Our 5th Year Hunting Tundra Swan at Conman's Guide Service
North Carolina is one of a handful of states where you can hunt Tundra Swans. Eastern North Carolina is the wintering grounds for these magnificent birds and where most people go to hunt them even though the limited draw tag is good for the entire state.
Last year I was not one of the lucky 5000 hunters that got drawn for a tag but this year I got it and I was pumped. A group of us has been getting together, for I believe 5 years now, on MLK Day to hunt swans at Conman’s Guide Service.
Most people who have never hunted swans think that our hunt is a stalk on some park pond tame swan because that is what most people are familiar with. Decoying these birds in can be difficult especially after they have been hunted for a while. Movement and things that are out of place is all the weary birds need to bypass your set up.
Tundra Swan Blind
Yesterday’s hunt we set a large decoy spread in a old soy bean field and we hid in a nearby ditch with plenty of mud and water to make it interesting. Most of us were using 12 gauge shotguns but there was at least one 10 gauge in the ditch with us. Tundra Swan are migratory birds so hunters are required to use non toxic shot and many of us had steel shot. The effective range of steel shot is a lot less than traditional lead shot. Given that and the fact that the Tundra Swan is a large bird it is easy to misjudge how close the bird is and to shoot before it is in the range of the gun.
Hunting with a guide like Conman’s gives you access to the area to hunt, as well as decoys, and someone that has the experience to give you a good hunt. Watching those big birds fly in I’m glad we had a guide to call the shot so we could effectively kill the birds.
Tundra Swan I find to be a pretty tasty critter so I’m glad I got one to make some great meals. While buying meat at the grocery store is fine but there is something satisfying about killing fresh organic meat for the table. I haven’t decided how I’ll cook it but maybe another Swan Pot Pie is in my near future.
