Swan / Hog hunt part 2

bambam · December 06, 2010, 05:05:09 PM

After our unsuccessful Friday hog hunt, we went out Saturday morning to hunt Tundra swans. I know some of you are thinking, "Why would anyone want to shoot a swan " ? To be honest, I wasn't sure I would enjoy it either, but if you ever get a chance I would highly recommend it.

There are only 2 or 3 states where you can hunt swans. North Carolina is one of them. They give about 5000 permits by lottery, so it is not an easy tag to draw. Those swans do a tremendous amount of damage to the Farmer's wheat fields. What they don't eat, they stomp into the ground and if it freezes, the wheat dies. Anyway, back to the story.

We sat up in a drainage ditch in a huge wheat field, about a mile square.

After putting out the decoys, we waited for them to come off the lake. The first bunch of about 10 came in about an hour after first light. Our friend Richard shot a little too soon and missed. Then 2 swans came in on my side. I missed the first but nailed the second one. It turns out, I was glad to have missed the first one. It was downed by our friend and had a metal leg band. But my bird not only had a metal leg band, but also a plastic neck band ! It was the first killed on that farm with a neck band. Unfortunately, My shot shattered it but we found 2 large pieces of it with the number intact.

The birds kept coming and it didn't take long for us all to get our limit of one swan. We also saw snow geese and could have shot 15 each of them but they would not come close enough.

After the swan hunt we had time to go after quail. We had a great time and ended up with 10 total. I got 4 , somehow, even though I had never hunted quail before. Those things are fast !

_________________
Our houses are protected by the Good Lord and a gun , and you

HaMeR · December 06, 2010, 06:39:16 PM

Those are waaaay bigger than crows!!

Cool deal & I'm glad you got to fill your tag.

Do you eat those then??

Hawks Feather · December 06, 2010, 08:06:05 PM

I am guessing that the bigger targets were a little easier to get a bead on than the quail.

Jerry

bambam · December 06, 2010, 08:56:31 PM

Quote from: HaMeR on December 06, 2010, 06:39:16 PM
Those are waaaay bigger than crows!! Cool deal & I'm glad you got to fill your tag.

Do you eat those then??

Haven't eaten one yet but the meat is in the freezer and I will eat one soon. They say it is similar to goose. I will find out.

Yes Jerry, they are easier to hit than quail, but not much easier. Their size fools you into thinking they are moving slower than they actually are.

FOsteology · December 06, 2010, 08:57:53 PM

Those are BIG birds! Please do let us know how they taste.

KySongDog · December 06, 2010, 09:38:44 PM

Those are humongous! I can see how they would really work over a wheat field. Nice story and pics.

But I think I'd rather go hog hunting with that pit bull.

Todd Rahm · December 07, 2010, 10:01:14 PM

Man sign me up. Those suckers are protected up here, but I sure would wack a couple any day. Nice job!

KySongDog · December 07, 2010, 10:12:12 PM

Do you eat them? What do they taste like? A goose?

Okanagan · December 07, 2010, 11:07:41 PM

Quote from: Semp on December 07, 2010, 10:12:12 PM
Do you eat them? What do they taste like? A goose?

My question also.

Does anyone know the Peter, Paul and Mary song, "Polly Von"?

"She'd her apron wrapped about her and I took her for a swan..."

Silencer · December 08, 2010, 05:24:48 AM

I've always heard they taste great getting the nickname "ribeye in the sky"

And IM JEALOUS BAM !!!!!!!!!!! I love watchin them on TV and hearing the thud they make when hitting the ground.

Congrats man, nice job

alscalls · December 08, 2010, 06:26:12 AM

Interesting......... I have seen em while duck hunting........But we werent allowed to shoot em.
I look forward to hearing how they taste........

bambam · December 08, 2010, 03:44:32 PM

Thanks everyone. Gonna eat some tomorrow evening , I'll let you all know how it tastes. They tell me it tastes like goose.

bambam · December 09, 2010, 05:27:50 PM

Well I promised I would tell you all how the swan tasted, and we ate some of it this evening. It does taste a lot like goose but is more rich than goose. My daughter and I liked it, but my wife didn't.

Here is how I cooked it if anyone is interested. I put 1 can of chicken broth in a crockpot, added 1 pack of dry Italian dressing seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon of seasoned salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. I put one breast, ( with all fat and sinew trimmed off ) in and cooked on low for 8 hours. It was REALLY tender.

I think next time I'll use Cream of chicken soup instead of the chicken broth. Anyone else have any recipes for swan ?

Silencer · December 16, 2010, 01:39:17 PM

nope, but just finished my goose jerky yesterday, bet swan jerky would be good as well

alscalls · December 16, 2010, 09:31:27 PM

Interesting..... thats fer sure......