Question For The Board

[mossyisland]

Guys, I am going to be writing a article in the next couple of weeks about duck hunting on a budget. I know it sounds like some kind of HGTV decorating on a budget blog post, but I want to know some crazy things you have done in the past when money was tight to kill ducks. What kind of things you ask? Things you did or built instead of buying the next high dollar gadget or piece of equipment and it produced great results. I will use the best ideas in the article and you will receive full credit for that idea.

Example from myself: I used to build a blind that cost hardly nothing to hunt fields and the setup and takedown time was minutes. I still use it today on hard to kill field ducks. It pretty much replaced skid blinds for me and I can use it when layouts are not a option. I will probably tell about how to build and use this.

If you have one, pm me or email me at rocky@ducksouth.com.

[teul2]

home made mallard machines out of old trolling motors and EMT conduit comes to mind.

[landscaper]

Have painted two liter soda bottles green on one end and tan on the other and used them to beef up a decoy spread. Seems to work just fine too.

Have used large nails and hex nuts in place of decoy weights.

Didn't build it myself but the first spinning wing decoy I ever saw was a diamond shaped piece of plastic painted white on one side and black on the other attached to a piece of a coat hanger that was spun by an RC car motor. Ducks loved it.

[GulfCoast]

zip tie different colors of Wal-Mart raffia grass to bungee cords, wrap a couple of these around an old hunt test holding blind, and you have a portable blind that weighs very little, cost less than a $60, lasts decades, and will let you blend in most anywhere other than fresh plowed ground. Saves a ton on building/buying skids or making tree blinds.

[dawg-n-duck]

POACH

[GET-N-RITE]

Borrowed a boat and trailer with no motor, and thought it would be quicker to pull it by hand down the railroad tracks than paddling. Boat got hit by a train, but it was a good idea and free at the time.

Moral of the post is to get a buddy that already has everything. Hunt with him or borrow his stuff.

[booger]

and it produced great results.

Wow, that's the hard part, my list of fails is much longer and I'd tell anyone those. My list of wins is a closely guarded, top secret duck stuff.

[.tadpole]

Started hunting from the slough bank. When old enough to use waders I used my dad's size 7. I used those waders until my mother bought me pair at Service Merchandise 39.95 size 12. For about 4 years I was stuffing a 12 into a 7.

[tombstone]

Boat got hit by a train, but it was a good idea and free at the time.

That cracked me up. Would like to have seen that. Sorry to find humor in your misfortune though.

[Double R 2]

Less is best. The older I get, the less I take to a blind. Bare basics - decoys, calls, Gun, jacket, dog.

Internet makes it easy - google earth, scouting reports, directions, cheap hotel rates, draws, permits and licenses, and with all of the forums, Internet companies and everything else, places like Facebook can be a great resource for finding cheap equipment etc

Travel. I'm biased, but for folks that have limited time (And after 15 years in the business I'll say that for most of our clients time is a more limiting factor than money), sting a few counties or states over to hunt public when the birds are there, or even doing affordable pay hunts with the right outfitters can put hunters money and ducks ahead. Their leases, equipment, resources etc.

[Smoke68]

Less is best. The older I get, the less I take to a blind. Bare basics - decoys, calls, Gun, jacket, dog.

Ramsey, I have this same desire to take less. Just go hunt, you know? But then I pack a thermos of coffee. Then I need a snack to go with the coffee. Then I need the jerk rig, and pack the anchor for the jerk rig in case there's not a bush where I need it. Then I spot my marsh seat leaning against the wall as I'm headed out. It just goes downhill from there.

If you give a mouse a cookie........