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Trophy ducks

15K views 65 replies 39 participants last post by  ADB391 
#1 ·
Given where you hunt and considering any and all ducks that you may kill, what are your trophy birds that you would have mounted for the wall?
Mine are first, a wood duck, then a pintail, then a redhead, which I got today!
Trap is hard to get a good picture of. I think he is camera shy.
 
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#36 ·
You guys need to make a trip to Missouri to kill some pintails they are all over like the shovelers. Nothing better to watch work than a big fat greenhead drake!!! Some thing about those orange feet as the are getting ready to hit the water and the blue on their wings.
 
#37 ·
On a slightly different note, I had a good friend in high school kill a barrow's goldeneye drake on a pond on a deer lease in the piney woods of SE Louisiana while wood duck hunting. He got it mounted and if memory serves me correct a local game warden told him the duck was probably about 1200 miles away from it's typical wintering grounds. That was a long time ago and I have never seen another one killed in south LA.
 
#43 ·
I agree, when the dog was bringing back the bird I saw it had a band on it and told my buddy who invited me that he could keep the band what I didn't see was the other one when he took it from his dog, so we shared them. it was banded the same day and same location, really not sure why I guess just a mistake
 
#48 · (Edited)
My first mount my dogs first goose which happened to be a Blue * I got conned in to putting it on the wall ;). Next goal is drake Canvasback (missed him and got the hen last year; so I guess they'll be a set). Here the trophy is a tri-fecta but I'm missing the blue-wing teal (heck if I got an ugly one it would be mounted; we never get them here), Then a red-head; had a real nice one that I accidentally ate :). I have a mallard drake in the freezer with 5 curls; I shot it @ Wister, which is pretty rare there; but it's a mallard, which I consider common. Pin-tail and spoonies are a dime a dozen out here; so it would have to be pretty special to mount one. Now Pin-Spoon hybrid would be mounted they had picture of one on the salton sea last year, so it better watch out ;)
 
#49 ·
Ducks I have mounted: Canvasback, Redhead, Pintail{banded}, Mallard, Back Duck, Gadwall, Wood Duck, Drake and Hen Eider, White Wing Scoter and Old Squaw. I have a Blue Goose that should be back this week and I have a Speck at taxi now. What I want is a BWT and Cinnamon Teal. A nice Widgeon and a GWT will be mounted one day.(I have killed several just didn't mount)
 
#51 ·
Bird Duck Water bird Beak Wing


I posted this Black Duck earlier in the thread. But I didn't tell what was unusual about it. If you will notice, even the taxidermist painted the bill as if it was a mallard hen.

I shot this bird in Alaska in 2000 or 2001 on the Palmer Hay Flats. For you Alaskans, I used to go down Rabbit Slough and drag my canoe out into the lake at the green cabin. Anyway, it was a bluebird day on the marsh and not much was flying. All of a sudden, I heard a hen quack and instinctively I just looked up and shot as she flew overhead. My young dog Maggie (who recently died at 13 1/2) went into the reeds and hunted for quite a while before lifting he head up out of the tangle with the biggest surprise I ever got in 20+ years of Alaskan waterfowl hunting!

Having grown up in SC, we had black ducks and occasionally shot a few. But no one had ever been on record as taking one in Alaska. As most of you know, Black Ducks are primarily an East Coast duck... Occasionally Midwest.

I took the bird to friends who were biologist at Alaska Fish and Game. They looked it over for a while... Pulled out some waterfowl books... Scratched their beards a bit... And said "it might be a Black Duck!"

Like I said earlier, I took it to a local taxidermist in Alaska... I was out of town when it was ready... I was surprised to see that the bill was painted like a mallards... Would think the taxidermist would have figured it out... But I think he thought he was mounting a mallard!
 
#53 ·
Where I live in South Carolina, we kill lots of Blue Winged teal, but never a drake in full plumage. I was 63 years old before I got to kill my first. Gumbo and I were invited to film a TV show in Florida for Ducks, Dogs, and Decoys TV (Capt. Jeff Coates wanted to do a show about American Water Spaniels). All we killed for the filming were Bluebills, but the next day, we went just hunting on the Stick Marsh and I killed a whole limit of mature drake Blue Wings. They are beautiful little birds.
 
#54 ·
I hunt Sourthern California and Pintail are very common so I shoot them most everytime out. I had a Balck duck and A wood duck on my list. I just returned from a hunting trip in Virginia with a friend of mine. I had a chance at both birds the first day out. Unfortunatly I missed my Black but I did connect on my drake Woodie. I feel very fortunate to have at least had my oppurtunity. Wildlife biologist Outdoor recreation Recreation Fishing Sporting Group
 
#55 ·
I have a couple of big, late season drake cans (Venice, LA), a big, nicely barred specklebelly (Lake Arthur, LA), a banded blue wing drake (Scarsdale, LA), and an Egyptian goose (SE Zimbabwe). I treasure them all and enjoy recalling all of the hunts every time I look at them.
 
#58 ·
I mainly mount birds to remember the hunt. I can look at each one and remember when, where, and with who. Most have a humorous story to tag along with it. Mounts include from left to right on my wall...Widgeon, Black Duck, Pintail, Woodie's (drake&hen), Specklebelly, Mallard, & Gadwall. Mounted my nephews first duck green wing teal drake. Came out really nice and look forward to adding one to my wall soon. I would love a cinnamon teal, Canvasback, and the one I have been searching for the past few years is a picture perfect Blue Goose. Every time I shoot one it's just not the right plummage. When I goose hunt that's all I'm looking for. Hopefully this year is the year.
 
#60 ·
I have shot some really cool ducks But I seem to go for the sentimental mounts. I had hunted with my Dad since I was very little. I am sure I screwed up his hunts by being bored or cold. 35 years later I am taking Dad in Cause he is cold or did not feel up to it . Anyway 1.5 years before he died the last day of the season we both shot a banded duck. His was a OK drake Mallard and Mine was a nice Black duck. The were in the freezer and I was going to Mount the BD but did not plan on the Mallard. Dad made it a bit past the next season which we shot a lot of ducks. I wish I would have saved the last duck my Gracie retrieved. Even if it was a gadwall.
 
#64 ·
View attachment 16576
A friend of mine from Maryland who has a pup from us (pictured) Pirate X MHR Haley MH got this on the Potomac River Christmas Eve day.
 
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