Northern Ireland On Sundays, Christmas Day or during the period commencing one hour after sunset on any day and ending one hour before sunrise the next day, it is illegal to shoot game birds and wildfowl. Scotland Wildfowl and waders may not be shot on Sundays or on Christmas Day. England and Wales Wildfowl and waders may not be shot on Christmas Day or in certain counties. Before the passing of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, orders prohibiting the shooting of wildfowl on Sundays were made under the Protection of Birds Act 1954. These orders have not been rescinded, so shooting cannot take place in the following counties/part counties on Sundays: AngleseyBrecknock CaernarfonCarmarthenCardiganCornwallDenbighDevonDoncasterGlamorganGreat Yarmouth County BoroughIsle of ElyLeeds County BoroughMerionethNorfolkPembrokeSomersetNorth and West Ridings of Yorkshire The restrictions relate to the exact location of the shooter. Our guidance that if there is any doubt at all of your position, you are better off not shooting in the area on a Sunday.

The Wildlife Habitat Trust is made up of three trusts. The Wildlife Habitat Trust lends money to BASC clubs, syndicates and members to enable land purchase for shooting and conservation purposes. 2. The Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp Trust administers the merchandise and annual stamp programme. 3. The Wildlife Habitat Charitable Trust (WHCT) grants money for conservation projects for the benefit of migratory wildfowl. The WHCT is a charity and is therefore regulated by The Charity Commission. In granting money, the WHCT trustees will need to be satisfied that the aims and objects of the WHCT are being met, and are of public benefit. Any club interested in grant funding can find more information on the WHT website. You may also wish to speak to Paul Williamson, BASC’s head of land management and also secretary to the WHT trusts.

No not at all. It really depends on where you are going and the quarry. There is ammunition out there for all guns and configurations so you won’t need to buy a new gun, at least to start with. For those of you with only 23/4” chambers, use Bismuth or Tungsten in the appropriate shot size for the quarry you seek. If you are using the BASC permit scheme, a friendly 'fowler may lend you a more suitable gun for the flight. There is definitely equipment that will make you more comfortable when wildfowling. Take a look at our What to Wear when Wildfowling blog to find out more.

There are quite a few types of chokes on the market and several ways they work. The most common after-market chokes work in one of 2 ways. Either  a) Standard constriction choke  b) Wad grabbing choke. Standard constriction works by tightening the pattern of shot in the gun barrel over the last few inches causing the pellets to group together and pattern density to increase. The more the restriction the tighter the pattern. Loosely speaking the following rules apply. 40,000 of 1”   = Full choke 30,000            =3/4 20,000            =1/2 10,000            =1/4 0                      = Cylinder Wad grabbers work by either using a mechanical restriction (a ring of studs grab the expanded base of the wad for a fraction of a second allowing shot to leave unhindered by gas or wad) or gas restriction to slow the wads down by a fraction of a second in the shape of channels similar to rifling in a barrel. As the wads reach the required area in the choke. The channels fill with gas and slow the wads allowing again the shot to leave unhindered by gas and wad. This then causes a shorter denser pattern giving greater pattern penetration at greater distance. Remember pattern test your gun and ensure you shoot with its and your abilities.

Ammunition choice will depend on the gun you are using and the quarry. Some guns are not suitable for steel ammunition be it through age, material or choke restriction. Bismuth or Tungsten would be the best recommendation. Standard steel ammunition may be shot through a non-steel proofed gun but there are only a few standard steel loads available. Click here to read guidance and fact sheets from BASC's firearms team. High performance steel ammunition can be shot through steel proof shotguns. You can find this by looking for the "fleur-de-lys" proof marks or its barrel markings that state the barrels are steel shot proof. Steel ammunition has improved massively over the last decade and ballistically it has proved itself more than capable for the job. Remember the rule of thumb about upping the size of the pellets by two to allow for the pellet density difference between steel and lead. You should always pick the cartridge to suit the quarry i.e. shot size three or four for duck and three, two, or one BB for geese. Wherever possible always choose a biodegradable wad.

This is a really easy process. Follow the steps below: 1. Search for “BASC Green Shoots Mapping” in your chosen search engine or click here to go directly to the page. 2. Click on Go Mapping. 3. Log In to the page using you BASC member ID and password. 4. Go to the Bagged It option. 5. Click on Visits. This will automatically take you to your club's information page showing the areas your club has authority to shoot over. 7. Pick the relevant area and click on Add a visit. 8. Simply fill in the relevant details of your trip. Date / flight time / hours spent on the shore / shots taken / quarry recovered. 9. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Save and return to my visits. At the end of the season remember to submit your return to your club's returns officer for review. If you’re ever unsure or having issues, drop us a line on 01244 573 019.

BASC's wildfowling team consists of: James Green – head of wildfowling Shane Robinson – wildfowling officer Jo Hughes – wildfowling administrator You can contact us on 01244 573 011 or wildfowling@basc.org.uk

The WLC members are hand-selected by the chairman of the WLC. The chair is appointed by BASC Council and they will always be a serving council member. A good cross-section of the wildfowling community is needed for the committee to be truly effective. A full and comprehensive list of all our WLC members can be found here, together with the latest meeting reports: https://basc.org.uk/wildfowling/club-advice-and-information/wildfowl-liaison-committee/ WLC members can be contacted by email on wlc@basc.org.uk or you can liaise with them directly at club meetings or events throughout the year.

If you have any concerns regarding severe weather, please refer to the BASC website. This will be updated daily during periods of adverse weather. After seven days, BASC will be calling for voluntary restraint based on the projected forecast. Our recommendations are there to help inform your decision to shoot or not. At 14 days there will be a national suspension. This information will be communicated through daily updates on the BASC website, through BASC Fast Tracks emails, social media accounts and press releases. Further information regarding the suspension of shooting wildfowl can be found here.