Swan hunt

BIGJOHNT

BIGJOHNT

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Heading up north to the Salt Lake area. Any tips for a first time Swan hunter . Location but not your best honey hole. ? I have a few spots already. Shot size or any other tips ?
 
Keep shooting until your bird is dead. Don't necessarily count on a one shot kill. And they are huge birds, so they look a lot closer than they really are. And they can be tough. All of this can lead to hit/wounded birds that are not retrievable.

For these reasons I much prefer Hevi-Shot over steel.
 
Pattern your shotgun before you go with the shells you will be using. I recommend BB or bigger. Keep shots 30 yards or under. Don't stop shooting until its head is down in the water. You can use white garbage bags as decoys. Believe it or not I have seen this work time and time again. If you have a boat and you wound one I recommend using your boat to retrieve if you sail the bird, so you can dispatch it quickly. We have only hunted them on the refuge. Good luck and post pictures.
 
Cannot find any Hevi shot. Sportsmans in St George only had 5 boxes of water fowl loads. The shelf's are empty. I have two Tungston BB shells 2 3/4 and a box of 3" BB steel. I guess That will have to work.
 
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30 yards and under #4s kill them just as dead as anything else. I’ve killed a pile with #2 and #4 3” shells. You don’t need big shot to kill one. Denser patterns up close are way more effective than big shot patterns with lots of open holes.
 
I’m not a waterfowl hunter at all, but I’ve tagged along on a few hunts where we’ve just went and sat on the dike at Howard Slough and killed them easily enough.
 
Check in with Snyders Bird Taxidermy in Roy. He does a bunch of swans each year and did a great job on my swan 5-ish years ago.

20200925_195640.jpg
 
Got mine at Howard's Friday. Seems the stormy weather keeps them flying more and lower. Mine was 50 plus yards up. One shot 3 1/2" mag BB Blindside. Head neck and lung hits. Carlson cremator choke
 
Bear river bird refuge is a popular area. I have seen far too many swans get sky blasted and sail for ever before going down.

Manage your shot so it is under 40 yards. Shot mine this year over decoys less than 20 yards one shot 3in. 3 shot stone dead.
 
huntFX4 said:
Got mine at Howard's Friday. Seems the stormy weather keeps them flying more and lower. Mine was 50 plus yards up. One shot 3 1/2" mag BB Blindside. Head neck and lung hits. Carlson cremator choke
Click to expand...
Thanks one guy got one today out there. A lot of Pheasant hunters out today.
 
One thing with swan, they fly a lot faster than they look. Many shoot behind them because of this. When I shot mine I led it by about two lengths. I use the head as my target and his head was in the center of my pattern.
 
BIGJOHNT said:
Cannot find any Hevi shot. Sportsmans in St George only had 5 boxes of water fowl loads. The shelf's are empty. I have two Tungston BB shells 2 3/4 and a box of 3" BB steel. I guess That will have to work.
Click to expand...
BigJohnT do you want me to call Cabela‘s Bass Pro by me to see if they have any? What size loads do you need?
 
I used 12 gauge 3 1/2" size B Hevi shot on my first swan. It was probably 45-50 yards high and it never knew what hit it. Nowadays I don't shoot quite as far but I still use Hevi shot. Even though it's expensive, I use it because I would hate to wound a swan and lose it. Also, I bought my first box of it 7 years ago and I still haven't finished it.

I found this article about the Hevi-Shot if this helps

joe
 
joesikora said:
I used 12 gauge 3 1/2" size B Hevi shot on my first swan. It was probably 45-50 yards high and it never knew what hit it. Nowadays I don't shoot quite as far but I still use Hevi shot. Even though it's expensive, I use it because I would hate to wound a swan and lose it. Also, I bought my first box of it 7 years ago and I still haven't finished it.

I found this article about the Hevi-Shot if this helps

joe
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Thanks Joe. I found some Hevi Shot 3 1/2 inch BB loads up north on Saturday after the morning hunt. Sunday morning had eight Swans fly over us 50 to 60 yards high. But I couldn’t see the eye or the yellow patch to identify it was a TundraSwan. We are not supposed to shoot the Trumpeters Swans. I have until December 13th. Those shells are 50 bucks a box. More the 2.50 cents a shot with tax. They are gold in color as well. ??
 
BIGJOHNT said:
Thanks Joe. I found some Hevi Shot 3 1/2 inch BB loads up north on Saturday after the morning hunt. Sunday morning had eight Swans fly over us 50 to 60 yards high. But I couldn’t see the eye or the yellow patch to identify it was a TundraSwan. We are not supposed to shoot the Trumpeters Swans. I have until December 13th. Those shells are 50 bucks a box. More the 2.50 cents a shot with tax. They are gold in color as well. ??
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BigJohn listen to their calls as they fly. Good difference between tundra and trumpeter calls. The little yellow dot is hard to see even at 30 yards. There's been at least 12 trumpeter swans killed. Last year shut down the season early. Could possibly happen again this year. Hope you get up here and get yours. Good luck.
 
Hey BigJohnT have you seen these?



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$26.99
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SKU: 2717717
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Cartridge or Gauge
12 Gauge
Model Number
38008
Shot Size
#BBB
Shot Type
Steel & Bismuth
Velocity (fps)
1500
Shell Length
3"
Quantity
25 Rounds
Ounces of Shot
1-1/4 oz.
Description
Steel/Bismuth Non-Toxic

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Hevi-Shot® HEVI-Metal® Longer Range Shotgun Shells use a blend of 30% high-density bismuth shot, layered over 70% steel shot, which increases range and lethality over standard Hevi-Metal loads. Steel pellets are coated with dry-film lubricant for corrosion resistance. Hot high-brisance primers and custom-blended propellants ensure reliable ignition in wet weather and produce higher velocities with heavy loads. A thick base-wad locks hull into the headstamp securely to improve reliable operation in semi-auto shotguns. The shot charge is topped with a flaxseed buffer to ensure a consistent, flat crimp. HEVI-Metal Longer Range Shotgun Shells reach far and penetrate deep.

Made in USA.
  • 30% bismuth shot
  • 70% steel shot
  • Dry-film lubricated steel pellets
  • High-brisance primers
  • Flaxseed crimp buffer
Don’t know if you seen these, I guy I know uses them and he loves them!
  • Thick base-wad
 
I think I have a few boxes of Hevi-Shot 12 gauge 3” #2 for goose
I bought those 10 years ago though, but if you’d like to try them I’d be happy to give you some. Just let me know how to get them to you.

Oh another thing. Are these geese light feather like snows and blues? The reason I ask is a guide told me that the snows being light feathered geese sometimes don’t know their dead right away and will fly off farther then expected unless they have a broken wing and that these geese don’t realize their dead because the shot just passes straight through the bird. Unlike dark geese. Canada geese their feathers are so thick to penetrate, its also the impact that helps bring them down if that makes sense. When he told me this and then showed the breasts of snows and blies you can see that a lot of the shot passes straight through you dont see that in Canada geese, it made sense to me. You can actually hear the shot hit Canada geese and if the right angle or farther back on the bird you MIGHT draw a feather but he’s not coming down!

Joe
 
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Come in big John, fill us in on the details.
Good, bad or ugly as they may be.
Ya, I got the email that the hunt ended Saturday at sunset. Bummer for many, I’m sure.

Zeke
 
Yes I got the email. Bummer they closed the season early. With Thanksgiving and family things going on I didn’t make it back up there. Will the DNR giving back my points since they shut down early. Ya right! Not a chance. Congrats Zeke on getting your bird ! Are you going to mount it up to put on the wall?
 
Bummer bro! At least you got out once, but dang it all.
I've shot a few swan over the past 50+ years of bird hunting but never had one mounted...so yes, I'm having this one done.
Thanks, Zeke
 
Congratulations Mr. Zeke!
I'm sure you learned much of your sky-busting ability as a youngster after dark!!
It looks like that muscle memory hasn't failed you in your OLD AGE!!! :LOL:
Nice bird my friend...but where you gonna hang that monster?
 
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