# Ducks Diving After Getting Shot



## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

I'm sure a lot of people have experienced ducks diving under the water after getting shot. Where do they go? Sometimes they just don't pop back up, or do they? I have lost my share of ducks that were hit and then dove under. Sometimes you will see just their heads poking up and their body is completely submerged as they swim off. Other times you will see just a bill poking up for air, and other times I swear those birds dive under and attach to something on the bottom and never come up. It doesn't sound logical I know. So, What do you think happens to them? 
One time I shot a beautiful redhead, had it in the boat passing it around for everyone to see. This thing was stone dead. I set him on the pile with the rest of the dead ducks and minutes later he stood up, jumped out of the boat and dove under the water never to be seen again. Still trying to figure that one out. Never seen a duck play dead like that.


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

beats the crap outta me...

i/we've had it happen a number of times, all divers. One in particualr i remember. years ago, my first ever Canvasback pulled that on me. I remember him looking to be a PRIME Drake so i elected not to swat him on the water. Got to within ten feet and he dove to be never seen again. :neutral:


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

I have ripped them up from the bottom, grasping a busted reed/stick in the mud with their bills.


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## Raptor1 (Feb 1, 2015)

Haven't lost any like that, have chased them a long way, even further than when a dog would give up. Worst case was a hen shovelor i mistakenly shot and then chased for about 200 yards. By the time I got it I was 12 shells down and 2 sore knees from falling through the ice multiple times. That bird definately got the better of me.


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## lunkerhunter2 (Nov 3, 2007)

We found a pintail stuck in some moss last year after a 45 minute search stone dead. Assuming it drowned.


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## king eider (Aug 20, 2009)

Heck John, I'm surprised you didn't mention how hard it is to find a King Eider on the Bering Sea after you knock it down. Suckers just flat out never come up it seems....


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## Mojo1 (Sep 8, 2007)

I've killed them that swam over 30 yards before coming up. I think a lot of lost birds make it to some type of cover and disappear.

I think a lot of guys underestimate how long they can stay down without coming up for air.

Back in dec I was hunting a small farm pond down here, no more than 30 by 40 yards in size, with zero cover it and the shore line was grazed down by cattle too. I splashed a diver and he dived just as the dog got there. Needless to say my dog circled until he almost was give out, and I started to recall him, then finally the duck came up for air. Didn't have the angle to make a safe swatter shot, so after the duck dived again right in front of the dog I called the dog back in to bank to wait. After almost two minutes, he popped back up, I swatted him and ended the chase.


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## MuscleWhitefish (Jan 13, 2015)

Raptor1 said:


> Haven't lost any like that, have chased them a long way, even further than when a dog would give up. Worst case was a hen shovelor i mistakenly shot and then chased for about 200 yards. By the time I got it I was 12 shells down and 2 sore knees from falling through the ice multiple times. That bird definately got the better of me.


When I was younger I had a shoveler pull an unusual move.

It was shot jump shooting the river at salty.

It dove under to evade the dog and I walked downstream figuring it was surfacing.

As I was looking downstream and the dog started barking.

I assumed it was a muskrat in the caldron.

Giving up the downstream search. I decided to check out what the dog was barking at.

I climbed onto the road and peered down the other side.

Sure enough the shoveler was perched on a rock in the caldron.

I decided not to shoot, but to throw rocks at it and scare it to the dog.

The dog was normally great with retrieving and bringing birds back.

This time the dog must have been pissed off.

She tore the hell out of the bird by the time I get over to it.


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## Jedidiah (Oct 10, 2014)

Look on the bright side, the ones that don't come up feed the perch and walleye.


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

I hate when this happens. I lose a really nice drake can last year to this. He even circled five times before him and hos ladies come close enough to be shot.,


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

king eider said:


> Heck John, I'm surprised you didn't mention how hard it is to find a King Eider on the Bering Sea after you knock it down. Suckers just flat out never come up it seems....


No kidding! That one bird of Rich's burned up some ammo getting him. :shock:

NOT to mention, how when they are doing the _low head paddle_, the powder blue of their heads is PERFECT open water camo.


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

forgive the HUGE pic, i cant resize from this puter...


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## Pumpgunner (Jan 12, 2010)

Once I was hunting a shallow slough that wasn't deeper than about a foot all the way across. A small group of buffleheads came through, I knocked one down and sent my dog after it and it started diving as the dog was on the way. He chased it up the slough for about 50 yards, it kept diving and popping up and finally dove down and didn't come up for quite a while. I was just getting ready to call him back when he started sniffing really hard at a particular spot on the water, digging around with his paws and trying to get at something under the water. All of the sudden the duck shot straight up out of the water, went vertical for 5 or 6 feet, and took off up the slough. Have you ever seen footage of a submarine launching a missle from underwater? It looked just like that! We never did recover that duck but I feel like he earned his freedom!


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