# Not one Banded Yet????!!??



## Mallardhead12 (Oct 17, 2011)

Shot hundreds of ducks! And none banded, I have shot a lot of ducks in my life... but not one banded??


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## utahgolf (Sep 8, 2007)

I've only shot two banded ducks. and I threw one of the bands away when I was younger thinking I had shot someones pet or something. :?


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## shaun larsen (Aug 5, 2011)

some people are band magnets, others cant kill one for nothing. i know lots of people who have hunted their entire lives and never got one. and i know guys who get a few every year. the first duck i ever killed 10 years ago was banded. since then ive killed 9 other duck bands, including 2 this season, 1 canadian, 1 coot and 1 snow. its all luck. keep after it. in theory, with banding projects every year all over north america, your odds of killing a banded bird go up each season


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## Swaner (Sep 10, 2007)

shaun larsen said:


> since then ive killed 9 other duck bands, including 2 this season, 1 canadian, 1 coot and 1 snow.


You really got a banded coot?
I thought that was all just a rumor. Where did you get it and where was it banded?


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

Some people are just luckier than others when it comes to these things. I've only gotten two Canada geese, and one had two bands on it. I've been lucky with the geese. I've never even seen a banded duck, so I'm not so lucky with them. Keep hunting, and you should get one eventually. Good luck.


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## shaun larsen (Aug 5, 2011)

Swaner said:


> shaun larsen said:
> 
> 
> > since then ive killed 9 other duck bands, including 2 this season, 1 canadian, 1 coot and 1 snow.
> ...











banded at farmington bay in 2006. killed at utah lake in 2010


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## nk1nk (Nov 15, 2011)

shaun larsen said:


> Swaner said:
> 
> 
> > [quote="shaun larsen":324115fe]since then ive killed 9 other duck bands, including 2 this season, 1 canadian, 1 coot and 1 snow.
> ...











banded at farmington bay in 2006. killed at utah lake in 2010[/quote:324115fe]

Thats awesome, I hope my twelve year old doesn't see this post, he will be shooting every coot he can. It probably took that coot 4 years to walk from farmington to utah lake.


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## paddler (Jul 17, 2009)

Funny stuff about banded coots. Who in the heck kills 127 coots in one year, and then admits it? Hilarious!!!


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## nickpan (May 6, 2008)

Welcome to the club! Killed my fair share of geese and ducks every year and nothing. Tag teamed a goose with one but gave it to the other guy, couldn't tell who killed it and it wasn't worth fightin over.

Personally, they just need to quit the whole banding thing and it would get rid of alot of the jackarses out there who think they need em to be a "pro staffer" or whatever they are....


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## shaun larsen (Aug 5, 2011)

paddler213 said:


> Funny stuff about banded coots. Who in the heck kills 127 coots in one year, and then admits it? Hilarious!!!


who in the hell supports obama in 2012, and then admits it? Hilarious!!!

since when did shooting coots become a crime? i dont believe its against the law...? :roll: what i decide to hunt/kill is my business. not yours.

Mods, i take offense to this comment. i did nothing wrong, illegal or "unethical". he is singling me out and attacking me for the birds i choose to hunt. you **** canned me for doing the same thing. paddler is usually the first person to start arguements/issues. please address this in a way you see fit.


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

Using Shaun's data as a model, I figure the odds of shooting a banded coot are about 1:1000+. Those are some pretty dismal odds. It sounds like they are just common enough that the Klarks and Shauns of this world can find one. That's certainly a rare find. Very cool.


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## paddler (Jul 17, 2009)

Come on, Shaun, lighten up a bit. I learned to call them Mud Hens back in the 60's, which deters one from killing them. It cracks me up that a guy would shoot that many and post it up. I honestly don't think I've ever shot one of those critters. Nobody cares if you shoot them, but it makes lots of guys chuckle.

Oh, yeah. Obama 2012. Absolutely. Or support the chameleon if you like. Can you really trust anything Mitt says???


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

paddler213 said:


> Can you really trust anything any politician says???


Fixed it for you. :mrgreen:


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## shaun larsen (Aug 5, 2011)

paddler213 said:


> Nobody cares if you shoot them, but it makes lots of guys chuckle.
> maybe thats the point?
> Oh, yeah. Obama 2012. Absolutely. Or support the chameleon if you like. Can you really trust anything Mitt says???


can you REALLY trust anything obama says?


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## Mallardhead12 (Oct 17, 2011)

K


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## Mallardhead12 (Oct 17, 2011)

Whoops, didn't mean for K to happen, otherwise, haha forum fight, and Shaun, don't listen to paddler, he's just jealous...


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## Greenhead_Slayer (Oct 16, 2007)

Oh please Shaun.... What a desperate attempt for revenge after getting banned for a couple weeks.

On the real topic, its all luck with the ducks I think. Enough geese are banded around here its not too uncommon to kill a banded goose. I usually get about 6-7 goose bands a year, but this year I only got 1 and shot more geese than I usually do. The ducks are tough, I've killed 2 banded greenheads but it wasn't like I was glassing their feet for bands or anything, just luck. Both were from Canada so it wasn't like I was hunting close to where they band them with that intent. It'd be interesting to see the statistics of what specie of duck is banded the most of? I'd guess those stats are available somewhere?


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## Jeff Bringhurst (May 20, 2009)

I am 43 years old and I am still waiting for my first duck band. They aren't a trophy for me but I do like that they are reminders of that particular hunt. I have one goose band that I shot with my dad and daughter. It is not much more the a shinny piece of metal with some numbers on it but when I look at it, it reminds me of that day up at BRBR, 3 generations hunting. Great times!!


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## nickpan (May 6, 2008)

Jeff Bringhurst said:


> I am 43 years old and I am still waiting for my first duck band. They aren't a trophy for me but I do like that they are reminders of that particular hunt. I have one goose band that I shot with my dad and daughter. It is not much more the a shinny piece of metal with some numbers on it but when I look at it, it reminds me of that day up at BRBR, 3 generations hunting. Great times!!


Best post i've read in awhile!


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## Bottomwatcher (Jan 21, 2009)

Yep like everyone has said its all luck. My buddy killed 2 banded pintails in our first 3 trips this year. 5 pintails and 2 bands is beyond lucky! Both were from Alberta, Canada one from this year and one from 2006.


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

shaun larsen said:


> paddler213 said:
> 
> 
> > Funny stuff about banded coots. Who in the heck kills 127 coots in one year, and then admits it? Hilarious!!!
> ...


My first reaction to this.... :OX/:

I will say that banded coot is pretty sweet. I shot quite a few at FB, hoping I'd catch one wearing a band so its cool to see they actually did band a few. I think its all luck on the band thing... there's no way I could have intentionally hunted down the chukar I shot (my very first ever) because it was wearing four leg bands.


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## paddler (Jul 17, 2009)

I have three bands total. All just luck. One mallard from Montana, the Rock Lakes area. One banded whitefront, banded in Alaska, killed in Alberta. I forget the third, except it was another greenhead. I do not share the band mentality, ie, that your skill or commitment to waterfowling is measured by how many trinkets are on your lanyard. Rather, I see that mentality as a sign of the times, much like the "Team ******" thing, or the "Pro Staff" thing. Bands are fun because they give information about where and when the bird was banded, but don't mean anything beyond that.


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## utahgolf (Sep 8, 2007)

+1 paddler,

duck bands are cool in my mind cause they're rare and give ya some info about these amazing travelers we harvest. a lot of the guys with these huge laynards shoot property near banding sights and what not. or buy them off ebay. I think most people think the way we do about bands, its the few bad eggs that make people think anyone with a band on their laynard is trying to look cool. I actually think I might take mine off my laynard due to the fact they are annoying and shiny if anything.


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## Guest (Jan 9, 2012)

i alwaysed wanted two shoot a woodie but after seeing mr larsens banded coot now i got one; woodie; you are lucky;


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

shaun larsen said:


> paddler213 said:
> 
> 
> > Funny stuff about banded coots. Who in the heck kills 127 coots in one year, and then admits it? Hilarious!!!
> ...


Duly noted....OK everyone, stop giving shaun larsen a hard time about taking coots.


good grief


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## paddler (Jul 17, 2009)

Duly noted....OK everyone, stop giving shaun larsen a hard time about taking coots.


good grief

Now that's really funny!!!


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Have been on hunts where several goose bands were taken, and a few duck hunts where people got banded birds. It took me 20 years to get my first and only duck band.


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## NothinButGreen (Dec 4, 2010)

Me and Katorade both killed a banded duck this weekend.. You will get one soon buddy! The only way to get one is to keep hunting for it!

And maybe going to church on sunday wouldnt help :O•-:


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## Gaston (Dec 6, 2008)

30 years and lots of ducks and geese later.... 1 duck band and 1 goose band.


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## Skye Hansen (Mar 23, 2009)

Jeff Bringhurst said:


> I am 43 years old and I am still waiting for my first duck band. They aren't a trophy for me but I do like that they are reminders of that particular hunt. I have one goose band that I shot with my dad and daughter. It is not much more the a shinny piece of metal with some numbers on it but when I look at it, it reminds me of that day up at BRBR, 3 generations hunting. Great times!!


That is exactly how I feel. I look at the bands I have and remember the hunt that I was able to obtain the band on. My first goose band came on a day out by myself. I had two geese and got a flock of six to come right in. I picked the biggest goose and let him have it. I have always wondered if the other five birds in the flock had any bands.

And this year I was able to get a duck band. It came off a hen mallard that was shot the end of November and she was banded over 2,000 miles away in August of this year. (Northwest territories) this one makes me wonder how a duck moved that far that fast. I wonder all the time where the ducks that I harvest come from.


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## Pumpgunner (Jan 12, 2010)

Skye Hansen said:


> That is exactly how I feel. I look at the bands I have and remember the hunt that I was able to obtain the band on. My first goose band came on a day out by myself. I had two geese and got a flock of six to come right in. I picked the biggest goose and let him have it. I have always wondered if the other five birds in the flock had any bands.
> 
> And this year I was able to get a duck band. It came off a hen mallard that was shot the end of November and she was banded over 2,000 miles away in August of this year. (Northwest territories) this one makes me wonder how a duck moved that far that fast. I wonder all the time where the ducks that I harvest come from.


Exactly how I feel Skye. The only band I've been lucky enough to get also came from up that way, a drake mallard that was banded on the west end of the Great Slave Lake, also in the Northwest Territories. Nearly 1600 miles in a straight line from where he was shot. It's too bad bands have become a status symbol for some, the stories behind each bird's migrations are far more important than stoking the ego of some glory hunters. I saw a photo the other day of banded eider that someone had taken that was so old the numbers had worn off, wonder how many trips up and down the flyway that old bird had made!


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## NothinButGreen (Dec 4, 2010)

Pumpgunner said:


> Skye Hansen said:
> 
> 
> > That is exactly how I feel. I look at the bands I have and remember the hunt that I was able to obtain the band on. My first goose band came on a day out by myself. I had two geese and got a flock of six to come right in. I picked the biggest goose and let him have it. I have always wondered if the other five birds in the flock had any bands.
> ...


I saw the same thing on a Swan. So freaking cool.


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## Mallardhead12 (Oct 17, 2011)

You guys are awesome!! Ya im not trying to be a cool guy or anything, I just love seeing bands, where they were banded!! And I want to have some memories, for a long time. I guess I could just get a camera!! Haha, but thanks for sharing, and there should have been more caring. ;D Thanks

-Mallardhead12


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## Wounded Coot (Dec 18, 2010)

The band thing
is out of hand.
Why do they still band birds? Is there still valuable, cost effective information gleened from banding? I assume there must be or they wouldn't continue to band them, but I wonder. I helped pick up dead ducks that had died from botulism on the refuge one summer, and I definately picked up plenty of birds with bands, which we recorded. They are interesting, but I don't get the whole testosterone driven need to fill your lanyard.
WC


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Wounded Coot said:


> The band thing
> is out of hand.
> Why do they still band birds? Is there still valuable, cost effective information gleened from banding? They are interesting, but I don't get the whole testosterone driven need to fill your lanyard.
> WC


Yes, valuable information is recorded from reporting bands. It is interesting to see where birds end up, how far they have traveled and how long they have lived.


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## M Gayler (Oct 3, 2010)

****, I just think they look cool on my lanyard next to my,strait meat call :lol:


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## NothinButGreen (Dec 4, 2010)

M Gayler said:


> ****, I just think they look cool on my lanyard next to my,strait meat call :lol:


 _(O)_ Only the best kill bands.


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## hamernhonkers (Sep 28, 2007)

Wounded Coot said:


> The band thing
> is out of hand.
> Why do they still band birds? Is there still valuable, cost effective information gleened from banding? I assume there must be or they wouldn't continue to band them, but I wonder. I helped pick up dead ducks that had died from botulism on the refuge one summer, and I definately picked up plenty of birds with bands, which we recorded. They are interesting, but I don't get the whole testosterone driven need to fill your lanyard.
> WC


Wow I am very surprised you would even ask the question of why do they still band birds :?

Our environment is ever changing and with it the patterns and survival rates of the birds are changing. Banding provides valuable information as to what is happening to the birds as their patterns and movements change. Banding should never go away, it is a very cost effective way to determine movements of birds by hunters and others who take the time to honestly report the locations of banded birds.

What really just baffles me about this thread is how some are demonizing bands. I will proudly say I now have 54 Canada goose bands, 1 Snow Goose band and 3 duck bands. I have been dam lucky to get that many bands in 25 years of hunting and I am grateful for everyone on them.

My bands do hang on a lanyard with a couple of old calls in my gun room. Every certificate is proudly displayed on my wall. I love to go down into my gun room and just look at those certificates and wonder why birds do what they do.

For example why would an entire flock of geese leave all that great country along the Front Range in Colorado and fly over the Rocky Mountains to Utah??? I got lucky and killed three of them in one day. All three were banded in June in Colorado and shot the second day of the season in Utah.....it just makes you wonder.

My first banded goose was killed the 3rd to last day of the season....it was 10 below and a blizzard....I snuck over a hill on a small seasonal lake on three head of geese.....when I got to the top of the hill the birds were only 15 yards and I could see the band on the one so I pulled the gun up and ground checked him and then took a second on the wing and was done as the limit was only 2 back then. This bird was banded 12 years earlier on Summer Lake in Oregon.

Just this year I finally got a banded snow goose. This goose was banded in August of this year and had flown 2500 miles from Nunavut Canada in just 3 months....I will admit that when the dog came in and I realized it was banded I was shaking with excitement. When I got home I reported the band and got the dreaded email that they did not have the information on where it was banded yet because I may have entered the information wrong or the sender may not have submitted it yet.....my heart sunk as it was killing me wanting to know just how far this bird may have flown. Two days later (felt like forever) I got the email. I was texting like a mad man telling everyone about this bird came from. I can honestly say I spent a solid 10 hours of internet time learning about Nunavut Canada and looking at Google earth.

I could type pages of this for you guys.

Just because some jack asses out there believe that having a lanyard full of bands makes them look like a great hunter and will do whatever it takes to have that full lanyard is no reason to demonize the purpose behind the banding programs or not to appreciate the fact that when we do kill one, we get this amazing information about where that bird has been and how long it has survived. It allows us to try to use our imaginations to understand just what that bird has seen and gone through in its time.

Shawn that coot band is way cool! Congrats on such a rare band. Do you think that bird has ever been outside of Utah in those years???? It really makes you wonder don't it???
Mallardhead one day you will get that first band I would put money it will be a day you never forget.

Good luck to you and everyone else out there. It is a great feeling and honor to get to have that little sneak peek into the life of that bird!


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## NothinButGreen (Dec 4, 2010)

hamernhonkers said:


> Wounded Coot said:
> 
> 
> > Shawn that coot band is way cool! Congrats on such a rare band. Do you think that bird has ever been outside of Utah in those years???? It really makes you wonder don't it???
> ...


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

Here is the DWR's video on bird banding: 




I still can't believe that a coot banded in UT was shot 1400 miles away! It really makes you appreciate them a little more, doesn't it?


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## shaun larsen (Aug 5, 2011)

so what do they do with the birds they catch that have a band on them already? is that where the double banded ones come from? or do they pull it off, report it, and put a new one on?


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## hamernhonkers (Sep 28, 2007)

shaun larsen said:


> so what do they do with the birds they catch that have a band on them already? is that where the double banded ones come from? or do they pull it off, report it, and put a new one on?


Someone might need to correct me but it just gets reported and released. The double or second bands are reward bands or color bands to either get people to call them in or to be able to see them from a far.


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

I think hamernhonkers is probably right about the double bands. My double banded goose had a normal band on one leg and a bright yellow band with no lettering on the other. Does anyone know what the yellow band signifies?


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## shaun larsen (Aug 5, 2011)

Clarq said:


> I think hamernhonkers is probably right about the double bands. My double banded goose had a normal band on one leg and a bright yellow band with no lettering on the other. Does anyone know what the yellow band signifies?


they put red bands on the young birds and yellow bands on the adult birds when they band them in some cases. not sure why, but i know thats what they mean.


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

shaun larsen said:


> Clarq said:
> 
> 
> > I think hamernhonkers is probably right about the double bands. My double banded goose had a normal band on one leg and a bright yellow band with no lettering on the other. Does anyone know what the yellow band signifies?
> ...


That's weird. When I got my certificate it said it was a first year bird.


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## katorade (Sep 23, 2007)

The banded birds, with the yellow Tarsal bands are nuisance geese down in the city and are released out away from the city I believe, I can't remember if it's young or old birds. I think thats what i heard.


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

Hooray! Now I know that the goose I shot was a first year city bird. What a trophy.


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## shaun larsen (Aug 5, 2011)

Clarq said:


> shaun larsen said:
> 
> 
> > Clarq said:
> ...


maybe its the other way around then. but it does signify age for some reason or another


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

hamernhonkers said:


> shaun larsen said:
> 
> 
> > so what do they do with the birds they catch that have a band on them already? is that where the double banded ones come from? or do they pull it off, report it, and put a new one on?
> ...


Hamernhonkers yes they report them and then release them again.They do replace them when you can not read the numbers.

shaun larsen that the only 2nd banded coot that I have heard that been taken.the first one was killed in IOWA if I reamber right. It was killed the first year they banded the coots at fb.I all was looking for bands on coots out at fb. I want one. I think it cool to have a band from a coot.


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

shaun larsen said:


> Clarq said:
> 
> 
> > I think hamernhonkers is probably right about the double bands. My double banded goose had a normal band on one leg and a bright yellow band with no lettering on the other. Does anyone know what the yellow band signifies?
> ...


Shaun yes the red band was put on the adult birds and the yellow on the juv birds. All birds that was caught in the city had the yellow or red band put on them.That way they can see them when they are standing out of the water and then they know it was caught in the city.That all that band is for.


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

Clarq said:


> Here is the DWR's video on bird banding:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks for post that up.That was pretty cool to watch.


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## 1BandMan (Nov 2, 2007)

Coots are a pretty weird bird. When I was young, I thought since they never fly and just show up one day that they must grow off the bottom of the ponds and lakes. And because they grew off the bottom of the lake was also the reason they are black with fluorescent green feet.

They do migrate great distances and usually fly at night. Banded or not, I still wouldn't shoot one though. If I did I'd have to mount it because I certainly wouldn't eat it or give it away to someone.

Bands.......the topic of the thread...... My handle is 1bandman. Its a play on words of sorts, you know 1bandman vs. 1manband, nothing more. For me bands are OK and mark a day out in the marsh with a memory, but certainly not a be all to end all for sure. I don't hunt bands, I hunt waterfowl. If a band shows up, great, it again marks a day in the marsh with an added memory of the hunt. In my eyes, it certainly doesn't signify the skill of the hunter. My bands are in a shell box with the certificates in an unused shotgun shell tote not around my neck for a display or for bragging rights. 95% of them were banded here in Utah leading me to believe that the data is correct and 95% of the geese we hunt are local birds hatched right here in Utah. 
It's not a mystery to solve or skill or whatever to put a bird down with a band on its leg. In Utah, at least, if you hunt an area that the birds that were banded use, you kill banded birds, that simple. People and geese are a lot alike, they are creatures of habit. Banders band in the same areas. Birds fly in the same areas and do the same things year after year as long as there is a reason not to. 
If you know a place that people shoot a lot of banded birds and like bands, hunt there. If your a band hunter rather than waterfowl hunter and kill a banded goose, go back and hit it again asap as the odds of you killing another banded bird from the same family flock will remain high unless for some reason you blew them out of the area or field. That is why when you see bands in a park there are usually multiples from being banded from the same flock........ also simple to figure out and simple logic. 

On a rare occasion, there is a duck or goose that is shot that was banded a ways away. Total luck of the draw and accident. Very few bands come from distances of much over 3 or 4 hundred miles.......at least in my experience and still not real far like Montana or North Dakota.


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## Bottomwatcher (Jan 21, 2009)

On a rare occasion, there is a duck or goose that is shot that was banded a ways away. Total luck of the draw and accident. Very few bands come from distances of much over 3 or 4 hundred miles.......at least in my experience and still not real far like Montana or North Dakota.[/quote]
I agree with you on the geese but in the 12 duck bands that have been shot out of my blind none of them were local birds and only one of them was banded closer than 400 miles.


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## 1BandMan (Nov 2, 2007)

True......for the most part. I have killed ducks that have been banded locally though but at a much lesser percentage than the geese. I was talking mainly about geese in my reply. 
Ducks are harder to predict and have less tendancy to do the same thing over and over, but do seem to fly the same routes every year similarly to geese, unless their are reasons not to.


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