1st duck hunt

[Shadows Owner]

Im headed to Lake Village AR. tonight for two days of duck/goose hunting which will be my first time. I hope to pick up a few pointers on duck hunting and I plan to start hunting the lakes in our hunting camps here in central MS. which holds alot of wood ducks and some geese. Im in the process of making a blind for my 2 man boat to hunt these lakes and sloughs. I will be buying some decoys and calls and was wondering what type you like best? Also what would be a good wood duck call for a beginer to start with?

[ScottS]

Ronnie -

You'll probably get a few answers but it's basically up to you to determine what YOU like. I'll offer some tips but they're only as good as they will work for you.

For decoys - if you are looking for numbers - go with the Flambeau water keels. They're $29.99 a dozen. If you want fewer numbers but seek quality, buy the G&H swivel head decoys at $100 a dozen.

For a first time call - try a double reed call. A couple of good ones are the Haydels DR-85 and Primos original Wench calls. A single reed takes less air but is sometimes harder for a beginner to learn with. It can be done but a double reed is usually easier.

Haydel's makes a pretty good Wood Duck call but you will find that you don't really call Wood Ducks. They don't always decoy that well - if ever.

Hope this helps some and welcome to the world of waterfowling.

[judge jb]

go get em Ronnie.... LOOK, LISTEN, and LEARN... YOUR KNOWLEDGE WILL DOUBLE WITH EACH HUNT. good luck to you and check out the older post.... you will learn alot right here....

judge jb

[GordonGekko]

Judge pretty well summed it up...Look, Listen, and Learn...don't be afraid to ask question from the folks you are hunting with, just take the answers with a grain of salt, because there is usually more than one right way (and a lot of wrong ones). MSU Duck Dawg also had some good advice, Haydel's makes a good sounding call, and the flambeau dekes are a good place to start.

Just have fun this weekend, and hopefully you'll get to shoot a little, I hunt just south of Lake Village most of the season, and it's been a pitiful year around there, but maybe this will be the weekend that kicks it off.

Gordon

[Shadows Owner]

Thanks for the info. Im hunting with a guide and he said we will be hunting about 30 miles south of Stutguart. I will let yall know how it turns out.

[duckhuntalot]

Well a guided duck hunt certainly is a good way to go.

However, if you really want to learn the real aspects of duck hunting find yourself a buddy and hit the timber/fields and do it yourselves.

I learned most of what I know and could probably post it all real quick. [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

There is alot of usefull information posted on this site and alot of _________ hmm how should I put it? Well never mind.

[ January 04, 2002: Message edited by: duckhuntalot ]

[Wingman]

HAHAHA! Double reed calls good for beginners huh? I still blow one; just stick with what works for you. Ronnie, be sure to use a jerk string on those calm mornings. Just get some twine, tie it to a couple of your dekes and jiggle it to make ripples on the water.

Wingman

[SoftCall]

The main thing to remember this year is to NOT get discouraged. Times are tough in the blind this year. Have fun...

[GulfCoast]

I agree with the double reed call suggestion, look at a Haydell DR85 or any duck commander call. They do the job and won't break the bank.

You will never screw up with G&H decoys. I have not had good luck with bargain decoys. They are only a bargain for the store when you gotta buy another couple dozen because they leak and the paint all peeled off in the heat of the summer.

Get some good waders and a FACEMASK, and learn to be still.

Congratulations on picking up the sport of duck hunting. It will give you many wonderful days in the field, and many nights on the computer arguing with the mostly friendly=but=dysfunctional MSDUCKS family.

[greenheadhunter2000]

Ronnie,most of the information here i agree with.Haydells and Primos both make excellent mallard calls and wood duck calls.If you can't seem to do a feed call which,I can't do myself,after 4 years of trying every trick in the book,Primos has a shaker feed call that runs about $19.00 or so and works great.I use one!I like the double reed calls but have started using single reed now.Another tip you might want to try.Buy two mallard calls and use both of them to try and make it sound like two different hens.The Primos original wench gives you two different tones,just pitch in a second call and now you have three different hens.Decoys,there are some good ones out there,but you choose what you think will work for you.Good luck and welcome to the wonderful world of duck hunting.

[Jeff]

This may not be helpful, but if I were a beginner I wouldn't know it. IF you are trying to hunt Wood ducks only in a pond that doesn't get many migratory birds, don't waste your time w/ a mallard call, it won't do any good. Best way to hunt wood ducks is maybe put out a few dekes, and shoot them like doves early in the morning flying down or late in the evening flying up. Whoever said they don't work is pretty much correct, however I have seen them sometimes work mallard calls and quite a few times work decoys. So I would really just get some dekes if you want and hammer the woodies. Just remember two a day! As far as geese go if it's resident geese that aint ever been shot get a few dekes and a call and the first two or three hunts if not too close together will be pretty good, but after that they will become rocket scientists real quick. Hope that helps some and wasn't a bunch of stuff you already knew.

[go24]

Ronnie- You'll meet a lot of people who love duck hunting and love to talk about ducking. But don't expect many invitations to hunt (for no charge). Most guys that have a good place know it's PRECIOUS and in high demand so they keep it closely gaurded. Don't take it personal. This was hard for me to understand at first, but when I got my own hole...

[Shadows Owner]

I just got in from Arkansas and had a great time. We only duck hunted 1 day instead of two. First thing I learned was that hunting with steel shot is alot different from lead. I think I just poked holes and knocked feathers off the ducks as they kept flying, my friend and I killed 3 Merganders and 2 mallards and missed 5 times that many. We hunted a 900 acre leased lake and it was froze solid, had to bust our way out to the hunting spot and got set up about 1 1/2 hour late. Ducks buzzing us while the guide was busting ice, he said they were headed to the fields to feed and we would catch them on their way back in. When we finnaly got set up he could call the ducks in but they would flare off just outside of our shooting range. He was great at getting the ducks to circle back for a shot. We had to stop firing at 11:00. There was plenty of ducks but not 1 goose. Thanks to everyone for the information.