A lifetime of duck shooting
Michael McNamara says duck shooting is an activity to share with friends but at 75, he’s running out of mates to enjoy it with.
‘‘They keep dying on me,’’ McNamara, of Invercargill, said.
He and his brother, John, 73, will be venturing out to a maimai-pond at Kennington today for the opening day of the season.
Their home-made mince and bacon and eggs pies will come in handy for the probable 12 hours they intend to spend there – 6am to 6pm.
In recent years McNamara went duck shooting at Mount Albert station, at the head waters of Lake Wanaka near Makarora, but the friend he went with had since moved to Temuka.
He was not sure where to shoot this year, and with some old hunting mates having passed away, McNamara advertised for a maimai in The Southland Times. He got six replies from different parts of the south, including Kingston, Dipton and Wendonside.
‘‘The one we’re going to at Kennington is magnificent . . . it’s 10 [metres] by 10 [metres],’’ he said.
Asked how much ammunition he would take, McNamara reply: ‘‘25 rounds . . . it’s not a war, we’re just shooting birds.’’
He’s been a duck shooter for most of his life, starting as a 13-yearold alongside his father. In the early 1960s McNamara remembers, as a boy, jumping into the Makarewa River to retrieve ducks shot by his father. ‘‘We didn’t have dogs then, that was the way we got them out.’’
His best shoot in a day is 45 to 50, but there have been days when he’s returned home empty-handed.
‘‘It’s important that the ducks don’t see your face, wear a hat and keep your head down.’’
Meanwhile, acting police superintendent Mike McIlraith reminds people to be ‘‘vigilant about safety’’ when duck shooting.
‘‘We encourage everyone heading out shooting this season to refresh themselves on the seven rules of firearm safety,’’ he said.
The rules are: treat every firearm as loaded, always point firearms in a safe direction, load a firearm only when ready to fire, identify your target beyond all doubt, check your firing zone, store firearms and ammunition safely and avoid alcohol and drugs when handling firearms.
‘‘It’s also a really good idea to make sure you’re familiar with your firearm and have checked it to ensure it’s working correctly, especially if it’s been in secure storage since last season,’’ McIlraith said.