dispatching waterfowl

[gcs71]

what method do you folks use to dispatch dying birds that is humane and quick? I am starting to take my daughter and she doesnt quite like like the somewhat cruel methods I was brought up using. Is there any quick and soft methods? I do not want to turm her off from fowling nor do I want her to someday discourage my grandchildren from waterfowling. The old step on the head or strangle doesnt seem to work for her. I have wondered if stun guns at the head may finish off birds quickly and neatly would work.

[greenhead rocker]

We just do the old "ring their neck" trick. Pretty quick and relatively easy. I saw something in Macks one time called the radicator or something. It looked like a large pair of wire strippers. It supposedly breaks their necks without breaking the skin, so there's no chance of the head coming off the body like the old "ring their neck" trick sometimes causes when you get a little excited...haha.

[hossman]

Take a 2 3/4'' #2's steel load and shoot them like a turkey, Right in the head. :lol: My best friend and I call them finisher loads. Sometimes we do this if we have wounded geese and need to finish them off quickly or if we only wing shot them and we think they will start runnin' if we go and try to grab them. Usually we wring their necks but sometimes we also use the other method I mentioned above. An old hunting buddy once said to me ''Why run after them when my shells go faster'' :lol: :lol: :lol: Hope this helps, :D :D :D :D :D

[WGM-57]

Bought one of them radicators from Macks 3-4 years ago. Thought it would be a good tool. Didn't work at all, bent the handles on it and didn't even hurt the goose. Might work on pheasants or quail, not heavy enough for geese.

[HRK]

not really a quick and simple way, if she doesn't like the ringing the neck thing.......just pop em in the tater like hossman said...........just not to close or you'll end up with a bird with no brains seriously....thats worse to see than ringing the neck for a young one. wished i had a better answer for you......without being blunt, she needs to understand this is part of waterfowling that euthinizing the game as quickly as possible is only humane and ethical, no matter how its done.

[RidgeNelson]

Shoot it again...

[Killer Miller]

I'm with WGM. My buddy had one of those "Radicators" and we had a crippled goose on the first day of early season a few years back. I ended up ringing its neck, because the radicator wouldn't kill the bird.

WOuld you consider biting their heads? :lol: But really, it works. I bit of few mallard skulls this year. You'll feel the skull break in and it will kill the bird quickly. You gotta use your mullers. You could probably do it without your daughter even seeing. But if she sees you doing it, that probably wouldn't be the best deal.

[Jayson Wilt]

I use my teeth as well....Your daughter may not like but my son thinks it is the coolest thing out there....

[h20fowler]

I am going to agree, and also disagree.

I to am a fan of a swatter load. However I have found that lighter loads with more pellets usually dispatches game faster than a larger shot size. A 2/34 load of 1ounce 6 shot works great. Tends to have a shorter, denser shot string insuring a solid hit. But like I said. In my use.

You have to keep in mind that a cripple duck on the water has most of it's vitals under water. The head is small target.

[farmerkuk]

Bite there skull!!

I dig the sound of there pea brain crushing!!

[Killer Miller]

Yep, it seems like ducks and geese are shot proof when they are "snaking" in the water crippled. I found out this year that 4's or even 2's work well for water haul loads through a patternmaster, since it holds such a tight pattern downrange.

[Foilesmigrator92]

Just shoot it one more time is what I do

[MNGooseSlayer]

something about ringing their neck, i was hunting and i shot my first duck of the season,a bluewing, and i crippled it. I was excited that i got him and i chased him down. I rung his neck and the next thing i know the head is in my hand and the body is 20 feet away :lol:

[xtrema312]

My 1 1/16 oz. 1550 fps #4 2 3/4" RSI duck load takes care of the geese and the ducks on the water. At $7 a box I can swat a lot of geese.

Next year I am going to take a 12" section of 3/4" copper tube put a cap on the end, fill it with lead shot or some melted down weights I have laying around and then cap the other end and tape it up with camo tape. Then drill a hole for a wrist rope to keep track of it. I am even thinking about wrapping some of that shrinking plumbing tape on it for a grip. No rust and it will sure crush a bird scull with one swipe. It will be a couple extra pounds in the gear bag, but worth it if I want to save a buck on ammo.

[spaightlabs]

put tuck the head under the wing, put the bird on its breast and kneel with all of you weight between the wings. This will suffocate the bird so it isn't the fastest method, but it isn't as macabre as wringing the neck, and it gets the job done.