I am only 18, but have been waterfowl hunting since I was 10. My brother and started to really get into it about 4 years ago. A fishing guide around here even asked my brother to do some waterfowl guiding for him in the fall, so we have definetely shot out share of ducks and geese. I would have to say....I've probably shot....300 ducks in my life? Maybe 50 geese, my brother is way way above that, and I am yet to get a band! Well sorda, on my calls, I have......4 bands. One is from a honker that was banded by a farmer I think (it's really crude looking and has some numbers scratched into it) so it's not a real banded bird by a refuge or anything. Well I shoot him out of a flock of some other geese. I have one band from the avery decoys that I put on it for looks (I know it's like I'm cheating). I found one band up at Sand Lake Refuge outside the headquarters that someone must have dropped. Sofar I am like 0-3, I guess I did shoot that honker. Now heres the really odd one, I run track, and my coach sent me out on a 8 mile run one day for practice, well I am told to go out to this house and turn around and come back, well as I am doing so, I see a dead duck that was hit by a car or someting on the road. As I am about to run by it I am thinking "man that would be cool if it had a band on it!" sure enough, I look down, and on this hen mallard is a big ole band sticking up in the air. Well I finished my run, went home, grabbed the pliers and ripped er off. I have probably shot some in my life, but my brother and some of the guys I hunt with like to claim every band that is shot as theirs. You guys know the type of people, so I don't even want to argue and I just let them have it.