Shooting hens

[lumbertick]

I don't lose any sleep over it. Sure, I would love to shoot an all drake fully plumed limit of greenheads....but to he honest I'm not that good. They eat the same to me.


lt

[SpoonieSensation]

Ill shoot them especially on the slow days. In a decoying group I try and kill drakes as much as possible but it happens. No problem with it.

Since I Respect Hansen So Much, I Concur! Drakes First On The Promising dayS!

[h2ofwlr]

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?

[greatwhitehunter3!]

You haven't shot a hen in ten years except one accidental one?

Do you hunt?

[h2ofwlr]

That is not what I had said. I have not intentionally shot a hen Mallard in over 10 years. The example on Thanksgiving day a few years ago is how hens get on my strap - unintentionally.

[get-n-birdy]

Hunters have been able to shoot hens in the regulations for years, there's still ducks to shoot. So I doubt the shooting of hens is as major of a deal as waterfowl hunters think it is. I like to shoot drakes but I've been brainwashed into the ideal it is gospel to give a hen a pass. I like to shoot drakes because it makes for cool pics and makes me feel good. Other than that I doubt it really helps much more than my ego. If there were large scale guys targeting just hens in low density duck areas early in the season it might have some affect on nesting numbers in that area. But a lot of nests fail. More than we want to know. But enough succeed to have a huntable population, even with high harvest numbers and massive predation numbers that occur to nesting birds.

[Nershi]

I only shoot hen geese....just doing my part to control the population.

[bow-fishhunter]

I'm with pretty much everybody else.
I don't like how that artical is written though, If you look at the pintail example having a limit at all shouldn't matter...

[D.T. Hammer]

Anyway, as I have been getting older, I do not care if I get a limit and am more picky of what I shoot.

Everyone is getting older every day Al your not so special.

AS I get older I want to kill more stuff. I am realizing it is just a numbers game. I could care a less about the sunrise I just want to kill a bird. And crow and pigeon hunting is all the better = more numbers and you can toss them in the dumpster when filling up with gas.

Is there one person on this forum who is not getting older?

[h2ofwlr]

John your shtick is old and unwelcome here too. So keep it to yourself.

And you had to ask why you were banned on TOS and other forums in the past? The answer is your BS being posted and intentionally stirring the pot.