Ducks

[richhodg66]

Never hunted them, but I took my little row boat in to where my main tree stand is this time of year only to find that the tree it's in is way out in the water, had to wade thigh deep water to get into it and it's normally 40-50 yards in from the shore line. This is going to change the movement patterns of the deer enough that I think I'm going to have to hunt somewhere else.

It was a real experience getting that little boat out though. Had it 25 years or so, but not in the water for at least 15, and she rows nice, easy to get in and out of the water from an undeveloped spot and is stable. With the flooded lake, negotiating through all the flooded timber and such was fairly easy in it too. Though the deer hunting didn't work out, I have NEVER seen so many ducks in my life.

I'm not going to go all out and buy a bunch of decoys and such, but it occurred to me it would be real easy to hide that little boat in the brush packing the old 835 and just shoot at them as they flew over. Could it be that simple? I had a lot of them fly over within shotgun range during the couple of hours I say out there. Can anyone recommend a good book with pictures of the various species? This is what KDWP says are the limits and I'm not real sure I could identify them on the wing;

"Six ducks is the daily bag limit, which may include no more than two canvasbacks, two redheads, two pintails, three wood ducks, three scaup and five mallards (only two of which may be hens). The daily bag may comprise six of any other duck, such as six teal, six gadwall, or six wigeon."

I sure don't want to get in trouble for shooting the wrong thing. I'm seriously considering giving this a go.

[garandsrus]

Here you go: https://flyways.us/duck-identification-resources

Don’t forget that you need both a federal and state duck stamp. Federal is available at the post office. State wherever you buy licenses. About $40 total.

[Walks]

You need to get a Federal Duck stamp from the Post Office.

[richhodg66]

Yeah, the stamps and permits are fairly straight forward. I have a shotgun that'll handle the loads necessary and which I don't mind getting wet. I've always been worried about shooting the wrong thing.

[Markopolo]

Go get em Rich!!! I went yesterday. Got some of that!!! Lots of Mallards and such...

I would tell you, tooling up for steel reloading is way different then loadin lead in shotshells. Might be good for you to go buy some steel shells, and see what ducks are all about. Be prepared for fast shooting, lots of shells, and great fun.. manage your expections though, shooting ducks is an art form. Don’t be too hard on yourself on misses. Keep trying, and try some more. You will get em.

Marko

[richhodg66]

Yeah, not gonna get into reloading steel. I have some around and the local Wal Mart is full of the shells for ducks now. Would like to try some bismuth in my older guns, but steel is probably what will happen for now.

Next weekend is shot for me, but after that, I might give this a try.

[OnHoPr]

I don't know Rich, most duck hunters fair warn newbies about the addictiveness of duck hunting. So you have been warned.lol It can be a high speed blast at times, fun fun fun fun fun. It can have its doldrums though depending on weather, pressure, etc, its huntin. It can be addicting as cast boolits. For table fare it can be almost as good a backstraps, but not quite. Some the the ducks you will have to figure out what to do with them like lower deer legs and shanks according to your own palate. It can be that simple sometimes, but not always especially when buying licences and stamps. If you got a boat and an 835 and waders or hip boots you have some of the basics. With a couple dozen cheap dekes off of craigslist or Dicks and a entry level duck call would really be all you need to start off with, probably less than a C note. Pass shooting them can be necessary sometimes, but the joy and wonder is calling them into the deke pocket wings cupped and feet down is a sight to see. There are all kinds of data on duck identification on youtube and the internet to learn how to identify them. But, figuring out or knowing new broods and eclipse plumages can be a little more difficult especially in air. There is only about 6-8 ducks of each puddlers and divers to learn. Most of them in full plumage are easy to ID.

[JWT]

Would like to try some bismuth in my older guns

I used Bismuth in my 1937 L C Smith. It didn't take too many boxes to convince me to buy a new shotgun for steel and keep my old beauty for upland hunting.

[Minerat]

If you have a go at it, with steel go down one choke, so for full choke pattern use modified, for modified then Improved cylinder. I just won't shoot steel in my fixed choke guns, means my Win Model 12s and Belgium A5's stay home. I have a Rem 11-850, Mossburg 500 and new A5 (1987) that work fine with steel.

[Johnch]

LOL It is that easy sometimes

If you are in a area the ducks fly through

One weird thing that works if the area you will be hunting don't get hunted much
CHEAP ... almost FREE decoys
2 liter pop bottles
Uses a 6" bolt or re rod .... even a long slender chunk of lead in each one ... what ever to get them bottle to float level
Paint them Flat Black

Tie a length of 60 lb or heavier Mono or any dark cord to the bottle at the neck and add a 4-6 oz weight to the cord
2 -3 X as deep as the water is where you will be hunting

Ducks may not drop in
But lots of times they will slow down and look and sometimes make another pass

This will give you a better chance to shoot

John

[richhodg66]

That's a neat trick, John. Might give that a try if I decide to take this seriously.

[Texas by God]

One rare bitter day we did the same on a frozen stock pond with black painted 1/2gal milk jugs. The ducks actually skidded on the ice as we shot them. It was surreal. Lead shot back then; way better than steel.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[quilbilly]

You will enjoy it! When I was stationed overseas for several years, I realized that what i missed most was deer hunting and duck hunting. I wouldn't worry too much about the species of ducks since the first two are freebies. After that just stick to drake mallards until you become more familiar. You don't have to get crazy with decoys like some hunters do. Just get yourself six mallard decoys and six wigeon decoys and you will be covered and put the widgeons on the outside. As for a blind, three political yard sign wood stakes (4"x 1"x2") and six feet of khaki cloth stapled to the stakes will do the job.

[OnHoPr]

Don't take it seriously at first, just stick your toe in the water, it can get to your pocket book if you let it. If you use the 2 liter pop bottle trick put them in the freezer before you put the cap on. If you put the cap on on a nice 70 degree afternoon and go to put them on the cold Nov water they will pop and crinkle plastic noises while they shrink from the cold air. Here is a DIY decoy anchor tip since you should have some Pb or WWs. The strap is for pure Pb and goes around necks or keels. It can be poured into just about any channel metal with a couple of nuts on each end. The disc is WW and can be poured into a small wheel race just sitting on top of a piece of sheet steel with some 12-3 romax about 12" long and stripped enough to put a couple of Ls in the lead. The plastic coating is easy on deke paint jobs. 80 or 100 lb test mono is cheaper than decoy line and blends to all water conditions. Notice the little hacksaw cut in the keel near the front. You can use those to adjust the length of line with a half hitch for the depth of water you might be in. If you know you are going to always be in waist deep water or less you can go with a Texas rig. Another tip, if you do shoot one and it lands on the water, but is still sitting like a deke, SWAT it fast before it dives and finds a weed to clamp on to, because you won't find it then. If the bug catches you, you might need psychiatric later.lol

229932

[Texas by God]

I love jump shooting them from the ponds by sneaking over the dam and try to get a triple with my 870 using 3" steel #4s. I never do but often get a double- just right for a nice dinner for my wife and I!

[brewer12345]

I love jump shooting them from the ponds by sneaking over the dam and try to get a triple with my 870 using 3" steel #4s. I never do but often get a double- just right for a nice dinner for my wife and I!

I like jump shooting them best myself. Tough to find places to do it, but fun when I get the chance. Decoys can sometimes be lots of fun, and sometimes it can be boring sitting there.

[Markopolo]

Well Rich???? You kill a duck????

[richhodg66]

Won't be able to get out there for another couple of weeks. We'll see then whether I decide to try to fill my buck tag again, or try the ducks.

[429421Cowboy]

Another tip, if you do shoot one and it lands on the water, but is still sitting like a deke, SWAT it fast before it dives and finds a weed to clamp on to, because you won't find it then. If the bug catches you, you might need psychiatric later.lol

229932[/QUOTE]

Was going to say the same thing! If the head is still up when they hit the water, shoot them again! A duck with one wing can still move faster than you can in water and will get away! Good luck, it certainly is one of my favorite kinds of hunting.

[Texas by God]

A flock was on one of my duckweed infested ponds this morning. Get fat, my prettys!
I'll see you around Thanksgiving.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[9.3X62AL]

LOL It is that easy sometimes

If you are in a area the ducks fly through

One weird thing that works if the area you will be hunting don't get hunted much
CHEAP ... almost FREE decoys
2 liter pop bottles
Uses a 6" bolt or re rod .... even a long slender chunk of lead in each one ... what ever to get them bottle to float level
Paint them Flat Black

Tie a length of 60 lb or heavier Mono or any dark cord to the bottle at the neck and add a 4-6 oz weight to the cord
2 -3 X as deep as the water is where you will be hunting

Ducks may not drop in
But lots of times they will slow down and look and sometimes make another pass

This will give you a better chance to shoot

John

Marie and I saw a pair of hunters using this deke method last year at the Wister Unit/Salton Sea. They both had limits of greenwing teal and mallards. Go figure. I have used leftover white political posters folded in half (like a pup tent) and set in a cut grain field to decoy snow geese. Honkers won't buy this bit, but snows decoyed readily to about 25-30 yards before they wised up. Too late.

[DIRT Farmer]

Rich when I drive through your area it amazes me the amount of water foul I see. He trapped a farm on the back side of Perry lake . I could have shot ducks and geese every day I was with him.

[Markopolo]

I got 5 today.. 4 teal and one Mallard jump shooting. We don’t get a ton of ducks and even fewer geese here, but THIS is gunna be the year that I take my first Alaskan killed Goose...I am lucky to see a couple dozen that actually do a stop over. I do see flights way way up migrating south, but they rarely land, but THIS is MY year to get one finally.

[BrentD]

Yeah, not gonna get into reloading steel. I have some around and the local Wal Mart is full of the shells for ducks now. Would like to try some bismuth in my older guns, but steel is probably what will happen for now.

Next weekend is shot for me, but after that, I might give this a try.

Don't shoot steel in a full choke! Use Bismuth if your gun is tighter than a modified choke.

[BrentD]

Rich when I drive through your area it amazes me the amount of water foul I see. He trapped a farm on the back side of Perry lake . I could have shot ducks and geese every day I was with him.

I hunted the Kaw River for 4 yrs when I lived in Kansas. It was spectacular duck hunting, with most of the birds that I killed roosting on Perry and flying down the Delaware to the river and then heading east or west along the Kaw. If they went west, I was in business. It was a grand time. I wish I could get hunting like that around here.

[Markopolo]

This mornings goose hunt...

230171

[BrentD]

Cool! You've got your goose and some plucking to do.

[DIRT Farmer]

Looks like a limit of geese, congrats

Brent D, several times after visiting my son in Topeka I would drive stright east on the state highway instead of getting on 70. The area around where you cross the Delaware, the fields would be full of waterfoul

[BrentD]

You passed very close to my old hunting spot. It was a certain sandbar, near Lecompton. A magic spot. Oh to have a day there again!

[BrentD]

Marko,
this is what happened to my first goose this year...

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~jessie/PPB/Ducks/Grilled%20Canada%20Goose%202018.jpg

It tasted better than it looked.

[Markopolo]

Are you kidding??? Looks fantastic!!! Rare - medium rare is the only way in my book for ducks.. pretty big hunk of meat.. bet it wasn’t a lesser.. prolly a full sized type... love to get a couple proven recipi PM’ed... I have cooked lots of ducks, but never a goose.. right now they are soaking in Salt water over night.. tomorrow is up for grabs, and heading back out in the morning.

[BrentD]

Marko,
I got your PM, but I'll just post what I did here in case it helps someone else.

That photos is half a breast from an 11# bird. I also cooked and entire leg at the same time. Both were scrumptious.

First I plucked the legs all the way up to the middle of the back, then I plucked the breasts. This went pretty fast and I pluck them directly into a paper grocery sack so it doesn't make much of a mess.

Next, I singed the pin feathers with a propane torch (this can be done before or after the next step).

I quartered the legs off just like you would quarter a moose. Cutting up to the top of the back makes sure that I got the best bites of meat next to the spine/pelvis. I cut the feet off with a pair of wire nippers or side cutting pliers. Then I fileted breasts out, leaving the skin on. Do this carefully because the best piece of meat is the "tenders" that lay close to the breast bone and ribs. A long, flexible fish filet knife is perfect for this. But then I use Filet knives on mule deer too.

My plan was to cook with the skin on to keep the meat from drying out and because most of the fat on the bird is right under the skin. But after it got so nice and crispy, I ate it all, and it was perfect!

The cooking part was super easy because I didn't have much to work with at the time.

I patted the meat down to get it dry. Then I rubbed it with olive oil and salted it heavily with coarse sea salt, coarse fresh ground pepper, and then dried marjoram (I would have preferred thyme and rosemary, but didn't have it).

I have a small knock-off of one of those Green Egg ceramic grills. I got this going at about 250 degrees F using lump charcoal and a few chunks of walnut for flavor. I put the meat on (skin side up), with a pizza stone below it so it got indirect heat only. Using a meat thermometer that I could leave in the meat, I let it cook until it was around 112-115 F in the middle. Then I take out the meat and the pizza stone for a few minutes and try to get the temperature up a bit (that was sort of difficult for some reason). When it is around 300F, I put the meat back on, skin-side down and let it toast a bit more. I pull the meat when the thermometer says 125-125F and let it rest before slicing thinly across the grain (because goose can be tough).

That's all there is too. Pretty simple really.

Best of luck, There is nothing quite like splashing a big goose over the water, unless it's watching your dog swim down his first wounded goose and make a great, long retrieve after a successful battle.

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~jessie/PPB/Ducks/2018%20Gus%20and%20First%20Goose.jpg

[Markopolo]

Very freaking cool Brent... thanks! Pic of your dog is totally priceless.
You dog looks like he has a very firm grip on that Bird. I am assuming he did turn loose of it. Lol. What a good dog.

[BrentD]

I am totally proud of the lad. He is a hell of a dog and that is his very first goose.

[Texas by God]

Marko,
this is what happened to my first goose this year...

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~jessie/PPB/Ducks/Grilled%20Canada%20Goose%202018.jpg

It tasted better than it looked.That is perfectly cooked. I cook duck like that too. MMM,MMM. Let's eat!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Markopolo]

Today’s take...

230215

Got six today... I am on the left

Marko

[BrentD]

Man that's great! Are they Hutchinsons? They look smaller than our giants. We get Hutchies late in the season or afterwards.

Here is one of our Giants

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~jessie/PPB/Ducks/2018%20Me%20and%20Goose.jpg

[Markopolo]

Our are lesser Canada geese. Take 3 of them to equal yours. What do you shoot yours with? 375H&H? BB or 00 buck? What part of the country are you in? Geese are pretty uncommon around here. I found a place where they like to land and been Jumping them every morning when they come in to feed. While they last.. hopefully they will last another week or so.

[BrentD]

I wonder if lessers are the same as Hutchies?

I use Bismuth #2s and 80 or 90 grs of Swiss 1.5 fg. Penetration is excellent, through feathers, breast muscle and sternum into the chest cavity.

[Markopolo]

So your loading in plastic shells or all metal shells? Maybe you could post some pics of your load building, wad stuff and so on.. I know lots of folks are interested in BP duck and goose.. maybe a new thread is in order

[BrentD]

I use plastic. I'm not very sophisticated about it.

These are #5s, lead. Pheasant stuff.
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~jessie/PPB/Pheasants/12%20gauge%20%235%20loads.JPG

Sometimes, I paper patch them.

[Markopolo]

Soooo I see a card wad, a felt wad shot and overshot card? Is there a Mylar wrap around the shot or are they free Bore

[BrentD]

It is a smokeless nitro overpowder wad, then a lubed Circle Fly fiber wad. I split these and not very evenly, as is obvious in the photo. Then the shot - as much as it takes to fill the shell - about 1.25 oz here. Then a card wad and a roll crimp.

I also load these in my Pacific progressive reloader with a powder die that I enlarged for the larger Blackpowder volume I need. These work pretty well too and are a little faster to load. Especially fun to load a bunch this way for a night at the trap range. Always gets peoples' attentions. :)

When I have case space for it, I sometimes put a thick watercolor paper inside the shell as wrap that shield the sides of the shot column from rubbing against the steel of the barrel. The paper is fairly thick and prevents the shot from being flattened by the barrel walls - supposedly making the pattern a little denser because the shot is not deformed and flying sideways. That's the theory anyway. I don't do this very often however.

[Markopolo]

What is the white card thing just under the shot? Another hard card? I think they look fine. How far are you able to shoot these effectively? Especially the goose loads? 40 yards or so?

[BrentD]

Hmm, thats a good question. It looks like I put an over-shot card wad on the bottom of the shot column too. I wonder why I did that? That's not normal. These pictures are probably 5-8 yrs old.

40 yds is no problem. Not sure I would like to shoot any further, at least as a first shot on a bird, but 40 is fine.

[DIRT Farmer]

Brent I put an over shot card under the shot, just because it seems like a good idea. The old timers said it gives a better pattern but I have never tested it. My load is simular in my James & sons 10 bore.