# Snipe



## blackbear (Oct 18, 2007)

Does anybody really shoot these little guys? More specifically, eat them? I'm having a hard time identifying them too. I saw a bunch of what I thought were snipe at FB this morning. They had dark backs so I think they were snipe. According to the proc dowitchers have a lighter back. Were those snipe flying around the marsh in small flocks?


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## lunkerhunter2 (Nov 3, 2007)

Yes, i shoot them, and yes i eat them. The best tasting teaspoon sized chunk of meat you will find. They are good but VERY, VERY small on your plate. Go to Youtube and watch videos on them and do a search for "Wilsons Snipe sounds". You will learn a lot about them.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Yes, yes. No one goes after them here. 

The kids and I use to get a few walking the Bear River jump shooting ducks. They hang in the same places all the time. So you could change shells to lead shot before you came to their hidey hole, flush them, and throw lead at them with reckless abandon.....ah throw lead usually behind them. They are fast. They seldom landed too far away after the first flush so you could go flush them a second time.

IMHO they are easy to overhunt. Though tough to hit, but they can be flushed two, sometimes three times, in a half a day. 

I also have hunted them in Gueydan LA and over by the New Orleans International Airport while working pipeline jobs. 

They are much darker than the Long-billed Dowitcher and fly completely different. Their call is much different too and memorable. They hunker down low, whereas a dowicher stands tall. Snipes hang around as long as the ground is not frozen.

To me they taste better than dove, as most birds that eat worms, like Wood**** or Robin, do.

There is some controversy surrounding snipe hunting. In many states they can be harvested with lead shot and many times they are close to duck country, like here on the river. So can I carry lead shot and shoot snipe and ducks at the same time? I've had some real interesting arguments with the Game & Fish over that one.

The long drought, and IMHO, subsequent over-grazing, knocked them down severely. I know where some are wher I rabbit hunt, usually 2 to 4 in a group. I don't shoot at them anymore. Deseret Land and Livestock has many. The BRMBR use to have good numbers but I don't think you can shoot them there.

The French save their small intestines and fry them in butter and garlic....without cleaning the junk out! Never had the courage to try that one.


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## blackbear (Oct 18, 2007)

Okay, I listened to their call to become more familiar. I'm gonna remember it because it sounds like a short brush on a slate turkey call, whereas the dowitcher sounds almost songbird or warbler like. I'm pretty sure I saw a couple large groups, so if I run into them in the morning, perhaps I will take a limit for the supper table. 

The proc mentions that they usually flush in pairs. Could they be in a larger group right now because of the ice, and having fewer mud flat ponds left?

Thanks for the help fellas...


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## woollybugger (Oct 13, 2007)

Yes. Snipe are good. Funny story, back in the late 80's while in high school I had a cooking class that I made 'snipe soup' for a homework assignment. The teacher thought I was trying to pull one over on her. She could hardly belive that snipe was an actual bird and that there was a season on them etc. I had to prove it to her with the proclamation or I would be in trouble for cheating/lying. With a little practice, identifying snipe is easy. With this cold snap I think we're done with snipe for the year.


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## HONER80080 (Nov 18, 2009)

I once was Pheasant/Duck Hunting on the Pheasant Hunt opener, and had my license checked by the Fish and Game. When He noticed the duck calls around my neck he then asked me to empty my pockets so he could check all of my shells. He told me if I would have had lead shot in my possesions while pursuing ducks he would have issued me a citation. Fortunately no lead was found in my possesion so I was alright. I never looked up the law to verify what the CO told me, and think it would be very vague and left to interpretation if I found anything. I would play it safe if I were you and not carry lead while you are chasing ducks.


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