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USA
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Posted: 1/1/2024 10:04:16 AM EDT
[Last Edit: SoVa]
I really needed one more thing to hunt.....
Some work friends have been after me for a while to give duck hunting a try, I finally decided to give it a shot. Got a set of drake waders on sale during the holidays and got an additional 15% off for it being my first purchase, grabbed some shells and I had enough to give it shot. First morning was a was but I really enjoyed it, got invited back for round 2 and we had some luck, I got the drake mallard and was 50/50 on one of the gadwalls. Now im hooked. I have been looking at calls, decoys etc. Im sure my wife will love me adding duck calls in with the turkey calls and elk bugle.  " /> " /> " />
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Posted: 1/1/2024 12:22:47 PM EDT
[#1]
That sounds like a great time. And a good looking duck!
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Posted: 1/1/2024 12:23:52 PM EDT
[#2]
Was this a private pond? Did they plant anything? I don’t know anything about duck hunting….
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USA
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Posted: 1/1/2024 12:45:34 PM EDT
[#3]
Yes it’s a swamp/flooded timber on private property. Nothing planted, just natural habitat and a pretty good location.
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Posted: 1/1/2024 1:51:50 PM EDT
[#4]
Good luck in future hunts!
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Posted: 1/4/2024 10:35:35 AM EDT
[Last Edit: 20229mm]
[#5]
Yea. It’s addictive. I got into it this year.
Waders Duck decoys Texas rigs Mojo Jacket Hat Shell holder Goose decoys Call Call lanyard Goose silos Layout blind Oh. Forgot the canoe on marketplace. My bank account is not enjoying my new hobby. See if your state has any managed areas. We do the public land bingo for a spot on harsens island regularly. |
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Posted: 1/4/2024 12:41:47 PM EDT
[#6]
Waterfowl hunting is a surefire way to ask yourself "how the F is my credit card bill that much" come January.
I hunt waterfowl 50-75% less than I used to 10-20 years ago but that's still more days than most. |
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USA
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Posted: 1/4/2024 12:46:47 PM EDT
[#7]
Beautiful area to hunt. Picture perfect. Nice first hunt.
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Posted: 1/5/2024 9:18:55 PM EDT
[#8]
Awesome! Beautiful pics.
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Posted: 1/8/2024 3:57:42 PM EDT
[#9]
Looks like an awesome place to hunt!!!
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Posted: 1/8/2024 4:24:07 PM EDT
[#10]
Congrats!!
Welcome to the pain. First off, that Sitka pattern isn’t waterfowl, so you have to buy all new camo. Decoys- there will never be enough. Between socks, silos, and full bodies/floaters, I have about 60….. dozen. I’m also assuming that isn’t YOUR dog in the truck bed. That’s a great year-round expense/devourer of time. Shotgun? Bismuth shells or TSS? Kidding. It doesn’t have to be that bad. Plus, you get to see sunsets like this:  Attached File |
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Posted: 1/8/2024 4:58:56 PM EDT
[Last Edit: DesignatedMarksman]
[#11]
If I hadn't been working full time at an outdoors store when I started duck hunting, I never would have got into it. I got most of my gear for 50% off or more. It's definitely a gear heavy sport. Wait until you get a boat.
ETA: Totally worth it though.  |
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Posted: 1/9/2024 1:07:46 AM EDT
[#12]
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USA
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Posted: 1/9/2024 6:41:29 AM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By utahman: Congrats!! Welcome to the pain. First off, that Sitka pattern isn’t waterfowl, so you have to buy all new camo. Decoys- there will never be enough. Between socks, silos, and full bodies/floaters, I have about 60….. dozen. I’m also assuming that isn’t YOUR dog in the truck bed. That’s a great year-round expense/devourer of time. Shotgun? Bismuth shells or TSS? Kidding. It doesn’t have to be that bad. Plus, you get to see sunsets like this: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/8021/IMG_6173_jpeg-3086982.JPG Thank you!! Yes I agree that my sitka subalpine isn't optimal for waterfowl hunting, I had to buy waders to even find out if I liked this sport so I just used the camo I had, I did throw some old kryptek over the sitka since it blended to the environment a little better. I now have a full wish list of waterfowl gear on the sitka site. Decoys- I have already been looking at the motion ducks set ups but haven't jumped in that hard yet, I did buy some calls and have started to learn. I already had a benelli m2 so I grabbed a couple of Carlsons cremator chokes for it and some heavy XII Assumption is correct on the dog not mine. |
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Posted: 1/9/2024 7:19:45 AM EDT
[#14]
Quack Quack Pow!
 Enjoy |
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Posted: 1/9/2024 3:08:35 PM EDT
[#15]
Caught the bug, did ya?
Lol. Your wallet is soooooo fucked. |
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Posted: 1/9/2024 6:47:40 PM EDT
[#16]
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USA
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Posted: 1/9/2024 7:18:43 PM EDT
[Last Edit: SoVa]
[#17]
Beautiful @utahman ! Are you after geese or ducks? I have already been looking at some hunting out west.
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Posted: 1/10/2024 1:14:28 AM EDT
[#18]
Just ducks today, no geese using that area. I only went a couple hours, put out 30 full body duck decoys, and froze my butt. I have an artesian well that keeps a hole open, but when it's this cold the ducks go out to the lake (Great Salt Lake) for the open water. I didn't pull the trigger.
I was pretty much kidding about the camo. Other than upland where everyone wears blaze orange, I think camo matters least in waterfowl hunting. Brushing up your blind and holding still mean more than matching camo. Maybe a hat and neck/face covering after that it's all inside the blind. Warm waterproof hunting clothes that you can layer is what you need. Waterfowl hunting is the best, though. When I started dating my wife, my sister said, "and her family hunts, so she won't think you're odd". Her dad and brother hunted deer and pheasant openers. Two days a year. Waterfowl season her in Utah is 107 days. Counting early season Wyoming geese and "Wasatch Urban Zone" geese in Utah, I can hunt waterfowl from September 1st to February 15th, LOL. |
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USA
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Posted: 1/15/2024 3:02:57 PM EDT
[#19]
Today I saw a big drake wood duck on my pond with some mergansers so I loaded up my shotgun and snuck out the house hoping the wood duck would fly my way. I snuck down to the edge and saw him through a bush, he saw me and flew away from me, a pair of the mergansers came right over me so I took the drake down since he was gonna fall on dry land. I’m going to have him mounted. I hear they don’t taste great but they are very pretty.
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Posted: 1/15/2024 7:52:36 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Chukar]
[#20]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By SoVa: Today I saw a big drake wood duck on my pond with some mergansers so I loaded up my shotgun and snuck out the house hoping the wood duck would fly my way. I snuck down to the edge and saw him through a bush, he saw me and flew away from me, a pair of the mergansers came right over me so I took the drake down since he was gonna fall on dry land. I’m going to have him mounted. I hear they don’t taste great but they are very pretty. https://i.imgur.com/ake5DX5.jpg Nice wall mounter.. They are beautiful when fully fledged. Don't eat! Unless you're into spoiled sardines and fish assholes.. Nice bird!those saddle feathers and creast would make an amazing "dead mount ". |
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Posted: 1/15/2024 8:39:14 PM EDT
[#21]
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USA
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Posted: 1/16/2024 12:56:26 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By utahman: All the waiting, laying out in the snow, paid off a little bit. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/8021/IMG_6217_jpg-3095978.JPG Very nice!! |
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Posted: 1/16/2024 9:12:51 PM EDT
[#23]
24 degrees and a half foot of new snow?
I know a spring creek that stays open-  Attached FileSee? It’s a sickness. |
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USA
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Posted: 1/18/2024 6:56:44 AM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By utahman: 24 degrees and a half foot of new snow? I know a spring creek that stays open- https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/8021/IMG_4665_jpeg-3097154.JPG See? It’s a sickness. Man, you’re hard after them! Awesome! |
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USA
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Posted: 1/22/2024 6:48:28 AM EDT
[#25]
@utahman a dog sure would have came in handy Saturday morning. Had a couple geese come in low over the swamp and they went down farther out than the ducks usually do. I had to duck dog it, through the ice, and a couple deep spots.
Return trip with the goose  Path through the ice from the drone after the hunt. 
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Posted: 1/22/2024 7:03:54 AM EDT
[#26]
It’s an absolute hoot…but it’s probably one of the more time intensive hunting experiences you’ll have and that’s the main reason I got out of it…unless you’re in an area that jump hunting is accessible.
Wake up 3 am, get to spot lugging decoys 430-5am, set up spread sit to legal shooting light 7ish am, and pick up decoys, lug back to truck 12 pm, clean gun, dry waders, clean birds 2pm. A half day hunt quickly kills an entire day. |
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