Waterfowl

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.

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.

The idea of hunting opportunity for many hunters is defined by public access.  Others have private holdings and the rest access private property for hunts.  Gaining permission to hunt on private property always begins with asking. 

The take away from this hunt was to always be flexible. I had my mind set on taking a nice deer with my muzzleloader, but because we took advantage of an opportunity that does not always get offered, I was able to have a new and unique experience that still put a lot of meat in the freezer and made for some awesome wing shooting.

There is nothing that I enjoy more than being in places I have not been before and spending my time there in the outdoors hunting. I recently had the opportunity to spend the first weekend in October in North Dakota with Savage Arms on a duck hunt. leading up to the event, I started out with a bit of travel anxiety (not wanting to miss flights, not quite sure where I was going to end up once I got off of the plane, etc…) but it soon led to pure excitement of the hunt and eventually reminiscent happiness once it was over.

The new Flambeau Gunning Series is an appreciated differentiation to any decoy spread. Give yourself the advantage of decoys that look great, ride with attitude on the water and provide excellent action in light and heavy wind, wave, and current.

For all of you waterfowl hunters born after 1992, the idea of steel shot is something you accept without hesitation. Reaching back ten more years would capture even more hunters still too young to remember. According to the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation’s 2016 report, just over two million of almost 12-million hunters seek waterfowl. While I am spitting out stats, I might as well add, migratory hunters spent 16-million days on 15-million trips and spent over $2.3 billion in 2016.  While this includes doves it most certainly is heavy with geese and ducks hunters.

Hunting the early season for any animal is always exciting. You can often take advantage of animals that have not been hunted since last fall and this can lead them to make mistakes that they are not known to do as the season wears on. On this hunt, I was able to exploit the behavior of early-season geese.