Any Duck Hunters out there?

[Banshee7]

Just wondered how many fellow AH'ers love to duck hunt.  Duck season is the one part of the year I live for.  I've only gotten to go a few times so far this season due to the lack of water, but we have killed quite a few.  Any stories, talk about gear, etc...?

I would post pictures, but I'm not sure how well that would go on here after viewing the other thread.

#S#



Banshee7

[Flench]

Love to duck hunt and I feel that my thread being lock because of Tigger29 is BS . Post your pic's !!

[Spikes]

Love duck hunting as you know Josh

This year was pretty crappy though, like you said, low water and even lower at the lake and ponds. Only went a few times and got only a hand full of ducks.

[Heretic]

Hey Banshee,

you know I'm a duck hunter.  This is the first season in the last 20 years I have not hunted waterfowl. I strictly bow and gun hunted deer this season.   Ohio had a weird 60 day season. It opened on October 16 and closed the 2nd or 3rd week of November. It was closed for one week and then reopened to finish out the balance of 60 days. So, this year the season ended before Christmas.  As you know Ohio needs the weather to get cold up in Canada and freeze up so the migration will kick in. With the season closing so early this year I said screw it and just hunted deer. I really like the late season hunts because we see lots of migrants and many different species of ducks. Divers and puddlers both.
Last year the season of 2009 I hunted the day after Christmas and shot my first ever drake Pintail. He was a younger bird and did not yet have a sprig on him. So, the crappier the weather it gets for us here in Ohio the more birds we see.

[Flench]

Very cool ..Look's like you had a good day Heretic ..here's a pic of my call's .

[Banshee7]

Heretic, I see your Sprig and raise you my second banded Pintail (Although I may have shared this last year, but oh well...This was killed on January 1, 2009)





Patience, I'm still uploading pictures to Photobucket...

[Banshee7]

Unfortunately, since we haven't been but three or four times this year, there isn't many pictures, but I have several pictures from last year and previous years.

This is last year



Christmas Eve this year.  5 of us killed a limit of mallards with only 3 hens.  One limit is missing from this picture as one guy had to leave the hunt early.





Instead of posting several posts, I'll just modify this post and add pictures.

[Flench]

WOW ! Nice hunt .. What do you guy's do when there is not any water around . I have not been duck hunting in a few year's but you guy's are making me want to go now . Only thing is the lake is dry ...

[Banshee7]

WOW ! Nice hunt .. What do you guy's do when there is not any water around . I have not been duck hunting in a few year's but you guy's are making me want to go now . Only thing is the lake is dry ...

Luckily, two of the guys in our hunting club can afford to pump water from a well.  So we have water, they've jsut been busy getting the usual "customers" in on a few hunts. 

Last year at the end of the season the ducks started hitting dry land, so we set up in some lay out blinds and smoke their tails.  Since we have several hundred decoys, we cut the keels off of about 50 of them and set them out...worked like a charm.

[Flench]

Banshee7 , I see your not to far from me . Where you hunting ?

[Heretic]

Over the years the majority of my waterfowl hunts are on Lake Erie. Big water hunting is either hit or miss. The biggest problem is that it is public hunting so other hunters may or may not help. They will either scare birds to or away from you........ I have been hunting Pennsylvania in a small swamp and we really put the smack down on wood ducks. I am hoping the season of 2011 I will return to waterfowl hunting in PA.

[Banshee7]

Banshee7 , I see your not to far from me . Where you hunting ?

Mainly around Lauderdale, Dyer, and Crockett counties.  But, like I said, we only have water on two farms this year so far.

[Banshee7]

Another good hunt.  7 of us limited out on mallards, and they were all drakes (28!).  We also killed 3 drake pintails.

[Heretic]

Duck decoys I have painted over the years.... These are all E Allen decoys that are made out of two part urethane foam that I hand painted.

[Banshee7]

Here are the calls I use.



Far left - Was a Haydel Honker, but I have cut the reeds and made a few adjustments to make is a Speck Call (Speckle Belly geese....."White Fronted Geese" for the Politically correct people.)

2nd From left - Primos Original Wench Ducks Unlimited Limited Edition.  It's a few years old, at least 10 years old.  The ink has worn completely off of it.

Middle - Primos Bois D'arc Wench, great call, just can't find room on my lanyard for it.

2nd From Right - Primos Acrylic Original Wench Ducks Unlimited Limited Edition.  Just got it last year, great sound!

Far Right - Your guess is as good as mine.  It's so old that the ink is worn off of it, too, but it's a great Canada Honker!