mergansers

[CRIPLE CUTTER]

has any one shot,seen or even herd of mergansers being banded. if any one has pics that would be sweet.
and how cool would it be if Avery made merganser decoys.

[americanwigeon]

I do allot of mergy hunting in PA. I ask the local warden the same question. She told me that they didn't band them. I got my decoys from sport plast. Its the only company that I know of that makes them.

www.knutsondecoys.com

[Wingman]

They do band them but not in any numbers. In 2006 there were only 36 Common Mergs banded. They did however band just under 950 Hooded Mergs last year. So Yes they do band them but the odds of you shooting one are very slim.;)

Cheers,

Adam

[Greenhead Smacker]

Banded or not, i'll pass.

They are a cool looking bird, i'd just prefer not to shoot/clean them.

[goosegrinder87]

ive been hoping to see some mergansers made by avery it would be an awesome looking decoy. I shoot a couple year but not many

[MuskyHunter]

Never seen a banded one, but if those are the numbers, it kinda like doves here in Wisconsin. We have an estimated population of like 4-5 Million and they banded 500!

[mallard mauler]

I do allot of mergy hunting in PA. I ask the local warden the same question. She told me that they didn't band them. I got my decoys from sport plast. Its the only company that I know of that makes them.

www.knutsondecoys.com
you are a better man than most if you can put a piece of them swamp turkeys to your lips without puking:eek:

[Superstroker17]

dude at 6 in the morning u cant tell wat is comin into the decoys so u just have to pull the trigger, i know i do

[NYBackwater]

I know they band hooded mergansers sometimes when they are banding wood ducks, because they both will use the wood duck boxes.

[Swampy]

I do allot of mergy hunting in PA.[/url]



God bless ya..I wouldn't waste a shell on those dumpster duck zipper bills.

[CRIPLE CUTTER]

often were i hunt i shoot a limit of ducks and a limit of sh!t ducks. I'm never really ready to call it a day so mergs are more then welcome in my spread. cant beat shooting 11 birds.
on average i find 8 to 15 perch or other fish in their crop. their just as bad as cormorants.;)

[WATERSWATTER]

I like to shoot mergansers in MI there two more birds in the bag and they are some cool looking birds I dont eat them I feed them to the coons. think GHG needs to make merganser decoys I would buy them if they would make some dam hens

[waterfowljunkie]

Has anyone heard of Wanton Waste? it seems that killing something and "feeding it to the coons" shouldnt exactly be legal, and someone mentioned shooting at whatever comes in at 6am. what if they were all pintails and you could only shoot 1...come on guys! Slob hunters are the people that give PETA something to B**** about

[ND_duckman]

I heard of a banded Hooded Merganser shot in MN this past year.

[Greenhead Smacker]

Has anyone heard of Wanton Waste? it seems that killing something and "feeding it to the coons" shouldnt exactly be legal, and someone mentioned shooting at whatever comes in at 6am. what if they were all pintails and you could only shoot 1...come on guys! Slob hunters are the people that give PETA something to B**** about

I totally agree.

Why pull the trigger if you can't identify it?

And another thing. Why would you kill mergies and then call them shiat ducks? Do you eat them or chunk them? I just don't see the need in killing waterfowl if it's not to be consumed.

[duckin82]

I don't dare waste a shell on a merganser unless im gonna mount it. i can understand if you screw up and accidentally shoot one but other than that there is no reason to intentionally shoot one. it is a complete waste of ammo.

[Craig Boyd]

I have seen a picture or two of them being banded. I think it would be a pretty sweet trophy if you shot one, but personally I think they are a waste of a shell. Not very good tasting and very hard to clean in my opinion.

[CRIPLE CUTTER]

I eat the hooded mergs but haven't found a way to make the bigger ones taste good but my dog eats them so i give them to him. some might say that's sloppy but my dog don't mind.:rolleyes:

[ScarySouthernMan]

I eat Mergansers...

I grew up eating them.

I eat Coots too.

I don't mind the criticism at all.



I've seen pictures of Hooded Mergies wearing bands that were killed in the Midwest.



I can't help but to get pissed when I hear of someone killing something other than Predators and not eating them. If you think it's a waiste of a shell, then why would you shoot it. That's why God made Pigeons.


Oh and I eat pigeons too...



Turn your nose up, it's ok... Out here we really hunt because we want to eat. Do y'all?


- Scary -

[Swan Bo]

I'll eat them, but then again I'll eat anything. Most of the time it ends up being scoter(My dog) meat. I agree with CC, I don't want to stop at six. Its too much fun.:D

[CRIPLE CUTTER]

don't take me to seriously but mergs are preditors. i have seen as many as 200 plus mergs on a 3 acre pond. you figure they eat at least 8 perch each that is 1600 plus perch a day for about two weeks.;) plus were i hunt its 80% mergs if i don't shoot mergs my season is going to be pretty boring.

[Joe Fladeland]

Ahhhh yes. The elegant lawndart. We shot our first one last season.
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/5208/duckhunt6largebd4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[DiverFreak]

I have loved shooting hooded mergs and commons for years, mostly hooded, they are very rare in Utah and are very regal on the wing. I shot one with my 12 year old son on christmas eve standing over where i buried my dog last year and it had a band, it was banded in the Klamath basin in Oregon. We shot all but one bird for our Goldeneye limits and thought we would take a minute to say hi to Gander, even in death i still shoot ducks over the greatest cheasapeake a guy could ever have.

p.s Dont think i am a game hog, I gave the boy numerous chances to shoot and when he couldnt get his sling off of his shoulder i did what was necesarry!