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Post by leonard on Jan 12, 2018 15:33:37 GMT
How often do you hunt from your scull boat ?
Do you take all ducks or do you pick out what birds you want to go after ?
Do you take drakes and let the hens go or take them both ?
Do you shoot them on the water or let them jump and take them in the air ?
What ducks do you give a pass to ?
What are the top four ducks that you go after ?
What is your number one duck ?
For the past ten years or so I only hunt from a scull boat
I pick out the birds I want to go after
I try to take drakes only but if a hen gets in the way I take her also ( this year I have taken one hen that got in the way )
I sit up to shoot if the duck jumps I shoot him in the air I he sit on the water I shoot him where he sits
Most times I come home with two to four ducks some times I come home with none !
Over all I love being out there on the water
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mat
Junior Member
Posts: 50 
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Post by mat on Jan 13, 2018 15:37:34 GMT
Finally, some action on this site! Thanks, Leonard. I'll start off the survey:
I only hunt sculling, except once or twice a year I accept an invitation to shoot on a club.
I pick out birds. I try for drakes only, but not too disappointed if a hen gets in the way when shooting a drake. Two or three good ducks is a good day. I take whatever shot offers the best chance for a clean kill. For me the challange is in the sneak, and the shooting is just how I perform my hunter/gatherer role. I give a pass to any birds my wife and I won't really enjoy eating. That will depend on what part of the state I'm in, what the birds have probably been eating. In the past I have eaten about everything, including scoters, and there are ways to make the fishiest duck taste OK by picking all fat off the breast, but why bother when I can get a couple of clean feeding ducks? I like large ducks, easier carving. I'm out there to put tasty food on th table, not just target shoot ducks. My top four birds are mallard, sprig, redhead, inland cans, followed by widgeon, inland gaddies, and ringnecks, in that order. I enjoy sculling buffs, goldeneye, etc., but just for fun, not to kill. My best scull recently was on two bald eagles sitting on shore eating a coot. I got up to about 20 feet, and wished i had a camera! For me it's all about just being out there enjoying nature, with the bonus of some great eating.
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Post by kingfisher72 on Jan 17, 2018 5:22:21 GMT
I find myself only really interested in sculling anymore. Decoy hunting is just ok. I'd always rather be under the oar.
Like Mat, I prefer to shoot large ducks that are good on the table. Here in WNY that's usually mallard or redhead. I usually pass on bufflehead, the mergansers and scaup. My four most desirable would be canvasback, redhead, ringneck and mallard. The birds I most often take would be redhead and mallard. I prefer drakes but will shoot hens no sweat. I try to shoot birds in the air because they seem easier to kill quickly and humanely. I will shoot birds on the water though if the situation calls for it. For example, taking the second of my two redhead out of a large group.
My typical hunt involves sweeping a shoreline on inland lakes or harbors on the great lakes. I try to find an area with a number of birds spread out down the shoreline near an access. I'll then scull along and take what the scenario best presents. Then motor back to the access.
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Post by toasty on Feb 15, 2018 22:36:34 GMT
How often do you hunt from your scull boat ? - Usually10-15 times a year. This year I only hunted from the scull 5 times. Do you take all ducks or do you pick out what birds you want to go after ? - Scull is for selective harvest, only the birds that get me excited. Do you take drakes and let the hens go or take them both ? Only drakes, unless I make a mistake. Do you shoot them on the water or let them jump and take them in the air ? I let my kids shoot them before they fly, I always push in until they flush to sit up, even if that if 5 yards. What ducks do you give a pass to ? Mergansers, Ruddy ducks, Most divers, and all hens What are the top four ducks that you go after ? Pintails, Widgeon, Gadwalls, and Mallards unless there is anything rare that I can find. What is your number one duck ? Hard to pass on a late season pintail with a big long sprig.This year, I shot one limit of ducks that included 4 gadwalls and 3 mallards. The rest of my hunts were geese and it went well. This was my last hunt of the season. I probably enjoy decoy hunting better than sculling when good, but sculling is perfect for those slow decoy times or when I am after specific species.  |
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