Steve Sanford
Well-known member
All~
I had an e-mail lately from a young gunner asking about colors for the bill(s) on Broadbill. He sounds a lot (too much?) like me, in that he cares very much that all of his rig mates match each other and that everything is "correct".
Of course, from a biological/scientific perspective, almost any Grey will do. Mix a little flat Black into some flat White and you will get a cool Grey that is in the ball park. Most Grey Primers are close enough right out of the can. Certainly no more and no fewer Broadbill will fall to the gun as a result of bill colors.
Nevertheless, I had a chance yesterday to get to a Home Depot. I selected 3 different blues - any of which could be used for bills on Broadbill. As most of you know, the bill color varies throughout the year, thanks to daylight levels and hormones (and also among individuals thanks to age, health, diet, geography, genetics - and probably also "general cussedness"). The dullest bills are earlier in the fall when the adults are still coming out of their summer eclipse plumage and the brightest are during the late winter breeding season. Drakes get the brightest bill; hens are always a bit darker, with the suggestion of a "saddle" along the ridge of the bill.
The three colors have great names. I could not find any good blues in the usual selection so had to go to Behr's other "collections". Nevertheless, I got my 8-ounce samples in BEHR ULTRA FLAT EXTERIOR.
Half Sea Fog (N470-3) is the palest color. It's great for a late-winter drake - and also for bills on drake Wigeon, Pintail and Ruddy in full color. I would also use it for the wing coverts on Blue-wing Teal. I will be using this on a bunch of Herter's Model 72 drake Broadbill that are now "in process".
Norwester (N470-4) is just a bit darker. If you buy one color, use this for both drake and hen Broadbill. It could also be used for Wigeon, Pintail, Ruddy, BWT, Ringneck, Redhead.
Dark Storm Cloud (740F-4). This is the darkest of the 3 - and is best for hen Broadbill, Ringneck and Redhead bills.
(And, yes, the title of this post honors one of my absolute favorites, Janis Joplin)
Hope this helps.
SJS
I had an e-mail lately from a young gunner asking about colors for the bill(s) on Broadbill. He sounds a lot (too much?) like me, in that he cares very much that all of his rig mates match each other and that everything is "correct".
Of course, from a biological/scientific perspective, almost any Grey will do. Mix a little flat Black into some flat White and you will get a cool Grey that is in the ball park. Most Grey Primers are close enough right out of the can. Certainly no more and no fewer Broadbill will fall to the gun as a result of bill colors.
Nevertheless, I had a chance yesterday to get to a Home Depot. I selected 3 different blues - any of which could be used for bills on Broadbill. As most of you know, the bill color varies throughout the year, thanks to daylight levels and hormones (and also among individuals thanks to age, health, diet, geography, genetics - and probably also "general cussedness"). The dullest bills are earlier in the fall when the adults are still coming out of their summer eclipse plumage and the brightest are during the late winter breeding season. Drakes get the brightest bill; hens are always a bit darker, with the suggestion of a "saddle" along the ridge of the bill.
The three colors have great names. I could not find any good blues in the usual selection so had to go to Behr's other "collections". Nevertheless, I got my 8-ounce samples in BEHR ULTRA FLAT EXTERIOR.
Half Sea Fog (N470-3) is the palest color. It's great for a late-winter drake - and also for bills on drake Wigeon, Pintail and Ruddy in full color. I would also use it for the wing coverts on Blue-wing Teal. I will be using this on a bunch of Herter's Model 72 drake Broadbill that are now "in process".
Norwester (N470-4) is just a bit darker. If you buy one color, use this for both drake and hen Broadbill. It could also be used for Wigeon, Pintail, Ruddy, BWT, Ringneck, Redhead.
Dark Storm Cloud (740F-4). This is the darkest of the 3 - and is best for hen Broadbill, Ringneck and Redhead bills.
(And, yes, the title of this post honors one of my absolute favorites, Janis Joplin)
Hope this helps.
SJS
