Shot my first duck last weekend.

N

Nick9130White

New member
I shot it with my Remington 870 express, shooting Remington 12 gauge 3" 4 shot.
It flew over, I took a shot, missed.
It started flying away from me and right before it left my range I shot again and dropped it into the water. But, the sneaky duck dove under water and hid.
So that's where my question comes in. Do you guys have any tips on finding a wounded duck under water?

But with the splash it made, I could have sworn it was dead. But the dog couldn't even find it.
 
Sometimes they will stay under water for 5 minutes or so at a time. I can just imagine them hanging onto something with their bill, thinking "You'll never get me, even if I drown." The best luck we have had is to go to where you last saw the duck and just stand there for a while and wait for him to surface.

Something else: Don't try to be conservative with your ammo when there is a wounded duck on the water. If he is within shooting range and his head is still up, shoot him again. Unless you are sure he has a broken wing, its best to make sure the duck is dead, because sometimes they will get an adrenaline rush and take off. I don't have a retriever, and I don't like chasing ducks around when I should be sitting down waiting for more ducks to come in, so as long as the duck is alive, it is getting a second finishing shot. Aim for the head/neck.
-Dan
 
Teal are notorious for hanging on to underwater vegetation (I have had to reach down into the water and pull them up on occasion), to escape. They used to be called: "Hell divers", because of that characteristic by the old timers.
 
I can just imagine them hanging onto something with their bill, thinking "You'll never get me, even if I drown.
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Oh but they will...and do. Too many times I've lost a duck to that technique. Found several, clamped on to something...dead. Quite amazing.

As for tips, if they are holding tight under water, the only thing you can do is get lucky and see it.
 
Ducks on the water are just about impossible to kill. Any part of the duck under any water will never get a shot to penetrate. Head out of water --hope you hit it w/ several pellets.
 
THose pellets tend to bounce off the water and hit other hunters... Be careful if you ever shoot a wounded duck on the water,,, YOU may take out your fellow hunters..
 
illegal to shoot in the water. must be in the air. at least around here.
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While wing shooting is considered by most to be more sporting, shooting a duck on the water is not illegal where I hunt.
Would you care to copy and paste the regulation where it states the duck must be in the air?
Shooting to the water with a shotgun is no more dangerous to others than shooting at a low angle as long as one is not shooting in general direction of others. The max range of shot shells is much shorter than a rifle bullet and a ricochet will not add to the max range so in most every shot one will have a visual of the entire range the shot shell pellets can travel. Common sense is always a must even though it can be a rare thing for some.
The warnings on ammunition packaging will always state not to shoot a a hard surface or water. You will find those words exactly printed on rifle and shot shell packaging. I am not going to make any claim that shot shell pellets will not ricochet, and am questioned many times about why shot shell manufactures warn against shooting at water when we hunt ducks over water and need to finish off cripples/wounded ducks on the water.
Fact is one must make reasonable attempt to retrieve wounded animals.
One thing is certain, the steel shot can ricochet right back to the shooter or others if a hard object is protruding above the water or is just under the surface. The use of eye protection is a must for all shooters.
 
What kind of duck? Some are MUCH harder to kill once crippled.

Sea ducks can sometimes be almost impossible to kill once wounded...you get one shot sometimes when they come up the firt time, which is NOT easy from a bobbing boat, and they are like armor plated; if not a killing shot then they are often times gone once they dive, never to be seen again, unless your head is on a swivel looking all directions and distances, AND really fast on the draw AND really lucky. Often times they resurface 40 yards from their original direction and just for a second. The more times you shoot at them, the shorter their surface interval will be next time and the longer their next dive will be.

Goes like this:

Surfaces and hangs out, you shoot, it diiiiiiiiiiiives, surfaces for about 2 seconds, you shoot, it diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiives, surfaces for about 1 second, you shoot, it diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiives, surfaces for about 1/2 second, you shoot, it diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiives, surfaces for about 1/16 second, you try to shoot, it dives & disappears for good. :(
 
And that is what a diver does.
If there is any chop on the water it's almost imposable to see them surface for that split second.
I watched a crippled blue-bill (Scaup) circling in a 10-12 foot opening in the ice out in front of my hunting shack. There were 3 bald eagles trying to get him. One would hoover over the opening and dive at that poor little duck and he would dive and resurface over and over again. The others would Set on the edge of the open water and watch and wait their turn at dive bombing. This went on for along time, I watcher for 2 hours off and on then one time the little duck didn't come back to the surface.
A part of me wished I could have gone out there and finished off the duck just to end its misery. After all its about a 99.9% chance a hunter crippled it anyway.

I have had Mallards grab on and drown themselves in 2 feet of water. Their tail feathers were above water but they were not coming up.
So Yes they do drown themselves.
 
I agree that ducks are VERY tough to kill on the water. You really have to hit them in the head for a sure kill. Always aim for the head. If they are outside of 40 yards, don't even bother. I've chased diving ducks out into the open bay a couple hundred yards only to get into water that is right at the top of my chest waders and have to turn around. It's sad and makes you feel like sh1t as a hunter, but it happens. Don't let it discourage you. You'll learn your limitations in due time and know when you can make a finishing shot and get better at retrieving ducks.
-Dan
 
Ahhh.....The Kamikaze Death Dive. I have seen mallards do it before. If they hit the water and aren't dead you better Aquaturf them and fast. They will give down and grab a hold of a rock, plant, or root and not come up and die there.
 
Hooked yet? There is nothing like it imho. I have semi autos but prefer to hunt with an 870 express as I prefer to wade in and stand in timber or cover.If I drop it, big deal. Choke that shotgun with something that will further constrict the steel shot but not to the extent where it damages the barrel or distorts the pattern. Too much choke or too tight of a constriction will usually make a steel shot pattern go haywire at the very least.

I use a $30.00 Cabela's choke for Hevi Shot made by Carlson's. It is an extended choke as well which means you can easily make sure it is properly tightened ------ not cranked down to the point of galling---properly tightened.

The Modified Cabela's choke tube for Hevi shot is a .712" constriction. In my case with my 870 using Remington or Winchester discount grade 1-1/8" #2's, I am either dead on or I miss. I have patterned it and it throws a relatively tight pattern. I rarely miss cripples with this set up. I have less cripples to begin with. I hold it right on their noggin.

If you are hunting in a situation where a water swat might ricochet and hit another hunter, you are hunting too close to the other party/parties to begin with. Either ask them to join you,join them or leave and go somewhere else. It's not worth you, your partners or your dog getting shot.
 
If they hit the water wounded shoot them again immediately. You have to get a head/neck shot on the water unless they are very close, shot will bounce right off their back beleive it or not. We always carried some #8 shot for cripples in the old lead days, easier to get a head shot.
 
Sometimes they will stay under water for 5 minutes or so at a time. I can just imagine them hanging onto something with their bill, thinking "You'll never get me, even if I drown." The best luck we have had is to go to where you last saw the duck and just stand there for a while and wait for him to surface.

Something else: Don't try to be conservative with your ammo when there is a wounded duck on the water. If he is within shooting range and his head is still up, shoot him again. Unless you are sure he has a broken wing, its best to make sure the duck is dead, because sometimes they will get an adrenaline rush and take off. I don't have a retriever, and I don't like chasing ducks around when I should be sitting down waiting for more ducks to come in, so as long as the duck is alive, it is getting a second finishing shot. Aim for the head/neck.
-Dan

This.............
 
Try to get most of the pattern to go ever it and hit the head region when there on the water. Just aim higher. Also despite what some say you can aim your shot on teh bird it just takes practise. Once you start hitting them consistently in the body pull 6 inches more lead and try to center the pattern on the head and neck . Plus you get less pellets in teh body. shoot them when their close!
 
Ryan:

I grew up in Arkansas hunting in the flooded timber----the purported cradle of American duck hunting. I have always been told when shooting them in the air, put the bead of the shotgun on their beak and by the time the shot hits, you will have a nice full body shot and the duck goes down.

I admit, I don't always think to do this but when I do, the duck does down. As the old timers say: "Shoot em' in the lips."

Good stuff on your part by the way.
 
If a duck dives, you are going to have a tough day finding it. You have many great suggestions here, it takes time and practice to be able to trace a duck, but understand that they are clever and able to find pockets down on the bottom where they can catch their breath. Many ducks swim up at 60 yds under water at a time, and are very elusive.

Make sure you don't "Jump Shoot", at least in Virginia, it's illegal, if you end up taking your vessel out on the water, the engine has to be completely killed for a few moments, and you are technically not supposed to be traveling while shooting.

I've had lots of success taking them down in the water. You may want to look into a modified choke.
 
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