Which is tougher to bring down... Pheasant or Mallard.

AtTheMurph said:
I don't think this is a serious argument. A pheasant v. a mallard? I assume we are comparing a green head v. a cock so the answer is simple MALLARD.

I have hunted each for almost 40 years and a green head is by far a tougher kill.
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I'm right there with you. When you shoot landing mallards it is hardly a fair comparison. Shots are taken with vitals exposed and birds come down fairly easily. If cocks were shot like that they would never live. Mallards basically have a coat of thick, coarse, waterproof feathers. If the shots are going away, or blocking type shots, it isn't even close. I Have shot hundreds of each and find the mallard to be much tougher.
 
Okay. This is really easy.

A wild Mallard and a Wild rooster;
Same distance.
Same position.
Same age.




Which would take a larger shot size and more lethal pellet hits to bring down? The ring neck pheasant takes a larger shot size and more lethal pellet hits.

Hypothetical just for the fun of it.:)

Let's say you have your choice between shooting a 2 year old wild Mallard at 40 yards vs. shooting a wild 2 year old ring neck pheasant at 40 yards. Both going away shots. This is a life or death choice, without it you'll starve:D. No dog. Just you and one shot in your 12 gauge shot gun. Steel shot #6.


You mean to tell me all of you would chance that one shot on a wild 2 year old rooster over the wild Mallard:confused: No thanks.:eek:
 
carptom1 said:
Not to mention I would far rather eat the pheasant.
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LOL....well, now you've got me saying mallard, mallard, mallard Carp:D. Pheasant--no doubt good eating, but roast duck in a Orange sauce with the skin all crisped up......oh man, that's eatin.;)

Though, while I was working today, I smoked a few pheasants. I can't think of any other game that smokes as well as a pheasant.:)
 
1pheas4 said:
Okay. This is really easy.

A wild Mallard and a Wild rooster;
Same distance.
Same position.
Same age.




Which would take a larger shot size and more lethal pellet hits to bring down? The ring neck pheasant takes a larger shot size and more lethal pellet hits.

Hypothetical just for the fun of it.:)

Let's say you have your choice between shooting a 2 year old wild Mallard at 40 yards vs. shooting a wild 2 year old ring neck pheasant at 40 yards. Both going away shots. This is a life or death choice, without it you'll starve:D. No dog. Just you and one shot in your 12 gauge shot gun. Steel shot #6.


You mean to tell me all of you would chance that one shot on a wild 2 year old rooster over the wild Mallard:confused: No thanks.:eek:
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The rooster is tougher but that load of 6 steel is going to do nothing to either bird but draw feathers. I've shot mallard for years in flooded timber and that #6 load is a 25 to 30 yard load tops just as the old 1 1/4 #7.5 lead was. The gizzard of a pheasant provides armored protection on those going away shots too.
 
I say let's have a competition:rolleyes::D.

Game 1. cage match style fight between a wild pheasant and a mallard (we'll give the mallard some spurs to make it fair);)

Game 2. foot race between a wild pheasant and a mallard

Game 3. who can stick around a nasty winter the longest before flying south:rolleyes:

Game 4. which can withstand colder temps relative to body down/feathers/fat reserves

Game 5. which can go longer without food, water

Game 6 which can the best of bird dogs escape better crippled. We'll even let the wild pheasnat land in a pond, river, or lake to make it fair

Game 7 which can take more lethal hits to the vitals before dieing


Okay. Just having some fun and handing out some food for thought:)
 
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Hard to beat a wild Mallard roasted up properly.:)
I had a opportunity to do a lot of mixed bag hunting, Greenheads and Roosters this past Oct. :) Hunting along a meandering creek. Shooting Black Cloud # 3 Federal Premiums. Non toxic. Early Oct on calm days the Mallards and the Roosters the results were exactly the same. All dead no wounded birds, daily limits and possession limits.
Late Oct with strong winds the shooting was not nearly so go, had some wounded ducks and pheasants. Watching the pup chase down a winged Greenhead was exciting. You BET! a winged Mallard covers some ground. Star also chased down a couple winged roosters.

My experience this past Fall using the same ammo on each the results are the same.
 
Toad said:
same shot angle and same range... MALLARD!!! 2X the feathers, at least 2X the fat, and 2X thickness on the skin. That's a lot of extra material your pellet has to get through before you get to vitals.

Decoying mallards may SEEM easier to kill cleanly than a flushing pheasant because you are shooting right into the vitals. Apples-to-apples though, they are the tougher bird to bring down.

But I would agree with the guys who said that a mallard cripple is probably easier (generally) for a dog than a pheasant cripple. Although I've seen more than one that dove underwater and never came up again. That's a tough retreive...
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Got to agree with this. Mallard is the answer but I htink they have 4x the feathers!
 
1pheas4 said:
I say let's have a competition:rolleyes::D.

Game 1. cage match style fight between a wild pheasant and a mallard (we'll give the mallard some spurs to make it fair);)

Game 2. foot race between a wild pheasant and a mallard

Game 3. who can stick around a nasty winter the longest before flying south:rolleyes:

Game 4. which can withstand colder temps relative to body down/feathers/fat reserves

Game 5. which can go longer without food, water

Game 6 which can the best of bird dogs escape better crippled. We'll even let the wild pheasnat land in a pond, river, or lake to make it fair

Game 7 which can take more lethal hits to the vitals before dieing


Okay. Just having some fun and handing out some food for thought:)
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8. Which one can sit in ice water and LOVE it.
9. Which one can fly farther. Phez maybe a mile with a tail wind. Duck, maybe a state with a tail wind.

If anything I think it might be fair to call it a draw, after all it is tough to compare apples to oranges.

Murph, you're very wise. :thumbsup:
 
Toad said:
8. Which one can sit in ice water and LOVE it.
9. Which one can fly farther. Phez maybe a mile with a tail wind. Duck, maybe a state with a tail wind.

If anything I think it might be fair to call it a draw, after all it is tough to compare apples to oranges.

Murph, you're very wise. :thumbsup:
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Okay. #8 is not apple for apples. The Mallard has "4 x's the feathers" and it withstand water better than a pheasant. Yet the pheasant can take a couple inches of down pouring/flooding rain followed by sub-zero temps and some how come out alive and well:confused:. Apples to apple Toad. Phez win's #1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and #8. Gotta give you #9 on the Mallard.:D
 
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A wild/cackling flushed rooster will startle you more. :)
 
I've never hunted ducks but I have dropped a winged rooster into flooded timber and watch my dog swim close to a hundred yards from where he dropped to find him. I've also seen my dogs flush roosters out of sloughs where only their heads were above water.
 
quail hound said:
I've never hunted ducks but I have dropped a winged rooster into flooded timber and watch my dog swim close to a hundred yards from where he dropped to find him. I've also seen my dogs flush roosters out of sloughs where only their heads were above water.
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My dad schooled me a few years back with this Quailhound. He watched me call the group out of a field when we reached a large (flooded) area of cattails. Water was past our boot tops. I figured that was the end of the hunt.

When we got back to our vehicles/dad he asked why I stopped the drive. I told him the water was too deep to hold birds. He responded "there's birds in there son. That's where they are".

I didn't agree but went back anyway. Sure enough that's where the birds were. I couldn't believe it. The best part was my dog was tracking their sent on top of the water:confused:. I've never seen something like that before, that is, the dog tracking birds like that, and the birds moving so fast through such deep water.:confused:
 
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It's the ammo and the angle. Lead vs. Steel no comparison although hevi shot helps. A mallard has way more armor but you're shooting them gear down in the front at low speed. The mighty cock is thin skinned but hauling ass away from the dog. Having shot hundreds of each I'd say they are pretty darn close with the green head being a far easier retrieve. It's all great fun.
 
labaholic said:
It's the ammo and the angle. Lead vs. Steel no comparison although hevi shot helps. A mallard has way more armor but you're shooting them gear down in the front at low speed.
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This seems to be a common point. That is, decoying mallards breast facing the gunner (excluding jump/flush shooting/pass-shooting positions). In my experience most all ducks have flared to the left, right, or going away by the time guns are up and firing over decoys.

The vitals on the back are the same as the pheasant. There's very little feather/down/fat around this area on a Mallard or pheasant. This is the lung/heart area. The covering on the neck and head are very similar too;).

As for those slow coming in, chest shots with the head and neck exposed, I agree that this shot would not fair well for the Mallard except the lungs/heart area would be more difficult to hit due to the thick breast/breast plate.
 
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