Divers , Divers , Divers!!

[Goldeneyebuster]

Anybody shoot any banded divers ? What kind of divers do you shoot in you area ?What kind of dekes do you use for divers?

[Josh Brugmans]

I know that near here people shoot the occasional banded bluebill.

[Wingman]

Never shot a banded diver... Do pull the trigger on divers (Can's, Bluebills, Redheads and Ringnecks) if that's what’s working the decoys but I wouldn't say I set up for them. If I'm hunting big water I will always have 12-18 bluebill decoys off to a side. They sure show up from a long ways away. I would like to try a classic layout hunt one of these years but I would need the right equipment first.

[Mark Brendemuehl]

Never shot a banded diver. We do hunt divers alot though. We set up differently depending on where we are, and what spots are available. On bigger water, we will set up a mixture of 8-12 dozen bluebills, ringers, cans and redheads. We sill set out a gang rig and run that back to a pocket LOADED with decoys. We get a good variety of birds here.
Mark

[tealtom]

Never shot a banded diver but i've heard of people shooting banded bluebills, redheads, and canvasbacks before. I use bluebill, ringneck, goldeneye, and bufflehead decoys when diver hunting. Down here we get shots at all types of divers with an occasional puddler mixed in on a strictly diver hunt. If you want to get into diver hunting get some GHG bluebills, they suck those birds right in.

[Ryan Vande Griend]

We got banded Redhead and a Drake Buffy!

[Goldeneyebuster]

thats awesome i shot a goldeneye this year and i can possibly say that they are one of the most pretty divers out there besides the bufflehead and redhead of course .

[chessieman]

Personally I have shot two banded drake redheads, the last one was over the new GHG redhead decoys that I got the first of the year,

I have had several other banded divers shot out of my boat by clients over the past few years

[Greg Owens]

1 banded Redhead for me.

[Tim Bouchard]

I have yet to get a banded diver. But some friends I hunt with have taken banded goldeneyes the last two years. We mainly shoot blue bills, ringneck, goldeneyes and bufflehead. We get cans and redheads in there sometimes. In the interior I hunt most of the time over 4-5 dozen bluebills decoys, with some cans in there. I added ringnecks this past year. On the salt it is an all goldeneyes spread.

Here is a goldeneye this year. Sadly in early season Alaska all our ducks look like this. I have yet to shoot a banded on the salt in late season.


http://www.nwtaxidermy.com/pictures/hunting_gallery/golden_band.jpg

[Goldeneyebuster]

tim is that a drake ????

[Tim Bouchard]

I honestly don't remember and I cannot tell from the picture. It is hard to tell in early September when this bird was shoot. I would have preferred seeing it like this, but that does not happen until later in October up here:

http://www.refugepics.com/members/tbduck/_mg_5800.jpg

[Goldeneyebuster]

Thats what i'm talkin about tim . I've never shot a barrow's just commons . I hunt in maryland and i just shot my first goldeneye .We don't see very many around here . I just like the sound the bird made when he pitched in its just really neat .That whistling sound

[Tim Bouchard]

Come up here sometime. You will like the sound of a couple hundred birds taking off. Nothing like it. Sounds like a jet taking off. We get both common and barrows. Most people that come up are looking for barrows. I think both are great birds. One of my favorite decoying bird.

[Goldeneyebuster]

You're in alaska right . Me and my dad we thinking of going up to maine for some sea ducks like eiders and harliquens . We shoot plenty of oldsqwauws and scoters down here . But i would love to come hunt with you fellas up there .

[Tim Bouchard]

I am in Alaska.

Eiders are great in Maine. I was suppose to do a trip to RI for common eiders this year, but I did not make over. I lived in NH for years and never shot any sea ducks until I moved here.

You will not get your harlequin in Maine, they are closed on the east cost. You will more than likely see them.

Alaska is a great place to duck hunt. My favorite state to do it in so far. On the salt we get allot of species. Including puddlers and geese.

[Goldeneyebuster]

that sounds good . I dont do much puddle dcuk hunting besides the occassianal black or mallard . I am more of a meat hunter but i really want to shoot a variety of species . i really before i die like to shoot every species in north America . I've only shot blackheads , buffleheads , a goldenye, black duck, mallard , and oldsquaw. I am really into shooting the different species .

[Tim Bouchard]

Shooting a lot of different species is my favorite. Makes things more interesting. Although I do like to see a limit of goldeneyes laying on the boat.

[Goldeneyebuster]

Yep You cant go wrong with a limit of goldeneyes . But i just cant see how some of these guys you see on movies and videos can just shoot all greenheads and the occasional pintail or gadwall. I mean dont get me wrong mallards are really good eating but i just couldnt do that every hunt .

[jolle]

My first band was on a nice Ringneck drake I shot a few years back. He was only about 3 years old when I killed him. Boy you can see that silver shining from a long way off when the dog is on the way back! And I'm pretty sure my buddies 150 yards away knew what happened when they heard me whoop and holler a few times.

[Waterfowl fool]

I ahve a question about you band on the golden eye, Neat looking but what type is it??? It looks like a "pressed" band instead of the tradition oval bands we see the feds put on? Thanks for the time, Jack

[mushfoot]

no bands yet we shoot golden eyes buffies ringnecks hoodies and common mergs and eiders old squaws and scoters

[Dwayne Padgett]

Killed a banded drake ringneck about 15 years ago.

[Tim Bouchard]

It is still a fed band. We just get the cheap ones up here : ) The goldeneye that had a band the year before had the same type of band. They use them on the Yukon Flats.