# Opinion on the new duck regulations



## H2OfowlND (Feb 10, 2003)

So how many like/dislike the new "hunter's choice" regulations after today? Talked to my dad about them and he wasn't too thrilled. Birds were hard to id and didn't want to take the chance. He said they could have been done by 830, but didn't get out of the field until after 1030 and only 7 birds for 3 guys. I don't blame him for not shooting more and risking shooting the wrong birds. 
What are your thoughts??

H2OfowlND


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## southdakbearfan (Oct 11, 2004)

Well, we may not like it, but by your description, it served its purpose plus some.


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## duckslayer (Oct 30, 2003)

Yep, it was a tough morning for our group. Saw a LOT of birds but 70% of the flocks didnt get a shell thrown at them because we couldnt ID any drakes. Oh well, still fun to see em cupped and committed again!


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## mallardhunter (May 15, 2004)

it was really hard today the new regs. has its ups and downs


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## Old Hunter (Mar 8, 2002)

My group made it through openimg weekend without any" mistakes" I use that word because it seems to be the term used to describe an illegal bird. The first day was rain and overcast all morning. All you had to work with was profiles very little color was visable. We did not shoot any thing for the first hour. We had all mallards coming in and could not ID anything. We then had some widgeon and teal come in so we took some of those. As the morning cleared we were able to see a little better so we started shooting mallards.There were 3 hens shot out of a party of 5. The thing that I dont like is that you dont dare shoot a pintail because you have to save that opening in case you shoot a hen mallard. I shot a drake and a hen mallard with one shot. If I hade shot a pintail first I would have been in violation. I think the Hunters Choice sucks. I know people made" mistakes". The ducks were stuffed in the mud.


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## fungalsnowgoose (Sep 11, 2004)

It was tough to say the least we didn't shoot at a lot of flocks trying to determine what was what.


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## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

AfterTalking to a bunch of hunters last weekend, I am wondering if these new regulations are designed to make sure more ducks get to the southen end of the flyway!!! :roll:

Seems like everyone had to pass on a lot of flocks. Makes you wonder....

Bob


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## gandergrinder (Mar 10, 2002)

We passed on lots of ducks because we couldn't ID them, but who really cares? Do you have to shoot at every flock that comes in?

Is a limit important?

I don't really understand what is so difficult about shooting drakes. If you don't know for sure, don't pull the trigger.


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## cbass (Sep 9, 2003)

Jed is right, Jed is always right!!!!

Oh to be so perfect :lol:


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## tclark4140 (Aug 8, 2006)

Bob: this post probably makes as much sence as any i have read. i am sure the boys down south talked somebody into making it law in n.d. i really don't understand how it is even a good one. too many things to go wrong. u wait all day for that drake pintail then you shoot once at a drake mallard and he and a hen mallard comes down. then what.. also the youth who havent had a lot of experience could easily make a mistake or jsut a bad shot.. and i aint so young but i wont say it wont happen to me either. bottom line alot of the hens, pintails ect. that we pass on wont make it back to canada.. as for the iowa opener it was decent this year, we are alttle dry also. but 2 woodies and 3 teal was a nice sat morning


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## HUNTNFISHND (Mar 16, 2004)

I don't know about this new regulation yet. I limited out both days and only shot one hen and one pintail. Yeah, iding the birds was tough but not impossible. Just look for the light colored belly and dark breast area for the drakes this time of year.

By the way, I could have easily killed ten pintails in two days. They are lousy where I hunt, what are the rest of you seeing? I think there are more pintails then the estimates indicate.


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## dakota31400 (Jun 10, 2006)

oh how the theme changes once reality sets in :stirpot: Two months ago id'ing hens and drakes was a cinch.

Now tell me who besides LA and AR are going benefit from this brilliant idea?

Geeze, I got 3 GA boys comming up the end of this week...Gonna have my hands full......of hens that is. Sure hope the geese side track us.


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## dblkluk (Oct 3, 2002)

> We passed on lots of ducks because we couldn't ID them, but who really cares? Do you have to shoot at every flock that comes in?
> 
> Is a limit important?
> 
> I don't really understand what is so difficult about shooting drakes. If you don't know for sure, don't pull the trigger


Amen! 
Just think of it as way to kick back, and take in more of the show!


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## ruger1 (Aug 16, 2006)

> Just think of it as way to kick back, and take in more of the show!


If I wanted a show, I'd watch Barney Kalef on TV.

Don't get me wrong, I select out the drakes and try to leave the Hens also. I've been known to forget to shoot turkeys (being to involved in "watching the show").

But this new law leaves little room for mistakes. I'm afraid dead hens will go to waste in the mud. If they are eaten, at least they serve some kind of purpose.


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## jhegg (May 29, 2004)

I didn't really have any problem identifying drakes where I was. We saw a lot of gadwalls and mallards along with a few wigeon and pintail. Frankly, I don't think the pintail are worth shooting this early in the season. The only problem would have been with the teal.


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## Dan Bueide (Jul 1, 2002)

IMHO, like any regs, there's perceived good and bad and some required adjusting.

We were one bird away from a two-man all green weekend - the 20th bird of the weekend was a hen - my bad on the ID. We didn't shoot for about the first half-hour both days. The North wind and good light helped with ID Saturday. With a West wind Sunday, thank goodness it was mostly cloudy, as the low sun was a real bugger intermitently (hard to make challenging ID distinctions when multiple sun spots are etched into your retina).

As OH said, the new regs really change your harvet patterns. We passed on bulls both days to allow for a "whoops" later. With the pintail numbers what they are, probably not a bad thing.

One thing to remember, HC is but one factor that causes these "issues." I've been told that in the very immediate future (if the mallard trends continue), we would be subject to a one-hen limit anyhow. So, while HC has the effect of making us pass on pinnies, we all would have had less margin for error on mallard ID anyhow (as early as this year or next).

We covered a lot of ground in the area we hunted and what was a 3 hour drive to and from our hunting area. I guess I expected it, but man is the water in tough shape. We did not find impressive bird numbers either. Compared to many prior years, the hunter numbers for the R opener in our traditional opener area were way down. Had they been normal, there would have been way more groups of hunters than good hunting opportunities. The next several weeks could be very interesting for everyone...


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## FLOYD (Oct 3, 2003)

I decided to hunt a small puddle instead of rutting around in a field, and I actually enjoyed the fact that the dog and I got to stand there for a couple hours until I found 5 nicely colored out drakes to shoot. Probably passed up close to 10 flocks where I didn't find a nice greenhead. I am still a field hunting guy, but it was kind of enjoyable to watch the flocks where I couldn't find a mature drake work the few dekes I threw out. So often field hunting, when it starts, you hardly have time to think until your filled on ducks and taking down the spinners for geese.

Plus I almost lost my favorite hat to a flock of woodies.....


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## cranebuster (Nov 2, 2004)

I've found mallards easier to I.D. in early to mid september then in early october. First of all, you can throw out the dark chest b.s. you will shoot more hens early using this method than any, hens have a distinct darkening of the chest that is more noticeable in low light then that of a drake. Don't rely on that. The very best way to i.d. one in low light is to pick out the biggest bird in the flock when they are way out and lock your eyes on him. It will be a drake. The next best and most fool proof is to look at the bill, but they gotta be damn close. In my opinion, it makes early season hunting all the more fun. Last year in Sask. in the second week of september we shot over 100 mallards in our party and killed only 2 hens. We shot more then 1 duck out of only 2 flocks in 3 days of hunting. Anytime I see guys open up on a flock of mallards and shoot more than 2 or three times, they have no idea what they are shooting at. In my opinion, if I wanted to unload my gun at the closest three birds in a flock and be done for the morning, I'd start hunting honkers :wink:


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## Rick Acker (Sep 26, 2002)

I think it's working...I know we passed on many flocks early on Saturday...Because why risk it? Limits are not everything...More hens left to nest!


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## fungalsnowgoose (Sep 11, 2004)

It sure seemed there were a lot of missing birds in our area. I think we put on almost 300 miles of scouting and found one huntable concentration of ducks in a field


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## water_swater (Sep 19, 2006)

This law is great, it seperates the men from the boys, and limits sky busting. The hunters that consistantly get birds in their face and shoot drakes it wont affect. Its the hunters that shoot before its legal, sky bust, cant indentify, or simply dont care that it will affect (fines).

I wont lie we made a few mistakes but overall it made us much more conscious of what we were shooting, we had to wait until 7:30 to be able to tell but we were still done fairly early. There will be days where it will cost us our limit, but thats ok. The other thing it does it keep a few more ducks alive early in the year, face the facts, these ducks are dumb right now, thats partly what makes it fun at this time of the year.

I do, however, agree with another member who thinks these new regs might be a southern idea. I wonder why we have to try the regs when the ducks here are brown and sometimes you really cant tell even when their on the ground. Why not try them in NE, MO, AR, when all the birds are in full plumage? Statisticall ND harvests way fewer birds than any many others states so I'm wondering why they cut the northern harvest back?


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## Old Hunter (Mar 8, 2002)

I have no problem with the 1 hen in the bag restriction. I try not to shoot hens anyway. But the fact that you cant shoot a pintail if there is a hen in the bag is bull. I believe that it was North Dakota's decision to accept Hunters Choice it was not mandated, am I correct in this? Terrys first big mistake. My Minnesota and Colorado friends are coming this weekend it will be a nightmare. I will have a sore throat from yelling dont shoot!


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## Hunter_58346 (May 22, 2003)

As I understand the G&F position, it was basically a lottery as to which states had what limit imposed. The way it was explained to me is that the ND G&F did NOT choose the hunters choice variation. If you doubt their stand, call them, they will be more than happy to share information with you.


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## dakota31400 (Jun 10, 2006)

Maybe if we bag all the mature birds, the rest won't know how to get to LA.

Maybe most of the hatchlings we usually shoot will die of natural causes anyway and it won't matter.

Maybe all the hatchlings that make it back will actually sit on the nests they build.

My prediction is that the Mallard harvest will drop in the test states...LA won't see a lot of birds and next year the nesting population will break record highs but nothing will hatch. They will blame it on the weather and again predict a record fall flight with a 3 mallard 4 duck limit.


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## Hunter_58346 (May 22, 2003)

Did you ever think of becoming a waterfowl biologist when you grow up?


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## dakota31400 (Jun 10, 2006)

NO THANKS, I don't like the politics attached to it. I get along better with open minded scientists. We get things accomplished. Maybe you will look back some day on this post when you grow up.


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## Hunter_58346 (May 22, 2003)

Not a chance,,,I am growing old, not up,,,,and I never look back!


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## lngbw (Sep 26, 2006)

I think the new rules are good for those who are patient and understand what they are looking at. However there are a lot of folks out there that do not have the patience and do not care.

There will be lots of wasted meat :eyeroll:


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## Goosepride (Sep 29, 2003)

It will be fine for "real" waterfowlers...killing isn't everything. Jed was right.


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## Goose Guy350 (Nov 29, 2004)

Like all other new things it will take some time to adjust. One question, do any of you think that it will make the birds stage longer in particular areas? A lot you guys stated that you didn't shoot at flocks so they weren't pressured so hopefully they will stay in that area longer, it may make shooting better, specially inbetween when the local birds get kicked out and the migrants haven't arrived on a normal year.


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## dakota31400 (Jun 10, 2006)

Hunter_58346 said:


> Not a chance,,,I am growing old, not up,,,,and I never look back!


I too am growing old...but looking back is the foundation of the manner in which I move forward.

No lesson is ever learned with success...only with failure.


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## Hunter_58346 (May 22, 2003)

Well maybe it is a good thing that we have a scientist on the site that is looking out for all of us and protecting us from the bioligists.


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## dakota31400 (Jun 10, 2006)

Nah....I don't think it's as much the biologists....It's their bosses and their directive ya got watch out for. If I had to frame a house with a tac hammer, I wouldn't get much done either without mickey mouseing something.

If they would use Best available technology instead of short cuts, waterfowl populations might stand a chance in the future.

Who knows, maybe I'm wrong and just can't see the ducks with these old eyes anymore. I'm not talking about ND either....I'm referring to the rest of the continent.


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

The "hunters choice concept is nothing new. Variations of it have been used down south before many of you were born. Many southern states use or used a point system that effectively did the same thing. The common duck would probably be worth 5 points and the ones designated for limited harvest (hens, pintails, cans) might be 75 or 80 points with the point limit being 100. For those that are not aware the one hen limit was in effect for most of the last 40 years with the exception of the last few. Going back to it really isn't anything new.

I agree with the skybusting comment though the guys that do that don't generally care what they shoot anyway and will just bury their mistakes.

Any good waterfowl ID book will tell you that when you can easily identify the colors of a bird you know it is within range. I think this is even more important with steel shot.


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