How to Duck Hunt

When you’re ready to learn how to duck hunt, the best thing you can do is find someone in your local area who has experience and take them with you. Perhaps a good friend of yours is a duck hunter and can help you learn the basics. If not, you may be able to find a guide through a local hunting association.

Some people learn how to duck hunt simply by reading about it and going out and doing it on their own. This is not the ideal situation because there are pointers and tricks you need to pick up from other people. But whether or not you go alone or with a guide, there are several things you should bear in mind.

As with any hunting, duck hunting requires you to be camouflaged. Choose clothing that will help you blend in with your blind or the surrounding area when you’re lying in wait for ducks. Because you’ll be up in the middle of the night and duck hunting is best when it’s cold, you want plenty of warm clothes that also camouflage you. Beware of exposed skin that can become far more chilled than you realize when you’re concentrating on attracting ducks. Make sure you have your head covered to preserve warmth and extra gloves in case a pair gets wet or damaged.

Waders are another important piece of duck hunt equipment. You can get these in a camouflage print or just go with standard green or brown which blends in well also. If you’re in a warm weather area, you can find lightweight waders to keep yourself from getting too hot. In many areas, being too cold is a concern, in which case you can find insulated waders.

No information on how to duck hunt would be complete without talking about decoys. First of all, it’s important to purchase to the right decoys. Different ducks are attracted to different decoys. This is where a guide or an experienced duck hunter in your area can really come in handy. They can tell you which types of decoys work best in your area and which type work best depending on the exact area you’ll be hunting, whether you’re in a marsh or on the open lake. Decoys can prove to be expensive so you want to purchase the right ones from the beginning and not waste your money on decoys that aren’t going to work for you.

If you’re unsure about which decoys to purchase and can’t seem to find information for your area, go online and look for used decoys. You may be able to find them in places like eBay or in local newspapers. That can help you keep your costs down while you’re trying to figure out which are the best. If the seller is local ask why they’re selling to make sure that they’re not selling the decoys because they purchased the wrong kind, too.

Also, don’t forget that you’ll want to learn how to duck hunt by using a duck call. Learn to mimic the sounds that local ducks make rather than just blowing it as loud as possible. Softer sounds and shorter sounds will attract more ducks and give you a better experience.

Photo Credits: Space Ritual

Originally posted 2010-04-11 09:53:12. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Building Duck Blinds

Hunting in duck blinds is vastly different than duck hunting in a boat. You’ll also have to take a boat to your blind, but the first step is finding a blind where you can hunt. Some people have a blind set up ahead and allow people to use it or they rent the use of it. But many duck hunting enthusiasts feel much better building their own duck blinds.

Sometimes a group of people will get together and build a duck blind and then share it. If you’re not familiar with the process of building a duck blind or you’re new to duck hunting, this will probably be the way for you to go. That way you have sort of a guide along the process. Maybe you can help someone build a duck blind which will help you learn how to do it.

If you want to build one on your own, start with some treated pieces of lumber 2×6, 4×4, and 2×4. You also need some galvanized screws and a piece of plywood, 5/8-inch is big enough, to place over your subfloor so you’ll have a flat surface. Use 2×6 planks to build the base of the floor with joists no more than 16 inches apart. Then take your plywood and make sure you have holes cut for the 4×4 posts in each corner, then screw it to your floor base.

You want your 4×4 posts to be different lengths in the front and back. The back will be much higher and probably around 50″ to 53″ tall. The roof will slope down toward the front where you want the post to be only around 48″ tall. Be sure that you cut the posts in the back at an angle so that the roof slopes forward. Use the 2×4 pieces to frame out the blind starting with the top of the front post to a back post and work from there. Continue around until you have level 2×4 posts around the outside with one side open to enter the blind.

Once you’ve built a few duck blinds the process is easier and faster. Once they’re built, you paint them with flat paint that’s dark and blends into the surrounding area like brown or dark green. Many people then use things like camouflage tarps or netting and even actual branches and natural greenery from the surrounding area to make it blend in even more.

Just be sure that you leave yourself a space to see out of so you can watch for ducks. You’ll also want to make sure that the opening in the front of your duck blinds is big enough for you to easily point the gun out without any sort of netting or shrubbery hanging down to get in your way. You want to be able to get a clear shot without jostling anything on the outside of the duck blinds and drawing the ducks’ attention. That can make them scatter and ruin your day’s hunting trip.

Photo Credits: finchlake2000

Originally posted 2010-04-05 09:54:25. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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