This is one way to keep your ducks in a row.
Hunters who have targeted waterfowl for very long are familiar with a problem with orthodox duck straps. When they are hanging from a branch or over your shoulder, gravity is sufficient enough to keep the birds at the bottom and away from the opening.
But when you drop the strap into a boat or back of a truck, or even drop it to take a break on the walk back, many times a few of the birds will come off.
The Hangman small game carrier has found a solution to that problem.
Instead of the traditional “Y” shape, the Hangman is a tight oval from top to bottom. On the top is a hinge, much like a carabineer. The hunter pushes the bird’s neck against the hinge, which snaps back to close the strap once the bird has fallen to the bottom.
I had a chance to test the Hangman. The first thing I noticed is that it truly seems to be made to last longer than the other straps out there. The metal and neoprene rest is quite a bit thicker than any other game carriers I was familiar with.
But a problem I quickly ran into was fitting the neck of the birds through the opening, which was already more narrow than a normal strap, but was closed off even more as the hinge forces you to push the bird in at more of a sideways angle, instead of straight down.
Another problem I encountered was the hinge closing too quickly and pinching feathers off of the birds. A duck you were hoping to mount may not fare too well with this strap.
The Hangman claims to hold more than seven geese, and a hunter could probably squeeze a big Canada on there if they tried hard enough, but it may be more trouble than it’s worth due to the narrow opening.
However, where the Hangman did shine is when I dropped the mostly-full strap into the boat for the bumpy ride back to the ramp. No birds came loose and, since I think this is the main feature of the product, not to mention the countless times I’ve had to bend down to pick up fallen birds, I would say the benefits outweigh the cons — I will be replacing my previous duck strap with the Hangman.
For more information on the Hangman game carrier, visit thehangman.com.
