Small game and birds

What you need

• A shotgun or a twenty two, and the right load for what you are after
• A licence and the current season dates in your pocket
• Brass wire for snares where snaring is legal
• A game bag that breathes, not a plastic bag
• A small sharp knife

How

1. Hunt the edges. Partridge sit where the cover meets the open, rabbits run the thick stuff and the cut lines, ducks work the ponds at first and last light.
2. Move slow and stop often. More birds are found standing still than walking.
3. Know what is behind the bird before the gun comes up. Shot carries a long way over water and along a road.
4. Gut and cool small game the same hour you take it. Warm bodies in a pile spoil fast.
5. Pluck birds you want the skin on, skin the ones you do not. Rabbits skin easier while they are still warm.
6. Hang the bag in the shade or the breeze, never in the truck cab.

Watch for

Notes

Small game feeds a camp better than a moose does, because it is one meal at a time and nothing goes to waste.