My first duck

[TheChad23]

My buddy showed me how to jump shoot ducks off the big canal by our town so I went out yesterday and bought my bird stamp then went out today and gave it a shot.  Spotted some ducks and ran about 150 yds and came up on them and shot this mallard drake.  It's my first duck ever and hopefully I can get out to a pond and be able to set up some decoys and call some ducks in.  Wanted to know your guys opinions on jump shooting ducks off the canal, nothing wrong with it or unethical?

[Heartsblood]

Sounds sorta like a shoot first and ask questions later kinda post...

That being said, as long as it's legal and safe, it's all good - jump shooting that is. And if that was the case, congratulations on your first bird.

Ethical? That could be a can of worms. It seems to differ from person to person and situation to situation. For me the key is respect: am I respectful of the prey I pursue? Am I respectful of the fact that I aim to take a life? Am I respectful of the environment? Am I respectful of other people? Each person must be their own moral compass but, there are many commonalities between us all. It's not a blackand white kinda question to be sure.

[Seatown5]

There is three ways to "ethically" hunt ducks.  Jump shoot, pass shoot or deke them in.  All of them are a blast in there own way.  Dont let anyone tell you different.  To many times people forget that hunting is supposed to be fun and that a certain way of hunting is not right.  As long as you are legal, do what you want.  I started jump shooting/ pass shooting and now try to deke them all in.  It is a learning curve for everyone.  By no means am i a good duck hunter nor claim to be, so STILL, when a duck is in front of me, I shoot "at" it.  No matter how it got there

[Ellensburg]

As long as it is legal - go for it. Jump shooting is a blast.

[goosegetter79]

As long as it is legal - go for it. Jump shooting is a blast.

   I do quite a bit of it back home!!!!

[270Shooter]

Jump shooting is perfectly ethical, sneaking up on a duck is much more difficult than most people realize. If I had a choice I'd hunt over decoys because it is just awesome to watch them drop in, but if theres a lot of ducks on the canals on sloughs, there isn't anything better that lightin' into them.

[gaddy]

WELL done. ive jumped plenty. in fact there are areas where that is the prefered option. sneeking a creek with the oppertunity of a duck or a pheasant ? in the early hours with a fine mist in the air. ah the memories.

[h2ofowlr]

Sounds sorta like a shoot first and ask questions later kinda post...

That being said, as long as it's legal and safe, it's all good - jump shooting that is. And if that was the case, congratulations on your first bird.

Ethical? That could be a can of worms. It seems to differ from person to person and situation to situation. For me the key is respect: am I respectful of the prey I pursue? Am I respectful of the fact that I aim to take a life? Am I respectful of the environment? Am I respectful of other people? Each person must be their own moral compass but, there are many commonalities between us all. It's not a blackand white kinda question to be sure.

To clarify. It's ground pounding or sleucing the ducks on the water that gets the debate going.  Not jump shooting.   

[TheChad23]

Thanks for the opinion guys. I forgot to get another picture before I breasted it.  I try to keep my jump shooting ethical by not shooting out of the window and letting the birds start to fly before I shoot.  I'm going to try this recipe to make some jerky in a smoker but first I have to let it merinade over night.  I have more then this meat, my buddy gave me have a duck breast and half a goose breast so I'll put that in the smoker tomorrow and tell you how it turns out.

[Heartsblood]

Sounds sorta like a shoot first and ask questions later kinda post...

That being said, as long as it's legal and safe, it's all good - jump shooting that is. And if that was the case, congratulations on your first bird.

Ethical? That could be a can of worms. It seems to differ from person to person and situation to situation. For me the key is respect: am I respectful of the prey I pursue? Am I respectful of the fact that I aim to take a life? Am I respectful of the environment? Am I respectful of other people? Each person must be their own moral compass but, there are many commonalities between us all. It's not a blackand white kinda question to be sure.

To clarify. It's ground pounding or sleucing the ducks on the water that gets the debate going.  Not jump shooting.   

Exactly. That's why I didn't go there. People choose for themselves. Not everyone is gonna agree with each other and their choices.

On a side note, I didn't even know what "ground pounding" was - I thought it was putting a lot of miles on the ground walking. It never occurred to me to waterfowl like that. Seems a bit sketchy practice to me...  But you see, that's just where my compass takes me. No debate. That's just what makes sense to me.

[ecnclan]

Did plenty of jumpshooting as a kid, great times!  Congrats on the bird!

[Glockster]

Just curious....why ask the internet??  If it was legal and you enjoyed it, why ask the internet for approval? 

Jump shooting is my favorite way to hunt ducks.  I think it's challenging and good excercise.   

[TheChad23]

Just curious....why ask the internet??  If it was legal and you enjoyed it, why ask the internet for approval? 

Jump shooting is my favorite way to hunt ducks.  I think it's challenging and good excercise.   

Wasn't asking for approval, asking for everyones opinions on it.  I know it is legal and I did enjoy it and that is why I posted that I did it but I wanted to know other peoples opinions on it.

On another note, marinated the duck and goose meat last night and threw it into the smoker this morning for 4 hours and here is how it turned out.

It looked really dry on the outside but it was that dry.  The inside looked like it could have been cooked alittle longer but I'm not sure if that would have dried out the outside too much.  The flavor is outstanding with a peppery flavor.  I think once I go out and get more ducks and geese I'll try a second time and see if I can get a different result to get the inside more cooked.  Once I get the best results I will post it in the recipe section.

[seth30]

My buddy showed me how to jump shoot ducks off the big canal by our town so I went out yesterday and bought my bird stamp then went out today and gave it a shot.  Spotted some ducks and ran about 150 yds and came up on them and shot this mallard drake.  It's my first duck ever and hopefully I can get out to a pond and be able to set up some decoys and call some ducks in.  Wanted to know your guys opinions on jump shooting ducks off the canal, nothing wrong with it or unethical?

Great job on your first duck!  Jump shooting ducks can be a rewarding expiernce..

[Glockster]

Sorry...didn't mean to be mean or sound mean.   Congrats on your first duck!  A greenhead...that's awesome. 

Here's my fav way to eat wild duck:
~ soak breasts in saltwater over night to draw out the blood and float any feathers stuck in the meat.
~cut breasts into chunks
~ marinade with light soy sauce, chinese five spice, garlic and olive oil over night
~drain and roll in flour
~deep fry in olive oil
~ENJOY!