# What's wrong with buffleheads?



## SgtSabre (May 15, 2004)

I got my first bufflehead this year. To tell the truth, I'm a pretty inexperienced waterfowler and I didn't even know what a bufflehead was until I got one this year. I was pretty amazed at the coloring, with the pure white and purple and green iridescence on the head.

Since then, I've read a few sort of sideways, disparaging comments about buffleheads. On another site I even read they are a "trash duck". Why is that? Is it because they aren't good eating?


----------



## hankrt (Nov 7, 2007)

Don't be fooled by some, they are fun to shoot ( Challenging) and not bad table fare either. They are also very good looking ducks!! Have fun, and welcome to the world of waterfowl!!


----------



## waxico (Jan 21, 2008)

Congratulations. 25 years ago, "We got a duck!" involved Buffers. They were the first to die to acknowlege we were learning.

You will feel a little more jaded after your 300 or 400th.

There's nothing wrong with them. If you eat them right away without freezing them, they're delicious.

With this bunch it's a matter of familiarity breeds contempt.

Fun fact: Michigan lead the U.S. in Bufflehead harvest. Whoopee.


----------



## SgtSabre (May 15, 2004)

waxico said:


> Congratulations. 25 years ago, "We got a duck!" involved Buffers. They were the first to die to acknowlege we were learning.
> 
> You will feel a little more jaded after your 300 or 400th.
> 
> ...


So you are saying it's because they are pretty easy to fool, and therefore go down in large numbers? I can see how they'd be easy to kill. They did tend to flock to our decoys at first light with little to no coaxing.


----------



## waxico (Jan 21, 2008)

Well, let's just say we were a pretty motely lot in the beginning, and still managed to kill just enough to keep the new guys interested.

But, they educate as well as any other duck. Shoot at them, chase them with your boat, they get smart.

But when they first get here, bring LOTS of ammo...


----------



## spartansfan (Nov 8, 2011)

i never shot them before this year but my buddy has a spot on lake erie that is covered in them and we've shot quite a few. i think theyre great birds. decoy great and look great. although i find the hens to be quite dumb. but they taste like most divers i think.


----------



## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

spartansfan said:


> but they taste like most divers i think.


exactly. :evil:


----------



## Contender (May 18, 2004)

Nothing...very fun to shoot, just small reward.

Red Head, Can or Greater Scaup breast v Butterball ...hmmh... 

Aside from teal...there are not many other ducks you can shoot 3-5 with one shot either, while flying. (not talking water swats)


----------



## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

SgtSabre said:


> I got my first bufflehead this year. To tell the truth, I'm a pretty inexperienced waterfowler and I didn't even know what a bufflehead was until I got one this year. I was pretty amazed at the coloring, with the pure white and purple and green iridescence on the head.
> 
> Since then, I've read a few sort of sideways, disparaging comments about buffleheads. On another site I even read they are a "trash duck". Why is that? Is it because they aren't good eating?


You know what I equate buffies to? Woodcock of the upland game. I used to love to shoot woodcock in my earlier years. My buddy had a shorthair that would lock on those darn things, and we'd get limits almost every time out. But they suck to eat (in my opinion), and over the years we just stopped chasing them.

Buffies are a blast to hunt and shoot. And you're right...in full plumage they are beautiful birds. But they suck to eat (again, in my opinion).

I'm at the point in my hunting career that if I ain't gonna eat it, I don't shoot it. Which is one of the reasons I don't shoot geese...unless I'm forced :evilsmile


----------



## deadduck365 (Nov 5, 2010)




----------



## firenut8190 (Jul 15, 2006)

Killed my first 1 this morning also.


----------



## TeamFowlAssassins (Nov 7, 2007)

They are cute little guys! They taste pretty good... after around 15 beers...


----------



## rentalrider (Aug 8, 2011)

I like hunting them personally. I don't think they're the easiest to decoy (in my experience the hen BB has this hands down) but do decoy nicely. I also can't tell the difference in taste when you mix them with 20 other divers in your jerky smoker  They are fast and a blast to shoot! To each is own... if you're having fun and enjoy eating what you kill, shoot away!


----------



## sswhitelightning (Dec 14, 2004)

rentalrider said:


> I like hunting them personally. I don't think they're the easiest to decoy (in my experience the hen BB has this hands down) but do decoy nicely. I also can't tell the difference in taste when you mix them with 20 other divers in your jerky smoker  They are fast and a blast to shoot! To each is own... if you're having fun and enjoy eating what you kill, shoot away!


 
I agree with all of this except the decoy part. Any white patched decoy on a body of water they are using they commit with reckless abandon. Yes i know not every duck comes in but the bulk majority do if they havent been shot at a hundred times allready. Fun bird to hunt and look great on the wall. Its super fun having 20 to 30 buffies dump into your spread and get confused on which one to solo out.


----------



## bombcast (Sep 16, 2003)

a **** duck. They decoy when nothing else, including mergansers, will. Plus, they taste like crap. 

Pretty, with an interesting biological niche, and they probably shouldn't be disparaged like I did, but as far as ducks are concerned, they're equal to a grebe or a crow. 

Shoot one or two for wall specimens at some point and you shouldn't care. Shoot 6 because "you're covered in them", different story. 

Just my opinion.


----------



## JOHNNY A (Mar 6, 2010)

bombcast said:


> a **** duck. They decoy when nothing else, including mergansers, will. Plus, they taste like crap.
> 
> Pretty, with an interesting biological niche, and they probably shouldn't be disparaged like I did, but as far as ducks are concerned, they're equal to a grebe or a crow.
> 
> ...





_OutdoorHub Mobile, the information engine of the outdoors.[/i
I'd mount a Grebe but not a crow!_


----------



## Duke (Oct 6, 2000)

Just FYI juvenile drake buffleheads and bluebills closely resemble hens and are indistinguishable on the wing. That's why there seems to be a disproportionate hen:drake ratio, and also why the "hens" seem to be so much dumber & easier to decoy- its their first go round!


----------



## lastflighttaxidermy (Jul 12, 2010)

Love buffies. decoys good, fast flying, fun shooting. Not like a mallard on the table but eat fine none the less! Some guys dont shoot em, just means more for me.


----------



## warrenwaterfowler (Aug 31, 2007)

Nothing's wrong with them at all. IMO, anyday you can come home with birds in hand is a good day. (excluding merganzers)


----------



## carsonr2 (Jan 15, 2009)

warrenwaterfowler said:


> Nothing's wrong with them at all. IMO, anyday you can come home with birds in hand is a good day. (excluding merganzers)



I've heard that's been tough for you guys as of late.

Hope you put a hurting on the geese on Thursday.


----------



## warrenwaterfowler (Aug 31, 2007)

Yeah me too rob. You coming over for a hunt this weekend?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## carsonr2 (Jan 15, 2009)

Yeah, 

Either Sat. or Sun. divers on the bay......depends on wind which day will work best. Right now both look very doable, but you know how that weatherman is.

Hopefully everything pans out.


----------



## someone11 (Mar 15, 2009)

I always love going and doing a buffy shoot. As other have said, as long as you have white decoys out they will come in. And personally I dont think they taste that bad.


----------



## duckduster (Oct 22, 2011)

Today i hunted on Lk St Clair and the buffies were there in force. I have been scouting the north shore and saw BB, reds and Cans over the last few days, so i decide to go today and it's all buffies. had one group of cans fly over the dekes and flared off just out of range. Also had a few groups of mallards check out my decoys but no takers. So i started shooting buffies and ended up with a 6 bird limit in a little over 2 hrs. They are very challenging to shoot.


----------



## someone11 (Mar 15, 2009)

Just curious, why do people say they are hard to shoot? Ive never had a problem shooting them, they land 10 yards away and you just pull up and shoot just before they hit the water. Even if they flare they usually arent far beyond 20 yards. My buddy had 2 doubles on buffies last time we were out (4 buffies...4 shots).


----------



## BangBangBang (Mar 30, 2011)

try hittin em when they are swinging by downwind before they turn on a dime and come up your lines


----------



## BangBangBang (Mar 30, 2011)

duckbuster...are those other four imature drakes?


we got two today that were in between those 2 and the other 4 as far as white spot bein plumed out.


----------



## Tom_Miller (Apr 23, 2010)

warrenwaterfowler said:


> Nothing's wrong with them at all. IMO, anyday you can come home with birds in hand is a good day. (excluding merganzers)


Agree for the most part. Nothing wrong with any birds at all, including mergansers.


----------



## integritybob (Mar 10, 2009)

BangBangBang said:


> duckbuster...are those other four imature drakes?
> 
> 
> we got two today that were in between those 2 and the other 4 as far as white spot bein plumed out.


Other 4 are hens. Typically dumb as hell and decoy beautifully.


_OutdoorHub Mobile, the information engine of the outdoors._


----------



## Duke (Oct 6, 2000)

integritybob said:


> Other 4 are hens. Typically dumb as hell and decoy beautifully.


It is impossible to tell hen from juvenile drake buffleheads without an internal exam- if they are really dumb, as in even dumb for a bufflehead, it is a 50-50 chance of drake or hen on those brown ones. Drakes don't get adult plumage until their 2nd year. Just FYI!


----------



## someone11 (Mar 15, 2009)

Duke said:


> It is impossible to tell hen from juvenile drake buffleheads without an internal exam- if they are really dumb, as in even dumb for a bufflehead, it is a 50-50 chance of drake or hen on those brown ones. Drakes don't get adult plumage until their 2nd year. Just FYI!


The one on the far right looks like it could be an immature drake.


----------



## spartansfan (Nov 8, 2011)

Duke said:


> It is impossible to tell hen from juvenile drake buffleheads without an internal exam- if they are really dumb, as in even dumb for a bufflehead, it is a 50-50 chance of drake or hen on those brown ones. Drakes don't get adult plumage until their 2nd year. Just FYI!


although on the juvie drakes you can usually see a little bit of color if you look closely


----------



## Kevlar (Jul 21, 2004)

Man do those little suckers bleed alot. You would think for as small as they are they would only have a couple drops of blood in them but my experience is they bleed about a gallons each.... You go to pick them up and there in a red cloud on the water. Bring them in the boat and they keep bleeding an hour after they are dead. Just something I have noticed about buffies.

Kev


----------



## someone11 (Mar 15, 2009)

Kevlar said:


> Man do those little suckers bleed alot. You would think for as small as they are they would only have a couple drops of blood in them but my experience is they bleed about a gallons each.... You go to pick them up and there in a red cloud on the water. Bring them in the boat and they keep bleeding an hour after they are dead. Just something I have noticed about buffies.
> 
> Kev


Yeah ive noticed the same thing. Often times we'll get them back in the house and notice that their white chest is no longer white...its red. Little suckers bleed everywhere.


----------



## twoteal (Jul 22, 2001)

Nothing wrong with his majesty the Bufflehead

but those ruddy's


----------

