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That was tough!
#5536334
01/12/15 01:51 AM
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 179
HuntCrafted
OP
Woodsman
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OP
Woodsman
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 179 |
My first non-guided, non-tank jumping, bigger than a bath tub duck hunt. Made a lot of mistakes. Some good shots, bad shots and lost opportunities but it feels good getting a few ducks and learning a few lessons. Got access to a friend's deer property for the weekend that happened to have a 10+ acre lake and a few smaller tanks. Scouted it Sat AM and then hunted it w/decoy spread Sunday AM. Key lessons: 1. Setting up decoys in the dark is tough. I had them way too close to our blind and not upwind enough. Made for longer shots that we needed to be taking and we def missed some birds. Also wasn't sure how many decoys to use... 2. The wind changes. Duh. Got so fired up seeing a bunch of ducks Sat that I decided on a place to setup our blind assuming the wind would be the same in the AM. It wasn't and a lot of bird were landing 100+ yards away or just not buying our spread. I was def out of my comfort zone on a bigger body of water. 3. My calling sux! Wax on, wax off. We didn't quite get a two-man limit but overall it was awesome and got to add a few more firsts to the list my first season of duck hunting! Great weekend! My first Pintail! Bufflehead hen? First Gadwells & a ringneck pair
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Re: That was tough!
[Re: HuntCrafted]
#5536344
01/12/15 01:55 AM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 11,788
wal1809
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 11,788 |
If you had fun, there you go.
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Re: That was tough!
[Re: HuntCrafted]
#5536366
01/12/15 02:04 AM
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 12,295
Cody Malone
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 12,295 |
It's always a learning lesson!
HF Whitetail / Exotic / S. African Safaris
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Malone Outdoors, LLC C/254-722-9031 or E/ maloneoutdoors@yahoo.com
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Re: That was tough!
[Re: HuntCrafted]
#5536406
01/12/15 02:23 AM
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Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 12,344
Duck_Hunter
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 12,344 |
I just turned it on . I was looking bird dogs in the butt this morning.
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Re: That was tough!
[Re: HuntCrafted]
#5536464
01/12/15 02:46 AM
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 409
Roc
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 409 |
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Re: That was tough!
[Re: HuntCrafted]
#5537435
01/12/15 04:08 PM
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 179
HuntCrafted
OP
Woodsman
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OP
Woodsman
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 179 |
Thx - wasn't 100 sure on that bird.
Is there anything you can do/try when bird are landing on the water out of range? Wait? On the smaller tanks everything is in rang but this was the first time I've had that issue. I'm sure it won't be the last...
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Re: That was tough!
[Re: HuntCrafted]
#5537728
01/12/15 06:52 PM
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Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 14,278
Fooshman
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 14,278 |
I usually let them land and hope they swim closer or they jump up and come in or sometimes I will get on the call right when they are about to land (it makes them think twice about their spot lol).
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Re: That was tough!
[Re: HuntCrafted]
#5538125
01/12/15 09:46 PM
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Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 352
NTX Waterfowl
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 352 |
They do that a lot on the little lake we hunt, they especially like to land in the middle. For right or wrong I will call at them while they are working the wrong spot, even to the point of scaring them off if I have to. We have shot in the air before as well to spook them off just because once you have a dozen live birds 200 yards away you will have a heck of a time getting anything on your spread.
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Re: That was tough!
[Re: HuntCrafted]
#5538318
01/12/15 11:11 PM
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 179
HuntCrafted
OP
Woodsman
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OP
Woodsman
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 179 |
Yeah I kinda froze and didn't know what to do but thankfully another duck that did buy our decoys came in and got things stirred up.
We were setup towards the middle of the lake and had ducks landing to the narrow side and the wide side of us. If we get to hunt it again I need to figure out where to setup.
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