what type of duck to shoot

[wolfkid]

How do you feel about shooting Hens and Drakes when hunting Mallards?

[Tony Vandemore]

Dead hens don't lay eggs.

[2labs]

I agree with Tony, we always try to take drakes, unless we have kids with us and they just shoot what is in range ,took my 12 yr old daughter 2 weeks ago and we had mallard landing in the spread , she was amazed at how close they were, she killed her first a drake mallard . It was AWSOME the look on her face, priceless !

[Jason Zerrer]

Hens are pretty much off limits for us.

[JEDJR]

I'm all for conservation, but will shoot a hen if another shot is not available(Drake) and see nothing wrong with it.
They are legal and allowed in your daily bag limit.

I think everybody does the same.

[StraitMeatKilla]

If we are presented with the opportunity to take all drakes, by all means we do. But, we do shoot hens occasionally. As JEDJR said, they are legal to take and count in your bag limit (2 per man per day, with a total mallard limit of 4 per man per day). In Northwest PA, it isn't exactly easy to shoot just drakes....as we definitely do not have the mallard populations of some of the other flyways.

Strait

[Rob Jepson]

Ditto to the sentiments expressed by Mark.

[Tony Vandemore]

I'm all for conservation, but will shoot a hen if another shot is not available(Drake) and see nothing wrong with it.
They are legal and allowed in your daily bag limit.

I think everybody does the same. Jed, not starting a pi**ing match here, but not EVERYBODY does the same. The guys I hunt with would rather end up a couple birds short of a limit than shoot a couple hens. There are lots of people out there that shoot drakes only and that is great. There are lots of folks out there that see nothing wrong with shooting hens and that is fine too, to each their own. This topic is one of those that will end up three pages long with posts from both sides... ;)

[Aaron Hitchins]

Where we are all we shoot at is silhouettes because our flying is done right at dawn and dusk, plus we are far enough north and hunt early enough in the season most of our drakes look like hens til they are in your hand anyways. I like to think i can ID woodies, mallard/blacks, teals, ringnecks, mergansers well enough and being able to tell what species it is before you shoot is an accomplishment enough for us. The most we got in one day this year was 6 for 3 of us (I got 4 each time) and we had no idea the sex of what we were shooting. If i had the oppurtunity i would go drakes only but we just focus on hitting what we can. I'm just curious how y'all can tell the sexes? what light you hunt in (what time of day they are flying) and how you can have limits for specific species? In ontario we have no harlequins and 2 blacks limits and the rest is quit after 6 ducks.

Thanks

Aaron

[Tony Vandemore]

Aaron, when we are up north early in the year we ID alot of drakes by the color of their bill. When they hook down wind and are coming at you, the yellow of a drakes bill really stands out.

[Shawn Bloomhuff]

I think MOST hunters would say that shooting drakes is the preference but that they shoot hens as well just on a lesser level.

[Rich Good]

My group tends to let the brown go and look for color, somedays hens are killed, but our average is more drakes.

[Keath Wetovick]

U can always try and shoot drakes, we always make it a point too. But u run into problems shooting at flocks, in which case sometimes u hit a hen. Always shoot green, the only good hen is a live hen.

[Zekeland]

Early season is tough up here for i.d., but we do our best. Shot less ducks later in the year passing on the hens.

[bama woodie]

i try to only shoot drakes, also because thats all i want to shoot. but i have no problem with shooting both. usually i cant manage shooting at only drakes. oh well its meat on the table.

i voted both.

[Will DeBlois]

I'm not pro-staffer but here's my opinion.Well i am all about shooting drakes. But if i see a drake fall out or can't get a shot on one i don't mind shooting a hen. But i don't try to make a habit of thinking that. But then again when a GWT comes in your decoys at blazing speed you have about a second to find a drake..and accidents do happen.

[MAC ISLAND]

We have a little "competition" so to speak. For every hen you shoot, you owe $20. At the end of the year we donate it to Delta in some way. It really makes the guys think before they shoot! I've been fortunate enough this year not to make any mistakes, but Delta will still be getting a check via the others that I hunt with.

Dead Hens don't lay eggs!