Going to New York

[me_fathead]

Doing some Longtail(oldsquaw) and Scoter hunting. Should be interesting. Pictures of very cold 870s are in your future.

[Gordie]

good luck fathead and cant wait to see the pics

[Sergio M]

Good luck!

[me_fathead]

It was cold. It was windy. Everything was coated with a half-inch of ice, or 'oice' as they call it in NY.

We had a blast and brought home 16 Longtails (Oldsquaw) and two White Winged Scoters.

Long Tailed Duck/Oldsquaw drake

White Winged Scoter drake

Duckpile

[me_fathead]

I forgot to mention -- all of these birds are going to be eaten. I like strong-flavored ducks, coots, etc., but my wife doesn't and honestly the bit of these I tried was even a bit rough for me. The scoter's not bad -- much like Hooded Merganser but with coarser meat. The Longtails are really strong and really tough. So, most of them are getting smoked -- which if you think you don't like duck, try them smoked. They're phenomenal.

I also tried an experiment with one of each. I corned them. They're really good this way. Still a little tough, but thinly sliced they're really really good. All of the stronger flavors are gone and the texture has improved. I have a few more waiting for some recipe refinements and brining. I always wanted to try this on goose, which I normally find almost inedible.

[dan z]

freakin sweet dude your one lucky duck to shoot them types of birds. glad you had a great hunt and made it out and back safely with the conditions.

[Gordie]

congrats on the success you had out there. and those are some really beautiful birds...

[rakes2002]

Awesome photo's! I'm sure you had a blast. Where were you hunting? I went out to New York(Buffalo) 3 years ago over New Year's. We hunted Lake Erie and the Niagra River. Shot some nice long-tails on the Niagra.

[SledNeck]

Nice pics!

Was it a do it yourself trip?

[me_fathead]

Nice pics!

Was it a do it yourself trip?

It was a gift-trip from a very good friend of mine. It was an all-expenses paid, guided trip. Do it once and you don't need the guide for anything but the 20' boat. If this were something I were going to do regularly and had the funds to do it, I'd go with an even larger boat. I could hardly stand after two days of trying to balance. My right knee is still recovering two weeks later.

Shooting in a heavily rocking boat is interesting to say the least. There were quite a few severe misses because of that and/or lost balance. I almost got knocked over backward by the recoil at one point because my balance shifted so hard.

[SledNeck]

what area were you hunting?

[me_fathead]

Mouth of the Niagara River.

[SledNeck]

Mouth of the Niagara River.

How far out do you go? Do you hunt out in the middle of open water or near shore?

[me_fathead]

Originally Posted By: me_fathead

Mouth of the Niagara River.

How far out do you go? Do you hunt out in the middle of open water or near shore?

It depends on how far out the lake will allow and how far out the birds are. The first day was rough enough that were only out about 1/4 mile or so but the birds were there so it didn't matter. The second day we went out a couple of miles, but most of the birds stayed on the Canadian side of the border.

[MN Greenheads]

nice