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Originally Posted by TimberRunner
Does anyone on this thread even hunt ducks?



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I really don't care if it is legal or ethical but if someone shoots into the deeks they will be punched and thrown out of the blind and
asked to never return.
Deeks are expensive. If the bird is wounded I'll send the dog after it.


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I've only gotten into duck hunting somewhat seriously in the last 5 years or so. I'd never even considered that there were people that shot sitting ducks. My hunting life had always been quail and pheasant. I've shot a wounded pheasant with his track shoes on on more than one occasion, as have I shot a wounded duck on the water. But an unwounded bird, never.

A little humor, a lot of truth: A vet I hunt with said he was at a pheasant hunt one time with people from all over. Somebody was talking about 'Arkansas-ing' a bird. They asked a vet in their group from Arkansas what they call it in his state when you shoot a bird that is on the ground or in the water. He said with a straight face and serious as can be... "we call it hunting".

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Days of market hunting and having to hunt to feed your family are all but gone for the most part. I can/could see shooting them on the water if it meant having food on the table or going without food.
That being said, everyone has to do what they deem right in their own eyes.


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As usual, I have no issue going against the grain here and proclaiming that half of these posts are knee jerk reaction responses based on "how you've always done it", which is fine, but predictable. I wouldn't say that I believe that it is unethical to shoot ducks after they have landed, though I rarely do it. If one lands and doesn't take off before I get reloaded though, then I sure wouldn't go out of my way to make it flush before shooting, unless there was danger of hitting a decoy or dog. To be fair though, I rarely decoy ducks. Maybe once every few years.

More to the point, shooting at flying birds I believe creates more opportunity for cripples just like shooting at running deer vs stationary deer---so there's that ethics angle to consider. Pellets can really be slowed down by water though which can also cause cripples I guess. That adds more levels of ethics to the situation.

It is outside of the point of this post since the OP is talking about decoyed ducks, but try stalking mallards (or wood ducks as in the OP's example) and getting a shot off without them knowing you're there. I believe that is WAY tougher than shooting them as they have their wings cupped. To my thinking, sneaking up on resting birds is way more of a challenge than blasting them out of the air, which is just shooting if you didn't do the calling or decoy placement.



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Originally Posted by T_Inman
...
It is outside of the point of this post since the OP is talking about decoyed ducks, but try stalking mallards (or wood ducks as in the OP's example) and getting a shot off without them knowing you're there. I believe that is WAY tougher than shooting them as they have their wings cupped. To my thinking, sneaking up on resting birds is way more of a challenge than blasting them out of the air, which is just shooting if you didn't do the calling or decoy placement.


Can't but agree with that 100%.

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Im thrilled that posters are 50-60 years in on their duck hunting seasons.

I'd like to know how these seasons are progressing. How are bird numbers? Killing many?

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Originally Posted by whackem_stackem
I really don't care if it is legal or ethical but if someone shoots into the deeks they will be punched and thrown out of the blind and
asked to never return.
Deeks are expensive. If the bird is wounded I'll send the dog after it.


Decoys are the least expensive thing I buy for duck hunting.

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In TN if you don't draw a blind or know someone with a blind you are pretty much SOL. We have put in for every draw in the system and not one person in our group has been drawn this year, so as of yet this year I have not been.
I have talked to several guys that have been and they have blinds in very good areas when ducks are here and none are setting the woods on fire. The best of the guys I have talked to, their blind has killed less than 100 and none of the rest have broken the 50 bird mark yet.

As a long time hunter in TN and some in Arkansas, I have seen nothing but the numbers decline over the last 20 years. Another long time duck hunter and I were talking about this the other day and we both feel that the best years are behind us.


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In the scenario described by the OP, of course it is unethical; no question.

Even though I still wouldn't do it, if a man can sneak or paddle up on a duck, especially a wood duck, I believe he has earned whatever shot he cares to take.


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Originally Posted by TimberRunner
Originally Posted by whackem_stackem
I really don't care if it is legal or ethical but if someone shoots into the deeks they will be punched and thrown out of the blind and
asked to never return.
Deeks are expensive. If the bird is wounded I'll send the dog after it.


Decoys are the least expensive thing I buy for duck hunting.

Really?
I have more invested in my deeks than my boat and guns combined. Good deeks are $15-25 a piece for ducks. Damn right I'll get po'ed if someone sprays steel BB's into four or five of them just to kill a bird.


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Originally Posted by whackem_stackem
I really don't care if it is legal or ethical but if someone shoots into the deeks they will be punched and thrown out of the blind and
asked to never return.
Deeks are expensive. If the bird is wounded I'll send the dog after it.



OK, full disclosure. I shot Mojo. A flock of mallards was coming into the decoys and I shot a beautiful greenhead near the bottom of the flock. A stray pellet hit the spinner and blew a hole in his wing, leaving a disfigured whirling reminder of my mistake.
Wounded birds on water? If the pond is small, I'm quick to send the dog. On bigger water I'll quickly execute the cripple as I've seen that merry chase too many times.

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Originally Posted by TimberRunner
Does anyone on this thread even hunt ducks?


Sure do! However, despite the annual glowing reports from Ducks Unlimited, numbers of ducks in my area (western Oregon, mid valley) have steadily dropped over the last 20 years. Hunting here now in the same public spots produces little by comparison. Anyway the dogs still love it

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Originally Posted by Pappy348
A YouTuber recently posted a video of a wood duck hunt where they shot most, if not all of them after they landed among the decoys. I objected, but it seems I’m in the minority, based on the thumb-count. Not a waterfowler, so I decided to ask here.

Is it unethical to shoot birds on the water? Are the ethics any different for woodies than other birds?

Thanks for your input.

So I went back and re-read the OP after reading T Inmans post. Thought I’ll try to give input that isn’t nostalgic and based on what I grew up doing.

Today when I hunt decoyed ducks regardless of the flavor. Would I consider it unethical to shoot birds on the water? For me personally my simple answer is no, not unethical. For me personally though I find it more enjoyable to shoot flying ducks as sitting. I think it’s harder to hit flying birds, but tougher to kill sitting birds. The key word being decoyed

Again ethical but not as much fun.

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I, personally, only shoot ducks on the wing. I, personally, don’t care how anyone else shoots ducks.

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In a nut shell……This^^^^^^^^

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While I’ve shot them on the water before, it’s not something I’ve ever planned to do. It’s infinitely more satisfying shooting them when they’re cupped up and sailing in. For me it doesn’t get any better than a double, or once in my hunting career, a triple of mallards on the wing.

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Shooting ducks on the water is kid stuff. A kid snuck up on my Dad and I and shot our decoys, thinking they were real. He also shot my Dad. He spent 21 days in ICU and still has one steel BB in his brain and one in his shoulder.

I have shot a sitting duck before but not something I practice.


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Originally Posted by TimberRunner
Im thrilled that posters are 50-60 years in on their duck hunting seasons.

I'd like to know how these seasons are progressing. How are bird numbers? Killing many?

duck hunting was always my favorite , but here in Minnesota farming more and more ,pot holes are drained and plowed ,swamps that are left many no longer have those little shrimp in them, pesticides and herbisides are ruining Minnesota duck hunting probably by population less than half the ducks now compared to what it was in the 70`s. the river i live by no longer has bullheads in it ,too much pollution for bullheads to live.in that type of water. it is now much better to hunt in the western states.


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Originally Posted by Magnum_Bob
Only reason in my book to shoot a duck on the water is the ducks been crippled and getting away. Having a good retriever eliminates most of that need. Just how I see it. Mb

^^^This^^^


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