Op, where are you located?

Good info keep it coming

Near San Antonio

I assume you will be hunting towards the coast. Check out capt jake huddleston for a guided trip. There is also alot of good guides in that region. Probably your best bet to get a few hunts in to see how serious you want to be about duck hunting. Several type 2 land down there as well but I would save that to next year if I was you.

Guided hunts you will need minial equipment, gun shells, waders and face mask.

Sitka is a complete waste of money in Texas, especially along the texas coast where it rearly ever gets below 40s. get some #3 or 4 steel and your good to go. And I've had good luck with Magellan stocking foot waders from academy. They aren't the toughest when pushing through brush but they have been good in not leaking. But on a guided hunt brush busting will be minimal

Nick1, I don’t post a lot on the waterfowl forum because of some of the know it alls. A newby asking for advice struck a chord. No need to get fancy or buy expensive gear to kill ducks. 2-3 dozen puddle duck decoys. Mix and match. Mallards, pintail, teal, widgeon, grey ducks(gadwall). You don’t need the most realistic dekes on the market to consistently kill ducks. You can get by with bargain stuff from academy. If you can swing the coin, G&H are the most durable and require zero babying to last a lifetime. Decoy bag to carry them. Mallard call and a whistle. A lanyard to carry them around your neck. A double reed mallard call is easier to learn on and harder to scratch a note. A single reed is more versatile but takes more practice to take advantage of. Choose based on how much time you are willing to put into learning. Lots of people have calls and do a lot of wild stuff with them that is not necessary And often not productive to work ducks. Find a pond with ducks on it. Sit behind the damn and listen to them. Learn to make the sounds and cadences they make. Pay particular attention what they say when birds are coming in and how incoming birds react to the birds on the water. Take note of the volume as well. That is the best teacher to learn to blow a call and put out a set.
Neoprene waders. Boot foot is most convenient and ideal in hard bottoms. Stocking foot and wader boots are best in deep sticky mud. 3 mil is best for warm weather. 5 mil is best for cold weather. Buy what suits where you will hunt. I buy cheap waders and look at them as disposable. If you get two seasons out of a pair of waders before they leak or you tear them you are doing good, regardless of cost. I choose boot foot waders based on comfortable boots that are snug enough around the ankles to stay on in mud.
Olive drab shirt and jacket for early season. Tan or brown for after the first frost. There is also some really nice camo waterfowl jackets and parkas but they have gotten pricey. I would wait on spending the money till you decide if it’s for you.
Steel shot. 1 1/4 of #2 for big ducks. 1 1/4 of #4 for small ducks. 1 1/4 of #3 for all ducks. This will cleanly kill any duck that flies out to 45 yards with a modified choke if you shoot the front half of the bird. If you can see the eyes and feet they are close enough to kill. Spend some time patterning your shotgun with your ammo to decide if you want to use IC or Mod. A dense pattern at 35 yards is perfect for decoying ducks.
A tan, brown, olive drab, or camo cap or other hat with a brim to hide your face under. A face mask if you want to look at the working birds. Ducks have exceptional color acuity. The colors of the drakes to attract mates are evidence. Dress in natural colors to blend in to the habitat you are hunting.
If the sport ends up hooking you, a good retriever adds a lot of enjoyment.
Good luck.

Good advice.

A new by asking advice did not strike a cord. A goofball that spends too much time on social media giving bad advislce struck a cord.

So you don't shoot birds that are leaving the spread?

You're absolutely wrong on sitka being a waste of money. It's easily the best gear out there. If you can't afford it, fine, but it's worth whatever people will pay for it.

Bismuth shells aren't magic. It's scientifically proven that it's vastly superior to steel. No, they won't make you kill more birds, but you'll cut down on your cripples and it just kills better.

Nick1, I also recommend sitka bc if you go hunting in truly cold weather, you don't want to be cold. Being cold and not being able to warm up absolutely sucks. You can wear less clothes/ less bundled up, and be just as warm as wearing drake. I'm not knocking drake, it's been good to me, but it's not sitka.

I'm a walk in hunter so I need comfort walking a mile or more into the woods.

Thank you. Good starting blueprint.

That’s something I was thinking of doing as well. Getting a guide to start me off a few times to see what the ins and outs are. The port lavaca Jake Huddleston? Is he a solo guide, or have a company name? Thanks

Yes. I kill them too. With cheap. ( Like winchester express steel)

Good for you

Nick1 - I spend most of my time down on the coast. I prefer stocking foot with boots. If you go this route - please make sure you wear your waders when you try on whatever boots you buy. I always go up at least a size depending on boot. Having cramped feet sucks.

Same here, a lot more comfortable

Found some breathable stocking foot camo waders on Amazon in lard ash size (3XL)

You should have paid attention to better base layer materials before the sitka hype. But sitka is happy you didn't.

Sitka is the way to go for sure.

But man, if you're just starting out there some good suggestions here. Academy has some good/cheap waders, so does Bass Pro and the Cabelas neopremes. Both would be great starters. Hunt them and make sure you really like the sport before you go dumoing serious money into it.

Telling someone that it trying to get into duck hunting to see if they like it to buy Sitka gear and to shoot bismuth is like telling a new fisherman to go buy a $80K bass boat.

Keep it simple. By far the best thing you can do is find someone that already has decoys and can call. Even better if they have a boat. You'll ramp up a lot faster and spend a lot less. All you would need is a cheap pair of waders and some steel shot.

The only thing that I didn't see on here so far is... if you plan on taking that nice gun to the coast, make sure you clean and oil it religiously. You can literally watch a gun rust down there.

Being down on the coast the calls I'd recommend are a maurillos #8 pintail whistle, check ebay for them. And DC teal call, also lots of teal calls on social media can be found by call makers for very reasonable prices. I bought one from cupem and cuttem out of Louisiana earlier this year.

I might need those, send me a link

Testing too much product are ya G?

As the majority of people say - go cheap starting out. Heck - you may find out you hate waterfowl hunting. It's certainly not for everyone.

Specifically mention to the guide that you are learning to hunt and your much more interested in learning the ropes than killing a pile of ducks. If a guide doesn't want to accommodate that then I'd find someone else. Ideally a buddy that has all the gear would be your best bet.

this

Anyone telling a fella wanting to learn how to hunt ducks to go out and buy Sitka and bismuth is an idjit.

Start simple. academy gear and Winchester / Remington shells. I like #3 size shot for big duck season. And I always bring some BBB just in case geese decide to fly by...

Also, I use the Primos Original Wench call all the time. You can get this at Academy with the DVD (less then $20) to teach you a few simple calls (hail and feeding)...and just have fun trying them out, but remember being quiet is great a lot of the times. I also use the Buck Gardner 6n1 whistle.

We use all types of decoys key is to have a mix in my opinion of mallars, pinnies, teal, few widgeons etc...I'm sure 1 dozen will work grat, maybe get 2 dozen...but start cheap. Use a jerk string for motion if needed...cheap at Academy.

I started with Academy gear and still love the Pintail jacket and bibs...but over time as I learn what I like in gear, I've begin to buy better gear from Sitka and others. Just like I finally got a good retriever last year. Layering capabilities and rain gear is key fo rme.

Have fun...also one last advice...don't be shy about shooting, unload your gun when you shoot...see so many folks who will take only one or two shots...shoot em!

Ok one more, if you are so lucky to get a good size group come in...make sure that your first shot is aimed well at one duck, don't shoot flock. Aim small miss small - especially the first shot, and you'll ne amazed that when you hit the first shot, you end up with a triple! When you miss that first shot you get anxious about making the next shots and end up not doing as well.

Have fun...quack quack