Took a Merganser
07-16-2020, 03:10 PM
#11
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: south eastern PA
Posts: 15,426
Oldtimr is right. Not trying to be rude, but it is just plain wrong to shoot something just for target practice.
I admit, I was wrong to do it myself, and I learned my lesson.
It is VERY wasteful to shoot something that you dont need to use. If you are going to take an animal, you need to use as much of it as possible and not be wasteful. Target practice is NOT an excuse to shoot an animal.
We are stewards of this planet. As such, we as humans can use the resources around us like the animals (the ones we can legally take,) for our needs. HOWEVER, we also have the responsibility to maintain those resources for future generations.
If we take an animal, and have no need of the resources it provides, we are being wasteful.
In a nutshell, only take what you plan to use.
Jared
I admit, I was wrong to do it myself, and I learned my lesson.
It is VERY wasteful to shoot something that you dont need to use. If you are going to take an animal, you need to use as much of it as possible and not be wasteful. Target practice is NOT an excuse to shoot an animal.
We are stewards of this planet. As such, we as humans can use the resources around us like the animals (the ones we can legally take,) for our needs. HOWEVER, we also have the responsibility to maintain those resources for future generations.
If we take an animal, and have no need of the resources it provides, we are being wasteful.
In a nutshell, only take what you plan to use.
Jared
07-18-2020, 01:14 AM
#12
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: west central wi USA
Posts: 2,242
Hunting can be legitimately defended. Killing something just because it's moving cannot. It shows a lack of respect and indifference to life which is reprehensible. It also gives anti-hunting groups more ammunition.
07-19-2020, 05:53 AM
#13
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 381
Exactly! We can’t shoot everything that moves thinking it’s what we want to shoot. It’s unethical and wasteful.
07-20-2020, 09:01 AM
#14
Spike
Join Date: Jul 2020
Posts: 31
Woops I guess I should have put an lol at the end of that to show I was not being serious. A lot of people joke about that up here that that is all that they are good for but no one actively trys to shoot them. I wouldn't want to waste the cost of a shell on them personally. The only species of animals that should be shot if you dont intend on eating them or putting them to use are invasive like starlings.
07-22-2020, 05:44 AM
#15
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Eastern PA
Posts: 12,745
I've heard it said that the best way to cook merganser is to season it heavily, lay it on a board and bake at 350* for 2 hours, remove from oven, throw away the merganser and eat the board.
As for shooting wildlife for practice I am wondering why there is no season for cormorants? These fish eating birds are all over around here wherever there is fish holding water. They do a number on the fishery. I'm sure they taste as bad as mergansers but they should be culled.
Fact is that is some areas they are: https://lancasteronline.com/sports/m...2705c1d8b.html
However, reading this article I noted that the federal agents culling the cormorants are using small caliber air rifles with pellets! Funny how we must use steel shot but these guys are using lead pellets to cull these birds.
As for shooting wildlife for practice I am wondering why there is no season for cormorants? These fish eating birds are all over around here wherever there is fish holding water. They do a number on the fishery. I'm sure they taste as bad as mergansers but they should be culled.
Fact is that is some areas they are: https://lancasteronline.com/sports/m...2705c1d8b.html
However, reading this article I noted that the federal agents culling the cormorants are using small caliber air rifles with pellets! Funny how we must use steel shot but these guys are using lead pellets to cull these birds.
Last edited by bronko22000; 07-22-2020 at 05:52 AM.
03-21-2021, 10:53 AM
#17
Spike
Join Date: Mar 2021
Location: Nevada
Posts: 18
Boneless and skinless merg breast...pound thin with a mallet. Flop in instant potato buds, they have many flavors. Pan fry until it looks like a lil chicken fried steak,,,gravy, the leftover instant spuds and veg.
We try not to shoot mergs, but it happens especially in the gloom. If you can't eat them because of pickiness, feed them to the dog..intentionally wasting them is lame and illegal.
Anybody who thinks they can identify all birds while pass shooting them in early light and them moving 60mph+ is wrong, obviously.
We try not to shoot mergs, but it happens especially in the gloom. If you can't eat them because of pickiness, feed them to the dog..intentionally wasting them is lame and illegal.
Anybody who thinks they can identify all birds while pass shooting them in early light and them moving 60mph+ is wrong, obviously.
03-21-2021, 12:42 PM
#18
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: south eastern PA
Posts: 15,426
The solution for that is if you don't know what they are don't shoot them. Mergansers don't fly like other ducks and they look different in the air than puddle ducks and other, even in poor light just like Cormorants, if you can see them you can tell if they are mergansers. I have been hunting ducks for a long time and I know a merganser in the air before it is in gun range. Some people can stomach them just like some people can stomach Coots. I am not one of those people so I just flat don't shoot them! If I have to go through all kinds of antics to make something that tastes like crap taste like a fart so it isn't as bad I let them go on by.
Last edited by Oldtimr; 03-21-2021 at 12:46 PM.
03-21-2021, 01:06 PM
#19
Spike
Join Date: Mar 2021
Location: Nevada
Posts: 18
The solution for that is if you don't know what they are don't shoot them. Mergansers don't fly like other ducks and they look different in the air than puddle ducks and other, even in poor light just like Cormorants, if you can see them you can tell if they are mergansers. I have been hunting ducks for a long time and I know a merganser in the air before it is in gun range. Some people can stomach them just like some people can stomach Coots. I am not one of those people so I just flat don't shoot them! If I have to go through all kinds of antics to make something that tastes like crap taste like a fart so it isn't as bad I let them go on by.
I would prefer incidental shooting of them and either make awesome chicken fried merg or make dog treats right then and there. Cause, shooting them is fun albiet a tad disappointing when retrieved.
Nobody I have ever hunted with and there have been many, can always identify all birds without fail...always. We don't shoot over dekes, I can see how doing that would make ID easy peasy. Our birds are typically streaking down the river or pouring it on over the dikes and we are only human, thankfully.
03-21-2021, 03:39 PM
#20
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: south eastern PA
Posts: 15,426
You are not a hunter you are a killer who doesn't care what you shoot. I can see that it was a mistake to even respond to your utter nonsense. BTW, I have hunted waterfowl longer that you have and anyone who wants to learn how to ID ducks in the air can do so and your cavalier attitude does not reflect well on hunters. So, blather on to impress yourself, I doubt you are impressing anyone else here.
