Mallard or Teal?

[strangford wildfowler]

How many wildfowlers prefer to shoot teal or mallard?

[The Croc]

Mallard for me

 

I miss too many Teal but I do like eating Teal

[wildfowler.250]

Mallard every time. Much more substantial. Nothing wrong with a teal though.

[scolopax]

Mallard. I think teal are fantastic but I struggle to hit them!

[strangford wildfowler]

Just wondering what you lads thought as I haven't shot at them yet .

 

Cheers strangford wildfowler

[kent]

Teal are the better tasting bird, mallard are nice but considerably bigger. I seem to have a habbit of shooting one teal for one shot and then wondering what to do with it in the kitchen (it normally ends up waiting in the freezer). A mallard will feed two on the other hand

[wildfowlingmad]

I love teal, they are stunning birds, almost a shame to shoot them!! Tastes great what there is though. They make very sporting shooting the way they weave and change direction and then flair up after a shot. It is also fantastic how they are sometimes found in big packs and when they wiz into your decoys like that its great. Nothing against mallard though they are good eating too!! Had mallard last night actually

[edenman]

Teal every day of the week. Nothing quite hearing them hurtling past you in the gloom of the dawn. Superb on the plate too.

[Barls2-9-12]

Teal every time for me. just such a fantastic sporting bird I don't mind missing them.

[Wildfowler12]

Teal for me

Edited September 5, 2013 by Wildfowler12

[Doriboy]

Teal for me, the best tasting of all the ducks in my book and a brilliant challenge to shoot.

[SuperGoose75]

As a Sportsman I would consider teal "especially when they come as single birds" the most challenging Duck' But when shooting on Club grounds i often leave the teal alone as we have a bag limit of 4 birds and much prefer the bigger mallard in the Bag. Teal like snipe have not much meat on them but whatever there is ' is damn tasty.

[wildfowler.250]

[quote name="kent" post="2274715" timestamp="

A mallard will feed two on the other hand

 

Kent, you need to be a lot more greedy! two mallards for one person is closer to it..

[strangford wildfowler]

I like your thinking wildfowler.250, 2 is far better than 1!

 

ATB strangford wildfowler.

[TIDES EDGE]

Teal every time mallard are to blo***y heavy to carry off of the estuary I shoot

[henry d]

Teal for taste, Mallard for being able to use most of the bird

[misser]

teal every time

[kent]

Kent, you need to be a lot more greedy! two mallards for one person is closer to it..

 

And they wonder why the Scots are known for their poor state of health nationally.

[mx8]

I've grow up shootin Mallard flighting at night time with the odd teal comin in to spice things up so i'll opt for the open bag and be happy with what shows up

[anser2]

I used to shoot mainly inland as a teenager and mallard were our main quarry. It was nice when an occasional teal or wigeon featured in the bag. For 25 years I became almost solely a foreshore fowler and mallard were rarely shot , with teal and wigeon making most of the bag. I learnt to realy value mallard both for taste and their size. In my area the teal and wigeon mainly feed on the saltings and muds and at times their taste can become rather strong , testing the cooks skills to make them edible. However the mallard only use the salt marsh as a roost and feed inland frequently on stubbles or corn fed flight pools and its very rare to have a strong tasting mallard. Now I have returned to shooting inland regulary as well as the coast and again mallard have become a major quarry for me , but I have to admit a twisting pack of teal make a testing and sporting quarry. So which is the best - nether , both have a place in my shooting.

Edited September 6, 2013 by anser2

[wildfowler.250]

 

And they wonder why the Scots are known for their poor state of health nationally.

 

 

You've got me there! Can't beat a bit of heart disease...

[kent]

I used to shoot mainly inland as a teenager and mallard were our main quarry. It was nice when an occasional teal or wigeon featured in the bag. For 25 years I became almost solely a foreshore fowler and mallard were rarely shot , with teal and wigeon making most of the bag. I learnt to realy value mallard both for taste and their size. In my area the teal and wigeon mainly feed on the saltings and muds and at times their taste can become rather strong , testing the cooks skills to make them edible. However the mallard only use the salt marsh as a roost and feed inland frequently on stubbles or corn fed flight pools and its very rare to have a strong tasting mallard. Now I have returned to shooting inland regulary as well as the coast and again mallard have become a major quarry for me , but I have to admit a twisting pack of teal make a testing and sporting quarry. So which is the best - nether , both have a place in my shooting.

 

interesting, I far prefer to eat salt marsh duck any day. As always depends on what they have been eating, snails and such do nothing for duck flesh ask any who have eaten shoveler worst I have ever had was a widgeon that had been feeding inland (not far from a sewage works)

[Reabrook]

interesting, I far prefer to eat salt marsh duck any day. As always depends on what they have been eating, snails and such do nothing for duck flesh ask any who have eaten shoveler worst I have ever had was a widgeon that had been feeding inland (not far from a sewage works)

I shoot a few widgeon on an inland freshwater flood meadow. Their diet must exist almost entirely of grass and they taste absolutely superb far better than any I have ever shot on the tide. Does depend on your taste I suppose.

 

In answer to the original post teal every time.

Edited September 6, 2013 by Reabrook

[anser2]

It all depends on a ducks diet. when I first started shooting I shot teal from a ditch that drained from some sugar beet storage pads. The dyke was covered in rotting waste beet and the teal were awful to eat. On the other hand not a mile away I have shot teal comming into flooded grassland and they were great to eat. I remember wigeon shooting on the Solway years ago where two flightlines converged. The wigeon comming down the Nith were very fishy and full of tiny cockles while those comming of the Wildfowl Trust grounds were full of corn and very good eating. The wigeon on my local saltmarsh feed on samphire seeds and zos grass when during the first few months of the season and they are rather strong tasting , but after soaking in vinagar overnight are ok. Later in the season they mainly feed on grass on local flood meadows and are fine. Having said this I must add 99% of the duck I eat are fine even if some do need a little " treatment".

[Penelope]

If I had to choose, Pintail.