Bucket list duck this past weekend

[ultrastealth]

Finally got a canvasback. I've been duck hunting for 50+ years, and never had a shot at one until this last weekend. My son also got a "storm widgeon" too. Great weekend of duck hunting. Shotkam footage linked below.


https://imgur.com/Ctiayf4

[hog_down]

well done!

[TCB]

Good looking bird....Congrats!!!!

[flywise]

Very nice

[JES]

Very cool!

For me those have always been a special duck. I guess from reading about the market hunting days on Chesapeake Bay and then living over there when I was in the Navy.

Congrats on a beautiful bird.

[Gumbo Man]

That’s cool. That first bird is Grave Yard Dead on the the first shot.

[ElfEyes]

Congrats, did the second bird ever give up the ghost? I almost died of hypothermia on Sam Rayburn years ago after the boat tipped over shooting canvasbacks. To this day those ducks had the thickest layer of fat of any bird I've seen.

[3rdCoastHunter]

Very cool - I need a shotkam so bad

[ultrastealth]

Originally Posted by ElfEyes

Congrats, did the second bird ever give up the ghost? I almost died of hypothermia on Sam Rayburn years ago after the boat tipped over shooting canvasbacks. To this day those ducks had the thickest layer of fat of any bird I've seen.

I actually hit three that day, but only recovered the one, and we still had to shoot him again to keep him from diving on us. Those are the toughest ducks I've ever shot. If you don't kill them dead, your odds of recovery are slim.

[MooseontheLoose]

That's awesome, congrats on the can. Looks like a stud bird too.

That footage is killer

[ElfEyes]

Originally Posted by ultrastealth

I actually hit three that day, but only recovered the one, and we still had to shoot him again to keep him from diving on us. Those are the toughest ducks I've ever shot. If you don't kill them dead, your odds of recovery are slim.

That's exactly how I remember them.

[talltexasshoote]

Do you have a picture of the storm widgeon? I’ve been to the west coast 3 times trying to fill that one on the list. We shot lots of beautiful cotton tops but no storm widgeon.

[AntlerCollector]

Cool video. Congrats on the bird.

[Dale Moser]

I gotta see this “storm widgeon”.


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[Short Mag]

Congrats! Are they rare or do you just not get them in your area? We have them on our pond regular but I've never shot them. Mainly because the wife says not to kill her ducks but the one Sunday almost got killed. Lucky for it the Cowboys came on and saved its life. Looking back I should have killed the duck and not watched the game.

[mfarmer]

High end hunting gear = high end birds

Wear that bass pro stuff, all you get is scaup and coot

Nice canvasback!

[ultrastealth]

Originally Posted by Short Mag

Congrats! Are they rare or do you just not get them in your area? We have them on our pond regular but I've never shot them. Mainly because the wife says not to kill her ducks but the one Sunday almost got killed. Lucky for it the Cowboys came on and saved its life. Looking back I should have killed the duck and not watched the game.

They are rare where I hunt. No, I wouldn't call them a rare bird in general in some areas. The storm widgeon is either a color phase of North American widgeons or a cross between a Eurasian widgeon and a North American widgeon. A Eurasian widgeon was killed this weekend in the same area apparently. The difference is subtle, but it's the lighter head that identifies it.

[CabezaBlanca]

Congrats! That was one of the first ducks I ever shot. I had no idea what they really where trophy wise. Gave it to the guy I hunted with as I always do. Never shot or seen another one since. That was back in the late 80's.

[str8shooter]

Those are two really nice birds! I only have one Canvasback in all my years of duck hunting. Congrats. My next bucket list duck is a King Eider off of St. Paul island!

[Short Mag]

Very cool looking bird. Congrats again

[FVR JR]

Awesome birds! Shot my first can a few years ago. Never got it back from the taxi. Had 3 come in on opening weekend this year and got one. Canvasbacks are very particular about where they like to be. Water and vegetation have to be just right. I was shocked that they came into a ratty ol marsh pond. Must've been the spoony decoys that got em That widgeon is something else!

[Mexico]

Beautiful bird! I've only killed one myself...

[stringmusic]

Originally Posted by ultrastealth

They are rare where I hunt. No, I wouldn't call them a rare bird in general in some areas. The storm widgeon is either a color phase of North American widgeons or a cross between a Eurasian widgeon and a North American widgeon. A Eurasian widgeon was killed this weekend in the same area apparently. The difference is subtle, but it's the lighter head that identifies it.

I wonder how many of those Ive killed because that looks like a regular ole wigeon to me. I cant tell the diff but they sure are pretty and fun to shoot!

[snappertapper]

Originally Posted by stringmusic

I wonder how many of those Ive killed because that looks like a regular ole wigeon to me. I cant tell the diff but they sure are pretty and fun to shoot!

Probably none if you can't tell the difference. That one isn't full blown storm, but is whiter under the eyestripe than most. I wouldn't really consider it a storm.

I've seen 2 killed similar to the ops, but never a true storm.

[Chitchyaoutdoor]

The fastest ducks so I’m told

[Duckologist]

Originally Posted by stringmusic

I wonder how many of those Ive killed because that looks like a regular ole wigeon to me. I cant tell the diff but they sure are pretty and fun to shoot!

It is a regular ole widgeon, not a storm or a eurasian

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[Mitchell8]

I never knew till now that I wanted to shoot a storm widgeon and see a picture of a storm widgeon. Very cool name.

[talltexasshoote]

Originally Posted by Mitchell8

I never knew till now that I wanted to shoot a storm widgeon and see a picture of a storm widgeon. Very cool name.

This is what the ones I have seen look like.

[talltexasshoote]

Originally Posted by Dale Moser

I gotta see this “storm widgeon”.


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This is what a prime Eurasian widgeon looks like.

[talltexasshoote]

Originally Posted by talltexasshoote

This is what a prime Eurasian widgeon looks like.

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...&iact=c&ictx=1

[stringmusic]

Originally Posted by snappertapper

Probably none if you can't tell the difference. That one isn't full blown storm, but is whiter under the eyestripe than most. I wouldn't really consider it a storm.

I've seen 2 killed similar to the ops, but never a true storm.

Roger that, didnt know there was “storm”, and then also “full blown storm.” Just figured it either IS or IS NOT. Googled some storm wigeons and didnt look anything like the OP’s to me but I sure have been wrong before! The ones Im seeing look white, not mottled or speckled. If thats a storm wigeon, full blown or half blown, congrats to the hunter! And congrats on canvasback OP! Taxidermist bout to get busy I bet!

[Duckologist]

Originally Posted by talltexasshoote

This is what the ones I have seen look like. Attachment 1077788

That's a storm

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[Texas Grown]

Congrats to the OP!

After all these years, I got my first can last year. And my first redheads. I've had redheads into my spread twice before that. But couldn't connect. Got another last weekend. The can was the first time in my spreads.

The fish are biting, and there's hogs to be kill-t. Gotta go!

[snappertapper]

Originally Posted by Duckologist

That's a storm

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Agreed

[ultrastealth]

Originally Posted by talltexasshoote

This is what the ones I have seen look like. Attachment 1077788

That's a domestic widgeon that was bred to be a storm. Wild storm widgeons don't have the all white head. I wish that I had some pictures of the other widgeons that we killed. The difference is obvious when you see them in person together.

[talltexasshoote]

The ones I saw in hand in Oregon looked just like that one. Everyone in my group of 7 got one but me. Still one of the best days of duck hunting I have ever had. I did get my Eurasian that day. One box checked one to go.

[Slew]

Good job! Back when lakes around here had hydrilla getting a can was about as sure as the sun rising! Heck they used to sit at the Minnow Bucket cleaning dock eating fish scraps when I was cleaning crappie!

[asu-indian]

^^^ truth!

[3ChordTruth]

Congratulations, nice shooting ultrastealth.