Many Duck Shot yet?

The Big Fella

Ive been out a few times after duck but no luck. I was working the first few days of the season and my best spots were shot out of it by other lads.:mad: Its a local river. Has many of you lads got any duck yet?:)

charlie10

shot one teal and missed a drake didnt meet much and i spent alot of days out, found a lovely pond that i must try and hit some evening ,fingers crossed !!

Birdnuts

2 nice mallard on a friends permission near Hollymount Co. Mayo over last weekend. Got to use his new remington with 36g 4's too:cool:. Currently the pair are hanging in the back kitchen waiting for herself:D;)

PS: Glad I got out too given that work commitments etc. mean I will have FA time for any kind of sport over the coming months:(

Vegeta

3, a pair of mallard and a tufted duck.

Been poor so far but I'm just happy to get out at it. Didn't get half enough shooting in last season

garveyjg

shot four this morning and have six shoot so far on the estuary, theres a good few about around here, allthough its like the guns of navarone that's that many lads shooting it.

Dupont

two of us shot one each last night, hadnt seen a duck before that,the boys that beat us to our usual spot i heard shot 17 duck on the first.any wonder the best pond in the place was shot out and members telling land owners to go ta f$%% now the pond is reserved and holds the best number of ducks

kfod

Out on Sunday morning and tried a new stream, somewhere between 10 and 20 mallard on it. Three of us out and we brought home 2, a hen and drake (the 2 lads were ahead of me crossing a fence when the birds lifted so I didnt even get a shot of, maybe next time lol)

Walked miles after dinner, up two rivers and saw nothing! typical

Would the wild weather last weekend affect where the ducks were?

welsummer

garveyjg wrote: »

shot four this morning and have six shoot so far on the estuary, theres a good few about around here, allthough its like the guns of navarone that's that many lads shooting it.

ARE YOU SURE YOU WERE NOT SHOOTING IN A FARMYARD. ONE OF YOU DUCKS LOOKS VERY DEMOSTICATED

mauser77

walked for miles along the river an seen nothing got 3 in a boghole in the evening tho best bit was seeing the dog working well he is just gone 2 and had a great find on one that fell about 200 yards out in the bog

Tawny Owl

Was out the last week all I saw was three Ducks and they were Flying about 500 yards in the Sky was on some land feeding Pheasants today and there is a pond no Ducks we were just talking we think the hard weather last year was not good for ducks this year don't think they have recovered much but may be we are wrong.

garveyjg

welsummer wrote: »

ARE YOU SURE YOU WERE NOT SHOOTING IN A FARMYARD. ONE OF YOU DUCKS LOOKS VERY DEMOSTICATED

Welsummer

no farmyard, that would be too easy! What you are refering to is know as a mallard hybrid, there common enough. Mallards along with other ducks hybridise readily, both in captivity and among wild populations. They are also know as dirty ducks because of their undiscriminating hybridizing ways. The list of species that Mallards are known to have hybridized with is long and in some cases Mallard genes threaten to flood the gene pool of other species.

wildfowler94

8 mallard the opening day!:D
None since havent got out, was planning a trip for the weekend but herself booked a weekend in a hotel raged!!:rolleyes: ah sure at-least the pump action will be out!!:D:p;):rolleyes: lol, be out every weekend after this!:D

EPointer=Birdss

wildfowler94 wrote: »

8 mallard the opening day!:D
None since havent got out, was planning a trip for the weekend but herself booked a weekend in a hotel raged!!:rolleyes: ah sure at-least the pump action will be out!!:D:p;):rolleyes: lol, be out every weekend after this!:D

Raged or ragged :D

Just the 1 for me but not out awhole lot.

marlin vs

3 mallard an 2 Teal so far.

goss101

Got 4 mallard in two mornings, this one was the first of the season.

The Big Fella

During the ban last year a few neighboring club members shot the f##k out of my best river for duck. Theres nothing on the river now, I only seen one hen mallard.

terminator2

you sure you dont have a mink problem , big fella , only out once myself got a duck and a drake , 32g no 6s at 30 yds or so

pheasntstalker

my self and oneshotpaddy have 12 so far mostly shot on ponds,5 mallard, 3 teal,4 widgeon:D:D hopefully it will be a good season for everybody;)

The Big Fella

terminator2 wrote: »

you sure you dont have a mink problem , big fella , only out once myself got a duck and a drake , 32g no 6s at 30 yds or so

The river is only 300 yards from my house. The amount a shots fired one day sounded like lads getting a good days shooting crow decoying.

terminator2

there in lies your problem , too many crows , :D

Tackleberrywho

The Big Fella wrote: »

The river is only 300 yards from my house. The amount a shots fired one day sounded like lads getting a good days shooting crow decoying.

Loads of Duck on that river, you just to need to know where to look, BTW
I have crow shooting for you in 2-3 weeks time if you are interested.

Tawny Owl

I went outside the yard last night at 8.20pm and took a video of the amount of Crows at the back of my house as the noise was terrible and when I transferred the video to my computer I though there was something wrong with my camera black dots everywhere I had to erase it not watchable I am not joking there must be a couple of Thousand of them can these be controlled they are on a private estate but right beside me.

Tackleberrywho

Tawny Owl wrote: »

I went outside the yard last night at 8.20pm and took a video of the amount of Crows at the back of my house as the noise was terrible and when I transferred the video to my computer I though there was something wrong with my camera black dots everywhere I had to erase it not watchable I am not joking there must be a couple of Thousand of them can these be controlled they are on a private estate but right beside me.

If they are causing damage and you have the estate owners permission then yes.

I was asked to protect oats that will be sown in 2-3 weeks by a farmer that I have been shooting on his land since 1997.
So I can't really refuse
That and the fact he is a family friend.

pheasntstalker

fecking crows there everywhere on thats no joke i have never seen the like of it in my life ,how the heck did they grow in population for so long unchecked we most start thinning these scourges out fairly lively me thinks

Tawny Owl

I couldn't agree with you anymore there a pest I have no problem with them as a bird quite a clever animal but to see so many in one spot and there just breeding with no control on them I am working tomorrow will take a ramble to see the spot there in and ask the owner if I can thin them out though it would cost me a fortune in shells if I get the go ahead.

pheasntstalker

yeh definately ,might have to stock up on cartridges alrite, im running low a the moment,after duck forays,just standing outside my front door this evening and watching hundreds of them:eek:,circling around ,i think il leave the ducks for awhile and do abit of crow decoying;)

Birdnuts

A M8 of mine(he knows I'm partial to a Wild Duck dinnear:D) has offered me a number of Tufties for the pot. Now i'm used to enjoying my own Mallard(see earlier post;)) but I've never prepared this species. My question is, has anyone tried this duck and what does it taste like??. Any tips about preparation and receipes would be appreciated too:)

pheasntstalker

ive never shot one or come across one yet would be interested in finding as well has anyone ate one and what are they like

EPointer=Birdss

I find divers like tufted duck much tastier than the muddier mallard taste.
Must be their diet. Nice little duck they are. Gave me one of my toughest retrieves to date the little fecker but that chap was a tastey little devil I must say

blackstairsboy

Bagged a drake last night brining the grand total to two mallard so far. Happy with that as not a lot of opportunities round my way till the rain comes and then it is mostly teal.

kildare.17hmr

Got my first mallard drake this evening, thats my fist of the season and my first ever:D

Hunter21

Got my first duck ever this evening!! Delighted is not the word, actually my first ever game bird for that matter. Got a fine healthy mallard. Shot at another one too but couldnt find him with all the reeds :mad: Sickened about that.

Fired two shots and could have fired at 7 or 8 more but said id leave them off for another days sport.

As far as I can see there are plenty of duck about, I just waited for the rivers to rsie.

This duck is def going to be mounted for the future

Tawny Owl

Checked the pond on some land I can shoot tonight not even foot prints there is also a river on another piece of land no Ducks Is it too mild or is it lack of Ducks?.I think where I am shooting I am going to have to just wait it out might stay out late or get up very early what do you all think only seen those Ducks last week in earlier post 500 yards in the sky.

steyrman2

went down to a small pond this evening with a bucket of feed there was 9 mallard on it put feed down went back to hide counted 32 mallard and a few teal in between 7.30 and 8.15 think its time to thin a few out next windy evening :D

Tawny Owl

What part of the Country are you shooting?

steyrman2

wexford border area all wild duck the are flighting in from the slaney area were not seening the numbers like last year we lost a good few with hard weather there was plenty of food for them but the were not inclined to fly that far i feed 4 other ponds and when we get the rain the mallard should be back in numbers feeding strong

Tawny Owl

Thanks I live in Monasterevin County Kildare and I know the Temperature will be a couple of degrees lower then the coast but not a lot of Ducks yet though it is getting colder at night we are feeding the pond but the food is gone but could be Pheasants feeding will as I said before go late in the evening.

steyrman2

worth your while watching the pond if you can from 7 to 8.30 in the evening and just before first light ducks feed all night some like it quiet and others bring the buddys