Welcome to Duck Hunting!

by: Steve Layton & Gary Finch, Finch Enterprises
Don't forget to watch Gary Finch Outdoors each Sunday morning at 6:30 AM on WTVY - Channel 4 or visit www.garyfinchoutdoors.com

I was hunting ducks before there was an Alabama lifetime hunting license, before there was an Alabama state duck stamp, and the bag limit was determined by a point system that assigned numeric values to each species of waterfowl. All that means is that I’m older than swamp mud when it comes to duck hunting.

Each year, many aspiring wing shooters want to expand the scope of their sport to include duck hunting. It is a unique sport that has at its core some die-hard followers. Entering the duck hunting fraternity requires something of a right of passage. Part of that entry includes some basics that govern personal safety and comfort, as well as some common practices of hunter courtesy.

The purchase of a license, a duck stamp, a set of waders and some steel shot does not immediately qualify anyone as a duck hunter. True duck hunters are tempered through lack of sleep, freezing rain, growling stomachs, and unbearable boat rides up a cold river swamp.

During the course of their development, duck hunters quickly learn to wear proper clothing and always have a back-up plan for dry clothes. At some point in time, they are going to be completely submerged in freezing water. They also come to learn that the investment in a floating gun case is not the frivolous expenditure they once thought it was. The same can be said for graduating to purchase the more expensive and well insulated chest waders. It’s the closest thing to a space suit that a duck hunter will ever wear . . . and is every bit as important!

As apprentice duck hunters explore the sport alongside more experienced water fowlers, they come to understand the importance of maps, navigation, GPS and proper boat lighting. Above all else, duck hunters recognize the necessity of wearing personal floatation devices while boating through the darkness in sub-freezing temperatures. Becoming lost, frozen, or drowning, are all circumstances that can be avoided through proper planning and attention to safety procedures. 

Courtesy is also a major part of the sport. If, when approaching the hunting area, a light is seen flashing back in your direction, you are too late. The duck hunter, who elected to get up earlier this morning, has successfully claimed your location. His beacon is signaling that there is no need for you to drop decoys or continue your approach. All that should be done is to reverse your course and find another location, or plan to get up earlier next time. It is a common courtesy of the sport to respect the early arrival of another duck hunter.

A trained retriever is a valuable asset to a hunt and assists in preventing the loss or waste of game. An untrained retriever is the worst nightmare ever put into a boat of decoys. I have suffered through barkers, biters, squatters, and duck eaters. Showing up with an untrained porch-sitter is the quickest way for a group of hunters to lose your phone number.    

Any beginning duck hunter can certainly wear ten calls on a lanyard around his neck. But it is wise not to blow one unless you are asked to contribute. I have had the privilege of hunting with one of the best duck callers in the world. Even after twenty years of hunting, there is nothing I could have produced on a duck call that would have lifted my standing in his presence. It was far better to watch and listen to a true master at work. Sometimes, it’s more important to know, when NOT to blow.

Pick your shot and respect the game. Regardless of how much your gun costs or what choke and shell combination you are shooting, a shotgun has limits. It’s a simple law of physics. You are shooting a shotgun, not an inter-galactic laser. By allowing the birds to work the decoys, rather than “sky-busting”, you will be revered by your hunting partners. More importantly, you will become more successful at making clean shots, rather than wounding game.

It is important for those who are entering the sport of duck hunting to understand the big picture of the experience. Any attempt to measure the true quality of duck hunting based on the amount of “game taken” would be an insult to the hunters who enjoy and contribute to the pursuit of waterfowl hunting. Some new hunters will elect to dabble in the sport and will eventually fall away. Those of us who have chosen to stay, year after year, are completely absorbed by it.

Duck hunting, when done properly, is one of the most beautiful hunting sports in the world. It’s the sunrises, the calls, the wings, the water, and those long retrieves that combine to flood the senses.  

In duck hunter’s terms, “Anything beyond that . . .  is just gravy”.