BelgianHunter Posted June 18, 2016 Report Share Posted June 18, 2016 I'm looking to put some duck down on a pond. I would feed them away from the pond. But how/when do you shoot them? Do you feed them somewhere else, and then put the guns in between the feeding place and the pond? And will they circle around the pond, trying to get to the pond. Or how do they react? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AberFowl Posted June 18, 2016 Report Share Posted June 18, 2016 I would feed them on the pond and flight it on an evening, at the end of a shoot day as an extra Or if they use it as a day pond, surround it and flush them with a few men and dogs, some shoots have tame duck that just keep circling and it's like fish in a barrel Less human contact the better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malantone Posted June 18, 2016 Report Share Posted June 18, 2016 As you have said feed away from the pond as far as you can, they will follow when they get the hang of it, You can either move guns in and drive them back to the pond, or cut off their route back to the pond with beaters, and drive to a fence to force them into the air and fly around to the pond over the guns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelgianHunter Posted June 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2016 Thank you guys for your insight! I was thinking to put down 100 duck or so. I was wondering if the duck would fly back from the feeding site, in small groups or would they all take off in one big group. And does the flying ability of the birds affect the shot birds ratio? As in bad flyers give a better return, and good flying birds give a lower percentage shot. I'm really interested in how everyone else does it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malantone Posted June 19, 2016 Report Share Posted June 19, 2016 It all depends on the skill of your beaters, you walk them to the fence quietly and apply pressure by tapping sticks but taking your time approaching the Mob, they will then break in small bunches, if you put to much pressure on to soon they will all panic an go in one large bunch. as for flying ability the older they are the stronger they get Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted June 19, 2016 Report Share Posted June 19, 2016 To do this u will have to hand feed them every day at approx the same time, probably on a whistle. Very tying 7 days a week from release till u have shot enough to make it worthwhile. Personally i'm not a massive fan of released duck, can also bog of very easily too, esp if any otters in the area Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelgianHunter Posted June 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2016 Thanks for the input! The last couple of years I just inviteded a couple of friends for an evening flight, but i was looking for something different. That's why i wanted to make a drive out of it. So if i understand you guys correctly, if I were to feed them away from the pond they would be good flyers. So if i were to drive the duck from the pond, would they keep cerciling at a good height? I would only shoot them 2-3 times, with 4-5 guns. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShootingEgg Posted June 20, 2016 Report Share Posted June 20, 2016 I would feed them on the pond and flight it on an evening, at the end of a shoot day as an extra Or if they use it as a day pond, surround it and flush them with a few men and dogs, some shoots have tame duck that just keep circling and it's like fish in a barrel Less human contact the better I have been on a shoot like this and found it to be something I did not enjoy, they circle to a height that is sensible to shoot, then out of range only to circle back into range and then to low.. Remote control duck id call them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 Will depend on ur pond/area etc. 1 shoot i know changed things and hand feed them every day showed some great ducks but they just got shot at and flew on to next pond and never circled, and ternded to fly about with the wild mallard so didn't always come back Also that pond usually had decent numbers of wild duck esp teal and wigeon which never settled due to the daily disturbance. U could also just feed them on the pond as usual every few days/once a week but really dog them off pond to get them flying Do u live near the pond so u could be there at same time every day (and same time as u hope to shoot them) lot of work for a few shoot daysbut depends if u can fit it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nmb Posted June 26, 2016 Report Share Posted June 26, 2016 (edited) We tried reared ducks the last couple of years and both were pretty unsuccessful. They are greedy ******* and you can't get away with dumping extra food to give yourself a day off as they will eat the lot before you get back in your motor! Our members just didn't feel it was sporting shooting them whilst standing around the pond so we tried making them part of a pheasant drive. This worked well but they dissapeared after a few shoots. I think spending money on making your pond more attractive to wild ducks would be a much better option. Edited June 26, 2016 by Nmb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savhmr Posted July 22, 2016 Report Share Posted July 22, 2016 We tried reared ducks the last couple of years and both were pretty unsuccessful. They are greedy ******* and you can't get away with dumping extra food to give yourself a day off as they will eat the lot before you get back in your motor! Our members just didn't feel it was sporting shooting them whilst standing around the pond so we tried making them part of a pheasant drive. This worked well but they dissapeared after a few shoots. I think spending money on making your pond more attractive to wild ducks would be a much better option. Exactly what we've done this year and the pond's now being populated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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