Duck Hunting Tips
Duck hunting is a unique sport which takes many different skills to succeed in. In other game hunts you may only need a good shot to take down your target, but in duck hunting you need the following to be successful:
- Patience - It's easy to want to start firing off your shotgun in the air when you see a flock of ducks coming, but you need patience to wait until you have the shortest distance between the duck and you. It may be hard to tell when the best time to shoot is, but it's all a part of the duck hunting experience. You will get better over time and knowing when to shoot will become more of a reflex or second nature.
- Accuracy - Many people think that just because ducks fly in flocks together that you can just shoot in the general direction, but this is far from the truth. You need to single out your ducks, by that I mean pick a target, follow it, and try to aim slightly ahead of it. This will allow the duck to fly into the path of your shots.
Ducks are very smart and fast animals. They are easily spooked and have a keen eyesight to sense danger. This means you need to not only be accurate with your shots, but you have to be fast too. Most people prefer to hunt ducks with shotguns. The ideal choice is a pump-action shotgun which allows you to reload fast while having a minimal chance for malfunction. - Concealment - Most fowl have a keen sense of sight, and ducks are no exception, in fact they can easily spot humans from the safety of the sky, which is why proper concealment should be a priority for every serious duck hunter.
Nowadays there are several methods of concealment to choose from. However, you will need more than just camoflauge clothing to be invisible. Shop around and find some netting or a cover which will allow you to be unseen from the sky. You don't need anything expensive, just something to break up your figure and give you an extra edge against the all to elusive duck. - Knowledge - It's important to become familiar with your hunting areas ducks. Different duck species have different behaviorial patterns and will react differently to certain duck calls and duck decoy setups. Doing some thorough scouting will help give you an idea of the species of ducks in the area. Remember though, the best knowledge will always come from your own duck hunting experiences. Try to retain and absorb information from every duck hunting trip you take.
Become familiar with the land and water is also important. You need to know what areas you can access, and where the ducks usually stay. Take a walk around during the day and get to know your hunting grounds. You don't want the ducks to know more about it than you do.
- Duck Decoys - Duck decoys are one of the most important tools in a duck hunters inventory. They will help fool the ducks into thinking an area is populated with living ducks, and they will then fly into an area where the hunter is.
There is no standard to how many duck decoys you need to lay down to successfully fool the ducks. The best way of determining is by taking note of the flock sizes around the area. Try to set your duck decoys up so they look natural. However, sometimes simple trial and error will give you the best results. Test some numbers of duck decoys and see what works. If the ducks are flying towards the duck decoys, then you are in good shape. If they are flying straight past them, then you may want a different setup.
- Duck Calling - Duck callers are a vital tool used to call the ducks into the area. Not only will you physically need a duck caller, but you must know how to use it. There are several different calls you can make and I recommend researching and testing them in your hunting area to see what works the best for you.
Duck hunting is a sport which combines a wide variety of skills to be successful. However, understanding all the aspects of this sport will help give you an edge on your next duck hunting adventure. I hope this helps, and we wish you the best of luck!
