Lost Duck

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Workin Man

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Near Coldwater, Ont
We went field shooting for ducks and geese this morning and I finally shot my first duck (second time duck hunting). I saw the hit , the feathers fly, the wings fold and the bird start to tumble. I looked over my shoulder to see how my hunting partner did on the mate to mine (nailed it and dropped it in the field). The one I hit had made a low flying bee-line straight down a drainage ditch, and when I looked back all that I could see was some feathers drifting down. The spot where I think it landed was in 4-5' grass. We searched from my shooting position out to over 50yds, both sides of the ditch, in the ditch practically crawling on hands and knees trying to find this duck. We spent over half an hour trying to find it. I am confident that we made every possible effort to find the duck. Just wondering if anyone has any tips on finding a duck in a situation like this (other than"keep an eye on where it lands and don't worry about what the other guy is doing"). Any tips to help avoid a repeat of this would be apprectiated. I am especially p!ssed because this was my first duck.
 
I had the same thing happen two weekends ago. Dropped the bird (crumpled in the air), saw it land in some grass, and by the time I got there, twas nowhere to be found. I figure the wings were broken, but the duck wasn't dead, and was able to move into a better hiding spot.

Tips to avoid this happening again? Use lead substitute like Bismuth or something... steel sucks. I've had to beat or smash the head of almost half the ducks I've taken this year, because they just don't die.
 
shoot them with Bismuth and you wont want to loose the duck as it will be a expesive one :D
i know what yo are saying steel is not that great :D
A good dog may help
 
In the marsh, this can be a REAL pain in the ass, but it's all part of the hunt.

I've lost a few ducks over the years, there really is not much you can do about it. Steel shot does indeed suck, but Bismuth and Tungsten is so damn expensive. I would like to see some studies that show how many ducks are wounded and never found when shot with steel... as compared to lead.
 
Short of having a dog, lost ducks is a part of the game... It sucks, but it happens. Next time, when you drop a duck, DON'T take your eyes off the spot it landed... Go straight to it and try to make the retreive quickly... I've seen numerous ducks "right" themselves after being shot down and swim/hide away...

Cheers
Jay
 
Well it's good to hear that I'm not the only one to lose one (I guess). Bismuth is just too expensive, especially when you miss as often as I do. Thanks guys, I will try to keep a better eye on the bird from now on.
 
Next time, when you drop a duck, DON'T take your eyes off the spot it landed... Go straight to it and try to make the retreive quickly...
Click to expand...
X2
If they put thier head up on the water shoot them again... puddle ducks will dive and die on the bottom... Geese will swim almost submerged with thier heads underwater into the comer... Water sluicing wounded birds is also part of the game... but watch where you are shooting :idea:
 
BIGREDD, I've even shot ducks a second and third time as they fell from the sky... If they keep their head up and try to "navigate" their landing, you better shoot them again QUICKLY... Otherwise they are hard as hell to kill in the water!!!

Cheers
Jay
 
A well - trained retriever is a great conservation tool.
I use Kent Impact exclusively - cuts way down on "lost" birds.
Despite advertising claims and all the "experts" out there, steel
just don't cut the mustard !
 
BigRedd and Jay, I was referring to field hunting. The bird was lost in tall grass along a drainage ditch. The water in the ditch was about 3" deep and maybe 2' wide. I think it was the 4'-5' grass that was the problem, unless they can dive in 3" of water.
 
I just wonder how big an issue lead shot really is here in the swamps in Canada.
Most of the areas I used to hunt for Ducks and Geese had loon-#### bottoms that went down well past the grip on an oar or a paddle.
How a duck or goose is going to pick up shot from where ever lead ends up in that stuff is really beyond me. :roll:
I tried using steel shot, even went to the skeet range to get the hang of shooting with it.
Broke the clays OK, but someone forgot to tell the ducks they were supposed to die when hit with steel. :shock:
Too many cripples for me and I've almost quit hunting ducks and geese. :evil:
 
Skippy said:
Where can I find a shop in ontario that carries Kent?
Whats the usual price for a box?
Click to expand...

Skippy,

LeBaron's and Bass Pro both carry Kent.

I stopped using steel last year when I lost two ducks to 'swim aways'. Switched to Tungsten (yeah...I know it's expensive) and haven't had it happen since. I know it will eventually happen due to a bad shot most likely...but the Tungsten-Iron hits a lot harder than steel does.

I've used Federal Tungsten-Iron exclusively so far this season, but, I've heard very good things about the Kent ammo as well.
 
I lost a partridge the other day on my first shot of the day.

I made the shot, the bird folded, and I marked the exact spot where he hit the grass in the ditch (he even made a little hole in the tall grass.

As my partner was watching where the flock landed again, I kept my eyes on the exact spot as I walked over...

I ended up searching about 100 square feet with my nose almost touching the ground, and that little bugger was nowhere to be found...

I sure wish the dog was a little bigger... maybe I should have had her there anyway.
 
Always try to mark the spot. I damn near lost a Hungarian in the wild oats and I was within a couple of feet of him. Found him pretty quickly thankfully. He'll be tasty. They can be tough to see even on pea stubble.
 
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