First Duck Hunt

Garys

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I was going to post in the MA duck hunting thread, but figured I'd just start a new.

First duck hunt this morning. In north Texas, not MA Where it was 33 degrees, windy, with freezing rain when we got into the ground blinds. Not many big bodies of water here and we were set up next to a small stock pond on a ranch. Six of us plus the guide. For at least two of us, it was the first time duck hunting.

The guide had about 10 decoys set up in the pond and we hid in the blinds until he called for us to pop up and shoot.

It took a while to get the hang of it, but I did get a few. While it was cold as hell while we were waiting, it was great fun while we were shooting.

One of the guys with us, a native Texan and life long hunter asked me why I came all the way down from MA to hunt when the northeast has really good duck hunting. The answer being, that I'd never thought of duck hunting until a friend suggested we do this hunt.

I think that's going to change. I'll need to take a skeet or trap course so I get better at shooting. I'll also need a shot gun, since the three I have a police/riot guns. Oh, and someone who has experience hunting and would be willing to mentor a noob would be nice as well.

Here's a group photo of us and the mornings take. We'll be back out, but at a different site with a real blind, tomorrow morning.
duckhunt_zps903519af.jpg
 
Nice haul! This has been my first season, and I find the toughest part to be calling, but that will come with time, and practice. No one else I know duck hunts MA, so if you want to head out with me in the late season in December, let me know! I find that just being out there and seeing duck behavior is the best learning experience you can have.
 
Duck Hunting is a lot of fun, you get to shoot a lot if you are in a good spot.

From around the late 80s to late 90s my brother and I did a lot of duck hunting in Ma. When we started, we were fairly clueless. We didn't have anyone to learn from so we watched some videos and what not to learn how to lay a spread of decoys and use duck calls. We basically just taught ourselves and then chipped in together and bought a few decoys and borrowed an old canoe from a friend. We didn't have a dog so we usually retrieved using the canoe.

At first we used to drive out to Grafton and hunt the wetlands around route 140 and the Pike. Someone my brother knew clued us into the spot. There were a few old blinds in there that seemed abandoned so we fixed a couple of them up and hunted there a few years in a row. You had to canoe in to get to the area but it was perfect. We got tons of ducks and some geese there.

After that my brother bought a place in Pepperell and so we started hunting up there quite a bit on the Nissitissit River. Again, we found an old blind no one was using and fixed it up. That was also a good spot.

Once we had kids, we stopped duck hunting. Today we are more into pheasant hunting. The early mornings and frigid weather required for Duck hunting are less appealing to me these days. :) Though I probably will try to get out there and bag some ducks at some point soon.
 
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Give a shout when you are back in MA. I am on the Cape and can show you a couple things down this way.

Might be able to show you a couple hidden spots up your way if still huntable also.

I haven't even got my stamp yet, been too busy to hunt. That will change after the first of the year though, depending on ice.


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Thanks to everyone for the replies and offers. Day to was even better as we were in a blind with a long bench, protection from wind and rain, and a great shooting position. We shot 19 ducks between all of us, including one great shot at a duck that was booking ass out of the area. One of the guys tracked it and killed it with one shot.

I don't know that I'll get in any hunting at home this year, but I have a plan to improve my shooting and hopefully will be out there next year.
 
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