Ever mistake a pintail for a redheaded merganser?

[Pete112288]

Well I did and am kicking myself, haha.
So I dabbled in duck hunting a few years, enough to get a good setup. Then life took me away from it for 5 years and just started again last year. The one duck I have been avidly wanting to get still eludes me. A decent drake pintail. I have got lone hens but never a drake. Been close a few times.
Well yesterday I am sitting in the blind and a small group of birds swing around and seem to be coming right for me. I shoot twice and miss    and they swing away. I had a good bead on one for my third shot too. Then I see the longer slim profile and go "oh dumb mergansers" and put the gun down. I saw a video clip of a group of pintail coming by today and instantly my palm hit my forehead, duh. Those were pintail.
I haddnt had a situation of a group of pintail like that before so I didnt recognize it at the time. Just thought it was more of the hundreds of mergansers that are in that area.
Oh well, ya live and learn.
But man I want to get back out there now that I realized that. They came in too like fresh dumb ducks 

[Curly]

Should have shot the "merganser".

[boneaddict]

Um, No.    But I am a steelheader so I bust Mergs faster than I will a mallard.  Just saying

[lokidog]

No, but.... I shot a hen Pintail when I was in High School, a rare bird where I grew up.  I tried for decades to get a nice drake to go with her. Always got hens or drakes in eclipse. Then, one day I was in the south Sound and a beautiful drake flew by and I managed to knock him down, total elation!

Keep at it, it will happen. I shoot Mergansers as well. 

[Mtnwalker]

Um, No.    But I am a steelheader so I bust Mergs faster than I will a mallard.  Just saying

  Fun times when the rivers are blown, go sit on the river with a shotgun and let the drift boats push em down.

[HaydenHunter]

Drake sprig is in my opinion a very pretty bird and my favorite.