I'm a novice duck hunter, but the short answer is that it depends on the duck. In most cases, you want to be in a blind of some sort (these can be box blinds, pit blinds, layout blinds, etc) or at least concealed in some way. I've shot mallards and teal just crouching down in high grass alongside of a small pond. Which brings me to my next point--water. Ducks like it, kind of a lot. But depending on the kind of ducks your going for, you'll either want to be in shallow or deeper water. For instance, we call mallards "puddle ducks." They like water, but they tend to like it shallower and pretty calm (at least where we hunt them on the Chesapeake Bay). If we're going for puddle ducks, we'll usually set ourselves up in a scrubbed up (covered in grass, tree branches, etc. from around the blind) with the wind to our backs, facing out over the water with decoys in front of us spread out with a v-shaped gap in the center to get the ducks to come in and land there. We use calls when we can see them coming in. When the ducks come in to land, they sail a little bit into the wind to slow them down and give them a soft landing. This allows you to shoot them pretty easily. That's ideal. Every now and then, you'll get a few ducks that whizz past the decoys, either giving them a quick glance, or because they didn't even know they were there. If they're hugging the shore, looking for a spot to land, you can normally get a pretty good shot at them, but they're tough to hit when they're flying full speed. Sea ducks tend to be divers and like deeper water to hunt for fish. With them, you're on a boat with lines of decoys set up about 30 yards off the back. Then, you basically stay still and wait for them to come check out the decoys. They fly at about 60 mph, if not faster, when with the wind, and in order to give the proper lead on the shot, it's recommended that you shoot behind them to catch them when they come back around the world. I've never had to lead birds that far in my life--like 15-20 yards in some cases, using a 10 gauge with 3.5" shells. So much fun, though.
Well, shit. Another year's hunting draws to a close. Or should I call it "long walks in the countryside with a dog and a gun". It's depressing how badly Italy's been bled of game, even my dad's friend's personal preserve has gone to shit because he hasn't bothered to repopulate it over the past four or five years. Couple declining numbers of stuff to shoot with catastrophically bad form on my part (not helped by being a lefty shooter stuck with a righty gun) on the one day when there was actually a lot of game about, and you have the year's full, depressing haul: - 4 woodcock - 4 wood pigeon - 4 pheasant - 4 grouse - 2 hare ....Annnnddd that's it. Fuck me. The only thing that's overabundant at the moment is motherfucking wild boar, which are everywhere. But due to retarded regulations, I'm not allowed to hunt them (even though they've become the bane of farmers' and most other wildlife's existence) unless I'm part of a dedicated boar-hunting team, and every time I've come across them in the woods while out after smaller game, by the time I've switched the shells in my gun from birdshot to sabots, they've been long gone. I really need to get to America. I also want to get my hands on a decent ex-service rifle, possibly an M1 Garand, for boar-hunting, but they cost the earth over here.
I live outside of Arkansas rice country, so we hunt flooded fields quite a bit, either from a sled blind, a pit blind, or a layout blind. We also hunt river bottoms and flooded woods out of a boat or simply leaning against a tree. For fields, sled blinds are your most basic- above the ground structures with a bench seat and hog wire covering a frame. Blind material can be any combination of branches, hay, rice stubble, etc. Flooded fields are flat and barren, however, and a sled blind sticks out like a sore thumb so it is usually only good for a few weeks early in the season when ducks aren't very skittish. A pit blind is a steel box that is buried in the middle of a rice or bean field and offers the most concealment. They're cool, but fields are usually pretty boring. They're great for hanging out with your buddies and eating moon pies, and they kill ducks, but whatevs. Layout blinds are one-man blinds designed to allow the hunter to lie down and hunt dry fields or very shallow water. They're deadly when the dime is right. Miserable every other time. Woods and river bottom hunting is a totally different animal. Ducks, particularly Mallards, LOVE flooded woods. The woods offer concealment, food, and rest- everything an animal wants. By nature, river bottoms flood seasonally. With new flooding comes new opportunity for ducks, because ducks love new water. Studies have shown that ducks are most active after heavy rain/flooding. It is kind of understood that they're looking for new water and new food. It's hard to explain what it's like when Mallards are dropping through the trees to get into a timber hole. For timber hunting, really all you need to do is lean against the shady side of a tree and avoid looking up when ducks are working. As far as getting the ducks to come to you goes, your number one best way to make that happen is get where the ducks want to be. It is entirely possible to be off by 50 yards and never pull the trigger. We were exactly where the ducks were 24 hours prior. No telling what made them leave with such fervor. The rest is decoys, calling, and concealment. Ideally, you want to shoot decoying ducks. The duck has seen your decoys, heard your calling, not picked up that you're there and he's getting ready to land in your raft of fake ducks. You'll shoot him five feet off of the water and fifteen yards in front of you. Of course, this doesn't happen all of the time. Sometimes they look like they're going to land, then turn on the afterburners to get out of there. Something clued it off to you being around and you're left with a pass shot. Some folks like to set up on points and such and shoot at whatever is flying by. It's fun, but usually not very effective and can frequently result in a number of crippled birds. So, that's duck hunting, basically.
Yep, that's just how we hunt the puddles in southern Minnesota for fowl like mallards, bluewing teal, and the ever-present sky carp. My cousins own kick-ass blind boats that we park in the reeds and sit in, or on shore a little ways from where we set our decoys.
Crappie are heating up. First time spider rigging. I like it. it's pretty damn relaxing watching the rods and depth finder. The can is a regular 12 oz. model for size reference. Big fish of the day was just over 1 3/4 lbs.
My cousin has been finding some big sheds on the family farm in west-central IL (Brown County). The one in his left hand measures 80.5, the one in the right is 73.5 (with 12" and 13" tines). Spoiler They found this deer dead near a creek, suspected due to blue tongue. He was 155". Spoiler I want the lakes to thaw out so I can start fishing again. I'll be headed into the Boundary Waters for a canoe trip in October this year, possibly May as well. I am excited about the October trip already.
Spent 2 days on Catalina Island diving and spearing and catching lobsters. This is a boat the guy in the pics built from the ground up, great fishing and diving platform but due to the amount of shit we bring there was only 2 of us on the boat.
Yep, we sure can. Actually one of the places where we dove the only legal way to take fish in the area is to spear them, and the fish we are spearing hang out in about 50 feet of water. We grab a gun and go down and smash sea urchins and wait the them to come it, then we have dinner. There are pretty strict limits on numbers and sizes, you can not spear lobsters though our use any tool other than you hand to catch them while diving.
I guess the Brits can deer hunt with the best of them: (graphic but fuggin awesome) One thing Europe has on us is the use of silencers when hunting. You'd think it'd be a "common sense" to help prevent hearing damage and noise pollution.
Rain followed by ice followed by a few inches of wet snow in April? So much for good pheasant numbers this year...