Sept. 2007 - Volume 68, Issue 9
Search Conmag
In this issue
NextGEN Departments
Utility Birds continued...
Snipe
Practical jokes aside, snipe are real game birds. They can be devilishly hard to hit when flying from place to place and are only slightly less challenging when flushed.
Snipe resemble woodcock because of their long bills. However, their plumage has bold stripes, their necks are longer than woodcocks’, and they inhabit open, marshy areas, never forest thickets.
Look for snipe around the margins of shallow ponds, in mud flats of lakes and along muddy stream banks. You also might find them in adjoining disked or plowed crop fields. Late-migrating snipe sometimes take shelter in moist, grassy draws after wetlands freeze over.
When flushed, snipe utter a sharp cry that mimics their name. This is important, as other wading birds often are found in close association with snipe. Hold your fire if you don’t hear the snipe cry and see a long bill.
A stealthy hunter might be able to get quite close to snipe before they take flight. They often return to a location after having been flushed, so you might get a second shot by hunkering down in any available cover and waiting a few minutes.
Although nontoxic shot is not required for snipe, some of the best places to hunt them are public wetland areas where the use of nontoxic shot is mandatory. No. 7 steel shot with a modified or improved cylinder choke is a good choice.
Rails
Almost all the rails taken by Missouri hunters are soras, but the two rail species most commonly seen in Missouri are similar enough in appearance that an aggregate bag limit makes sense. Be aware that other rails, including the rare king rail, can be found here during the hunting season.
Soras are small, drab gray birds with yellow beaks much shorter than those of snipe and woodcock. They are secretive, but they betray their presence with frequent ker-wee calls from their hiding places.
You might find several soras around a piece of open water when you first appear, but they quickly disappear into surrounding cattails and sedges. A dog is very helpful for rousting them out of these haunts and for finding them once they are down.
Soras are not fast or erratic fliers, and often they concentrate in large numbers around small marshy areas on state-owned wetlands. These habits make them great confidence-builders for young hunters with limited patience and shooting skill. The fact that these little shorebirds pass through Missouri in September and early October, when temperatures are still pleasant, also favors young hunters. Getting a little wet at this time of year is only an inconvenience, not a reason to stop hunting.
No. 7 steel shot with an improved cylinder choke is a practical combination. Bring along insect repellent and a bottle of drinking water. 
About This Article
Author and Photographer
News Services Coordinator JIM LOW hunts snipe, rails and woodcock at conservation areas within 30 miles of his home in central Mo. He believes hunters who pursue a range of game species make the best conservationists, because they have a personal interest in wildlife and note changes in populations and habitat.
