THE GUN IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF GEAR ,
as that ’ s how you will be taking down your waterfowl . If you don ’ t already have a gun of choice , and don ’ t know what to go with , a shotgun is your best bet . Stick with a standard 12 gauge . Your ideal range is about 20 yards out . You don ’ t want to shoot them too close , because your bag limit may not match the amount of birds you actually kill , whether you meant to or not . The same goes for shooting too far out . If the birds are out of range , and you shoot wishfully , you will end up wounding the birds instead of killing them , retrieval will be hard for the ones you did get , and you will have ruined the spot for anyone else in the area . Make sure you stay within range .
You will need decoys and calls if you are hoping for the ideal range and bird . For example , when duck hunting , you will want about a half dozen decoys floating around . Sit and wait for the ducks to circle around the decoys ; they ’ ll be checking them out . Once they get close enough or land next to one is when you are good to go , but allow them some time to survey your spot before you go all gung-ho . When it comes to purchasing a call , especially a duck call , opt for a wooden model . Most experienced hunters will tell you that the wooden calls make softer , more realistic sounds , which bring in more birds , thus a better hunting experience .
Waterfowl hunting also differs from other hunting styles , in that you are not going to want to stay still for the entire time . Birds move around , they travel long distances , and they are quite jumpy , so you will need to mimic some of those characteristics to keep up with them . Instead of setting up a blind and staking out a certain spot for days , you will want to pack up and move periodically . This is the exact opposite of what you would do on a deer hunting trip , so if that is what you are used to , don ’ t be surprised if those same techniques leave you empty-handed .
96 | Fall 2017 | Adventure Outdoors