To take more birds, you have to pay attention to all of the details. A hunter's guide...
Dec 1, 2001
It's been my good fortune to have hunted with world-champion duck callers, legendary guides, shotgunning champions, boat builders and decoy makers across North America-people whose interest in waterfowling borders on obsession. In effect, it has been a graduate course in waterfowling, as I've been able to soak up the wisdom of their collective decades spent plying their craft from timbered backwaters to ocean bays.
If there's one trait common to all good waterfowlers, it's this: They pay attention to the details, no matter how small they might be. The difference between a successful hunt and a nearly successful hunt can usually be traced to simple mistakes. Here, then, are the seven most common reasons why waterfowlers take fewer ducks and geese, and what you can do to avoid them.
1. Who's in Charge Here?
Knowing when to call the shot is an art that can take a waterfowler years to perfect. When entering a blind, decide who will be responsible for calling the shot when birds approach. Usually the person with the most experience is best for this job. The trick is "reading" the birds to tell when they have come as close as they are going to get. Too many gunners let flocks of circling ducks or geese pass one too many times before shooting. With each pass, there is a chance that the birds will spot movement, the shine off a decoy or something else that signals them to avoid your blocks.
A simple rule: The shot should be called when the most number of birds are in range for the most number of gunners. There are variations on this theme, however. Sometimes, for instance, not all gunners will be in position to shoot-especially if hunters are extended across a field spread. In such a case, some gunning is better than no shooting at all, so seize the opportunity and call the shot. If you wait for an "ideal" moment, the birds may move on without ever presenting the perfect shot. And after all, a bird in the hand...
2. Preseason Scouting
Failing to plan, as is often lamented, is planning to fail. While most waterfowlers have a favorite blind that they return to season after season, it pays to scout every year, developing contingencies should your sacred blind go dry. (And sooner or later, in most cases, it will.)
Birds will frequent different areas throughout the season. The agricultural harvest, water conditions and hunting pressure all combine to dictate what the birds will do at any given moment. Properly anticipating what the birds will do is tantamount to gunning success. Since birds like to have a food source near their roosting areas, try to concentrate your efforts on areas that have both food and rest sites in proximity. And make sure that food source is there throughout the season, for once spilled grains have been eaten, the birds will move on to new sources.
If you're hunting Canada geese, track the grain harvest around refuges so you can identify the fields in which birds are likely to be feeding on the day you hunt. Honkers quickly locate freshly harvested fields, so find a feeding flock in the evening and you'll stand a good chance of getting action in the same spot the following morning. (You'll often get repeat action on puddle ducks as well.) Getting permission to hunt a farmer's land might be your toughest challenge, but offering to share the bag-in areas where there isn't much hunting pressure-sometimes is enough to convince him to let you hunt. In areas where there is considerable pressure-around most of the major refuges, for example-it often takes a formal lease to secure hunting privileges. If you can afford it, keep your options open by leasing more than one area. Split the cost among several buddies and you'll stretch your hunting dollar.
3. Too Much Calling
While a call in skilled hands can be a musical instrument, blown by an amateur-as the adage goes-it can be the greatest conservation tool ever devised. The most common crime is calling too much. The golden rule is to keep quiet while birds are approaching and blow when they're going away. The moral: The worst that can happen is that departing birds will keep on going. With any luck they'll hear your calls, like the sounds, and turn back for another look.
Every waterfowler has been in a blind where someone couldn't resist hacking incessantly on a call. Knowing when to keep quiet, however, has more to do with taking ducks than making noise. If you've got an experienced waterfowler in the blind, take your cue to blow from him. And if you're a guest in another person's blind, proper etiquette demands that you politely ask permission before unleashing your favorite lonesome hen rendition.
We require
all participants in interactive areas to accept the terms of the Bonnier Corporation subscriber agreement. Please
read the agreement
before making comments. When you click on the button above to submit your comments, you are indicating your acceptance of and
are agreeing to adhere to the terms of the subscriber agreement.
RELATED ARTICLES
