A tornado of mallards

Impressive! Have never seen that with Mallards but have seen it with Divers a couple times in Eastern NC. Of course I had no shots--the birds went to nearby club impoundments...still quit a thrill to see.

Thanks for posting...
 
Very cool. How do you decide when to shoot when you have that many circling???

I only had something similar happen once, with gadwalls. I was 2 short of a limit when i suddeyhad about 150 circling and dropping I watched kinda dumbfounded for a few minutes while they piled in. Then snapped out of it and doubled on the two closest airborne drakes.
 
Carl said:
Very cool. How do you decide when to shoot when you have that many circling???

I only had something similar happen once, with gadwalls. I was 2 short of a limit when i suddeyhad about 150 circling and dropping I watched kinda dumbfounded for a few minutes while they piled in. Then snapped out of it and doubled on the two closest airborne drakes.
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Thanks guys! Carl, that's the hardest part of having birds working like that, it's a question of do you shoot the 3 or 4 that are feet down in the decoys and spook the rest, or let them land, jump them, and try for a few when they go? I don't think there's a right answer, you have to pick an option and go with it! Later that day we had about 150 geese doing the same thing and we ended up with one because they were all working so well that nobody wanted to call the shot and spook the rest out. We had 4 geese cruise by about 15 yards out and one landed literally 5 feet from me in the decoys but we were so focused on the birds still in the air that we missed our best opportunity. It's a kind of overwhelmed that I don't mind being!
 
Thats truly an incredible sight.

Is this Colorado? I recently moved back to NY after living in Denver. I'm still in contact with some gunning buddies out there and they're having an amazing duck year.

Thanks for sharing.
 
Blake Heller said:
Thats truly an incredible sight.

Is this Colorado? I recently moved back to NY after living in Denver. I'm still in contact with some gunning buddies out there and they're having an amazing duck year.

Thanks for sharing.
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Hey Blake, this is in northern Utah. I would love to hunt Colorado sometime, I hear there is great goose hunting there on the plains east of the Rockies!
 
Ahhhh I was close.

Yes, Colorado is one of those states that doesnt immediately come to mind when you think of waterfowl hunting. Eastern Colorado feels very much like Kansas. There are tons of geese that make their way through that part of the state.
 
Cody,

Thanks for sharing the video with us. I have never seen that many ducks flying over head like that, snow geese I see quite a bit in the fields. Great stuff and makes for hard shooting, not because it's a difficult shot but because it ruins the show.
 
Cody~


To add to what Ben hinted at - this looks like one of the times - hard to know when it is actually unfolding - that it is best to not shoot at all. I have found that it is ultimately more satisfying to just put thoughts of shooting out of my mind and just really pay attention to The Show in front of me. The rarity ensures that it'll yield one of those vivid memories that are truly unforgettable. The longer I hunt - this is my 56th season afield - the more I treasure the "rich storehouse of memories" that duck hunting has filled for me over the years. The shooting certainly interrupts The Show - and sometimes floods me with regret a moment later.



That said, there are some special shots I have made that reside within that storehouse - and that I can summon for "instant replay" for the rest of my days.


Here's to many more such memories!


SJS

 
Steve Sanford said:
Cody~


To add to what Ben hinted at - this looks like one of the times - hard to know when it is actually unfolding - that it is best to not shoot at all. I have found that it is ultimately more satisfying to just put thoughts of shooting out of my mind and just really pay attention to The Show in front of me. The rarity ensures that it'll yield one of those vivid memories that are truly unforgettable. The longer I hunt - this is my 56th season afield - the more I treasure the "rich storehouse of memories" that duck hunting has filled for me over the years. The shooting certainly interrupts The Show - and sometimes floods me with regret a moment later.



That said, there are some special shots I have made that reside within that storehouse - and that I can summon for "instant replay" for the rest of my days.


Here's to many more such memories!


SJS
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I agree with you Steve, the older I get the more I realize that moments like this are what we are really hunting for, after a while the idea of success being measured by birds down fades and the memories and times with good friends become what's really important. Being truly in awe of nature is something that unfortunately a large chunk of people don't get to experience in their lifetimes, and I count myself lucky that I get to experience that on a fairly regular basis. This is the best forum that I've ever been a part of!
 
Great video! I experienced Mallard tornados in a late afternoon field hunt in South Dakota in 2012. We had 5 or 6 groups that dropped out of big afternoon flights of ducks and geese. 200-300 Mallards at a time would start circling down and then land in the decoys. The sound of that many ducks in the air right on top you of was unforgettable, and I whiffed on the first bunch because the visual of that many birds in front of me within shooting range was overwhelming.
 
Thanks for posting. Veryy cool. Reminds me of days in my youth. This year I haven't seen more than 6 Ducks in a group all season.
 
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