Waterfowl Reports

[GooBack]

60-80 yards?

ATK thanks you!

[Stringerless!]

Amen Todd ! Exactly how I feel. Most days.

[Stringerless!]

Nothing today. Burned by one pair mallards and a pair of woody hens that I would have let fly anyway. saw about 10 geese while leaving. Spent more time looking up for migrants than watching for ducks coming to spread. Nothing seen or heard migrating.

[booger]

yeah this week seems like a lull. Hopefully it picks up on the weekend

[carpshooterdeluxe]

Gooback, I didn't shoot at those. I take shots that are in range thank you. I bet i passed on 5,000 birds that most people would have shot at. The birds I wounded were around 60 yards. Anyone here think that's a long shot for BBs? Didn't think so.

2 3/4" BB? 1 1/4 oz load? 1375 fps? Horrible duck load for anything past 40 yards. For a reliable kill on mallards at 60 yards, you need 2 pellets in the vitals to transfer enough energy. Rosters tables show a minimum pattern of 85-90 pellets in a 30" circle to ensure enough pellet strikes from 45-65 yards. are you getting 100% 60 yard patterns? If not, you're relying on a golden pellet. Nothing wrong with jumping, sneaking, or pass shooting, but know the effective range of your load and pattern.

[fishuhalik]

Velocity is 1550. I agree, 2 3/4 BBs aren't the greatest duck load. And 2 3/4 #2s aren't the best goose loads. Since I was hunting both ducks and geese and my 870 only shoots 2 3/4, what would have been a better choice? Underpowered with #2s or overpowered with BBs?

[Lunker]

Went up and hunted Lake Michigan (Green Bay) for my annual trip up to hunt with the old college buddies. We probably saw the fewest birds I've seen up there, and the weather and water conditions did not support us. However, we still shot a fun mixed bag of birds. Bag this year included mallards, buffies, GWT, canvasback, pintail, black duck, and merganser. I shot a beautiful bull can and my first black duck which was a big drake so even though we didn't get much action those were fun to see. First year I've hunted up there and not shot bluebills and redheads, and those usually make up the majority of birds shot...been a weird year everywhere i've hunted, gotta be the weather.

[Kettle]

Hunting the last week has shown that scouting takes up the majority of my time. Saturday found a slough holding nearly 400 mallards, went after them the next morning. Had some younger guys come in late and were doing some sky busting. We had the mojo out and well that got them within the 30 yard mark, two guys 8 ducks total with a few GWT. Went back out there today, kicked geese off and the water they were sitting in froze up. By 0900 the whole pond was froze, bought a 1/4'' in a few areas. The mallards are in larger flocks, probably had 60 come in right after shooting hours got two and later on picked up a GWT. Most of the shallow sloughs are froze in the morning. Next weeks should be interesting, if the smaller sloughs don't freeze up the birds spread and well not as easy. Have yet to see an influx of many divers or ringbills. Seems like the majority of ducks I have been seeing are not on the bigger deeper lakes yet. Good luck hunting.

Kettle

[Scott M]

Got back from the 2nd block of my NoDak license. Had a good field hunt, a bad field hunt, and a super diver hunt. Noticeably more birds than the first hunt, but still fewer than years past. I wish I could be out there now, but deer is the priority.

Good diversity in the bag - pintails, widgeon, green-wings, grey ducks, greenheads, buffies, ringers, bills, honkers...saw lots of spoonies, redheads.

Got most of the hunts on camera, when I have time in the winter to edit and put it together, I'll try to throw up some vids.

[Ufatz]

Hey Fish.....who said #2's are "underpowered"? Shoot the #2's if that is all you have, but in either case simply shoot when you KNOW the birds, ducks or geese, are in range.

As an old shotgun shooter (and still at it) I just cannot get used to the fact that so many shooters today (and I'm not picking on you) simply to NOT know the effective range of thier shotguns. I have dumped more geese and big ducks with 2 3/4" #4's then you'll probably ever see-killed most of them dead when they hit the ground. But I KNEW two things: how both barrels patterned and how far the birds were from where I was. Go out and use a range marker if you can-marke out thirty yards and put a stake out there (not kidding) or put one decoy out that far and DON'T shoot at anything that is not within your markers. You might be surprised and pleased at the result. Straight overhead? There are some posters around -ot used to be- that show the relative sizes of ducks in the air. Try to find them so you get used to what a mallard looks like at 30-35 yards and what size one SEEMS to be at 60 yards.

Shoot 'em when they look REALLY REALLY BIG!!! Ha Ha!

[dan z]

1 greenhead 1 can 1 pintail 1 goose came home today, not much flying around seen a couple migrating flocks but that's about it.

[Stringerless!]

Pair of mallards last night. No shots tonight . Saw 3 ducks. No sign of migration.

[H0LE HOPPER]

Area has just filled up with geese went out scouting tonight seen a good 5000!!!! Could not believe it, skys were black over my house for about 45 min, most ive seen since ive lived here. Buddy was scouting to down by the croix said he seen about 2000. Feilds were filling up everywhere it seemed like. Ducks are little to none here seen a few in the feilds thats about it seen a nice group of goldeneyes on west rush though.

[fishuhalik]

Ufatz, that's what i was doing. I've killed countless birds at the range the birds I wounded the other day were at. Good, consistent fold-em-up range. Maybe the birds were less than 60 yds, I dunno. Didn't use a rangefinder before I shot.

[Ufatz]

Ufatz, that's what i was doing. I've killed countless birds at the range the birds I wounded the other day were at. Good, consistent fold-em-up range. Maybe the birds were less than 60 yds, I dunno. Didn't use a rangefinder before I shot.

I truly HOPE the birds were less than 60 yards. Next time you have a chance put a paper shotgun target at 60 yards and shoot it with #2's and then BB's and see what YOU think.

[booger]

I truly HOPE the birds were less than 60 yards. Next time you have a chance put a paper shotgun target at 60 yards and shoot it with #2's and then BB's and see what YOU think.

Yep I patterned at 40 and was pretty unimpressed with my results. At 60 I'd feel like (w/ my setup) I was just throwing out a hail mary. Not to say I haven't done it, but I try not to make a habit of it.

Anyways I'm thinking this weekend should be good, cold to the North. Not a lot of wind but kinda cloudy. Deer hunters out stirring up everything in the woods.

[Stringerless!]

Private lake. Kicked off 75 geese while going out(pretty normal) They never came back and I never saw a single duck.

[H0LE HOPPER]

Hunted up by pine city, not to great got one goose and seen bout 20 some divers and mallards mixed, buddy convinced me there is still some ducks up there so we'll see how the morning is tommorrow.

[Stringerless!]

29th hunt this season. Saw 4 ducks. Of course I had the boat out going after a stray decoy that blew off dropoff when the wind switched. Did see a lot of geese but they were going down in cornfield north of lake. Usually somebody in there but they must be deer hunting. I tried and could not get permission a few years ago. Still have yet to see or hear any "BIG' sign of migration. Just a trickle here in Chisago county.

[Kettle]

Did some scouting on the way in to work this evening, seeing good number of Mallards and Geese, they are both in larger flocks. My lack of not owning a mud motor, is keeping me from getting to an area holding a large number of ducks, rough guess and to underestimate we'll say 800 birds. Trying to get off at 0300 to go out tomorrow morning, if not will have to wait for my Tues-Thur off. I have noticed that most birds are still holding up in the shallow sloughs even with ice coatings in the morning, they have yet to hit the deeper larger lakes. Happy hunting.

Kettle

[dan z]

Brought home 1 woodie very slow morning. Still boot lips around so that tells me many ducks are still up north. Very few shots fired even in the deer hunting world

[water rat]

Hunted within an hour of home today,wow things have slowed in my haunts! A few mallards and a couple cans.we need some weather in Canada! Could use a little nudge of New birds....

[fishersofmen]

Was slow for me this morning as well.....very few gun shots in the area.

[dan z]

Brought home 1 woodie very slow morning. Still boot lips around so that tells me many ducks are still up north. Very few shots fired even in the deer hunting world

[Stringerless!]

Did not hunt this morning. Was gonna set up in a field but did not want to mess up someones deer hunt on adjacent property. Their season is short enough.