WHAT DO YOU EXPECT

[merlebo05]

THE FUTURE OF DUCKHUNTING TO BE LIKE. WITH DW AND DU MAKING ALL THERE EFFORTS CAN YOU EXPECT SOMETHING LIKE DOVE HUNTING OR WILL IT STAY AS IT IS KNOW?

[Wildfowler]

SOMETHING LIKE DOVE HUNTING OR WILL IT STAY AS IT IS KNOW?

Dove hunting is pretty much the same every year. Plant a wheat or sunflower field, and the dove will come. (obviously there are some exceptions here and there)

Duck hunting. So many factors affect duck season, that I dare say next year won't be anything like this season has been.

Have I misunderstood your question?

[Had Enuf]

It will get better. Everything is in a cycle, ups and downs, comes and goes. My seasons are gettin better than say 03, 04, 05.

[Anatidae]

THE FUTURE OF DUCKHUNTING TO BE LIKE. WITH DW AND DU MAKING ALL THERE EFFORTS CAN YOU EXPECT SOMETHING LIKE DOVE HUNTING OR WILL IT STAY AS IT IS KNOW?

'Not sure I really understand the question, but I'll take a stab at it.

'Depends entirely on how an individual defines 'duck hunting'. As for me, I'll continue to hunt ducks the way I always have.....since the 60's.........and I'll continue to enjoy it.

It has become as much like dove hunting ever since it was legal to levee and flood agricultural fields for the purpose of duck hunting.

The answer to your question is tied directly to the subject of this thread......."What do you expect?". I think people's expectations are largly responsible for some of the changes in the overall duck hunting 'industry' (not necessarily the 'sport'), resulting in competition for access with increased emphasis on 'success'....and that has become a 'false standard' to measure what you 'get' out of duck hunting.

My advice is......be realistic in your expectations........rely on skills and experience instead of gimmicks, gadgets, and shortcuts....don't worry if somebody else kills more than you do......and you'll discover the true joys of the sport. It's a one-on-one game between you and the duck......not you and everybody else. You get out of it what you're willing to put into it. And you'll have a greater sense of accomplishment as a self-sufficient 'hunter' than you would, having no skills and spending whatever amount of money it takes to fill your strap with proof that you are the 'real deal'. You're still a 'topwater'.

So, the future of duck hunting will be determined by how many 'hunters' there are, as opposed to 'shooters'. The difference?......

Shooters are those wanting to be taken to what has become widely regarded as 'sport'.

I'll take it a step farther and say, hunters derive much more from their experiences than the number of times they pull the trigger.

To me, 'success' is not how many I kill......but how I hunt'em. And I'll be the first to admit that there are times (like now) when my 'standard' is tested and I succumb to frustration.

[bodeen]

Well said Anatidae.

[outlaw josey wales]

i hope it gets worse so some of these ones that arent true hunters will give up and give us back our sport. i have seen so many out of staters this year in our area it is pityful and paying out the ass for places that look like duck holes but aint ever held ducks and get mad when they didnt kill nothing and try to lease mine out from under me since they see ducks there. it makes me mad as hell but there is one thing that i can say is i have enjoyed this sport and if it was never another season i have enough memories of me and my dad and me and torch killing them to last til the end of time!

[Double R 2]

Throw in a cold winter and snow up north, I can't imagine it getting much better.

[duckduckgoose]

if i may ask whats the deal with out of staters? how come everyone seems to dislike them?

[merlebo05]

IM JUST THINKING WITH THE INCREASE IN NUMBER OF BIRDS WHICH WE SHOULD GET ACCORDING TO THE EFFORTS OF DU AND DW WOULD SOME DAY THERE BE SO MANY BIRDS THAT HARD LIMITS ARE A THING OF THE PAST. PUT YOUR DOVE FIELD IN AND YOUR BOUT SURE TO HAVE A FULL MORNING OF SHOOTING, JUST CURIOUS IF THIS COULD APPLY TO DUCKS IN THE FUTURE. I UNDERSTAND WEATHER PLAYS A HUGE ROLE IN PUSHING BIRDS DOWN BUT IF THE OVERALL NUMBER INCREASES YOU ARE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE BIRDS COME DOWN BECAUSE OF LACK OF FOOD ETC OR DO I HAVE THE WRONG IDEAS?

[lipsplitter39654]

duck hunting will never be like what you are comparing dove hunting to be. there are too many factors involved. for one doves are not as smart for lack of a better word as ducks. they are not pressured like ducks, they wont hang out in that buffer zone from cold to warm, they are not hunted everyday in every state. there are not as many DOve gadgets that have made them leary like ducks. it will get better we are just in the midst of a bad cycle. no matter when it does though I can assure you of one thing I will be there to greet them when it does. how many average days are doves hunted compared to ducks throughout the nation?? 2 things that are gonna have to change for there to be ducks, 1-farming practices in the ppr 2-drought conditions. the first one can be changed, the second we can just all hope. the best thing you can do is support organizations like du and dw. the most important aspect is the conservation of the breeding and nesting grounds. if you cant generate and produce ducks then they aint gonna fly south. from being in canada and from what i have observed from looking and listening there are 2 major factors that have affected ducks in canada in the last 50 years, 1-farming practices have changed, 2-people arent trapping thus the increase in predators. now another factor is that we are having mild winters. why should a duck leave a place like SK or ND or even MO to come to MS. it is kind of like having an outback steakhouse next door with open doors all you gotta do is walk in and eat no effort, just eat, now are you gonna leave your house and drive 60 miles to eat at mcdonalds when you can just walk to outback. ducks are not gonna move if they dont have to, no matter if we think they should. well enough of my rant that is just my take on it. have a good night

[lipsplitter39654]

and one other thing, until it freezes hard hard hard there wont be a lack of food for ducks just drive through the midwest and ppr and look at the food supply

[Anatidae]

'lipsplitter'.......we never heard how your Canada trip turned-out ......'got any pictures? How 'bout a separate thread or a PM? I want to hear some of the stories about how 'well' everybody got along on the trip.

[Bama Duck]

Duckduckgoose, don't you know it is "their sport", and us out of staters are the reason for them not killing any ducks.

Ha! "Your Sport", outlaw josey whales you can take that saying and shove it up your a#$! I have owned land in "your state" since 1980 and have killed ducks on this land every year since. You should quit painting with such a broad brush.

[lipsplitter39654]

4 out of 5 people on the canada trip had a great time. we did pretty good on the ducks limits 3 of 5 days but the goose hunting was horrible this year while we were there and yeah i will post up some pics

[Dogzeye]

Duckduckgoose, don't you know it is "their sport", and us out of staters are the reason for them not killing any ducks.

Ha! "Your Sport", outlaw josey whales you can take that saying and shove it up your a#$! I have owned land in "your state" since 1980 and have killed ducks on this land every year since. You should quit painting with such a broad brush.

The bitterness comes from economic pressure in our own backyards. Twenty years ago you could knock on your neighbor's door and have unbelievable hunts the next morning; and you could repeat this everytime the action slowed. Now you can't wade in a road ditch without paying for the privaledge. I saw a 160 acre field with two blown out impoundments and 12% water on Dec. 15 that was just then being leased for 5k, and no birds. That's a joke! But, as long as someone is willing to pay for it, then this becomes the price of hunting in the Delta.

My family has owned land in MS since it belonged to the French.... And, I tend to agree with OLJW. The best thing about living in MS is the rich natural resource and its availability to the middle class as a primary pastime. However, when it becomes the pursuit of weekend warriors with earnings based on different eco. scales, then the people of MS suffer dimishing access to the most prominent source of entertainment available and one of few reasons to make residence here.

I'm glad you have found successful hunts here and own your property, our state is a wonderful place to find this opportunity. And, as long as you own it, you are not in the market place drivining up the lease rates by attempting to buy a good hunt at any cost.