# Effect of evening woodie shooting



## Killer Kyle (Dec 29, 2012)

Hey guys, I have a question for those of you who frequently hunt wood duck holes/beaver swamps.  I was deer/hog hunting tonight, and heard a barrage of shots coming from the beaver swamp I hunt for woodies.  As I was on my way home, I saw four kids in waders standing by a truck. I have read that shooting woodies coming in to roost can run them off with the quickness.  Have any of you shot in the evening and noticed any effect on the wood duck hunting as a result?  I wanted to head up there in the morning, but don't know if I should now.  What has been your experience with evening hunting?


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## rdnckrbby (Dec 29, 2012)

Probably is ruined for the rest of the season


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## MrDuckKiller (Dec 29, 2012)

Not to mention it is illegal to shoot the actual roost. Correct me if I'm wrong, but shooting time ends one hour before sunset


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## Steven Farr (Dec 29, 2012)

MrDuckKiller said:


> Not to mention it is illegal to shoot the actual roost. Correct me if I'm wrong, but shooting time ends one hour before sunset



Shooting time ends at sunset


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## Nicodemus (Dec 29, 2012)

We have a big swamp pond on our place that has been shot by 4 generations of my family since 1898. Only about once a week durin` the season, mornin` or evenin`, and more than that durin` the day as ducks come in to feed there all through the day, but never overshot. The decendants of those first wood ducks are still comin` back.


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## GA Swamp Duck (Dec 29, 2012)

If we shoot our woodie hole in the eve there's not hardly any there the next morning. We stopped the eve hunt most eve they were to late to shoot anyway


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## Killer Kyle (Dec 29, 2012)

Yeah, it was definately not an hour before sunset.  More like 15 minutes before legal sunset.  I'm wondering Nicodemus, how big is your swamp?  Maybe size could be a contributing factor.  This one is about 20 acres give or take a few.  Maybe pressure on the roost has a lesser effect on bigger places?  I'm on the fence about going in the morning because I want to find out how it effects the birds, but don't want to over pressure.  Its a public spot, so ideally I should go and leave the gun and calls at home and just observe, but on the same token, I don't want the place to get shot out before I have a chance at any more ducks.  I can't really make up my mind about it.


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## Nicodemus (Dec 29, 2012)

Killer Kyle said:


> Yeah, it was definately not an hour before sunset.  More like 15 minutes before legal sunset.  I'm wondering Nicodemus, how big is your swamp?  Maybe size could be a contributing factor.  This one is about 20 acres give or take a few.  Maybe pressure on the roost has a lesser effect on bigger places?  I'm on the fence about going in the morning because I want to find out how it effects the birds, but don't want to over pressure.  Its a public spot, so ideally I should go and leave the gun and calls at home and just observe, but on the same token, I don't want the place to get shot out before I have a chance at any more ducks.  I can't really make up my mind about it.



The actual pond at full pool is close to 40 acres. Normally around 25 acres, and it`s full of cypress and tupelos. As for the swamp, it runs from Dublin to the Atlantic Ocean. It`s purty big.


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## quackertackr (Dec 29, 2012)

MrDuckKiller said:


> Not to mention it is illegal to shoot the actual roost. Correct me if I'm wrong, but shooting time ends one hour before sunset


 Wrong on both parts. It is not illegal to hunt a roost. If the shooting ended and they still let birds in there then you should be good. If they shot at all the birds then it may be a bust for in the morning.


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## Joe Overby (Dec 29, 2012)

If its public and you don't go shoot it ...someone else will...next time you see those guys, thank them for shooting a roost with a month left in the season.  Yet people still wonder why nobody wants to help when folks ask about hunting spots...


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## Killer Kyle (Dec 29, 2012)

Joe Overby said:


> If its public and you don't go shoot it ...someone else will...next time you see those guys, thank them for shooting a roost with a month left in the season.  Yet people still wonder why nobody wants to help when folks ask about hunting spots...



Yeah, I guess the novice in me wants to get in there and get it while the gettin' is good, so to speak.  But I am wary to overhunt it.  I wish everybody could just lay off the spot for a week and a half or two, but I guess I can't control what other hunters do.  I hunted it Christmas morning, and saw plenty of birds, including some fresh mallards.  I guess I'll head up there in the morning and see what birds are flying.  Thanks for the advice gents.


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## webfootwidowmaker (Dec 29, 2012)

I wouldnt do it often


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## Duckdiver (Dec 30, 2012)

It's hard for "big duck" hunter to grasp if they've never seen a real roost, not a roost where ducks just show up at dark, but roosts that hold a few hundred birds all day. If you have the first kinda roost, be very cautious about over shooting, and it is a tough legal shoot, watch your time close. If it is the latter you have somethin a lott of folks have never seen. Like Nicodemus said birds don't just roost there, but birds that roost in other places show up all day long. In short, shoot it, take you limit. If other folks have access they will. If they shot it the evenin before I may not shoot it the next morning but I would be parked at it, and if people show up to hunt it, go in to, if it's just you let'em rest.


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## thompsonsz71 (Dec 30, 2012)

We had a roost that would hold birds all day ... We never shot it during to evening... We would just shoot them leaving in the morning... They still would come in the evening...


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## mcarge (Dec 30, 2012)

thompsonsz71 said:


> We had a roost that would hold birds all day ... We never shot it during to evening... We would just shoot them leaving in the morning... They still would come in the evening...



This!


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## Larry Young Jr (Dec 30, 2012)

Well I just dont understand why someone wants to hunt a roosting pond in the evening. No matter what kind it is. That is pressure that should not be put on the birds. Maybe the last day of the season.  In the morning to about 1pm would be all. Now there are those out there, that will disagree with me but that is how I fill.  Why destory a good hunting area. I have seen evening hunts run birds completely off a good beaver pond, I am talking aout one that was at lease 35 acres.  If you cant shoot them in the morning then you are doing something wrong. Something else I see is people that dont watch a beaverpond and see what kind of roosting pond it is to past shoot or sky bust the birds.  Sometime the shooter knew what they were doing and let a few fly off others would come in feed in hole were others might roost. I see that alot on public land. That is why I dont hunt for woodies on public land in Ga. Plus if you hunt them in the morning and shoot them at legal shooting you dont have to worry about GW.  But what Do I know, I am a goose hunter. I never shoot a goose roost in the evening.


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## Headsortails (Jan 1, 2013)

Woodies usually have roost ponds and feeding ponds. They are not usually the same. Four of us shot a roost for 20 years. We shot one evening only. Limits were strictly observed. If shooting was slow we left early. Just don't hammer them and you will have good shoots.


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## Mark K (Jan 2, 2013)

Put corn in a roost pond at it will become a feed pond. The trick to hunting it is to let all the birds fly out without any shooting. Then shoot the birds as they come back in.


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## bone2112 (Jan 2, 2013)

Wood duck shot on a roosting pond are usually killed illegally. After sunset that is.


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## Nicodemus (Jan 2, 2013)

Killer Kyle, I`ve also seen as many as an estimated thousand or more wood ducks roost in that pond on our place.


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## Swampmaster55 (Jan 2, 2013)

the youngins' probably ruined it.


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## Killer Kyle (Jan 2, 2013)

Well guys, I went back and hunted the next morning.  I did see less ducks than usual........far, far less in fact, but it was raining pretty hard and shooting light was late due to heavy cloud cover.  I believe  that the fewer ducks were attributed to the rain. I'll check it out again in a few days when I can hunt and will report what I find.


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