Lack of love for waterfowlers

[Banded_spooney]

i always have said i get a fully plumed out holy wood (spoony) im mounting it. We never get them this far north

If you are ever doing hunt tests in California in December or January I'd let you shoot a limit of bootlips to watch your dogs work.

 

[Cant hit em]

I forgot to add , new addition this season. She is almost 7 months im self training her , about to begin force fetch

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[JBrew]

West TN, here, going on my 38th year. Back when the big geese still migrated this far, I always said if I had the money, I'd chase them from Canada all the way south. Now we kill only a couple a year, but the Specks have showed up and they're fun too. We hunt private and public both. Mallards are our main ducks, but kill all the other pudlers as well. Lanyard has a DR85. Powers A2. Lares Hybrid, along with a Half Breed and Riceland.

 

[hobbes]

I haven't been a serious duck hunter in ages. I threaten to start back up but I've got too many other things that I hunt as it is.

I still like seeing all the photos. My brother still hunts them back home in Southern Illinois. Here is a small sample of the updates he and his sons will send me each year.

 

[spur60]

Killed tons of ducks growing up in MN in the 90's. Tech school in ND opened my eyes up to field hunting in the falls of 00 and 01. Moved to SD, lived here ever since. really ramped up the waterfowl hunting here in SD to the point we had 2-3 trailers full of decoys and 8-10 guys scouting and hunting all the time. These days, I prefer small groups or hunting solo; don't much care what I shoot, whether it's BWT on opener, GWT on a cold November afternoon on a lake, honkers in August, Honkers in January, snows, mallards in the corn, wood ducks on the river...I like it all.
Current decoy rig:
15 dozen canada silhouettes
4 dozen sleeper canada shells
5 dozen mallard socks
50 dozen snow goose socks
8 mallard spinners
4 dozen duck floaters
1 dozen Canada floaters
1 A-frame blind, 3 layout blinds, 4 backboards, a decoy cart, a few otter sleds
Same shotgun for the past 18 years- winchester SX2. Patternmaster choke, federal & fiocchi steel shot mostly with some tungsten & bismuth mixed in occasionally.

 

[GreenNDark Timber]

I'm in Arkansas and have cabin off the White River about 20 miles east of Stuttgart where I do most of my hunting. 90%+ of my hunting is in the timber but I hunt fields on occasion also.

Gun of choice is Winchester SX3 shooting Heavy Metal #2s. I like G&H decoys but have no real preference as long as the wings don't spin. I blow RNT & Echo calls.

 

[6t4nova]

I’m in Bakersfield. Mostly just hunt refugees but will make a few trips further north this year to shoot some geese.

Did pretty well last season even with a late opener due to lack of water. If anyone in Bako area wants to hit the refuge this season, give me a shout.

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[Davidson51]

So Cal here, hunting the local refuges, mostly pintail, widgeons, teals, spoonies, and gadwalls. Trying to get up to @Cant hit em 's refuge this year with my sons. I upgraded to an A400 Xtreme and JJ Lares T1 call last season, both have been game changers for me. One son prefers classic a wood stock over under, shooting a CZ Redhead Premier. The other will shoot anything you hand to him. This thread reminded me that I need to get him his own shotgun before season starts.

 

[NV HUNTER]

Ducks in the desert!
Browning 10 gauge!

 

[Hydr]

Public land Minnesota. Mostly north central. Been doing it for 15~ years or so. I shoot a nova 12 because they’ve been reliable as they come for my entire life. I don’t touch fields anymore. Typically will shoot 1-4’s from steel to hevi metal. Don’t have a preference for decoys but I do like the floating decoy bags over the old mesh laundry bags. Texas rigged all my personal dekes last year and tested out some jerk rigs.

I wore neoprenes forever and after getting frog togg breathables with zip in insulation I will never go back. For me the Sitka boreal jacket was worth it with the deal I got on it. A merino base layer underneath is all I typically run and am always toasty. Hand muff with my left glove on is my usual setup. It gets real cold and windy here during mid to late season. The only real “gadget” I have is the Dr. Duck chest rig and I’m actually a really big fan of that.

Waterfowl can be expensive but I love bird hunting so much I just can’t ever see not getting out there. I typically hunt around 20-30 days a season as long as ice allows me to be out.

 

[mcr-85]

I used to do some duck hunting. I used to walk the river and jump shoot them. I also did a little bit of hunting over decoys. My dogs got old and are gone now. I haven't hunted waterfowl since.

Lots of good memories with Bo and Tug.

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[DCT1983]

I would rather waterfowl hunt than anything else. I love it. I live and hunt in NW Missouri. Basically only hunt private ponds and ag fields. Since having 2 kids at home I don't get out near as much as I used to but still love it.

I run Dakota duck decoys and FA full body geese. My calls of choice are TNT Alpha hen and a Tim Grounds Over Haulin'. I have shot the same old SBE2 for about 15 years and can't justify trading it in on a SBE3.

 

[CorbLand]

I'm in Arkansas and have cabin off the White River about 20 miles east of Stuttgart where I do most of my hunting. 90%+ of my hunting is in the timber but I hunt fields on occasion also.

Gun of choice is Winchester SX3 shooting Heavy Metal #2s. I like G&H decoys but have no real preference as long as the wings don't spin. I blow RNT & Echo calls.

So lucky. Flooded timber is a dream of mine.

 

[NDGuy]

 

[gadwallop]

West TN, here, going on my 38th year. Back when the big geese still migrated this far, I always said if I had the money, I'd chase them from Canada all the way south. Now we kill only a couple a year, but the Specks have showed up and they're fun too. We hunt private and public both. Mallards are our main ducks, but kill all the other pudlers as well. Lanyard has a DR85. Powers A2. Lares Hybrid, along with a Half Breed and Riceland.

I second the transition away from big honkers to specks around there. For what it's worth, I like the specks even more than Canadas. Maybe it's because for so long they were so dang rare in those parts. And they always eat well!

 

[gadwallop]

Grew up hunting the MS Delta near Memphis, in TN AR and MS. 80% private ag fields. Spent the past several years transitioning to coastal public lands in VA FL and TX due to frequent moves.
Trying to figure out Southern CA this year... wish me luck.
I exclusively use Haydel's calls. Love them to death. I've shot a secondhand Benelli SBE2 for eight or nine years, and I'll stop shooting 3.5"s when they let me shoot 4"s

 

[Banded_spooney]

So lucky. Flooded timber is a dream of mine.

These dakota boys and their dry field mallards and honkers look like more fun to me

Looks a little cold though....

 

[Banded_spooney]

I second the transition away from big honkers to specks around there. For what it's worth, I like the specks even more than Canadas. Maybe it's because for so long they were so dang rare in those parts. And they always eat well!

Specks are the way to go... They are my favorite thing to hunt hands down. 10 bird limits are pretty sweet. When 4 guys can kill 40 of them it's pretty special.

 

[CorbLand]

These dakota boys and their dry field mallards and honkers look like more fun to me

Looks a little cold though....

I have had a couple days on the river where guns have frozen up. I live in a bowl surrounded by mountains and cold air will push in and settle for days at a time.

I do agree though, I would also like to hit the central flyway one day as well.

 

[CorbLand]

Guess I will add a picture. I am terrible about actually taking them so this is one of the few I do have.