Me2. How hard did you have to work for it? Tell the story. I would Start with how far you had to travel
Nice bird, shot one yesterday also and it is headed to the taxidermist, as this is the first one I’ve shot in over 50 years of duck hunting in California that is a perfect bird to mount. No holes in bill, feet and all the wing feathers are intact. It will go on the wall with my Bluewing and an Eurasian Greenwing I got several years ago. Then I’ll mount a nice Greenwing and have all 4 teal in the Pacific flyway.
Congrats! Cool bird I wish I had taken photo’s of the one I got yesterday before tossing it in the tub, it was in nice shape. I hadn’t shot a drake in a long time
Not much of a story. I just went out hunting as usual. If you don't hunt the refuges in CA, then it may be a strange deal to you? Most spots can be quite a walk from the parking lots...1/2 to 1 mile. No more work than the usual. It came in the first 30 minutes of shooting time along with all the other green wing teal and it was quite a flurry. I had 3 birds down at once and honestly, I didn't realize it was a cinnamon until my buddies dog brought it back. I felt bad for my friend running his dog while I was shooting all these birds...lol. He was rewarded though. After I limited, I got to watch him bust a pintail and a canvas back!
If you ever get a chance to hunt the Grasslands of California, hunt the refuges in the San Joaquin Valley and your odds of getting one are pretty good. Hunt the area after the middle of December for a prime Drake.
I’ve only killed a handful of them in 30ish years of refuge hunting. Got a nice drake earlier this year and was stoked. Congrats on your first