To shoot... or not to shoot?

[BiggLuke]

I was just wondering what everyones opinions were.
I've seen a lot of ethics questions come up recently... and I always wondered....
(not that this is an ethics issue, but)

Would you rather shoot 7 teal, or wait and only shoot 2 Mallards?

For that matter, who here passes up on Mergansers?

I know that I'm not a fan of divers or fish ducks... so my answer is Wait for Mallards.
I would personally rather go home empty handed than go home and clean mergansers. lol   

Just curious what you guys do.

[scottcrb]

I don't shoot merganser either but don't mind teal. They are fun and hard to shoot.good practice.

[wadu1]

This year it fly's it dies as long as it is legal. Poorest season in the past 10 or so.

[ellensburgpo]

I don't shoot merganser either but don't mind teal. They are fun and hard to shoot.good practice.

 

Teal are a blast to shoot...can't imagine not shooting at them.

[Fishnclifff]

If it flies it dies , except mergansers

[Kiltit]

I'll take the two mallards.  Nothing against teal (great eating), but as you know, mallards can be very picky when it comes to jumping into the decoys.  Nothing like the satisfaction of making it all work.  I use to be about getting as many as possible.  Now, I'm about scouting, putting in the hard work and seeing it all pay off.  If that's one duck, so be it.

[scout/sniper]

Any legal duck is doomed.
No mergansers or shovelers 

[Fowlweather25]

Whats wrong with shovelers?

[BiggLuke]

Spoonies?
Seriously?
They are siphon feeders, basically they litterally eat mud.
taste better than a fish duck though....  Plus, there is very little meat on a spoony.

[scout/sniper]

Whats wrong with shovelers?

I shot my first one last year, tasted like crap. I thought that was just way they are.
Do they make good eating?

[BiggLuke]

Kiltit...  that's what I'm talking about.
It seems that those of us that have eaten hundreds already are more into the quality than quantity. Am I right?

[scout/sniper]

I'm usually a mallard purist, but slim pickins this year.

[Boss .300 winmag]

What f you just made pepperoni out of the mergansers, would that taste good? 

[Fowlweather25]

Usually i cant taste the difference between them and mallards. But they do have a diet of almost strictly worms and bugs so maybe thats why.

[duckmen1]

Soak your meat over night and drain the water a couple of times. This will make a lot of game flavor disappear because it draws out the blood. Then make your meal. I do that then freeze and save up enough to make summer sausage. Awesome.
It don't matter whether it's shovelers or mallards or divers I do the same method.

[scout/sniper]

I soak all ducks overnight in milk.
I never made sausage with them....sounds delicious.

[BiggLuke]

...HOWEVER....   mallrds are bigger, right?
so the question still stands: 7 Teal, or 2 Mallards?

[scout/sniper]

2 mallards.

[waoutdoorsman]

I shoot and eat whatever flies in the dekes first. I have acquired a liking to the taste of diving ducks. Although the one merganser I shot this year will be my last...
So to answer your question I'd take those rascally teal first

[scout/sniper]

....However....
If the teal came in first I would go home with teal. 

[Mfowl]

With the exception of opening day, I seldom have the chance to shoot 7 teal. Seems they mostly just buzz the dekes at shooting light and thats the last I see of them for the day. If I had a good enough spot I would try to shoot 7 drake teal, I think that would be a fun bag to go for. However most of my hunting spots, mallards are the target species. So even if the teal are thick, I'll usually hold out for the mallards. No mergs, spoonies or goldeneye's. GE's are the toughest ducks to clean hands down, its like they"re skin is superglued to their meat.

[BiggLuke]

I know what you mean.... when you breast out most ducks, trying to breast out a diver sucks.

[sakoshooter]

I wonder how many of you "won't eat this or that duck" have ever tried any of those ducks???
Shovelers? Cooked up two shoveler breasts last week right along side of two teal breasts. My wife and I couldn't tell the difference. Not the first time either.
Mergansers: I've eaten more of them than I can count. I usually cook them with mallard breasts just because they're the same size. Can't tell the difference. Couple of my hunting partners over the years laughed at me until they tried them. Now they all shoot/eat them.
There's only two ducks I don't usually shoot: Bufflehead and Goldeneye. Bufflehead are just too darn small and cute and Goldeneyes are way too hard to skin. Besides, the WDFW requires a special duck stamp to shoot Goldeneyes on the west side now.
I Put a cup of flour, lots of black pepper, lemon pepper, Lawry's seasoning salt and a granulated steak rub. Mix it all together in a bowl. Stir in you duck breasts until coated well. An 1/16" of olive oil in a large fry pan on med heat until hot. Add duck breasts. Cook hot and fast. Brown one side, flip and lightly butter the top(browned)side. Flip when ready and lightly butter the last side then remove so they are cooked approximately med or med well. Cut up on your plate and shake Lea & Perins Worchestorshire sauce all over them. Melt in your mouth. This is mine and my wife's favorite duck recipe.
Don't believe all thos wives tales you've been told about how good or bad such and such is. Try them for yourselves. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Remember, those mallards you're waiting for while passing up those Teal are still sitting on the sewage treatment pond eating all the corn that floats, LOL.

[lokidog]

I eat mergs, saves a few fish and they taste fine in a curry.  The buffles are small but on about the same level as mergs for taste.

To answer the OP's ??  I would shoot five teal while waiting for the two mallards.   

[JLS]

Seven dead teal without a second thought.

[Brad Harshman]

Good question.  Its been my practice to pass on the teal at first light.  I hold out for mallards but it looks like teal day then I'll take a couple ( if I can hit those amazingly fast birds).

[boneaddict]

I am looking for a really nice Teal to mount, so Teal first Mallards second.   That wouldn't always be the case.   I shoot the crud out of mergansers.   I like to steelhead....

[grundy53]

I am looking for a really nice Teal to mount, so Teal first Mallards second.   That wouldn't always be the case.   I shoot the crud out of mergansers.   I like to steelhead....

Save a fish (or thousand) shoot a merganser...

sent from my typewriter

[boneaddict]

    A-men!!!

In fact, ask if I'd rather shoot 7 mergansers or 7 mallards.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Not sure about the birds mentioned? I shoot the all black ones with long skinny legs and a white bill.

[lokidog]

Not sure about the birds mentioned? I shoot the all black ones with long skinny legs and a white bill.

 

Fry those mud hen breasts fry up like you would a steak, yum.  Also, if you are a gizzard fan, theirs are about 4X the size of a mallards if I recall, it's been a while.

I am looking for a really nice Teal to mount, so Teal first Mallards second.   That wouldn't always be the case.   I shoot the crud out of mergansers.   I like to steelhead....

Save a fish (or thousand) shoot a merganser...

sent from my typewriter

I shot a big drake on the Chehalis once that had a 10 inch spiny ray in it.  It was too digested to tell what it was though.  After seeing that, it wasn't a surprise that it took him so long to lift off.   

[birdstew]

If the 2 mallards knew I was in the blind because they heard me shooting the teal and I knew they were going to fly into my spot then I would pass up shooting the teal. But that is the great thing about hunting ducks you can shoot and more will fly bye later. My hunting buddy will not touch any diver. I will shoot any duck that comes in. I will either take the divers and turn them into sausage or freeze them and use them in the off season for training dogs.   

[scout/sniper]

I am looking for a really nice Teal to mount, so Teal first Mallards second.

My first Teal double.

[BiggLuke]

very cool mount

[scout/sniper]

Thanks.
The memories behind the mounts are priceless.

[BiggLuke]

I agree, It's more about where, how, why, and who with....
I never understood who would buy a mount at a garage sale?

[sakoshooter]

I forgot one important part of my duck recipes: Marinade w/Yoshidas Gourmet sauce.

[Special T]

Im ok with either 7 teal or 2 green heads. I kill every merganser i can legally. Unfortunately they are very tough to kill and my dog has a hard time getting cripples. I have knocked them out of the air, and shot them 3 more times on the water and still they have flown away. Mergansers are tough birds.  I will eat any bird, but i don't think mergansers taste like other ducks... they taste like liver IMO.

[johnsc6]

 :yeah:i

I'll take the two mallards.  Nothing against teal (great eating), but as you know, mallards can be very picky when it comes to jumping into the decoys.  Nothing like the satisfaction of making it all work.  I use to be about getting as many as possible.  Now, I'm about scouting, putting in the hard work and seeing it all pay off.  If that's one duck, so be it.

  Its About The HunR.E.M. Watching The Mallards Commit, Making Ehical Shots And The Dog Work.

[JJD]

I take a couple of "Fish Darts" (mergs) every year for dog training.  They can be frozen and used, then dried and refrozen several times. They are very tough as compared to a mallard which gets soggy and falls apart after just a few retrieves.

Spoonies go into pepperoni, mixed in with many other birds, ya don't even know they are there.

Original question, the teal, they make excellent kabobs.  We see way fewer of those that we do "Park Ducks" (mallards).

[Bullkllr]

I wonder how many of you "won't eat this or that duck" have ever tried any of those ducks???
Shovelers? Cooked up two shoveler breasts last week right along side of two teal breasts. My wife and I couldn't tell the difference. Not the first time either.
Mergansers: I've eaten more of them than I can count. I usually cook them with mallard breasts just because they're the same size. Can't tell the difference. Couple of my hunting partners over the years laughed at me until they tried them. Now they all shoot/eat them.
There's only two ducks I don't usually shoot: Bufflehead and Goldeneye. Bufflehead are just too darn small and cute and Goldeneyes are way too hard to skin. Besides, the WDFW requires a special duck stamp to shoot Goldeneyes on the west side now.
I Put a cup of flour, lots of black pepper, lemon pepper, Lawry's seasoning salt and a granulated steak rub. Mix it all together in a bowl. Stir in you duck breasts until coated well. An 1/16" of olive oil in a large fry pan on med heat until hot. Add duck breasts. Cook hot and fast. Brown one side, flip and lightly butter the top(browned)side. Flip when ready and lightly butter the last side then remove so they are cooked approximately med or med well. Cut up on your plate and shake Lea & Perins Worchestorshire sauce all over them. Melt in your mouth. This is mine and my wife's favorite duck recipe.
Don't believe all thos wives tales you've been told about how good or bad such and such is. Try them for yourselves. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Remember, those mallards you're waiting for while passing up those Teal are still sitting on the sewage treatment pond eating all the corn that floats, LOL.

Agree with this for the most part. Pretty much all puddlers from the same water eating the same foods will be tough to tell apart. Ringnecks, even though they're a diver are great tasting birds (veg diet).

Otherwise, that must be one special recipe if it makes merganser indistinguishable from mallard. That has not been my experience at all; and I actually like eating coot 

After a while, piles of small ducks with little meat get a little old. Lots of killing for little reward. I shoot the 7 teal if that was what was flying, and I hadn't done the same thing 3 weeks in a row already. If so, I'd hold out for the 2 mallards, if any were around.

[scout/sniper]

I will normall let the wife take the small ducks, Buffleheads are yummy.
I will save my limit for the Mallards.
If Teal buzz the decoys it's everyone for themselves.
For us it's the fun of a good day shooting and spending the day together.

[JMTaylor]

Teal and woodies are my 2 favorite to hunt. I will pass on mallards to hit a hole for just teal. Plus green-wing drakes are more beautiful to me.

[Widgeondeke]

I'd take the 7 teal any day. Prolly get home sooner also