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Black dux

Iglow

Iglow

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Yesterday afternoon we had a group of 5 mallards and a black duck work us 3 times, they would come in but wanted nothing to do with the blind. They'd come in and sail, looking everything over go off and come back again. Finally they left for good. In all that the black kept his distance from the mallards but still hung with them, at no time did he mingle in the group. I don't get to see blacks much and that was the first time I got to see a show like that. With the sun out and low plus a clear sky I could see the colors etc. perfectly. That little episode confirmed stuff I'd read about blacks.
Y'all ever notice the same when you've seen them with other dux?
 
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Killed a true black a few days ago that was hooked up with a pintail. Thought it was over before it started but ended up getting her after the pintail did pintail things and flew off.
 
Never known them to be more wary than mallards as they say. I see them mixed with mallards on the water and the air regular. Right in there amongst them.

I usualy put a pair with my mallards, together but in with the mallards.
 
Was lucky enough to get this one.
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I bought a half dozen G and H black duck decoys a few years back when I duck hunted a lot. Like SCN said, in East Tn we tend to get a few blacks in here, so I always carried some. I always put the black duck decoys away from my mallard decoys. They would be maybe 20 yards away. Never mixed them in with mallard decoys and if there was a black duck in the group you could assure it would peel off to the black duck decoys. I'm pretty sure the limit back then was 1 so we always felt good about not killing one by mistake
 
I've seen a few, they definitely favor the Atlantic of course. I hunt a lot with folks from northeast TN and CKY and they have all killed a few. Never had one in range but see them occasionally. Bought a half dozen decoys that have been in the spread since 2017.

I've killed surf scoters, black scoters, white winged scoters, canvasback, redhead, gwt, bwt, woodies, mallard, pintail, wigeon, lesser scaup, greater scaup, ruddy duck, goldeneye, common merganser, red breasted merganser, hooded merganser, bufflehead, shoveler, gadwall, ringneck, Barrow's goldeneye, and a old squaw in ETN. Don't see them much south of Knoxville.

Really want one
 
My buddy has a private spot where a big group shows up about every year. When I killed mine it must have been a group of 25-30 blacks right in our face. The first time I saw them all I could think about was how a drake was going to look on the wall. Missed my first 2 shots and thankfully connected on the third and final shot!!
 
We shot a drake and a hen a couple years ago on the cache river in arkansas. We had a big group of mallards working a river hole, and the two black ducks came in like suicide bombers.

Only 2 I've ever seen.
 
I have killed sev blacks, one banded, but it's been sev yrs since l have taken one in west Tn. I normally run 5 dozen black duk Hidgon battleships in with my spread, mainly because of the dark colors that stand out. Ducks see black better than any color from the air. They are a trophy.
 
If this weather they are predicting for the east comes to fruition I would anticipate some blacks making their way into the area. Where I am we will pick them up about two days after a front moves through and ohio and pennsylvania lock up.

I do not think they are as apt to dry feed like a mallard so they are more impacted by shallow water locking up.
 

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