Ducks

[PREDATOR]

Now, deer hunting is all good but the waterfowl owns my heart. How many of you are duck hunters? Here in Utah the great salt lake marshes hold lots of birds, makes for real addictive shooting. I just dont get a lot of that timber shooting. I hear it is the best. Cant get enough of them widgeon! Whats your favorite duck?<br><br>UNICORN CATCHER F.L.P.

[Ghost]

Hi PREDATOR, Duck and Goose hunting is a passion for me as well. Don't get me wrong, I love Big Game hunting and Salt water fishing a lot, but waterfowl hunting is something I'll always cherish. This season however, we may be looking at a 3 duck per day limit and a short 30 day season. What happened to the "record number of birds" we have been told about for the last several years? Did someone miscount (yeah, right) or have we been told lies all along? Drought can play a major role but there isn't a drought over the entire North American Continent. Also, with Trapping being taken away from many places, the wild Predators (no pun intended) are devastating the waterfowl in many area's. Some area's suffer a 95% mortality rate. Something needs to be done to address the problem. As for my favorite duck, it would be the Pintail. Good hunting, Ghost <br><br>Famous last words: "Ah Bears are too big and fat to run fast"

[johnincolorado]

Now I may not be a dye-in-the-wool duck hunter (I've only been a couple of times in my life) but I think it is a sport that I'll be trying this season. Colorado is in a death grip of a drought and hunting opportunities will be scarce due to lack of water, most reservoirs have been drawn down to mud puddle status. I think I owe it to my Benelli Nova 12-gauge to shoot something through it besides dove loads. Anyway, I haven't cooked a wild goose in a very long time, like so long my taste buds have forgotten what a goose baked with wild rice and a shot of red wine tastes
like.
Now I do have the South Platte River close to me, it still runs a mile wide and an inch deep, but does attract the ducks and geese. Puddle jumping has never been my style but I'm willing to learn something new.
Any suggestions on shot loads? The Benelli can take up to 3 1/2" magnum loads, or so the handbook states.
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[davetclown]

Me too… It has been years since I have eaten one of them tasty Quackers, weather it be a goose or a mallard. I don’t get out much any more because of a disabling accident but I do remember how I used to hunt them.

Lets start with our loads,

For ducks I suggest that you use high brass number 4’s

For geese I suggest that you use one of these, 00 buck – 0 buck – or number 2’s

When at the ammo department at your next reload take a look at the design of the shells and their ranges, I could give you spec’s but it would be on memory and may be out dated.

Make sure when you are hunting goose that you are in a range where you will not have to worry where your shot lands (i.e. a large piece of open land)

I used to hunt the cornfields for geese, wearing my cammo and stalking through the woods edge, sneaking up on the geese to get in range of a good shot. Of course it is the most difficult way to hunt them, but I found it most exhilarating. Geese have keen eye site and excellent hearing. But if given enough time they will get used to you being there.

On the up hand they are noisy critters and make their presence known. That is except in the early dawn when they are waiting for first sun’s rays to take flight they are at their quietest are most alert to any thing moving. And on them foggy morn’s and the ground is soft and quiet and the geese have stayed too long then is quackers for the soup.

Any thing liter than a number four on them ducks will only tickle their bellies. Don’t bother with long shots either.

Flat bottom boats are the boat of choice with their cammo walls and roofs. I am not a much of a boat hunter I prefer to stalk the woods like the wolf this leads my hunts less productive but more rewarding in adventure.

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[johnincolorado]

Thanks for the info, Dave. It is greatly appreciated. I'm looking at goose hunting this year instead of elk, because I can't walk the woods as I used to. Bad hips, bad back and bad knees simply make it impossible for me to keep up. I figure goose and duck hunting will be easier on all three, at least I won't spend an hour gutting and skinning the critters. Besides, I have a small freezer.
Thanks again, John.
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[davetclown]

well if you can afford a ATV of some type then you will be all set on them geese. just back a camo kit, tent or build a blind in adcance.

get or make sum decoys and get you a honker horn, I find that the one on my neices bike did real well in calling them in.

find you a cornfeild from a farmer (closer to a body of water or golf course the bettey but not nessasary) head out about 2 hours before lite of day. cover your ATV with cammo and then get in to your blind. and sit tite honking toot your own horn.

make sure that your blind has a clear veiw of your targeted area. dont honk after the geese are comming in. and by no means mistake a decoy for dinner. (to put it simply "don't shoot the decoys" LOL [crazy] )

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[johnincolorado]

Hope that won't happen, Dave. I may be getting older but I'm not blind yet. I can still spot a flash of thigh from fifty yeards away. ~
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[Ghost]

Let me clarify something; Lead shot is illegal for all Waterfowl hunting. You can't even posses it when hunting Migratory Waterfowl. Steel, Tungsten, Bismuth or Hevi-shot are legal. Non Toxic only. For Steel shot on Geese I use 3.5" BBB or BB for pass shooting or our local Giant Canada's. 3" BBB, BB or 1's for decoying Geese. In Non/Tox shot, BB or 2's (BB for longer range, 2s over decoys). For Ducks; 3" Steel 1's, 2's for Mallards, 2.75" 2's over decoys. Non/Tox shot; 2's or 4's,6's. Ghost
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[davetclown]

I kinda thought my info was out dated on them quackers, thanks for etting me straight.

It is probably a good idea to read your local migritory guide book cover to cover. concidering that each state has their own ideas what is good for each bird.

in michigain t;he mallard limit is way way down, actualy there is a season limit on the bird. you are alowed more goose than duck. But by all means dont take more than you realy need and use all that you take.

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[johnincolorado]

Not to worry. I have Bismuth ready to slip into my shotgun.
Dave had a good thought, mobility for those if us unable to hike any distance. An ATV sounds like a good iea to me; mobile, nimble, quick in the corners and able to carry everything.
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[johnincolorado]

Good morning, Dave. Just read your reply to ghost regarding shot for geese and ducks and state laws. Good points. State limits can change from year to year so it's always best to get the latest info. I always go to the horse's mouth (No, not my ex-mother-in-law) for that, the DOW HQ. They have always been friendly and are knowledgable. Colorado has split season, from west of I-25 to east of I-25, to southeast and northeast Colorado and the limits are different in some of them. It can be confusing but once a goose slides into the over, all confusion stops and the taste buds take over. I'm looking for to a Thanksgiving goose and give the turkeys a break.
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[johnincolorado]

I've read all the regulations and read the web site for info and my Bismuth shot is legal, anything besides lead. I've also been out scouting areas and have seen very few geese and ducks flying about. I don't count the town resident population that live here year round. Colorado has many areas but they are broken up into areas west of I-25 and areas east of I-25, then north and south of I-70, so I have four areas with different regs and bag limits. It can get confusing at times, like reading Dante's Inferno in Italian, with one eye closed and squinting through the other.
I think my best bet will be the northeastern part of the state, from north of I-70, east of I-25 to the Nebraska stateline. Thanks for the shot info.
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