I get that ringers are at the bottom because they are hard to clean and not as good to eat.

I don't however get why spoonies are looked down upon and why some other ducks are seen as better than others.

I love to hunt gadwall and wigeon but we shoot a lot of them. My favorite to hunt and in general is the pintail.

Most of them I see as being just puddlers and divers.

If I had to make a list though it would go as follows:

Pintail
Cinnamon teal
Mallard
Can
Bufflehead
Wooduck
Gadwall
Wigeon
GWT
Redhead
BWT
Spoonie
Ringer

I know there are more ducks than what's on my list but I don't know much about them I guess to form an opinion.

What's your favorite duck to hunt or in general?

Wigeon
Pinnies
Mallard

A lot of the old school guys will argue that green is all they want to shoot. I'm with you though, love to watch a big sprig circle. Cinnamon teal and pintails are my 2 fav Texas species (along w harlequins for non Texas).

That's one heck of sprig!

Hunting the coast only for a couple years, pintails moved down on my list. I still get more excited when a greenhead is circling than anything else. Mine would be in order

1. Mallards, because I still haven't shot a lot of them

2.wigeon

3.pintail

4.woodies

Mallard
Pintail
Widgeon
Woodduck
Canvasback
Teal
Gadwall

Pintail
Can
Widgeon
Mallard
Gadwall
Redhead

I like shootin ducks. Doesn't matter what they are. A lot of it is local, too. In places they celebrate when they get a good looking ringneck, here they are looked down upon. Up north near the border they never see a good plumed gadwall.

hierarchy? okay...

Mallard
Wigeon
Pintail
Green Wing/Blue Wing Teal
Bufflehead
Gadwall
Wood duck (haven't gotten one yet)
Cinnamon Teal (never saw one in TX)













Then somewhere way down here,
Redheads and Canvasbacks
Scaup
Spoonies














And then way down here in a tie for the lowest priority would be:
ringers, Mergansers, and coots.

Pintail
Gadwall
Green Wing Teal (because they are a challenge to hit)
Blue Wing Teal
Widgeon
Spoonie

Mallard
Pintail
Canvasback

Pintail (never shot a drake)
Wood duck (never shot one)
Mallard
Wigeon
Cinnamon
Can
Redhead
Gadwall
GWT
BWT
Spoonie

Greenheads
Sprig
Woodies
Widgeon
Cans
RedHeads
Gaddies
Teal
Goldeneyes
Scaup

Greenhead.
OTM's

I love them all, each has a cool quality about them that makes them unique. Sure, I would love to have pintails, widgeon, and Canvasbacks buzzing the spread more often or have a strap full of green with a kicker but how many hunts have been saved by that good tasting, almost-mallard-sized, and subtlety beautiful Gadwall. I'd like variety but I'll take a strap of Grey any day of the week.

I usually pass Ringnecks like a lot of guys but who can deny how cool it is when the little jets buzz your spread 10 ft off the water doing 50mph. Sometimes they sucker me into the shot just for the challenge of it (aged the go in sausage fine).

I guess that doesn't really answer the question but to me I just can't really put them in order, they pretty much all tie.

Please clarify All ducks or only ducks in north texas. Some people say goldeneyes and scaup but leave out sea ducks which to me rank the highest. I would put old squaw and harli at the top.

Are we ranking on taste, mount desire or looks.

On an ideal North Texas Day here's what I get most excited about:

Pintail
Mallard
Canvasback
Wood duck
Gadwall
Widgeon
Teal
Spoonie
Ringneck

My huntin buddy would have to agree about the spoonie. His ultimate bird is a fully plumed spoonie to put on the wall. He's obsessed. He got one this year that's just short of full plume and he was devistated! I told him he could come to the big water treatment sh!t tank next to my softball fields and shoot as many as he wanted!

Where we hunt gadwalls are a dime a dozen. They are still one of my favorites to hunt because you can shoot 6, they circle like crazy, and they're big and pretty tasty as far as ducks go!

Mine is:

Pintail (eluded me)
Woodie (also eluded me)
Mallard (going to pick up my mount this week)
Gadwall
Redhead
Canvasback
Wigeon
GWT
Bufflehead

pintail and canvasback, the rest are all about the same

First off, I will say that the Sandhill Crane is the king of all migratory birds. Ducks go as follows:

Mallard
Wigeon
Pintail
Gadwall
Redhead
Teal
Bufflehead
Woody
Canvasback
Coot
Ringer
Shovler

I make a concerted effort to not kill any shovlers.

Green Heads
Sprig


Woodies, teal, Wigeon
Gadwall, Redheads, cans, spoonies





blue bills, mergansers, ringnecks


that order and spacing...

Which ever lands in the decoys first

I think it comes down to wanting more what you don't have. The more you are able to consistently bag a certain species, the less appealing they become. Not that they fall way down on the list, but you are numbed to them. Here's my list:

Pintail
Mallard
Gadwall/Widgeon
Teal
Cans/Reds
Spoonies








Tank terds

I'm assuming OTM stands for Other Than Mallards?