I try to give hens a pass. Even on slow days, they get a pass from me. But sometimes when a flock comes in, I mislead of a hen further back flies into the patrtial shoot stream of a closer drake. Had that happen on Thanksgiving morning a few years back. Broke ice, etc. Nothing much doing for ducks, but got 2 geese. all of sudden I hear air braking through feathers as they came with the wind and did a U turn and came right into the decoys--picture perfect how you like to see it happen. I shot 3 drakes and then notice out about 80yds a hen with her legs kicking. She flew into the shot pattern and it hit her in the head. Oh well it happens.
I think the last time I shot a hen intentially was in SK over 10 years ago. Yeah the duck mecca of NA--and it was deviod of ducks. Go figure... The proverbial "You should have been here last week" thing. Everyone has possession limited out by Wed the week before on ducks and geese. A big front came through that weekend as I was driving up and 99.9% of the ducks left.
After 3 days of hunting geese finally a single duck comes in over the goose decoys--and I shot her so I could have duck for lunch. Duck hunting was so tough that week that there were guys targetting Mallards in the AM and PM in fields and by Thursday had not posession limited out yet. I talked to of guys that had not shot a duck after 2 days of water hunting. That is tough hunting.
Anyway, as I have been getting older, I do not care if I get a limit and am more picky of what I shoot. Currently as a rule of thumb I give passes on all hens and few species that I don't really care to eat.
For me I do disagree with the scientists in this regard: On the early nesting Mallards and Pintials. These are the 1st 2 duck species on the nesting grounds. The predators are hungry from a long winter, often they have young to feed so are actively out looking for nesting fowl and being the new grasses are not up yet, nesting cover is minimal so it's easier to find them. So the Mallard and Pintial hens get hammered hard by the predators. A month or more later like when the Teal and Widgeon show up, often the green grasses are shin high and wheat fields are ankle high. There are many more species that the predators can feed on and because of more cover the later nesting species have a better chance to pull off a nest compared to the 1st arrivals.
So that is why I do not target Mallard and Pintial hens, they have a tough row of it, so why add to it?
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God, help me be the man that my dog thinks that I am.