# Mergansers



## homey (Sep 17, 2012)

Why do you shoot them?


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## ThunderRoad (Sep 17, 2012)

They are legal, they are ducks, and they are pretty.


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## ThunderRoad (Sep 17, 2012)

And if prepared correctly, they are NOT bad to eat. My friend makes fajitas out of everything we kill mixed together(gansers,ringers,honkers,etc.) and its delicious. I cannot cook but I will eat em if he makes it!


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## stringmusic (Sep 17, 2012)

ThunderRoad said:


> They are legal, they are ducks, and they are pretty.



x2!


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## levi5002 (Sep 17, 2012)

Bang...splash....."levi"....good dog.


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## B.Hud (Sep 17, 2012)

levi5002 said:


> Bang...splash....."levi"....good dog.



x2 good dog work if nothing else


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## 01Foreman400 (Sep 17, 2012)

If your hunting in a flyaway let them go.  In Georgia when nothing else is really coming in......shoot what's legal.

I'm not above shooting them.


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## rnelson5 (Sep 17, 2012)

The question is why not??


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## ThunderRoad (Sep 17, 2012)

01Foreman400 said:


> If your hunting in a *flyaway* let them go.



Georgia is a flyaway. The ducks _fly away_ from our borders


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## LipRip'r (Sep 17, 2012)

rnelson5 said:


> The question is why not??



^This.  What say you homey??


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## ThunderRoad (Sep 17, 2012)

LipRip'r said:


> ^This.  What say you homey??



Homey dont play that game


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## bkl021475 (Sep 17, 2012)

ThunderRoad said:


> They are legal, they are ducks, and they are pretty.



Nothing wrong with shooting them! Mergansers are actually not listed as a duck. You have geese, ducks and mergansers, but they do count against your duck limit.


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## Boudreaux (Sep 17, 2012)

Bored

Good target practice

The property owner who lets me hunt his property likes to fish the ponds, and they eat his fish, so he asks me to shoot them if I see them.

Good for training dummies for the dog

They do not count against your duck limit.  Mergansers have their own limit, just as geese have their own bag limit.  http://www.gohuntgeorgia.com/sites/...ng/pdf/regulations/Waterfowl pub2012-2013.pdf


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## LipRip'r (Sep 17, 2012)

bkl021475 said:


> Nothing wrong with shooting them! Mergansers are actually not listed as a duck. You have geese, ducks and mergansers, but they do count against your duck limit.



No, they don't count against your duck limit.  If they did, I might understand the op's question


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## Headsortails (Sep 17, 2012)

If you eat them, shoot them. I don't eat them so I don't shoot them. My dogs get enough work without them.


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## bkl021475 (Sep 17, 2012)

LipRip'r said:


> No, they don't count against your duck limit.  If they did, I might understand the op's question



Well the GW told me one then, didn't know that.


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## ngaduck (Sep 17, 2012)

A lot of GW aren't up to speed on waterfowl regs. It's understandable though. They're written in a very confusing way, and GA ain't exactly a waterfowl state.


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## WOODIE13 (Sep 18, 2012)

I mix them in with those nasty puddlers, no one knows the difference, add about 15 coot, G2G


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## king killer delete (Sep 18, 2012)

*Lot more duck in Fla*



Headsortails said:


> If you eat them, shoot them. I don't eat them so I don't shoot them. My dogs get enough work without them.



 Than Ga.


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## king killer delete (Sep 18, 2012)

*Thank you.*



ngaduck said:


> A lot of GW aren't up to speed on waterfowl regs. It's understandable though. They're written in a very confusing way, and GA ain't exactly a waterfowl state.


 I have only said that Ga is not a waterfowl state for 40 years. But DNR did bring back the Canada Goose.


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## vrooom (Sep 18, 2012)

And I think they regret it


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## wray912 (Sep 18, 2012)

eat good shoot good look good...trophies are in the eyes of the shooter not the world


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## king killer delete (Sep 18, 2012)

*Yea I saw you kill a cripple*



wray912 said:


> eat good shoot good look good...trophies are in the eyes of the shooter not the world


 By bitting his head off. A big common.


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## rdnckrbby (Sep 18, 2012)

killer elite said:


> By bitting his head off. A big common.



And he's had dragon breathe ever since that day. Stupid mistake.


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## wray912 (Sep 18, 2012)




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## homey (Sep 18, 2012)

Headsortails said:


> If you eat them, shoot them. I don't eat them so I don't shoot them. My dogs get enough work without them.



Thats my theory exactly


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## king killer delete (Sep 19, 2012)

*Long as its legal*



homey said:


> Thats my theory exactly


 Im gona shootem. Im glad that you folks got enough ducks that you do not have to shootem. On the coast we are scratchin out what we can get. I do not waste anything. I huntem because they decoy well, they look great on the wall and I have a black lab that will bite you over a Merg breast. That is a part of diver hunting that you puddle boys dont know about. Allot of folks will say your shooting trash. Well somebody needs to take out the trash and I dont mind.  Now when I get a chance to shoot something else I will givem a break. For the most part you can see all the problems that happen on Altamaha and that is one of the few spots you can hunt and maybe not kill a Merg. But for the rest of the coast its Woodys up river and in the swamp. Mergs and buffys in the salt. Teal in the early season. And thats it. Now for you folks that go to ARK, MS, LA and TX. That live in west GA. its 6 hours for some of you folks to make it to the Mississippi. It 5 hours any way you go to get out of Ga from where I live to go those places. Fl and SC dont count. So we will keep shotin the mergs and duck hunting cause for the most part thats all we got.Good lusk and good hunting.


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## king killer delete (Sep 19, 2012)

*The farmers do.*



vrooom said:


> And I think they regret it



I love to shootem.


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## Public Land Prowler (Sep 19, 2012)

Because they are fun to shoot..Because they are pretty..Because they taste good if you know how to cook em..Because they dont go against your limit of 6 ducks...and because they all look the same before LST?hahaha I kid I kid..


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## copperheadmike (Sep 19, 2012)

I reckon one reason I shoot them is the same reason I shoot crows, coyotes, and neighborhood cats, because I can't shoot stupid people unless they are breaking into my home or otherwise harming me... No, but seriously, they do taste as good as many ducks and are fun to hunt. Also, as many have already mentioned, when it is all that comes into the decoys, it is kinda nice to take a shot. Especially with as much work as it is to get to a good spot, set out decoys, brush in, and sit through the cold. I have sat in a blind and watched Mergs swim around the decoys before, neat to watch them but I do get tired of listening to Cash cry and whine. He doesn't know the difference. Ole dogs eyes can't distinguish species too well.


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## CootCartel (Sep 19, 2012)

they decoy very well, that is fun to watch em land


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## grunter (Sep 20, 2012)

I wish I knew how to cook em so they'd taste good. tried a few times and couldnt choke em down, my dog didnt seem to mind tho. 
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I think the drakes have a certain pretty to em, but there aint nothing pretty about those hens! it's true about them decoying like champs, and after a long morning, I'm gonna bust whatever sits in the dekes, duck or merg


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## wray912 (Sep 20, 2012)

grunter said:


> I wish I knew how to cook em so they'd taste good. tried a few times and couldnt choke em down, my dog didnt seem to mind tho.
> Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I think the drakes have a certain pretty to em, but there aint nothing pretty about those hens! it's true about them decoying like champs, and after a long morning, I'm gonna bust whatever sits in the dekes, duck or merg



let em sit in a cooler with alot of ice and pour the water out regularly for a couple of days just like you bleed deer meat....then soak em in Italian dressing(or whatever marinade you like) wrap in bacon with cream cheese(or just more bacon) grill until done if you still dont like em dont shoot or bring em to me


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## wray912 (Sep 20, 2012)

you can also boil them in vinegar and the fry them


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## emusmacker (Sep 20, 2012)

homey said:


> Thats my theory exactly



I don't eat coyotes or armadillos or rats but I shoot them.  Why the big deal about mergs?


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## king killer delete (Sep 20, 2012)

*I have eaten*



wray912 said:


> you can also boil them in vinegar and the fry them


 His boiled dog and its not bad. (Hot Dog)


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## king killer delete (Sep 20, 2012)

*Ed*



emusmacker said:


> I don't eat coyotes or armadillos or rats but I shoot them.  Why the big deal about mergs?


 Dont let nothin get off the plate.


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## Nicodemus (Sep 20, 2012)

We dressed and cooked one with a bunch of wood ducks and couldnt tell it from the rest. Floured, fried, and simmered down in gravy. It was good.


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## king killer delete (Sep 20, 2012)

*And they say Im old school.*



Nicodemus said:


> We dressed and cooked one with a bunch of wood ducks and couldnt tell it from the rest. Floured, fried, and simmered down in gravy. It was good.


 Thats a good one. I will try it this year.


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## Swampmaster55 (Sep 20, 2012)

it is a duck...and i'm duck hunting...therefore, it gets its butt popped.


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## across the river (Sep 20, 2012)

Nicodemus said:


> We dressed and cooked one with a bunch of wood ducks and couldnt tell it from the rest. Floured, fried, and simmered down in gravy. It was good.



You must have cooked them in old fish grease.


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## Nicodemus (Sep 20, 2012)

across the river said:


> You must have cooked them in old fish grease.





Nope.


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## CootCartel (Sep 20, 2012)

they taste great grilled with orange slices...


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## Dupree (Sep 20, 2012)

I kill em. That's 5 extra birds for the day.


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## creekrocket (Sep 20, 2012)

Nicodemus said:


> We dressed and cooked one with a bunch of wood ducks and couldnt tell it from the rest. Floured, fried, and simmered down in gravy. It was good.



Nic,, you know dern well, you can fry a t*rd and make it taste good.


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## Dupree (Sep 20, 2012)

creekrocket said:


> Nic,, you know dern well, you can fry a t*rd and make it taste good.



Which means there is no reason not to shoot them!


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## ICU2012 (Sep 22, 2012)

Ill share my super secret merganser ala twist recipe. First step is soak how many breasts you got in buttermilk for 24 hours. Get a cedar grilling plank, if you can't find cedar go to home depot and get a piece of 1x10 white spruce. now cover the breasts with salt, pepper, garlic, and a little bit of extra extra virgin olive oil. Take some bay leafs, soak em in water and lay on top of the plank. Lightly drizzle the leaves with the same oil and extra seasoning . Place the breasts on top and grill at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until cooked to desired temp. make sure all the juices  are clear and have soaked the bay leaves. Take the breasts and dump into trash can, commence to eating cedar board and bay leaves. warning, both may have a fishy taste!


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## panfried0419 (Sep 22, 2012)

Since I don't eat them I don't shoot them. I'm a Woody hunter myself. They are beautiful birds.


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## Turkey Trax (Sep 22, 2012)

Nicodemus said:


> We dressed and cooked one with a bunch of wood ducks and couldnt tell it from the rest. Floured, fried, and simmered down in gravy. It was good.



dang Mr. Nic, i cant imagine not being able to tell the difference. ive tried 2. won't anymore.


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## turkeys101 (Sep 22, 2012)

its a duck, its duck seasn, its not wood duck season or mallard season


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## Woods Savvy (Sep 22, 2012)

Old people have lost there taste buds.


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## killerv (Sep 23, 2012)

I had a buddy a couple of seasons ago that wanted one to mount really bad. So I took him, they decoy very well. Beautiful birds and make awesome mounts. Personally, I won't eat them, any bird that stinks so bad you can smell it 10ft away, no way! 

http://s286.photobucket.com/albums/ll96/thekillerv/?action=view&current=DSC_0705.jpg


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## king killer delete (Sep 25, 2012)

*That is for sure!*



Woods Savvy said:


> Old people have lost there taste buds.


 They sho dont taste like corn fed mallards. LOL/LOL/LOL


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## wray912 (Sep 25, 2012)

they tasted bad to people because thats their mindset if you believe it will taste bad then it will....this is a proven fact


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## Corey (Sep 25, 2012)

Same reason you shoot coots.


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## king killer delete (Sep 25, 2012)

Take my word for it this man dont shoot no coots.


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## emusmacker (Sep 25, 2012)

Killer, only because you don't ever see any when hunting.


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## georgiaboy94 (Sep 25, 2012)

One time, I killed a lawn dart and when I picked it up I noticed something hanging out of the corner his mouth. I pulled it out and low and behold, it was a 2 inch tadpole. That pretty much justified me not eating them.  Plus they stink pretty bad. I still shoot them if starts getting kind of slow though.


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## Nicodemus (Sep 25, 2012)

georgiaboy94 said:


> One time, I killed a lawn dart and when I picked it up I noticed something hanging out of the corner his mouth. I pulled it out and low and behold, it was a 2 inch tadpole. That pretty much justified me not eating them.  Plus they stink pretty bad. I still shoot them if starts getting kind of slow though.



Do you like turkey and chicken? How about pork?


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## georgiaboy94 (Sep 25, 2012)

Nicodemus said:


> Do you like turkey and chicken? How about pork?



Sure do . I know what they eat and I know what mergansers eat. I have cleaned pigs, turkeys, and all sorts of birds, and none of them have smelled like a fish...except a merganser  .


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## Nicodemus (Sep 25, 2012)

georgiaboy94 said:


> Sure do . I know what they eat and I know what mergansers eat. I have cleaned pigs, turkeys, and all sorts of birds, and none of them have smelled like a fish...except a merganser  .




They eat a lot worse than a tadpole.


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## Nicodemus (Sep 25, 2012)

To be honest, I`ve never been able to make a ringer or bluebill fit to eat.


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## WOODIE13 (Sep 25, 2012)

Just mix them all together, divers, puddlers, coots and mergs


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## king killer delete (Sep 25, 2012)

*Man that hurts.*



emusmacker said:


> Killer, only because you don't ever see any when hunting.


 And i thought we were buds.LOL/LOL/Lol/


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## emusmacker (Sep 25, 2012)

georgiaboy94 said:


> Sure do . I know what they eat and I know what mergansers eat. I have cleaned pigs, turkeys, and all sorts of birds, and none of them have smelled like a fish...except a merganser  .



Do you eat fish?


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## emusmacker (Sep 25, 2012)

killer elite said:


> And i thought we were buds.LOL/LOL/Lol/



We is friends, but I ain't gonna tell no lies even for my buds.


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## tpj070 (Sep 26, 2012)

they taste and smell awful when cooking them so i just shoot them and give them to the less fortunate to eat


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## georgiaboy94 (Sep 26, 2012)

emusmacker said:


> Do you eat fish?



Would you eat a steak that smelled like fish?


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## The Flying Duckman (Sep 26, 2012)

Don't know about a Merg., but I have ate Coot and it wasn't bad.  It was marinated over night in Teryaki and garlic and then fried in bacon grease.  Only problem I had with the coot, it was a whole lot of work for a little bitty breast.


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## georgiaboy94 (Sep 26, 2012)

Never eaten a coot but can't imagine they would be to bad. There diet consist of aquatic vegetation, just like most divers.


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## WOODIE13 (Sep 26, 2012)

georgiaboy94 said:


> Never eaten a coot but can't imagine they would be to bad. There diet consist of aquatic vegetation, just like most divers.


 
They are actually pretty good, fried some up a month ago my nephew shot during youth season.

http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=705534&highlight=coot


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## mauser64 (Sep 26, 2012)

If it flies and dies I'll shoot it just to see Jack the dog go pick it up and bring it back! All within the law of course.


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## Dupree (Sep 26, 2012)

georgiaboy94 said:


> Sure do . I know what they eat and I know what mergansers eat. I have cleaned pigs, turkeys, and all sorts of birds, and none of them have smelled like a fish...except a merganser  .



The meat doesn't smell like fish, only the guts. I mix them with everything else and it all gets eaten, even by non duck hunters. I don't tell people I amfeeding them mergansers, and they don't have a clue.


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## trophyslayer (Sep 26, 2012)

^^^^^ what powerstroked said


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## WOODIE13 (Sep 26, 2012)

4x4powerstrokesd said:


> The meat doesn't smell like fish, only the guts. I mix them with everything else and it all gets eaten, even by non duck hunters. I don't tell people I amfeeding them mergansers, and they don't have a clue.


 

Yep, said it twice already

Now coots, they eat real nice.


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## nrohrbach (Sep 27, 2012)

Here's a good reason


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## emusmacker (Sep 28, 2012)

georgiaboy94 said:


> Would you eat a steak that smelled like fish?



yep, I like fish.  I'd also eat a fish that smelled like chicken.


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## drdarby45 (Sep 29, 2012)

They're usually not to hard to get rid of at a ghetto gas station or a home depot parking lot


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## badhaircut13 (Sep 29, 2012)

drdarby45 said:


> They're usually not to hard to get rid of at a ghetto gas station or a home depot parking lot




Ha ha x2


Or just toss 'em in the ditch on the ride home.


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## tpj070 (Sep 29, 2012)

take them and the gar down to the hood you can even sell them for a little bit of cash


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## king killer delete (Sep 30, 2012)

nrohrbach said:


> Here's a good reason


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## Dupree (Sep 30, 2012)

badhaircut13 said:


> Ha ha x2
> 
> 
> Or just toss 'em in the ditch on the ride home.



You shouldnt be shooting them if you are just going to throw them away.


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## badhaircut13 (Oct 3, 2012)

4x4powerstrokesd said:


> You shouldnt be shooting them if you are just going to throw them away.



I figured that would stir somebody up.


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## duck-dawg (Oct 3, 2012)

If you eat them, want a few for the wall, or shoot one occasionally to use for dog training, have at it. Just because the bag limit is 5 mergansers doesn't mean you're entitled to shoot 5 mergansers...if you're not doing anything with the birds, just shooting them for fun, that's considered wanton waste of waterfowl and is illegal. I've watched way too many idiots terrorize the mergansers or waterswat their limit of coots only to leave them to rot, and justify it by saying "well the limit is 5/15 per person, so I'm allowed to kill that many birds..."  No, you're allowed to harvest that many birds, meaning kill, AND attempt to recover, AND utilize those birds.


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## king killer delete (Oct 7, 2012)

My dog loves the breast grilled.


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## LipRip'r (Oct 8, 2012)

badhaircut13 said:


> I figured that would stir somebody up.



You have no idea....LOL!  Check out this ole gem of a thread 

http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=282975&highlight=buck+duck+hole


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## DamonRossFoster (Oct 25, 2012)

I'm not anti or pro merganser.  I shoot them for catfish bait.  But here's a possible GOOD reason to shoot them... wood duck boxes.  Yep, two pages about how bad they taste and I agree, but did anybody ever consider the fact that they use the same nesting boxes you build for woodies?  At the same time too, meaning you're breeding mergansers when you put a lot of effort into wood duck conservation.  that sucks.  Let the mergansers use the scarse rotten tree crevaces...


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## king killer delete (Nov 2, 2012)

*You are exactly right.*



DamonRossFoster said:


> I'm not anti or pro merganser.  I shoot them for catfish bait.  But here's a possible GOOD reason to shoot them... wood duck boxes.  Yep, two pages about how bad they taste and I agree, but did anybody ever consider the fact that they use the same nesting boxes you build for woodies?  At the same time too, meaning you're breeding mergansers when you put a lot of effort into wood duck conservation.  that sucks.  Let the mergansers use the scarse rotten tree crevaces...


 Hooded merganser will push wood duck eggs and chicks  out of the nest and lay their own  in place of the wood duck eggs. The wood ducks end up raiseing the merganser babys.


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