Last Day, First Band

[ThrillofDaChase]

Shot my first band yesterday, a black duck banded in Ontario, hatched in 2016, and banded 1/9/2017. I reckon he made the journey a few times. This is my tenth season duck hunting. I know there are some guys primarily to our west who will "band chase" and hunt near places that band, but obviously that is not the case where we are hunting in NC/VA. I would say typically our crew as a whole was shooting one band every two years or so. We shot just a little more than two hundred ducks this year not including our annual Arkansas trips and six were banded--including three in four days. Only two bands were shot in the same spot. Some of the spots were forty-five minutes to an hour from each other. Two black ducks from Ontario, a mallard from PA, a mallard from MI, a wood duck from WI, and a wood duck banded local. I would classify this year as a freak to say the least.

Considering the above and Roanoke's post about the Jack Miner Band had me curious to hear from other NC/VA hunters how often you have encountered them and at what frequency. I imagine guys who hunt impoundments down east have a greater shot in good years when they're killing large numbers consistently.

 

[Dead Eye-NC]

one year I killed 3 in one week. all mallards and banded in PA

with so few ducks where i have always hunted not much of a chance on a mallard anymore. I got a banded wood this year tho

Great season!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ThrillofDaChase]

one year I killed 3 in one week. all mallards and banded in PA

with so few ducks where i have always hunted not much of a chance on a mallard anymore. I got a banded wood this year tho

Great season!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That is great. Banded in the same local area by chance? I would call that real time evidence of receiving a "push".

 

[ducknut]

I've been on 2 hunts where a band was taken. I didn't shoot either. Been at it 29 years.

 

[dobber]

I was lucky enough one year to help out the local scouts at Jack Miner and we banded a couple of hundred ducks

 

[Wlfpkmann 1178]

Shot my first band yesterday, a black duck banded in Ontario, hatched in 2016, and banded 1/9/2017. I reckon he made the journey a few times. This is my tenth season duck hunting. I know there are some guys primarily to our west who will "band chase" and hunt near places that band, but obviously that is not the case where we are hunting in NC/VA. I would say typically our crew as a whole was shooting one band every two years or so. We shot just a little more than two hundred ducks this year not including our annual Arkansas trips and six were banded--including three in four days. Only two bands were shot in the same spot. Some of the spots were forty-five minutes to an hour from each other. Two black ducks from Ontario, a mallard from PA, a mallard from MI, a wood duck from WI, and a wood duck banded local. I would classify this year as a freak to say the least.

Considering the above and Roanoke's post about the Jack Miner Band had me curious to hear from other NC/VA hunters how often you have encountered them and at what frequency. I imagine guys who hunt impoundments down east have a greater shot in good years when they're killing large numbers consistently.

Beautiful. Congrats!!!

 

[Duc90]

Congratulations that's a true trophy

 

[fowlhntr]

Took 2 banded mallards this year. One was banded in Wisconsin at a WMA there the other in Quebec, Canada. Both were fairly recent bands the first banded August of 2020 the other August of 2019. Congrats on your black duck

 

[ThrillofDaChase]

I was lucky enough one year to help out the local scouts at Jack Miner and we banded a couple of hundred ducks

That’s an experience I would like to have one day.

 

[Bluecord]

I’ve duck hunted for 20 plus years from OH, TN, NC and never got one

 

[grim reaper]

That's a strong year. It's purely about luck. I've known guys who seem to get one nearly every season with multiple in single seasons. Then I know guys who kill just as many that go years without....congrats, black duck bands don't come around often

 

[labman63]

Congrats Donald! I have 6 in 18 yrs of duck hunting. I shot a double banded mallard in Arkansas few yrs ago. $65 reward band

 

[ThrillofDaChase]

Congrats Donald! I have 6 in 18 yrs of duck hunting. I shot a double banded mallard in Arkansas few yrs ago. $65 reward band

Thanks man! Hope you the wife and dogs are well. I’ll take your odds for the next eight years.

 

[Wanchese]

30+ years, a lot of ducks, 0 bands.

A few have been killed by people hunting with me but not by me.

 

[nekkedducker]

Almost 20 years of duck hunting for me and no bands. Never seen one killed. I did kill a banded dove a few years ago....it was banded 4 miles from where I shot it a month before the season started. Oh well.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[00 swamp_chicken]

In my five years we have shot two bands. One was a guided hunt on the Canadian side of lake St. Clair. That one was a hen redhead that was banded in Ontario. The other was in Michigan and we shot a Jack Miner banded hen mallard. The drake and hen came in as a pair. My buddy who had never killed a duck had the first shot but when he pulled the trigger his gun clicked. I shot the drake and the third man shot the hen. Pre-shooting light we had birds buzzing us and in all the excitement my buddy didn't realize he missed putting the shell in the chamber and released the bolt with nothing going into the barrel. We found the shell he meant to load on the ground afterwards. We still give him crap because he had an opportunity for his first bird to be a Jack Miner band.

 

[shurshot]

Congrats on that first band TOTC! Good bird to do it on too ..

Been shooting a lot of ducks for five decades now and but only have 8 federal bands to show for it. Mallards save for 2 blacks and a wigeon. Strange I’ve never shot a teal or woodie wearing jewelry but put a friend of a friend on three woodies that had landed in a tiny pothole near me. Just before going in to jump shoot, he came over and asked if he could go with me since he had hardly pulled the trigger all week. I told him to go and kill all three. Well, heard shots, looked up to see two falling. Took dog over there, first bird is banded! Dog eventually digs out other bird ...it’s banded too! And numbers were only two apart. He mounted that pair ...

 

[Troutbum82]

Heck yea D great way to finish a season.

 

[JONOV]

I've maybe seen one. Where we hunt in North Dakota we see a LOT of birds. The owner of the property hunts two weeks a year with different bigger groups, up to a dozen guys. Not unusual for them to limit out. They've brought in maybe 1/2 dozen bands over the years.

The guys I know that get a lot of them get them hunting geese.

Two acquaintances have shot banded woodies in NC. One was banded in the ACE basin in South Carolina, the other banded near Harris and shot at Jordan (or vice versa.)

 

[ThrillofDaChase]

In my five years we have shot two bands. One was a guided hunt on the Canadian side of lake St. Clair. That one was a hen redhead that was banded in Ontario. The other was in Michigan and we shot a Jack Miner banded hen mallard. The drake and hen came in as a pair. My buddy who had never killed a duck had the first shot but when he pulled the trigger his gun clicked. I shot the drake and the third man shot the hen. Pre-shooting light we had birds buzzing us and in all the excitement my buddy didn't realize he missed putting the shell in the chamber and released the bolt with nothing going into the barrel. We found the shell he meant to load on the ground afterwards. We still give him crap because he had an opportunity for his first bird to be a Jack Miner band.

I saw some crazy videos out of St. Clair a few weeks ago. Thousands of birds with no reason to move south at the time. You wouldn't be a good buddy if you didn't give him crap. One of the guys I hunt with regularly has been hunting about 5 seasons now and his first duck was a banded mallard he jumped off a farm pond.

 

[dobber]

Thousands of birds with no reason to move south at the time

starting to freeze up now, buddy of mine in Belle River was skating on it this weekend

 

[00 swamp_chicken]

I saw some crazy videos out of St. Clair a few weeks ago. Thousands of birds with no reason to move south at the time. You wouldn't be a good buddy if you didn't give him crap. One of the guys I hunt with regularly has been hunting about 5 seasons now and his first duck was a banded mallard he jumped off a farm pond.

I believe it. We saw thousands when we did it flying all over and it wasn't even peak migration. Thats awesome. Take them how you can get them. No pictures on the score card. Im still waiting for my first band. Had opportunities just didn't know it.

 

[labman63]

Thanks man! Hope you the wife and dogs are well. I’ll take your odds for the next eight years.

We are good, you need to come up to the lake this summer and hang with us.

 

[ThrillofDaChase]

We are good, you need to come up to the lake this summer and hang with us.

I will take the ride. Always down for a good time.