# Hens the taboo.



## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

From what I understand this is a very touchy subject but its one thing that I have always wondered about.

When out shooting ducks in MN, I can take 1 hen a day. And the days that I did go duck hunting, I would fill out my woodie limit with one drake and one hen. The few mallard I did shoot were hens, because that was all that was in the flocks.

If we are allowed by law to shoot one hen, why do some people get very uptight when they see pictures of dead hens shot by hunters? I see that there is a huge mortality rate with them while one the nest, but why is it taboo to shoot them?


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## goosebusters2 (Jan 13, 2006)

The reason why some people get mad is because every hen thatn gets shot means that many less ducks to reproduce the next spring.


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## USSapper (Sep 26, 2005)

GB put it as clear a possible, some people just have different ethics out hunting


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## dfisher (Oct 12, 2007)

blhunter3 said:


> From what I understand this is a very touchy subject but its one thing that I have always wondered about.
> 
> When out shooting ducks in MN, I can take 1 hen a day. And the days that I did go duck hunting, I would fill out my woodie limit with one drake and one hen. The few mallard I did shoot were hens, because that was all that was in the flocks.
> 
> If we are allowed by law to shoot one hen, why do some people get very uptight when they see pictures of dead hens shot by hunters? I see that there is a huge mortality rate with them while one the nest, but why is it taboo to shoot them?


It's not taboo. It's just that some fellas like to tell other fellas how they should do things.

If I'm hunting and a hen mallard comes in I'll probably give her a pass. But I've shot dozens of them in my career and haven't turned into a pumpkin yet. Shoot the legal limit and you won't hurt anything.

Good luck,
Dan


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## honkerslayr (Dec 14, 2006)

yes usually i will not shoot a hen if it comes into my spread for the most part anyways unless it is early in the season and i make a mistake because the drakes plumage isn't as noticeable. But if you shoot your 1 hen it wonn't really hurt anything. The game and fish sets the limits to the bare minimum of effect that your daily limit would have on the population. No some frown upon it but it's all on your discretion but its perfectly legal.


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

We do everything in our power to NOT shoot hens. That being said, sometimes it happens...


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## xtrema2 (Mar 16, 2008)

i wish we had some drakes to shoot around here..literally there are hardly any drakes..when somebody gets a drake of any kind its a pretty big thing..late in the year there are always a few drake greenwings and the odd bluebill but if we only shot drakes then i would probably only get half a dozen ducks in a year..its not that i dont want to shoot drakes its just not possible..


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

I would prefer to shoot drakes, but they are few and far in between, and that's an understatement.


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## Preds21 (Feb 12, 2008)

goosebusters2 said:


> The reason why some people get mad is because every hen thatn gets shot means that many less ducks to reproduce the next spring.


 I honestly do not know this but are duck like deer you want to keep as close to a 1-1 or 2-1 ratio for the best results of the next generation?


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## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

Nope, the drakes are whores and can take care of multiple hens if Im not mistaken 8)

For you guys that say there are no drakes, I find it hard to believe. Early in the season they are pretty hard to pick out but I just dont see flocks of all hens ever. That includes my MN hunts.


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## honkerslayr (Dec 14, 2006)

USAlx50 said:


> Nope, the drakes are whores and can take care of multiple hens if Im not mistaken 8)
> 
> For you guys that say there are no drakes, I find it hard to believe. Early in the season they are pretty hard to pick out but I just dont see flocks of all hens ever. That includes my MN hunts.


This isn't as true as it is with pheasants where they can mate 12 hens and don't breed for life.

Mallard drakes will mate with hens for life particularly. But actuallly what I found somewhat interesting, up to 19% of drake mallards (which is high in birds) are homosexual.  This is due to the females of their breeding pairs dying. Therefore their will resort to male copulation or harrass a lone hen in flight which either the hen will die or forfeit to the drake.

But I looked into it and thought it was interesting to say the least. This applies to puddler ducks who nest in the pothole region.


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## R y a n (Apr 4, 2005)

Sasha and Abby said:


> We do everything in our power to NOT shoot hens. That being said, sometimes it happens...


Agreed. I think it is important for guys to do all that they can to avoid shooting hens. It just makes sense.

But things do happen occasionally. As long as it is an exception, it won't hurt the poplation. However there is a reason that some species of ducks do have a hen limitation towards your limit.

There is science and logic behind it.

Why not show a bit more patience and ensure that you are only shooting drakes? Is getting a complete limit that important?

I'd rather be 1 duck short of a limit, than shoot a suzie just to complete my bag.

Call it personal pride if you will. A pride that my success isn't about quantity of bag limit, but rather quality of the overall experience. I want to think I've done my part to ensure that I further the success of the resource as much as humanly possible on my end.

Ryan

.


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## Goose Guy350 (Nov 29, 2004)

We do not shoot hens on purpose ever, we avoid it all costs but with that being said he did have two this year get caught in the cross fire which turned into an additional 20 dollar donation to DU.


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## ND_duckman (Feb 17, 2006)

honkerslayr said:


> Mallard drakes will mate with hens for life particularly.


Where did you read/find that?


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## honkerslayr (Dec 14, 2006)

ND_duckman said:


> honkerslayr said:
> 
> 
> > Mallard drakes will mate with hens for life particularly.
> ...


I actually happened to do a bunch of looking around for it online and stuff because I :beer: was really bored and I figured why the heck not. But I thought it was particularly interesting and seemed to make sense though.


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## honkerslayr (Dec 14, 2006)

ND_duckman said:


> honkerslayr said:
> 
> 
> > Mallard drakes will mate with hens for life particularly.
> ...


Woops actually made a mistake, they form pairs but doubt it would be lifelong. Sorry my bad. Heres where I was looking: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mallard


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## MrSafety (Feb 22, 2005)

For me, I've never met anyone who HAD to shoot anything...........it's a choice you make. WE don't shoot hens on purpose because we don't have to. I love to eat duck but won't pull the trigger on a hen.......I'd like to think more hens flying north mean more ducks flying south. Don't shoot a hen just because the law allows you to.........remember, we're hunters........


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## jonesy12 (Apr 1, 2008)

I agree with not shooting hens just because it's down the barrel of your gun. But if it happens, it happens. I'm sure the majority of people will hold off on shooting one and I don't think it's neccessarily a bad thing to shoot them. It just can't get to the point where they're being targeted, which I don't see happening. Where I hunt on a regular basis, there are far more hens to drakes, so shooting 1 or 2 here and there doesn't hurt.


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## bluebird (Feb 28, 2008)

> up to 19% of drake mallards (which is high in birds) are homosexual.


 Thats why I shoot Drakes and not hens :lol:


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## Jer_Londgren (Mar 21, 2008)

It's called duck hunting, not drake hunting. If you want to shoot a few hens go ahead. I guarantee the one who calls you a bad sportsman for doing it is way too wrapped up in this drake hunting thing. Mallards are the most populated duck in the united states. Here is a quote from Ducks Unlimited,...... " Mallard populations have benefited greatly from the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and other grassland restoration efforts in the northern prairies of the USA, where populations have increased 100% above the long-term average......" That is why there are so many mallards. The one or two hen limited is factored into the duck population goals. Thats why you are allowed to shoot one or two if you choose. Dont ever let someone wreck a good hunt if you bag a few hens. I also hunt in Minnesota, mostly divers. We only shoot about ten mallards a year and have no problem at all if they are hens. 
My hats off to the guys and gals who choose to only shoot drakes. There are a few that need to leave the "duck" hunters alone.


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## xtrema2 (Mar 16, 2008)

like i said before its just impossible to shoot all drakes where i am..If someone gets a drake mallard around here they usually get it stuffed no matter how bad the plumage..i have only heard of one drake pintail being shot on the whole island and everybody i've talked to said that it was the only one they heard of being shot..That being said if i get a bunch of ducks coming in you can be guaranteed im gonna try for the drake if there is any..Im not exagerating at all but if i only shot drakes a box of shells would last me all season for sure


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## dblkluk (Oct 3, 2002)

> Mallard populations have benefited greatly from the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and other grassland restoration efforts in the northern prairies of the USA, where populations have increased 100% above the long-term average......


That will be changing soon thats for sure...


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