'm assuming with Reds in your area you have to use live traps, if trapping?
Any you'd recommend?

- Happy hunting.

We're not trapping currently, but I'm looking into it. I think they're using the Albion tunnel traps in the public woodland.


I had been using peanuts in the feeders, but I've gone over to split maize to save money. The flavour of the squirrel seems to be the same...

 

[omulally]

If you don't use the term 'hunter' very much, what do you use?

That's... a very good question. I hadn't really thought about the variation, only the absence of the word 'hunter'.

I think we just use terms specific to the quarry or the type of shooting done. I can think of the following at least:

Airgunner = someone who uses an air rifle to hunt.
Deer stalker = deer hunter/controller, either paid or recreational.
Wildfowler = ducks, geese etc, often shot over estuaries and tidal areas but also used for inland waterways.
Gun = Hunters with shotguns on driven game days, usually pheasant, grouse or partridge. Occasionally used as a catch-all term for anyone hunting recreationally with a shotgun.
Ghillie = hunting or fishing guide, almost exclusively Scotland or Ireland.
Gamekeeper/Keeper = kind of a hybrid Professional Hunter, game warden and conservationist who manages an area of land for commercial shooting
Beater = someone who drives game towards 'the Guns'
Pest Controller = hunter who controls population of certain species, mostly predators but also species that have a negative impact due to excess population.

Then you just have professions and vocations that use guns as a tool within the execution of their duties - farmers etc. If my farming friend goes for a walk with a shotgun or rifle to shoot for table or to reduce the population of pigeons I wouldn't think of him as being a hunter, just a farmer who was holding a gun.

This weekend I will probably be going out to fish and haul crab pots from a friend's boat, shooting grey squirrels in a woodland (see post above) and spending a few hours one evening walking along hedgerows looking for rabbit or pigeon meat. I wouldn't consciously think of myself as a hunter during any of those activities, but I am undoubtedly hunting.

tl;dr - it's just semantics.