Duck Hunting
Duck Hunting is explored in this website. Everything you need to know about duck hunting is explained in 9 points.
Hunters of my generation grew up believing we were heirs to a wasted legacy. By the time we were old enough to shoulder a gun, all that remained of the golden age of duck hunting were vintage tales by Gordon Mc Quarrie and Nash Buckingham.
Throughout our youth, drought and wetland drainage continued to take their toll on duck numbers. The number of duck hunters thinned, too. From an all-time high of 53,100 in 1977, Missouri waterfowl hunter numbers shrank to 22,500 in the early 1990s.
Then, something miraculous happened. Ducks Unlimited and other citizen conservation groups, together with state and federal agencies, restored millions of acres of wetland. When rain returned to drought-stricken nesting areas, duck numbers rebounded. Several duck species now are at or above their historic levels. Suddenly, the golden days of duck hunting are back.
Any general-purpose shotgun 20 gauge or larger is practical for duck hunting. Modified or improved cylinder chokes are preferred.
Because lead shot poisons waterfowl and birds of prey, including eagles, waterfowl hunters must use ammunition with non-toxic shot. Steel is the least expensive alternative. It isn’t quite as heavy as lead, so it has a shorter effective range. However, years of experience have demonstrated that steel is effective at reasonable ranges. Other choices include bismuth/tin, tungsten/iron and tungsten polymer, all of which are ballistic ally superior to, but more expensive than steel.
The choice of shot size depends on type of shot, the size of the ducks you hunt and your average shot range. Experts recommend using steel shot two sizes larger than you would use if you were shooting lead shot or the ballistic ally comparable nontoxic shot alternatives. If Grandpa always used No. 4 lead shot for mallards, trade up to No. 2 in steel.
Many hunters find No. 3 steel shot a good all-purpose load. For decoying ducks at short range, No. 5 or No. 6 steel shot can provide excellent results.
The most obvious question facing beginning duck hunters is, "Where can I hunt?" The question that bedevils beginners and graybeards alike is, "When should I hunt?" The Conservation Department can help you answer both questions.
Missouri has dozens of wetland areas where you can hunt ducks. Thirteen have managed duck hunts with limited access to ensure hunting quality and safety. These are listed in the annual Migratory Bird Digest, available wherever duck stamps are sold. Half the daily hunting slots at these areas are awarded through a reservation process in September. The other half are awarded by drawing each morning.
Hunters who show up for daily drawings run the risk of being turned away, but the process provides access to Conservation Department personnel who may know about good spots and can tell you how to get there. You can get information online about which areas have the most ducks.
"The water fowler who lures birds to decoys is like a painter, working his canvas in the half-light of morning to create an illusion of nature and life. His raw materials are water, marsh, blocks of wood and a sense of proportion."
–Norman Strung, Misty Mornings and Moonless Nights
To a novice, one decoy spread looks pretty much like another. But designing a "stool" that pulls ducks in is an art. A good decoy spread must take into account three rules of waterfowl behavior.
The hail call consists of three to five loud to medium "hunts" with descending pitch and volume. Start with this call when you spot a flock of birds.
The come-back call sounds like the hail call, but it is softer and the notes are more drawn out. Use this call to turn a flock back your way if they get sidetracked or if they make a pass at your spread and then fly straight away, as if to leave.
The feeding chuckle is a low, gabbling call. Use it intermittently, throwing in a few soft, single quacks, when birds are circling your spread at close range.
Silence is the most difficult call for novice duck hunters to master. The more you call, the more you risk making an error. As long as the birds are doing what you want them to do, play it safe and be quiet.
Instructional tapes are helpful in learning to use your call, but to learn to call ducks, observe an experienced hunter. Don’t just listen, but watch the birds. You’ll discover that good callers adjust call type, loudness, frequency, cadence and urgency to the birds’ behavior.
Duck hunters must have a Migratory Bird Hunting Permit and a federal Migratory Bird Conservation Stamp, more commonly known as a duck stamp. Those over age 15 also must have small game hunting permit.
Orient your decoy spread so birds flying into the open slot are flying into the wind. Position yourself slightly to one side of the birds’ approach path so they aren’t looking directly at you.
Duck hunters who leave the order of fire to chance inevitably find themselves clobbering the same birds, while a dozen others within easy range escape untouched. Buckingham and his companion based their gunning strategy on their individual wing shooting abilities and the limitations of their guns and ammunition. To ensure maximum shooting opportunity, they let the flock come all the way in, waiting until the lead birds were practically on the water before opening fire.
Another common shooting strategy is to divide the area around the blind into fields of fire. The person on the left takes the leftmost birds, the hunter on the right shoots birds on his side, and the one in the middle confines his shooting to the center of the flock.
Things get more complicated with more than three gunners. Rotating gunners, each person shooting in turn, is usually the best option. The details of your gunning strategy are less important than actually having a strategy. Ducks have a way of obliterating the best-laid plans, but your chances of bagging birds are better if you at least start with some general ground rules.
They won’t land in the middle of an area already occupied by other birds. Use this to your advantage by leaving an inviting opening in the middle of the spread and positioning that hole so it’s within shooting distance of your blind. Arrange decoys in the shape of a letter C or V so incoming ducks can land without flying over other (fake) ducks.