David R. Vaught

I just don’t remember having the need, or the thought that perhaps, I might use more than shells and calls in my early days of hunting. But today we haul a ton of stuff simply because shell bag designers have put great thought into styles. Some use a backpack and others a bag, but whatever you use I know there will be some discussion about what you might consider hauling in for a hunt.

Over the years of hunting waterfowl, I have become a huge fan of water moving decoy motion. Lucky Duck’s newest decoy product is the compilation of ideas that provide waterfowl hunters an answer to stale, calm, and quiet spreads.

I was probably five or six when I got my first duck and then of course the right of passage required I clean the duck. I had watched my father who I can only assume learned from his father but I still today, do it as he taught me way back then.

In my opinion, Lucky Duck leads the pack with the remote control of decoys. They have advanced the technology and are worth every penny.

At some point, any waterfowl hunter is attracted to the guns that have some type of wet fowl-weather durability. Browning’s Wicked Wing meets that tough demand with their Cerakote Burnt Bronze finish, synthetic stock and forearm, and a fully chromed bore.

You finally have the property that will allow you to put in a more permanent blind so you want to do this right. Your site inventory has provided you with wind direction, sunrise and sunset, water levels and proximity to the decoy spread. If you have done your homework this is your time to get the blind in while it is dry and more importantly so you can blend it in, in the late summer and fall to conceal as best as possible.

Guns are meant to be used but require the same concealment as we do when hunting in tough conditions. I hunt waterfowl and know barrel flash, shiny things, and moving a gun around that is not concealed can cause birds to flare.

In my 50 plus years of duck hunting, I have learned one simple rule about blinds and that is: You will never get it in the right place the first time.

If you are like me, you have a myriad of batteries that run most of what you use throughout the waterfowl season. I have 6-volt, 12-volt maintenance-free sealed lead acid batteries. In addition, I have Lithium Polymer and Lithium Ion in multiples of 3.7-volt cells.  Each has attributes worth knowing for use, safety, and storage.