Bands

[Jordan Vizinat]

I’ve got two. But I see a banded duck killed by someone in the blind once every ~600 birds.

 

[Rick Hall]

I've never understood the guides that would snatch the bands off clients birds when they took them from the dog or retrieved them themselves. I can't imagine needing one so bad you have to snake it from someone else. I couldn't care less about being in a draw for one either. When I was younger and had none or only a couple yeah sure, I tried to rationalize that I killed a band if we picked one up and have a couple I got that way. Now I couldn't care less about it if I don't know for sure I killed the bird.

While I know the trick to skinning them inconspicuously, when this guide spies a band before his hunters do, he'd much rather angrily demand, "Who shot that bird? I need to know who shot it." Some will speak up. But often enough to keep me at it, the possibility it was something protected will hold my guys' tongues, and I get to add, "Then you're going to have to arm wrestle for the band."

Likely because I got serious about waterfowling in a part of the country where it seemed like every third resident Canada was banded, I've long thought of banded birds as used, in that someone else had already had them in hand. Kept those early ones in a box until giving them to a Memphis banker shortly after I moved down here and started to guide. Plainly meant a whole lot more to he than me. Though had I seen E-bay coming...

Haven't kept another since, and having now helped band thousands of ducks and geese, myself, hasn't changed my attitude toward them. Though I've now been tickled twice by birds through our camp with bands I was party to. We'd sometimes joke about making trophy spoons, and this one ended up in my blind last year:

 

[Soggy Socks]

We used to get a bunch of them when we first started. They banded not far from where we hunted out of 12 or 13 we shot one day all but one were banded. The joke was who shot the unbanded bird. Got the pic somewhere if we had any idea of what we were doing back then we would all look like JF.

 

[H20DAD]

Started hunting in Ohio during 3/30. To kill a limit then and as it progressed to 6/60 was a big deal. Still killed a banded duck every other year and banded geese every year. Have neck bands etc. have also shot a banded dove here in Florida.

In Florida it’s an expectation to shoot a limit every day. Only get mottled duck bands and can only kill one a day. Never a teal, ringer or black belly which have often been the other 5 ducks to fill each days limit. Math is a funny thing.

 

[Buckhunter99]

I have taken one goose with a band. That day we shot 2 bands. My buddy that I hunt with went to Minnesota with me a few years ago and wanted me to make him a lanyard. I told him when he shot his first band I would make him one. Well the first hunt there he shot a banded hooded merganser. Since then he has shot a banded mallard drake and a banded goose that also had a neck collar. I still have not made him a lanyard. Its more of a running joke now. I also have a buddy that I believe has only been hunting a couple years and he shot two banded drake mallards this year.

 

[dsilsby]

30 years of hard hunting -
6 duck bands- 2 pins 3 mallards 1 can
3 goose bands- 2 snows 1 speck
i have 10 if you count a black zip tie
i took from the leg of a snow goose( it
is on my lanyard)

 

[William Reinicke]

30 years of hard hunting -
6 duck bands- 2 pins 3 mallards 1 can
3 goose bands- 2 snows 1 speck
i have 10 if you count a black zip tie
i took from the leg of a snow goose( it
is on my lanyard)

Thats cool. The only zip ties I have are from pigeons

 

[Il. MudDuk]

if you count a black zip tie
i took from the leg of a snow goose( it
is on my lanyard)

I totally forgot about my "womans hair band wrapped around a ruddy duck" band.

 

[PnwChrome]

4 man limit with 5 bands , crazy day never saw another band rest of the year ....

 

[Pirogue]

49 seasons....but didn't kill my first band until 1985. Since have killed 18 mallard bands...3 wood duck bands...37 canada goose bands and 2 mourning dove bands. Have seen a band in the last 4 seasons