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Marc
12-29-2007, 10:46 PM
Well out again to try my luck at duck hunting and try out my new waders and jacket I just picked up for hunting.

Started the afternoon off by meeting up with HuntNHookSports and Sikanni Stalker who was over in Duncan for Christmas. We set up our spread but nothing came withing shooting range all morning except for a bufflehead that landed just outside of the decoys. We decided to leave this little guy alone hoping for something bigger. Then as I got all excited at a pair of mallards flying by I accidentally put my barrel in the mud. Hmm, did I do what I think I just did? I empty out the shotgun and look down the barrel. Crap! The barrel is plugged with mud, I find a stick and try and break it up then give it a washing with salt water to remove what's left in the barrel. We stayed set up in the same spot adjusting the decoys as the tide went out but after sitting there for a couple of hours and no shots we decided to move to a more productive spot.

No sooner do we get the decoys set up to mallards come into the spread. After two volleys of 3 shells from Sikanni Stalker and I not a duck hits the ground.

Some ducks fly around us but no takers. I hear some wigeon so I take out my wigeon whistle and start watching these two ducks from behind me. Then I hear Shhh,Shhh, Shhh from Sikanni Stalker. I turn around to see that there was another wigeon who was hovering for a landing not 2 feet off the ground. I plug him with one shot of #2 and the duck falls stone dead where it laid. Man di he ever pile up.:biggrin: Figured this was a good make up for the two we missed about an hour before.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/wigeon.JPG

about a half hour later a mallard hen is skirting the cover we're in and I figured it was now or never. I shoot the first round complete miss, the second, I think I saw some feathers fall and the third shot finally broke a wing as she plummets to the ground. Now with two ducks on the ground I feel a little bad because I kind of hogged the first to singles in the decoys. Here is a picture taken at home with Marshall claiming his prize.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/mallard_hen.JPG

Another Hen mallard comes to the decoy and I let Sikanni Stalker take the first shot which knocks a few feathers but the bird is still airborne. I give him a peppering with my pattern master and another bird crumples up at 30 yards. HuntNHookSports all the time is letting us try and knock some birds down, I'm sure he was laughing in the back ground at us missing so many chances.

Just before dark a flock comes out of the heavens twisting and turning as it's losing altitude. I thought ok here are some more wigeon. Just before the first on touches down the first volley of rounds goes off. Crap my shotgun jammed after the first shot. The other two guys unleash a furry of rounds and only one duck hits the ground that HuntNHookSports manages to connect with.

That was pretty much it for the afternoon, 1 wigeon and 3 hen mallards. I still haven't connected with a greenhead and I'm sure of the ducks I missed where drakes.:redface:

Thanks again to Sikanni Stalker & HuntNHookSports for some great time spent in the duck blind. I think it's awesome to be able to share a duck blind with other members who share the same passion for duck hunting as I do. I found out on the way back to the truck that this was Sikanni Stalker first time hunting ducks so he got to see first hand what it was all about. I think we've converted another...

Deerwhacker
12-29-2007, 11:07 PM
Sounds like you had a good time:-). dont worry about the shooting im sure im worse,last two times out ive limited out but its costed me about 80 rounds and quite the headache for those 16 ducks.

Crazy_Farmer
12-29-2007, 11:21 PM
Thats a nice wigeon you got there. We've got a couple groups of them that fly around both in excess of 200 ducks, they like to come into the goose spread early on, we've shot a bunch of them but not one has yet to be nice and coloured, we finally shot one last week that the drake started to have some white on the top.

At 80 rounds, those turned into some pretty expensive ducks, I think I've had the same two boxes of 3" #2s and 3 1/2" #BB in my blind bag for the past month. Though any goof could shoot doubles and triples with the birds hovering 15 yards away. I remember last year just after buying my auto, I went through a box of 3" and half a box of 3 1/2" to get my limit of ducks one morning, owell you learn to not waste that 3rd shell.

Marc
12-30-2007, 07:02 AM
I was reading somewhere that the average duck hunter shoots 4 shells for every duck that goes into the blind. I guess it also depends on what type of shooting you're doing. Pass shooting is a little harder to do then trying to knock birds down that are hovering over the decoys.

Yah the wigeon has to be one of the nicest looking puddle ducks out there next to the wood duck of course. I was kind of surprised when this lone guy came in as they are usually flocked up this time of the year.

Ian F.
12-30-2007, 09:11 AM
Well done Marc!

By this time next year you and Marshall will have a pile of drake greenies to your credit!

Hopefully the cycle of rain and nice will change a bit over there for you and add a little (little not lots) of wind and some nice overcast and the birds will decoy like chickens to corn!

Very best,

Ian

Bow Walker
12-30-2007, 10:10 AM
Somehow coffee and sandwiches taste a lot better when you're sitting in a duck blind with a couple of buddies.

When I was duck hunting I used to carry what is now called a "bore snake" just for emergencies like the one you had Marc. Mine was homemade in those days - back in '70s - but it saved my butt a time or two.

Sikanni Stalker
12-30-2007, 11:47 AM
A great time was had by all.The only problem I see of this trip is that now I have to get a bunch more hunting gear! I am definitely hooked.Might benefit from a little more time at the range too. Marc, if you or HuntNHookSports ever find yourself up in my country I would be glad to take you out in my back yard hunting. It was awesome and we'll do it again. Thanks guys!

Tanya
12-31-2007, 06:54 AM
Hey Marc, sounds like you had fun anyway, and you won't have to spend the whole afternoon pluckin'. We went to one of our lower fields Sunday morning and managed 14. It was slower than it had been but the weather wasn't ducky. Mostly singles and doubles came in, and the larger groups played shy. Getting to be late season and I guess some of them are getting decoy smart. Didn't hear any shots from the Bay on Sunday, usually we do, musta been slow or nobody there.

Marc
12-31-2007, 07:21 AM
Tanya sounds like you're still managing lots of birds on your fields. We're going to give it another go this afternoon in another spot. Like you've said they've been shot at for close to 3 months and are harder to get within decoy range to take a poke at.

Marc
01-02-2008, 05:21 PM
Well it finally happened this morning. We had just set out the decoys when two mallards landed on the outside. It was still fairly dark so I asked if it was legal time yet, yup we are good to go. I could see the ducks on the water and they jumped up and I was leading them and then they went up to the point they were blacked out by land and I shot where I thought he would be and he fell out of the sky.:biggrin: Call it luck call it skill I'll take it either way.:lol:

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/Marc_s_first_mallard_Drake_.JPG

Tanya
01-03-2008, 07:08 AM
:-P Way to go!

Tarp Man
01-03-2008, 10:41 AM
Marc and tanya (amd other waterfowlers) how do you like to eat your duck? BBQ? Roast? Crock pot?

Tanya
01-03-2008, 02:11 PM
We eat it in a large number of ways. Some we take off the breasts and then use the rest of the carcass for soup. Some we brine and then roast. The other day we brined a couple, let them hang to dry for the day, then deep fried them. We have found that brining the ducks before roasting keeps them juicy and improves the flavour. You can use a simple brine or add soya sauce, onions etc according to your preference. My favorite is duck breast salad.

Our version goes like this: Salad greens and 1 duck breast per person. We score them with a knife, salt and pepper them, sear the skin side in a cast iron pan. Then they are turned over and put into to a hot oven 375 - 400 for about 10 minutes until rare to medium rare. Remove to a platter, cover with foil. Add to the pan juices a couple tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, perhaps a dash of red wine and a tablespoon of syrup, berry is best. Simmer and adjust to your taste with salt, sweeten etc. Heap some salad greens on a plate, slice the breasts about 1/4 inch thick, drizzle the warm pan sauce over top. Serve along with warm bread.

Another quick, easy and delicious way is to slowly carmelize some onions, adding a couple tablespoons of vinegar. Then, in another pan cook duck breasts as the above recipe. Let stand covered for a few minutes, slice , then heap the onions onto hoagie buns and top with the duck. Delishhh! You can add jalapenos, or whatever herbs and spices you like. I think caraway would be good, use your imagination. The whole trick is not to over cook the duck breasts, keep them medium rare and they will be juicy not dry.

www.justgamerecipes.com has some great recipes too

MooseNuts
01-03-2008, 05:12 PM
Depending on size, ie. teal, I like to breast them and use them in stir fry.

Crazy_Farmer
01-03-2008, 06:52 PM
We either roast ducks whole or do the same to smaller geese, deep fry strips of breast meat, get it made into sausage, cut it thin and leave in marinade and then dehydrate it for goose jerky(very addicting, 5 pounds turned into a whole ziploc bag and it was gone in two days) Grind it up and add pork, and spices and make goose burgers, theres lots of ways.

diggerpax
01-04-2008, 09:44 PM
Nice work- green heads are great, but I do love to see the wigeons come hovering in with their wings cupped. I know what you mean about burning up some shells- I started out shooting just #2 3 1/2, but I have a bruise in my shoulder that is running down into my bicep after going through a couple boxes in a few days- I had to start throwing 3" #2 becuase I found myself starting to flinch- never felt like such a girl.

Marc
01-04-2008, 10:00 PM
I've got a half dozen green head widgeon decoys on the way. Hoping to try them out before the season is over. I'm curious how well they'll decoy to their own decoys.

The same day I got the green head I also took a green wing teal in the decoys. I never would have thought there would still be teal around this time of year.

Schutzen
01-05-2008, 01:20 AM
Marc
Widgeon will come into about any dekes, whistle might help a bit. Some days I have taken nothing but widgeon with my Mallard dekes. Even while I'm Mallard calling they will still come.
Of course I always use at least 6 Canada goose confidence decoys with my spread. That might have something to do with it.

Marc
01-08-2008, 06:38 PM
I've got a widgeon whistle and I think that HuntNHookSports and Sikanni Stalker will agree that it works pretty good. :biggrin:

Now to try these puppies out. They come without the keels and with the keels so you can either lay them flat on the mud/field or you can snap the keels in place and float them.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/widgeon_decoys.JPG

Schutzen
01-08-2008, 06:44 PM
Nice dekes Marc... good feature with the keels. Man that white sure stands out!

Bow Walker
01-08-2008, 08:27 PM
Marc, is this what you're looking for out there in the muddy shallows?

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/Whiffen_Spit_Jan_6_040.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=7540&size=big&cat=500)

Marc
01-08-2008, 08:33 PM
Nice dekes Marc... good feature with the keels. Man that white sure stands out!

Yup they zoom right in on the white. When I used to hunt back east they'd zoom right in on the goose decoys and I figure it was from the white patch on their throats that lured them in.

Yup Dan those are the ones. I've never seen so many Widgeon until I moved to BC.

HuntNHookSports
01-08-2008, 09:07 PM
That white does stand out.
I would like to make some swan decoys either out of coroplast (for sillies), or better yet paint some mag goose shells white.

If I had a little swan who's paint was white as snow.
Everywhere the swan went, the geese would surely go.

Crazy_Farmer
01-08-2008, 09:15 PM
That white does stand out.
I would like to make some swan decoys either out of coroplast (for sillies), or better yet paint some mag goose shells white.

If I had a little swan who's paint was white as snow.
Everywhere the swan went, the geese would surely go.


I've actually made two, just painted a couple grand magnum canada shells with the neck and head in sentry position, I used flat white krylon piant and painted the bill black. I think they look great, I havent bothered to use them yet as I'm not quite sure if they'll scare geese, even without them each time we're out we build up about 100 swans that land just before the spread. We've seen two collared ones so far this year, and theres also two snow geese that fly with a couple of swans, all the swans fly so close sometimes only a couple yards over the decoys.

Marc I agree with the wigeon decoys, we have the exact ones and we've noticed a huge difference in how they really do see that white on the heads and come to them. I'd be careful about taking the keels off and on becuase I know avery says once you click them in you arent really supposed to take them off, it'd suck to pick up your decoy one day the keel has fallen off.

Marc
01-08-2008, 09:30 PM
Hmm I just read the instructions. I see what you're saying. The keels don't sit that hight that I think it would make much of a difference if you had them on or off for the field.

Crazy_Farmer
01-08-2008, 09:45 PM
Yea, to click them in right I believe they click in twice, which actually takes a bit of force to shove it in all the way, I wonder if since you want to them in the field aswell if just clicking them only once will work, or is only one click not that tight? I think also you could get away with one click if you're just hunting in calm waters.

Marc
01-08-2008, 09:53 PM
Most times I'll be either hunting them on the water or mud flats so it shouldn't be a problem to burry the keel.

Crazy_Farmer
01-08-2008, 09:55 PM
Also if you're ever in a corn field just get two short pieces of corn stalk and put it under each side of the keel to hold it upright, if the ducks can see under that, well then they should be already dead.

Marc
01-08-2008, 10:00 PM
lol yup for sure.

diggerpax
01-08-2008, 11:15 PM
I've had great luck whistling in the widgeon to mallard dekes- but looks like you guys just cost me $80, because now I'll have to get the widgeon decoys too. I just use a regular sports whistle, do the real widgeon whistles work a lot better?

porcupine
01-09-2008, 12:02 AM
I always set out a bunch of widgeon decoys with my mallards. The thing to remember is to set them in groups away from each other, the widgeon decoys should be fairly close together and the mallards farther apart. either species will land in the opening between the two flocks.
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Bow Walker
01-09-2008, 10:01 AM
I always set out a bunch of widgeon decoys with my mallards. The thing to remember is to set them in groups away from each other, the widgeon decoys should be fairly close together and the mallards farther apart. either species will land in the opening between the two flocks.

Well worth the money. Better than whistling yourself - which my brothers and I used to do - works on closer ones but the sound just doesn't carry like a proper Widgeon whistle.