ANY Ducks out there .....

Winch101 · #1 10-16-2008, 05:45 PM

Its been a week or so since we have seen any concentrations of ducks

Thanks to Drake for the below tip ...We are hunting an area probably 50 miles square

with the trans canada hway as the centre line east of calgary ...

There were a ton of ducks , hunting pressure probably moved them on..

Same thing happened last year ,a glut of ducks in that stetler area , but nothing south

unless we are missing them ....we'll keep looking ...

Winch101 · #2 10-18-2008, 02:02 PM

See above

drake · #3 10-18-2008, 09:23 PM

A Tip for you Tipsters......... go to a likely roost lake in the the pre dawn am. Sit there until you see puddle ducks flying off roost. Follow them to one of two destinations; eighther their pre feed puddle, or their feeding field. secure permission. Hunt that afternoon (if field), or next am (if puddle) Depending on the topography of your area, this can be easier said than done, but its not rocket science. Follow this formula without deviating, and you will be sucessful. Good luck to you sir.

ABDUKNUT · #4 10-19-2008, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winch101

Its been a week or so since we have seen any concentrations of ducks

Here's a photo I took 3 hours ago-

Maybe I can kill another of these in the morning?

raised by wolves · #5 10-19-2008, 10:27 PM

Good pile up of mallards south of Raymond. Knocked a few down last week. Nice fat birds too.

Winch101 · #6 10-19-2008, 10:38 PM

Hey that is Ryan GSP , thanks for posting that .....

Nice bunch of mallards .... So are Abduknut and Ryan Gsp the same person ....?

Just a question .....

ABDUKNUT · #7 10-21-2008, 10:01 AM

ABDUKNUT · #8 10-21-2008, 10:11 AM

Tabers Best · #9 10-21-2008, 01:48 PM

Jamie I know both of these boys and you seem one sided so you are not showing the most maturity either. They poke shots at one another and you can't only look one way. Just my feedback. Take it or leave it.

Jamie · #10 10-21-2008, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tabers Best

Jamie I know both of these boys and you seem one sided so you are not showing the most maturity either. They poke shots at one another and you can't only look one way. Just my feedback. Take it or leave it.

Sorry Taber there is only one side when it comes to this child.
PM Sent

Jamie

Rackmastr · #11 10-21-2008, 02:33 PM

Winch.....I have seen quite a few ducks down south these days on the lakes. The best advice given on this thread is to do exactly what Drake said. I personally like field shoots the best in the morning and some good scouting and following birds from roost to field is the best way to accomplish that.

Rackmastr · #12 10-21-2008, 02:34 PM

BTW...ABDUKNUT thats a great pic with a handful of birds ya got man.....

drake · #13 10-21-2008, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ABDUKNUT

[B]B]

Not only is he the "great white hunter", but he's also the poster boy for gun safety.

Advent721 · #14 10-21-2008, 02:54 PM

I joined this board recently because of hearing about it from Ray. I mostly lurk out here a lot. Most everyone has experiences to draw from and a lot of times it can be useful to someone starting out or trying something new. Usually the guys that brag all day long about how great they are at something are probably trying to hide the fact that they aren't. Too bad as this board could and should be a good resource for everyone, no matter how "great" you think you are.

ABDUKNUT · #15 10-21-2008, 04:07 PM

I can assure you that neither RyanGPS or I am attempting to brag, boast, intimidate, ridicule or be intentionally belligerent towards anybody here. If you don't want to be singled out, then don't try to call him out and I'm sure it will stop. You know who you are, and you are guilty of this. Ryan is too, but for a young guy, he flat knows a heck of a lot about bird hunting, and is willing to share what he's learned with anybody who will listen; so, it's your loss if you choose to carry this any further.

Versatile · #16 10-21-2008, 04:44 PM

Rackmaster yes hunting in the morning may be great but you will get much better shooting in the afternoon in a field between the roost and a feeding field with a couple mojo's going. Not alot of big flocks but you will get anything from pairs to a 12 all afternoon and evening long. This will allow you to pick out the drakes.....or the birds you want to kill and bring them into the kill zone. Ty it sometime and tell me which you prefer and which is more fun. I think you will be surprised.

ABDUKNUT · #17 10-21-2008, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyanGSP

Rackmaster yes hunting in the morning may be great but you will get much better shooting in the afternoon in a field between the roost and a feeding field with a couple mojo's going. Not alot of big flocks but you will get anything from pairs to a 12 all afternoon and evening long. This will allow you to pick out the drakes.....or the birds you want to kill and bring them into the kill zone. Ty it sometime and tell me which you prefer and which is more fun. I think you will be surprised.

Yes that indeed is a sound strategy. Set up close (but not too close) to a roost with a good decoy spread, ideally between 2 bodies of water that are holding a wad of birds. Ducks (especially Mallards) are 'samplers' by nature and absolutely cannot resist taking a close look at what appears to be a feeding flock. The trick, is to get underneath them in a good traffic area. It's a big plus if its a barley field... Good visibility.

Also, this way your morning is free to hunt and scout for geese. I like to follow them in the morning, check on them in the afternoon, then hunt them the following morning. This way you can shoot geese every second morning, and get your ducks every afternoon.

Lastly, by hunting the traffic you are letting the ducks feed to their hearts content in the same area, and not burning them out, or educating huge flocks by shooting into them in a feeding field.
And, not setting yourself up for a busted hunt if they decide to all feed at dark, at night, or before sunrise in the morning.

Winch101 · #18 10-21-2008, 05:55 PM

I 'm not interupting anything am I ....

I was just out in the garage cleaning up some more Pheasants ...

I shot them while I was at my computer all day ....

I just wanted to know if anybody had seen any ducks of any consequence around Calgary ... Nothing more !

I thought Ab. was intimating that was him in the 1st pic....

By the way , you must have knocked the egg shells off

a few of those mallards when you hit them.....

I just got off the phone with my friend steve in GP...

His brother and I have got Elk Tags for up there ..

He says shooting a limit of mallards up there at the moment

is a no brainer , the leaves are still on the banana

trees up there ....

So I will be up there so dont shoot all those ducks

little brother ...

theduke · #19 10-21-2008, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winch101

I 'm not interupting anything am I ....

I was just out in the garage cleaning up some more Pheasants ...

I shot them while I was at my computer all day ....

I just wanted to know if anybody had seen any ducks of any consequence around Calgary ... Nothing more !

I thought Ab. was intimating that was him in the 1st pic....

By the way , you must have knocked the egg shells off

a few of those mallards when you hit them.....

I just got off the phone with my friend steve in GP...

His brother and I have got Elk Tags for up there ..

He says shooting a limit of mallards up there at the moment

is a no brainer , the leaves are still on the banana

trees up there ....

So I will be up there so dont shoot all those ducks

little brother ...

hey winch, there a **** load of ducks between #1 and 22x from calgary all the way up to strathmore, thats the total area i hunt waterfowl in and leave with 4 ppls limit in a morning sitting at one pond pm me we'll hook up one day a good producing pond is weed lake i havent been there in 4 weeks due to big game hunting but heading up there on sunday

Versatile · #20 10-21-2008, 06:46 PM

Uh no Jamie I never once said they shot bears out of a plane. Sorry man.

lilsundance · #21 10-21-2008, 10:13 PM

please keep the posts to the subject.

Deemoss · #22 10-21-2008, 11:19 PM

for some reason i find it incredibly hard to follow the birds from the lake to the feeding area... they don't drive on the highway for me to follow... the go across fields, lakes, whatever to get to their field... how can i follow them??!!
can anyone tell me how you guys do it...
excuse the ignorance of a rookie here...
cheers

Rackmastr · #23 10-21-2008, 11:23 PM

Its almost like watching 'hurricane chasers' when you are following geese or ducks.

Having a good MD map helps.....and cutting across dirt roads and zig-zagging until you get close is the key. Usually there are enough birds that you can watch and get to where they are landing by keeping them in sight and doin a bit of diligent driving.

Having 2 guys is nice.....as sometimes its nice to have a guy watching the map book to see where roads lead or how you can get closer to areas. Of course you'll want the maps anyways for tracking down landowners for permission. Having a phonebook for the area is nice as well if you cant track down houses (with so many people owning land and living elsewhere).

drake · #24 10-22-2008, 12:17 PM

Welcome to the WILD GOOSE CHASE........

Rackmastr · #25 10-22-2008, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drake

Welcome to the WILD GOOSE CHASE........

Haha...I've had some good times chasing birds across grid roads. Makes me feel at times like I should be a hurricane chaser...one guy clinging to the map, reading and giving directions, the other with eyes to the sky.....driving with the pedal down....haha.

Its even more fun when you're trying to follow a couple different flights of birds off different lakes and covering lots of country.....decoy trailer swinging behind the truck....haha

generigler · #26 10-22-2008, 01:03 PM

advising new hunters who want results to set up to run traffic is not sound advice as you really do need to know what your doing to get results, find a pot hole shoot or a field shoot where they are actually feeding the morning or afternoon before you want to hunt and you will do just fine, some of the info on this board is just plain stupid

Rockymtnx · #27 10-22-2008, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rackmastr

Haha...I've had some good times chasing birds across grid roads. Makes me feel at times like I should be a hurricane chaser...one guy clinging to the map, reading and giving directions, the other with eyes to the sky.....driving with the pedal down....haha.

Its even more fun when you're trying to follow a couple different flights of birds off different lakes and covering lots of country.....decoy trailer swinging behind the truck....haha

So true Pack hunter.
Just about stuffed the truck in the toulees once this year on the old wild goose chase. lol

Just like its been said before. Get a map, follow the birds and expect to do some driving.
When out chasing birds it not uncommon for me to rack up 50 -100km when out spotting/chasing.

Rockymtnx · #28 10-22-2008, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by generigler

advising new hunters who want results to set up to run traffic is not sound advice as you really do need to know what your doing to get results, find a pot hole shoot or a field shoot where they are actually feeding the morning or afternoon before you want to hunt and you will do just fine, some of the info on this board is just plain stupid

What the he** are you talking about?
Run traffic.......?
Yes I agree you need to know what to do to get results. But before you can get results you have to have some birds to hunt.
The guy asked where the birds where. It was explained to him how to find the birds.
What was so stupid about that?

Rackmastr · #29 10-22-2008, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by generigler

advising new hunters who want results to set up to run traffic is not sound advice as you really do need to know what your doing to get results, find a pot hole shoot or a field shoot where they are actually feeding the morning or afternoon before you want to hunt and you will do just fine, some of the info on this board is just plain stupid

Run traffic??? HUH??? Do you know what you're talking about??

Ya...I agree some of the info on here is plain stupid....not sure who scouting birds from a vehicle is not sound advice.....

schimmel · #30 10-22-2008, 02:14 PM

I'll probably get flamed for this but here it goes. I think what generigler was
refuring to is if one guy is reading the map & one guy is watching the sky who's watching the road. I only chase birds with atleast three people in th truck.