# The one that got away...



## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

We all know that every fisherman has such a story, but what about duck hunters? Is there a rare/interesting duck that almost came into your decoys? A missed shot at something you really should have hit? Something that didn't quite come together? Let's see if anyone wants to share.

There are two stories that come from my experiences.

The first one happened before I was old enough to shoot. I was sitting on the ten shell dike with my dad at BRBR when I spotted a lone duck flying fast from the north, 15 yards high, headed straight for us. It should have been an easy shot, but it took so long for my dad to identify it that he only took one fleeting shot as it as it escaped shooting range. To this day, he swears it was an oldsquaw (or long-tailed duck for you politically-correct types), but I didn't really get a good enough look at it to know. Looking back, I wish I had been trying to I.D. ducks better instead of just enjoying the ride and letting him shoot. It will always be a mystery to me because I wasn't.

Mine occurred a few years later on one of those lousy, bluebird November days during a time when no new birds were moving through and every local bird was too smart to come into the decoys. I had spent the morning pass-shooting buffleheads and goldeneyes and decided to call it a day around 11 AM. I had three shells in the gun for the walk back, and I figured that would be three too many, so I packed all the others deep in my backpack and started to walk back.

Not long after my return trip began, a skillful hunter jump-shot a raft of birds and literally sent hundreds flying my way. Most passed by to the north, and most flew quite high, but a few came close enough to give me some hope.

First up came a flock of shovelers 30 yards high, right overhead. I stood up and dumped a drake, then sat back down to hide.

Next several pintails, about 40 yards high, cruised by and I decided to take a poke at the lead drake. I missed.

The flight of birds had all but departed, so I figured I'd better get my spoony and go. I stood up, and to my surprise I saw two more low ducks headed my way. With no time to reload, and no time to dig more shells out, I resigned myself to one more careful shot. As the ducks arrived, I could see that they were two beautiful, fully colored cinnamon teal drakes, no more than 30 yards up. The two drakes passed overhead. I stood up, took a careful aim, and missed. :frusty:

Ever since I started duck hunting, I'd wanted a cinnamon teal for the wall. They my favorite duck to hunt and eat, and I love the way the drakes look. I felt physically sick as I watched them fly away.

It was an extra-long walk back to the truck that day, and I still haven't had an opportunity to redeem myself. I've shot several early-season drakes, but I'm still holding out for a nice, mature, fully-plumed bird.

At the same time, I think that it's experiences like these that keep me coming back. It wouldn't be too interesting if I succeeded every time.


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## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

I missed a bunch of coots the other day. Well, I would have if I had shot at them.


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## Hunter_17 (Mar 15, 2008)

Kinda of close to your first one. Dad and I were out to Howard slough and a lone bird was flying around us. Couldn't ID it. Was my first year hunting. Anyways the guy next to us dump it. We walked over and saw it was a longtail drake full color. The guy that had shot it had no idea what he shot till we told him.


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## honkerhound (Dec 31, 2012)

I had a small flock of about 5 0r 6 harlequins fly with in 30 yds of me once about 8 yrs ago. At the time I didn't know what the hell they were so I didn't dare shoot. They landed about 150 yds away so I just watched them through the binoculars. When I got home I looked them up online and found out what they were .. boy was I sic about about. Been trying to find them ever since, have yet to ever see another though.


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## SidVicious (Aug 19, 2014)

I once walked along a little canal one evening after work to see what was around. I was in a dress shirt and tie, had no waders and elected to leave my gun in my car as I wasn't taking the walk too seriously. I ended up jumping a flock of wood ducks at about ten yards. I have never had another chance at a wood duck since. Still kicking myself for that one. I have never left my gun in the car since then either.


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

About 8 years ago, I snuck into a warm spring on a cold frosty January morning and found a half dozen fully plumed cinnamon teal drakes feeding. I tried to remain calm and loaded up the gun and managed to dump a drake. I had a great mark and went over there and couldn't find him. I spent 2 hours looking that morning, went to work and looked for another 2 hours that evening and never recovered the bird. 8 Years ago and I have not got a shot a one since.


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Cinnamon Teal are pretty birds! It's the Old Squaws and Scoters I can't get a good shot at.


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

SidVicious said:


> I once walked along a little canal one evening after work to see what was around. I was in a dress shirt and tie, had no waders and elected to leave my gun in my car as I wasn't taking the walk too seriously. I ended up jumping a flock of wood ducks at about ten yards. I have never had another chance at a wood duck since. Still kicking myself for that one. I have never left my gun in the car since then either.


Sadly, I think lessons learned the hard way are the lessons that stick with us the longest. I've kept plenty of extra shells in my pockets ever since I let those teal slip by.


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

Fowlmouth said:


> Cinnamon Teal are pretty birds! It's the Old Squaws and Scoters I can't get a good shot at.


Posts like these are the reason this forum needs a dislike button. 

Though if you want to tell me how the he!% you happened to find those, I'm all ears.


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## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

i'll see your 2 cinnamon's fowlmouth, and raise ya 2 green wings


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## jiml (Oct 27, 2011)

1999, Howard Slough. Got shots at a pair of scotors every day for about a week. Every time they came in I got shaking too bad to get an accurate shot off. Good 20-40 yards shots each time too. Never even had a shot at a good cinnamon teal drake.


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Clarq said:


> Though if you want to tell me how the he!% you happened to find those, I'm all ears.


 I mostly find them during the late part of the season. Once in a while I get them in November. I will watch my usual spots and let you know when I start to see them.


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

Fowlmouth said:


> I mostly find them during the late part of the season. Once in a while I get them in November. I will watch my usual spots and let you know when I start to see them.


Cool, I appreciate that. I'll do the same with the sea ducks (though I never seem to find those either).


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## Cazador (Sep 4, 2014)

I don't know about the one that got away… I managed to bag a hen oldsquaw(long-tailed duck) several years ago during the late season. So I don't have any regrets yet about the one that got away.


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

A hunting buddy awhile back told me that back in the 80's on a duck hunt, a lone goose flew right over his head. He thought it looked too high to shoot, so he let it pass. A short distance away, another hunter bagged it. He came over to them and asked about what he had shot. It turns out it was a small cackling goose. It wasn't too high; it just looked that way due to its small size. Neither of us has seen a confirmed cackling goose since (though I'm not really sure how common/rare they are around here).


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## mmunson (Oct 1, 2012)

Last season. Out by the salt air with a buddy and we had decent luck and had a handful of ducks each. I saw two geese coming east towards us but didn't think they would drop down about 100 yards east of us(usually they keep on going and head for the ponds between the freeways or the dump) I told my friend we should go and try to sneak up on them, he insisted I go and he would stay back since I've never had an opportunity at a goose before. So I start creeping and crawling towards them. I even put in a 3 1/2 shell. Got easily within 40 yards and they saw me and took up, I shot and somehow missed! probably nerves or something, at least I hope it was just nerves. The two geese flew north towards the lake, then circled back back south west and went right over our blind. My friend dropped one of them..and it was banded!!! Still pissed about it but its such a funny/good story we always share. Ill get my goose one day!


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## duck jerky (Sep 8, 2007)

Missed a chance at Eider out at public about 17 years ago:sad:


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

duck jerky said:


> Missed a chance at Eider out at public about 17 years ago:sad:


:shock: I wonder how many of those have ever even come to Utah. It's cool that you got to see one.


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## bug doc (Apr 19, 2008)

About 6 years ago I took my niece & nephew on their first duck hunt. We were jumpshooting a little creek in a sage flat. We peeked around a corner, and on the opposite corner sat a beautiful drake wood duck (the first I've ever seen in Utah). It flushed and flew low behind the sage brush, never presenting a shot. We watched it fly out of sight. I was just sick.

Luckily for me this story has a happy ending. Back at the truck we realized we had an extra 20 minutes before we had to leave, so we went to jump a couple more bends. On the very last bend we found the wood duck again! He again flew low, but finally broke over the brush about 60 yards out, and I lofted a hail mary in his direction. Gotta love Tungsten Super Shot.


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## hamernhonkers (Sep 28, 2007)

I guess it has been two years ago now but I was after this guy.........



He and his friends flew by but would not commit to the spread so I had walked back to the truck to get the stuff to pick up when I look up and these two guys are cupped up and dropping in. They land right in the middle of my spread.



I got lucky years ago and killed an immature spec but boy was I kicking myself in the azz for not sticking with the spread knowing that these two nice tar bellies were still in the area

I did get my target two day's later so it was still a good week:grin:


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## utahgolf (Sep 8, 2007)

there's a goose I think about weekly where I didn't have a shell in the gun and that was over 17 years ago... but there is a pheasant I think about every other day from 18 years ago. Stupid mossberg guns!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Dwall (Jul 1, 2012)

Couple years ago I was hunting one of my special spots I hit down south once everything starts freezing. We were setting up on a spot where we could put decoys in the water and goose shells on the ice. Had all the decoys out and was out in the water fixing a couple decoys with cords over there back. We never heard them coming but had two geese land in our shells on the ice. Not a one of us had our guns close enough to shot and by the time one of us had our guns they were already out of shooting range.
Man that one I still think about every time I put decoys out!


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## JuniorPre 360 (Feb 22, 2012)

I went to check a beaver trap and I always take my shotgun with me since I see a lot of geese. I got to the trap and one of them tame looking geese was swimming with a mallard. I decided to pass up the mallard. But then they both flew up and the tame goose made that stupid speckle belly sound like on the hunting shows I watch. I've seen Richard dump a few on here, but I've never seen one in Utah in person. 

I also had a Hoodie land just outside of my decoys last year. Nice big drake. He fell asleep, woke up, swam out a little, and then flew away. He was just out of reach of an ethical kill shot. He's the second one that got away. I wounded one a year before and it got away from me.


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Way back in the early 70's hunting in Louisiana I was fixing up my blind on the opening day of the 2nd split. They have split seasons down there and at that time on the opening day you couldn't shoot before noon. Well about 11:00 mallards started pouring into the flooded timber all around me by the hundreds. Flock after flock after flock would pass over and just dive bomb into the timber. I conservatively estimated that at least 5,000 mallards were about 200 yards from my blind. So when shooting time hit I started sneaking up on them through the dense timber to get some shots. I just knew that there was going to be 3 greenheads coming back to my blind with me. When I was about 75 yards away and still stealthily sneaking up I couldn't even see the water there was so many ducks on it, then all of a sudden I heard a loud QUACK !!!! and the whole area exploded with ducks taking off. Seems that there was a single lone hen I didn't see that was only about 30 yards away from me and spotted me and hit the alarm button. I just sat there with a disappointed look as not a single duck passed in range. I've never been that close to thousands of ducks and not get a single shot off before or since then.


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## Swaner (Sep 10, 2007)

I have 2 ducks that haunt me.

The first is a pair of white-winged Scoters that came through the decoys at BRBR. The came right through about 3 feet over the water. I didn't shoot because I didn't know what they were at first. I figured they were some kind of weird fish duck. Then I saw the white spot on the eye and knew what they were. By then it was too late and they were out of range.

The second is a drake Bluewing. I was hunting some shallow stuff out at Harold Crane in early December. I had a flock of Cinnies decoy. I pulled up to shoot and *click*. My gun didn't fire. The birds landed in the decoys and the bluewing was front and center at about 15 yards. I pulled the trigger again and nothing. The birds took off and I kicked out the shell and chambered another. Finally, I get a shot off. The only bird in range was a colored up drake cinnie. Not complaining but I would have rather had the bluewing.


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## collegehuntnfish (Aug 7, 2014)

The one that still gets to me is from a while ago. It was my first duck hunt without an adult. My buddy and I were hunkered down on the edge of a big reservoir trying to shoot some puddle ducks. By about 11 o'clock we hadn't seen anything and we about to pack up when we saw a single coming in. I stood up to shoot and for some reason though he was out of range. I watch a beautiful bull can fly at what my buddy claims to this day was 30 yards. I haven't seen one since than and its now close to the top of my bucket list because of that day.


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## mallardgoose (Oct 11, 2010)

Two years ago my friend and I were hunting late season ducks in Davis County. We had shot a couple ducks and it started to slow up a bit. My friend gets a phone call on his cell phone. He answers it and proceeds to have a lame conversation about something in his garage. I spotted two geese ahead, so I let out a couple calls, they turned 90 degrees and locked their wings heading for the decoys. I whispered to my friend “they are coming in” 30 yards with wings locked I drop the first goose. I put my bead on the second goose waiting for my friend to shoot, waiting, waiting, waiting, so I pull the trigger and dropped the 2nd goose. After yelling with excitement I said where were you on those? He didn't see them come in or hear me alert him of the arrival. The dog retrieve’s them both and one has a band on it. He has never shot a banded goose. He regrets ever answering his cell phone, but I have no regrets. I wear that band with pride and a great story


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Well this one didn't exactly get away but I did witness my dad drop a Snow Goose with a load of #9 shot back in the lead shot days. It was early in the year and we were getting buzzed by a million teal so we switched to #9 shot and a lost Snow passed over at probably 40 yards and he folded it stone dead with one shot. Of course shooting a full choke 12 with 1 1/4 oz of 9 shot created a pretty dense pattern. I am sure it was a head shot that brought it down.


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## elitewaterfowl (Sep 5, 2014)

one year, my dad and I were hunting swans. We set up a decent sized spread and got ready. With about ten minutes left of shooting light, a flock of about ten swans came right into the spread and we both dumped our birds easy. As my dad went out into the decoys to get the birds, three more swans landed fifteen yards on the outside of our spread and one of the jokers had a purple neck collar. In the end i was still super excited to have downed my bird, but the thought of coming that close to killing a collared swan was hard to bare.


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## avidhntr3 (Sep 26, 2007)

My brother and I were out for a hunt quite a few years ago after freeze-up. A teal had snuck in and landed right on our open patch of water. I stand up, jump the beautiful looking drake and somehow miss the shot. My brother then dumps him. Since I'm the younger brother, I was the dog, so I brought back the banded GWT - banded 6 years earlier in Alaska.


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## JuniorPre 360 (Feb 22, 2012)

These stories are making me sick to read...


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## Bottomwatcher (Jan 21, 2009)

This happened before everyone out there had swan decoys but a friend and I were looking for a perfect swan that would be worthy to put on the wall. It was a perfect day and we had looked over probably close to 400 swans including 2 trumpeters (that I couldn't get myself to pull the trigger on) landed in the decoys at 15 yards when a pair locked up and came in. The blue collar was easily seen and I readied for the shot. They swung by at 40 yards like the hundreds before them to catch the wind and drift into the pocket, but these 2 birds for whatever reason never turned and kept right on going. To top it off the lead bird had a collar too that wasn't seen until going away (A RADIO COLLAR) That bird haunts me like no other.


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## Crndgs8 (Sep 14, 2013)

In short, we had 3 specks in the decoys this morning. Can In behind us, we waited and let them circle a couple times. All I'm gunna say is all 3 of them are still alive...


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

Dad and I were both feeling sick yesterday, and didn't feel like doing much of anything. However, we knew we had to get out and hunt in the awesome weather. We decided to get back to our roots and visit one of our favorite pass-shooting spots we discovered early on in our duck hunting career.

He picked a clump of weeds to hide in, and I joined him. He suggested that we would be able to cover more space if I hunted in another clump about 50 yards away, but I told him I was content to hang out with him, so we hunted there together for a few hours.

Midway through our hunt, a drake and hen cinnamon teal flew right over that clump 50 yards away, and all I could do was watch.

Thankfully, the shoveler shooting was good (and so was the company), or I may have gotten depressed about that one.


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## GreenFletchings (Aug 29, 2014)

*The One the got away..twice.*

My buddy and I were out hunting Monday morning and we had a little teal sneak up on us from behind. We managed to get a few shots at it but didn't hit it. It proceeded to fly around our decoys, and it flew right back around us where we missed it six more times. Unfortunately, many ducks got away from us that day. Lessons to be learned I guess.. Take good shots! :|


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## Truelife (Feb 6, 2009)

toasty said:


> About 8 years ago, I snuck into a warm spring on a cold frosty January morning and found a half dozen fully plumed cinnamon teal drakes feeding. I tried to remain calm and loaded up the gun and managed to dump a drake. I had a great mark and went over there and couldn't find him. I spent 2 hours looking that morning, went to work and looked for another 2 hours that evening and never recovered the bird. 8 Years ago and I have not got a shot a one since.


Mike it was probably the next weekend that I was in the same spot and had a single drake cinnamon buzz past me. I missed him but he came by again a little later and my buddy didn't miss. You must have been using "soft shot" and just knocked him out or something! :grin:

Remember that drake pintail you were looking at the other day in my shop? I shot him in the same place. Picked him up and sat him in the bushes to rest while we finished hunting. Later after we loaded up the decoys I went to pick up my prize only to find duck tracks wandering off into the sagebrush. Luckily the snow was good for tracking, he ALMOST got away.


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