Hunting Pictures
[Dove]
[Waterfowl]
[Grouse]
[Woodcock]
[Other]
Mallards
[Overview]
[1999-2000]
[2000-2001]
[2001-2002]
[2002-2003]
[2003-2004]
[2004-2005]
[2005-2006]
[2006-2007]
[2007-2008]
[2008-2009]
[2009-2010]
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Mallard Hunting Overview
After a
long day of flying south, there is nothing nicer for a mallard to
find than a little open water and a little food. West
Virginia offers many places that serve up just this type of rest
stop for a migrating green head. Since 1999, the King & Rooster
have been
hunting these areas with success. Through trial and error
(experience), we have built up a catalogue of mallard
options. So if it is cold or warm, high water or low, we
have places where we can hunt mallards.
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After two years of duck hunting the King &
Rooster had made progress in a
lot of areas. We had improved our gear, tactics, and
shooting to a point where we were confident that if there were
wood ducks around, we would have a better than fair shot to put
some in the bag. However, we began to want to explore other
waterfowl hunting options, specifically the magical green
head. We had seen mallards during previous hunting outings,
but had never made a serious attempt at going after them.
However, in the fall of 1999, the King scouted an area that, while
we thought primarily would offer wood duck opportunities, also
offered potential mallard options.
As it turned out, it offered both and so, on a unseasonably warm
and drizzly evening in November, we got our first mallard, the
only one for the season.
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Unknown |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/mallard/vb_pic.jpg)
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An early
fall picture of one of our favorite hunting areas, the one that
produced our first mallard. |
11.24.99 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/wood_duck/kng_vb.jpg)
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The King
with the famous "in the headlights" shot of our first
mallard (a hen) with a wood duck. |
11.24.99 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/mallard/roos_vb99.jpg)
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The Rooster
with pictures of the birds. The day had been warm and misty,
and we were soaked through and worn out by dusk.
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Unknown |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/mallard/tetraz.jpg)
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The King
turned this mallard into meal of duck tetrazinni. The Rooster
would see it all again as he ate it with a stomach flu. |
In the first two
hunting days of the 2000-2001 waterfowl hunting season, we never
took a shot. On the third day, we took a chance and went to
a lake that the King had scouted a
few weeks before and found it populated with a good number of
mallards. Before the day was over, we had an amazing 6 drake
mallards in the canoe. As good as that day was, it would get
better. In December, calling for the first time, we brought
in duck after duck and left with five more mallards. All and
all 2000-2001 was an incredible hunting year for green
heads. We got out more, and brought home more mallards than
any other year. We ended up with 13 mallards for the season
and memories to last a lifetime.
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10.07.00 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/mallard/kr_beech.jpg)
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The King
and Rooster with the Wood Duck
Stalker in the background. On this day, it would do just
fine as the Mallard Stalker. |
10.07.00 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/mallard/roos_bf.jpg)
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The Rooster
with the six mallards taken from the canoe. Notice that all
are drakes. We try, whenever possible, to take drakes first. |
10.07.00 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/mallard/kng_bf00.jpg)
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A shot of
the King mid-hunt with three
green-heads. The look on his face tells the story -
there is more hunting to come. |
10.07.00 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/mallard/six_mall.jpg)
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Classic
K&R shot that shows how experience and hard work pay
off. |
Fall
2000 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/mallard/bf_meal.jpg)
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The King
grilling up some of those early season mallards. To the
victors goes the meat. |
12.16.00 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/mallard/ef_blind.jpg)
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We set up
before dawn on a beautiful central WV impoundment and hunted until
a little past noon on this day. The only ducks we saw were
two mallards that flew over the King's
head when he was repositioning the decoys. Not uncommon,
ducks love to appear at the least opportune times. |
12.27.00 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/mallard/ic_blind.jpg)
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The Rooster
sitting behind a perfect natural blind. Five mallards
would fall over this bind today. |
12.27.00 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/mallard/kng_ic_call.jpg)
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The King
blowing a hen mallard call. After only a summer of
practice, he brought in one green head after another. |
12.27.00 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/mallard/roos_ic00.jpg)
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The Rooster
showing off the drake taken on the first call of the day
from the King. |
12.27.00 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/mallard/kng_ic.jpg)
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The King
after retrieving two mallards dropped in the river.
The current was fast, and we had to get out and get dropped ducks
quick. |
12.27.00 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/mallard/ic_mall00.jpg)
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The duck
lineup from the day's hunt. We took four hens, which we
normally try to avoid. On this day, however, we were
shooting the mallards high out of a light sky, and sexing the
birds was difficult. |
1.05.01 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/mallard/kng_mal.jpg)
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The King
with a beautiful green head taken on the flush. The
2000-2001 winter was bitter cold, and open water limited.
Just the way we like it. |
February
2001 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/mallard/ic_meal00.jpg)
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Another
awesome duck and stuffing meal prepared by the King.
The number of ducks taken allowed us to feast several times. |
2000-2001 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/mallard/kng_ic_deke00.jpg)
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A sunset
to a memorable season. |
More Mallard Hunting
[2001-2002] [2002-2003]
[2003-2004]
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