Drakes ONLY!!!????

[stevejedlenski]

why is it that most people i hunt with or talk to about hunting ducks think that shooting drakes is the way to go? ducks are different than pheasants in that they are monogamous (Breed with one hen) i think they always hear that they should shoot drakes and they think they are like most other animals where one male breeds with multiple females. this is not the case with most waterfowl. also this is why the DNR lets you harvest hens.

[ChrisWallace]

Dead hens dont lay eggs and the dnr only lets you shoot one hen...

[stevejedlenski]

hens wont lay eggs without a mate

[ChrisWallace]

Have you heard of forced extra pair copulation? They may have one hen, but they still chase after others...

Its also been documented that hen mallards have got it on with up to 7 drakes...

[Cody Gruchow]

those dirty little ducks i see it as if its legal to shoot im going to shoot it, hen or drake dont matter to me a duck is a duck. i know this may sound real  :censored:ish but i enjoy eating duck alot and the bag limit is 1 hen so its really not that big of a deal

[ChrisWallace]

As long as your legal no one can say anything....if you want to shoot more hens and convince the dnr you have the whole mississippi flyway to convinve as well as the millions of member of du and delta and their slew of biologists.

Theres a reason why we can only shoot one. I will believe our biologist both state and federal.

[Cody Gruchow]

im fine with just my 1 hen

[ChrisWallace]

As am I. I have had slow mornings where Ill shoot a hen, but if it comes to filling out or being one short, ill go home 1 short.

[stevejedlenski]

i figured id get a few responses like this, im not saying that you need to shoot hens, im saying that hunters think that they need to shoot drakes because it wont make a difference in the reproduction. and yes i know that some ducks will mate with other hens, however most waterfowl are monogamous.

[Go Big Red!]

Look at the general population of ducks in the immediate area.  We have Woodies, Teal, and Mallards.  The first two species jet south asap and the Mallards stick around so most people really only get to see and hunt Mallards, especially if their only hunting time is the weekend.

Just my insight.  And a duck is a duck.

[Outdoors Junkie]

why is it that most people i hunt with or talk to about hunting ducks think that shooting drakes is the way to go? ducks are different than pheasants in that they are monogamous (Breed with one hen) i think they always hear that they should shoot drakes and they think they are like most other animals where one male breeds with multiple females. this is not the case with most waterfowl. also this is why the DNR lets you harvest hens. if you didnt know this or know someone who doesnt, please pass it on, maybe then we might see an increase in our falling populations

First off, I would like to welcome you to MNO Stevejedlenski.     Secondly, great post!  You give waterfowl hunters a lot to think about here. 

I will shoot a hen or drake.  I never really get a limit and enjoy spending time hidden in the blind trying to harvest ducks.  It is fun no matter if you end up shooting a hen or a drake.   With four little ones at home, I only get out a few times these days.  I know a lot of folks say to only shoot drakes, but I am not too hardcore these days.  I take what I can get.   

[ChrisWallace]

Im failing to grasp your concept on how shooting hens will help our falling populations?


But if you'd like to talk populations.....

We are currently 11% above the long term average from 1955 to 2007, but 9% below from last year....however in case you havent noticed the duck factory is going through quite a drought right...we have lost almost 40% of the ponds (where your monogamous ducks do the tango) 7 million ponds to 4.4 million ponds.

Your mallards are on par for the current and long term averages and about the same as last years numbers...

In Wisconsin and Minnesota total breeding numbers were well above the average and much higher than the year before.

As for some cold hard facts about MN birds....
Mallard duck breeding population was estimated to be around 298,000 which is 23% better than last year and is also 34% above the long term average.

MN has an estimated breeding duck population of 740,000 according to this springs number, so you do the math on how many birds are in the sky from MN raised birds. Thats 51% higher than last year and 19% higher than the long term average.

[stevejedlenski]

glad to hear the rest of the US is doing better than my neck of the woods.

[ChrisWallace]

glad to hear the rest of the US is doing better than my neck of the woods.

You must have missed this part....

As for some cold hard facts about MN birds....
Mallard duck breeding population was estimated to be around 298,000 which is 23% better than last year and is also 34% above the long term average.

MN has an estimated breeding duck population of 740,000 according to this springs number, so you do the math on how many birds are in the sky from MN raised birds. Thats 51% higher than last year and 19% higher than the long term average.

....And you never did answer my question about how shooting hens will help duck numbers...

[ChrisWallace]

As for me give me the green...and the whites and the blues....


Heres a few more drakes for ya...the 3 wont be coming back to MN...

[jd mn/nd]

Well steve I believe that if the US fish and wildlife service had their say so you would not be allowed to shoot any hens. That being said, the reason that you are allowed to shoot one hen is because sometimes especially during the early part of the season it is very difficult to identify juvenial drakes and hens accidently get shot even by the most discriminating hunters. I personally will do my very best to not shoot a hen, like the old saying goes dead hen's don't lay eggs. That saying can be applied to every species not just ducks, hence the reason that a number of years ago the MN DNR had a bucks only season in the northern half of MN, for several years until the deer population was restored to what they wanted it to be, this also the reason that we have intensive harvest area where you allowed to shoot several does and only one buck. I would say that at this point in time the US fish and wildlife service is either looking to sustain or increase the population of the mallards otherwise you would be allowed to shoot more than one hen just like a few short years ago.

No it does not make you less of a hunter if you shoot a hen, however if you have just drakes in your bag I personally believe that it makes you an exceptional hunter that has good hunting ethics and a good understanding of how to do your part to increase and maintane wildlife populations in conjunction with the power to be.

Again this is just my opion on the matter however I do hope that it helps others to understand why some of us just try to shoot the boys and not the girls.

Later JD

[ChrisWallace]

Kudos JD

[Model12]

I second that. It's called voluntary restraint. When it's VOLUNTARY, that means you decide what to do. No you're not breaking the law and if you feel good about shooting hens, that's fine. The hope is that most will leave the hens for breeding so the numbers of mistaken hens in the early season, those that feel the need to shoot hens and incidentally killed hens is a minimal number. If everyone targeted at least one hen in their limit then we would be pushing the harvest objectives and in effect be slitting our own throats. Drakes are almost always easier to identify so why not at least make an attempt to shoot your drakes first. If you can't, go ahead and shoot your hen. Then you're relegated to shooting drakes from there out; at least for mallards.
I like the thought that some hunters build and situate a wood duck house for each wood duck they shoot in a season. In effect, they put more back than they take. It's not realistic to think everyone should do that but let's all put a little back when possible. Not EVERY time you go out but really, what's that one extra duck do for ya? Hey, if it means someting to you and/or it's your only duck for the day, go ahead and take it. If you can spend the extra time/effort to shoot a drake vs. the hen, thanks from me and other's that would rather have that hen raising a brood of 6-8 ducks in the spring. Bottom line, let's minimize the hen's being shot when possible.

[JCAMERON]

Interesting topic. When it comes to mallards, something around 18% of males attempt to breed homosexually. This occurs in all species of waterfowl, but is very high when it comes to mallards. I think shooting drakes only is more fulfilling to some because you have to be choosey with your shots. My two cents.

[tracr]

As the saying goes Ducks are limited Drakes only.

[HUNTER2]

Drakes just look better in the pictures.