Duck Hunting: Tricks, Tips and What Works

I like to hunt various wildlife, but what really gets me going is duck hunting. I figured for any of those that duck hunt on the Hoop, it would be cool to have a thread about things we have seen in the field that work for us duck hunters. Please keep this thread to providing tips, observations and suggestions related to duck hunting. Enjoy!

There are a couple of things that I will post here and probably refer to as I get ready for next season (in VA). As I have been trying to graduate from newbie to more of a polished duck hunter, I have found the following work for me in the field:

• Momarsh Invischair Blind: This is an AWESOME invention that when used right - is DEADLY for ducks. I have used this thing now (Xmas present) on 3 hunts and by the 3rd hunt I was bagging close to my daily limit which is double what I was previously doing.
  • What worked with it:
    • Using the Avery Killer Grass on it (be sure to really do it up ahead of time) and then like a traditional layout blind, add natural vegetation around it for blending in.
    • Prop it tall enough so when you go to hit the kick bar, you can stand up without losing your hat, etc. (Took me a while to get that right)
    • The directions pretty much suck, so when you go to attach the bungee, attach it to the TOP of the blind for a quicker release, previously I was doing it towards the back side of the canopy.
    • Some say you can ease out of the front to shoot using this thing, if you are a smaller person that might work, but for anyone around 5'11''+ - use the kick bar and go for the element of surprise. Otherwise I tended to flare the birds quicker than expected.
    • I left the top in place (little tent bar looking pieces). Otherwise it is easy to lose / forget them for setup.
  • What did not work with it:
    • It's too heavy to track with long distances, I was good about 50-70 yards max from my UTV/Truck.
    • Try and set it up before getting into the marsh, it is a PIA to setup if it is below freezing, everything gets cold and the release freezes (which you need to work a few times if this happens)
    • Try and set it up with just a tad bit of vegetation in front, however you don't need alot if you have a gun with the shadow blades/duck blind coat.
• Mojo: This is your best and worst friend. It works great if the birds don't see it alot where you hunt, and you can get by 2-3 times using it for mallards or the species you hunt.
  • What worked:
    • Setting this up downwind almost to your 2 o'clock (if right handed)
    • The remote feature I installed was kick ass. Left it on 2 seconds on at a time. Mallards seemed to take to it in the air or in the water
    • Set it up as far into the water you can get it WITHOUT getting it wet.
      
    • Use the protected cases I wrangled up for the duck and wings
  • What did not work:
    • Using it multiple times in a place back to back
    • Other species of waterfowl absolutely were sketched out by it - geese, divers, woodies and etc.
• Black Cloud shot seemed to work best for me this year for my gun (new A5)
  
• Gun sighting
  • What worked:
    • I took off the magnetic sights I use for deer and turkey. Previously I used this for 5+ years and I decided to scrap it near the end of this season and boy did that make a difference. I think I was shooting to high using them.
    • Trust your shot / aim for the head. After I took the magnetic gun sight off, I was pulling off shots 30-40 yards out. It is OK to take the shot!
  • What did not work:
    • Magnetic Gun sighting as reasons stated above
    • Waiting for the perfect shot, trust in the element of surprise and GO.
• Decoy spread
  • What worked:
    • Switching it up but typically mix of geese and ducks seemed best in the typical V/U shape. Didn't need many ducks or geese to get them to come in.
    • Towards the end of the season, sprinkling in diver decoys also helped.
  • What did not work:
    • Splitting geese and ducks too far. Took myself out of the hunt

Another thing that worked which was a WILD success:

• Mossy Oak Gun Wrap:
  • Allowed me to hunt in the position needed to have my gu n exposed in the Invisichair Blind. Regardless this is an AWESOME way to take your gun and outfit it with any skin you want that Mossy Oak offers. They say it takes 2 hours to do, but it was double the time for me but I am particular about the way things look and it came out pretty sweet looking. Inserting pics:

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20 years of Duck Hunting Tips

1) Scout - you can even do it at dawn to see where they are sitting, flush them don't shoot at them, they will be back, setting up in the dark 200 yards from where they are sitting. High pressure areas very helpful, they find their safe slots. Preferably the same time you will hunt, the day before.

2) Cover - bury yourself and DO NOT MOVE, move your eyes. stand out in front and look back at where you will be, if there is a hole they will find it. Standing next to the base of a single tree in the water is better than any blinds.

3) Clean Shiny guns look great to the guys and in the gun case, are the number 1 enemy I fought with others on for years. Also not covering wrist watches and guys moving their head with glasses.

4) Decoys - many choices and seen them all work, my favorite starting a J hook with the hook facing the wind. More deadly than Robo's is having a splasher when that wind dies. Used a few dozen to 250, 120 seem to work in high competitive areas, but will bump it up if I am losing birds to someone else.

5) Calling - actually 5th if you do the 1st 4. Learn the feed chuckle, you can get ducks to finish on that call more than any other, you can go softer with it as the birds get closer. Most people scream and yell with hail calls, quacks and comebacks, if not used right, will send birds away faster than jumping up and down. It takes experience to read the birds. My cousin placed 2nd in the World Championships, I made him shut up and put his call away the first 2 days of hunting with him. He could call but not read a bird, too loud and too often.

da55bums said:

20 years of Duck Hunting Tips

1) Scout - you can even do it at dawn to see where they are sitting, flush them don't shoot at them, they will be back, setting up in the dark 200 yards from where they are sitting. High pressure areas very helpful, they find their safe slots. Preferably the same time you will hunt, the day before.

2) Cover - bury yourself and DO NOT MOVE, move your eyes. stand out in front and look back at where you will be, if there is a hole they will find it. Standing next to the base of a single tree in the water is better than any blinds.

3) Clean Shiny guns look great to the guys and in the gun case, are the number 1 enemy I fought with others on for years. Also not covering wrist watches and guys moving their head with glasses.

4) Decoys - many choices and seen them all work, my favorite starting a J hook with the hook facing the wind. More deadly than Robo's is having a splasher when that wind dies. Used a few dozen to 250, 120 seem to work in high competitive areas, but will bump it up if I am losing birds to someone else.

5) Calling - actually 5th if you do the 1st 4. Learn the feed chuckle, you can get ducks to finish on that call more than any other, you can go softer with it as the birds get closer. Most people scream and yell with hail calls, quacks and comebacks, if not used right, will send birds away faster than jumping up and down. It takes experience to read the birds. My cousin placed 2nd in the World Championships, I made him shut up and put his call away the first 2 days of hunting with him. He could call but not read a bird, too loud and too often.

Click to expand...

Good points sir. One thing I would mention is that some areas like where I hunt don't offer a lot of cover. Some of the traditional hunters I know who are in my club seem to use the old box blinds because of that fact (but still don't provide cover overhead). As a result, I have found that invisichair to be most handy and can allow for all day hunts and is superior to the layout blind. But as you mention (and even in the invisichair blind), you can't move. Also need to refine my calling skills, way better than alot of the guys in my club but I still need to be better.

when I was younger and in places without a lot of cover, we just layed down with fastgrass over us (before layout blinds)...even better if you can dig an indention or find a natural one.

oh, and what type of shells to us on ducks.

#3 in whatever brand you want, the key is to use the same brand every year. The speeds differ with each brand and change your leads.

1 mistake I made - "setting up in the dark 200 yards from where they are sitting (sucks)." "Set up right where they have been sitting"

Good points gents.

Decoys... One thing I might add is that if regs prevents mechanical decoys then go with a tethered setup. Tether all your dec's to one carabiner with various lengths (depends on what setup you want). Then rope a "main line" to the carabiner that extends back to where you're setup. And of course keep all of them individually anchor-weighted. You can scatter the spread how you see fit and tug the main line to give the splash effect. Works great, and if you do it right, it doesn't require much movement at all.

Calls... Haven't quite mastered this. But I don't do a whole lot of calling. I'll throw out hails ever so often depending on the activity, but its usually limited regardless. I find the most success with the chuckle calls on a double reed. And high-fliers will often turn on a 3-call hail. Most of my success is in the decoy splash.

Scouting... And I couldn't agree more with da55bms last statement of "setting up right where the ducks are sitting" approach. My family owns a 120acre ranch that has a river running through it. We have 8 custom built blinds all along the river, as well as a new pond & blind project that was recently completed. Idea is, the more spots to choose from the better. Wild birds aren't localized by any means, but like he said, they will often sit in the same areas. Scouting these behaviors can take a few seasons, but its very worthwhile to take note. We located our blinds at the most popular spots at the ranch. After the first few times out each season we get a feel for where they are sitting on the river. And we basically hunt only 2-3 blinds for the rest of the season based off that behavior.

Dogs... Another point, which is an entire subject of its own, but dog training is an absolute must. If you are hunting with dogs you have to keep them still. Young pups are almost impossible to keep calm. I hunt with a family lab that has been at it for 5 years now. She is great at sitting still and watching the birds, and doesn't react until the guns go off. But I've been out with friends a few times where I've had to tell them to truck their dogs because they were doin more harm than good. Teals & woodys, amongst many others, spook easily from any sort of bank movement.

amszete said:

There are a couple of things that I will post here and probably refer to as I get ready for next season (in VA). As I have been trying to graduate from newbie to more of a polished duck hunter, I have found the following work for me in the field:

• Momarsh Invischair Blind: This is an AWESOME invention that when used right - is DEADLY for ducks. I have used this thing now (Xmas present) on 3 hunts and by the 3rd hunt I was bagging close to my daily limit which is double what I was previously doing.
  • What worked with it:
    • Using the Avery Killer Grass on it (be sure to really do it up ahead of time) and then like a traditional layout blind, add natural vegetation around it for blending in.
    • Prop it tall enough so when you go to hit the kick bar, you can stand up without losing your hat, etc. (Took me a while to get that right)
    • The directions pretty much suck, so when you go to attach the bungee, attach it to the TOP of the blind for a quicker release, previously I was doing it towards the back side of the canopy.
    • Some say you can ease out of the front to shoot using this thing, if you are a smaller person that might work, but for anyone around 5'11''+ - use the kick bar and go for the element of surprise. Otherwise I tended to flare the birds quicker than expected.
    • I left the top in place (little tent bar looking pieces). Otherwise it is easy to lose / forget them for setup.
  • What did not work with it:
    • It's too heavy to track with long distances, I was good about 50-70 yards max from my UTV/Truck.
    • Try and set it up before getting into the marsh, it is a PIA to setup if it is below freezing, everything gets cold and the release freezes (which you need to work a few times if this happens)
    • Try and set it up with just a tad bit of vegetation in front, however you don't need alot if you have a gun with the shadow blades/duck blind coat.
• Mojo: This is your best and worst friend. It works great if the birds don't see it alot where you hunt, and you can get by 2-3 times using it for mallards or the species you hunt.
  • What worked:
    • Setting this up downwind almost to your 2 o'clock (if right handed)
    • The remote feature I installed was kick ass. Left it on 2 seconds on at a time. Mallards seemed to take to it in the air or in the water
    • Set it up as far into the water you can get it WITHOUT getting it wet.
      
    • Use the protected cases I wrangled up for the duck and wings
  • What did not work:
    • Using it multiple times in a place back to back
    • Other species of waterfowl absolutely were sketched out by it - geese, divers, woodies and etc.
• Black Cloud shot seemed to work best for me this year for my gun (new A5)
  
• Gun sighting
  • What worked:
    • I took off the magnetic sights I use for deer and turkey. Previously I used this for 5+ years and I decided to scrap it near the end of this season and boy did that make a difference. I think I was shooting to high using them.
    • Trust your shot / aim for the head. After I took the magnetic gun sight off, I was pulling off shots 30-40 yards out. It is OK to take the shot!
  • What did not work:
    • Magnetic Gun sighting as reasons stated above
    • Waiting for the perfect shot, trust in the element of surprise and GO.
• Decoy spread
  • What worked:
    • Switching it up but typically mix of geese and ducks seemed best in the typical V/U shape. Didn't need many ducks or geese to get them to come in.
    • Towards the end of the season, sprinkling in diver decoys also helped.
  • What did not work:
    • Splitting geese and ducks too far. Took myself out of the hunt

Click to expand...

Figured I would re-visit this since it has been some time.

What has been working:
- Momarsh chair: When I dont need to lug it around very far it has been awesome. I almost consider it non-sporting because I have waterfowl that literally land to the chair. I can also hunt places with up to two feet of water comfortably as well which is nice so that gives me an advantage over others in my club as to where I can hunt.
- Wheel chock for long distance hauling of UTV: Not too duck hunting related but because I travel 1+ hours at times to hunt and use my UTV at times, I needed a fast way to get my UTV on and off the trailer. These wheel chocks were awesome and I have limited movement. I can load and unload now in less than 5 mins.
- Upgraded Decs: To Dakota mallard decs and Avianx Goose decs.
- Duck / mallard calling: to the other gents point, establishing a good call base and reading ducks is key. I feel pretty good now with calling.
- DT Systems Dog Transmitter / Receiver: I trained my dog on this and it is very easy to use and it is rechargeable. I tend to only use it now when the season starts as a refresher for the dog.

What still needs work / Lessons learned:
- Goose calling - Still after a few years I am uncomfortable. I use the "Shore Thang" caller which is pricey and supposedly a good caller but I still cant get to where I want to be. Anyone have suggestions?
- Upgrading Guns - I made a mistake trying to upgrade from a 3 inch to 3.5 inch A5 mid season. It was a WORLD of difference for me. I was missing things at point blank and hitting stuff 50+ out. So I was all over the place. I tried diff chokes, patterning with diff shot and velocities and finally settled on Hevi Metal with a Pattern Master choke (mid range) which seemed to finally do the job for me.

What I am thinking of investing in next:
Beavertail Final Attack Boat: My parents have a place on a river here in Va and it is almost a travesty I have not tried to duck hunt on the river which allows me to spend some extra time with the parents anyway. I am thinking of getting one of these. Does anyone own one of these or know how people have fared with them? From what I have read online, people seem to like it.

Per above I bought the Beavertail Final attack Boat this year and I am very happy about it so far. It fits by 10 foot trailer perfect and can double as a floating coffin blind and a boat to fish on is some of my local lakes and ponds. In VA don't need to get it registered unless I motorize it. So for now I am making it work with a kayak paddle.

Have a pic from an earlier goose hunt:

an updated tip that I have used in competitive areas and even non sometimes that I am loving . 2 snow decoys on land and 2 floaters, makes you stand way out. Usually off to the side of the spread.

IN THE PALM!

Dude I've thought about this so many times sittin in the blind. Epic

FaCe-LeE-uS said:

IN THE PALM!

Dude I've thought about this so many times sittin in the blind. Epic

Click to expand...

that's...incredible. and will likely never happen for that guy again, as long as he lives.

FaCe-LeE-uS said:

IN THE PALM!

Dude I've thought about this so many times sittin in the blind. Epic

Click to expand...

That is bad ass. I have never had that happen where I have caught a bird when shot but I did shoot a woody once that was hauling ass through a swamp and when shot the dude landed right at my dog's feet (like he just dropped it).

Ojb81 said:

that's...incredible. and will likely never happen for that guy again, as long as he lives.

Click to expand...

Closest I came to this was a bird dumped about 1-2 yds off the side of the blind. As it was falling towards me I even said to my buddy, "CATCH THAT SHIT BRO!"

From what I have seen on TV you have to grow a really scraggily beard, wear nothing but hunting gear regardless of the situation, talk really funny, and have a TV crew set you up so you ALWAYS get what you are hunting.

amszete said:

Figured I would re-visit this since it has been some time.
What still needs work / Lessons learned:
- Goose calling - Still after a few years I am uncomfortable. I use the "Shore Thang" caller which is pricey and supposedly a good caller but I still cant get to where I want to be. Anyone have suggestions?
- Upgrading Guns - I made a mistake trying to upgrade from a 3 inch to 3.5 inch A5 mid season. It was a WORLD of difference for me. I was missing things at point blank and hitting stuff 50+ out. So I was all over the place. I tried diff chokes, patterning with diff shot and velocities and finally settled on Hevi Metal with a Pattern Master choke (mid range) which seemed to finally do the job for me.

Click to expand...

Sounds to me more like you have a gun fit issue with your A5 more than anything. I've shot lots of different guns over the years now I stick with my old SXS AHFox HE Grade (SuperFox) 12 GA and homemade 2 3/4 inch 1 1/8 OZ 4 Shot Bismuth with a velocity of 1250 FPS and of course tight chokes Improve Mod and Full. I've hammer both ducks and geese out to 60 yards with that load.

I've been lucky to live in Nebraska and South Dakota. While growing up in Nebraska Duck hunting on the South Loup River and the North Platte River using a couple of dozen deocys. I've hunted wearing all the camo and huge spreads of decoys while below Lake McConaughy Hunting both Geese and Ducks. I've done it all. But now I find myself going out wearing little to no camo typically just a camo hat on and a Mojo decoy and a couple of old beat up decoys, my black lab and old burlap sack to cover the dog up. However I let her move around some. I don't call much or at all. I shoot a couple of ducks and I move on to another location or to upland birds here in South Dakota. I've gotten to the point where I just didn't want to carry or deal with all the decoys. I gave a bunch of my decoys away to kids wanting to get into the waterfowl game. I think a lot of guys overthink things and buy a bunch of stuff to go out and hunt ducks. When they really don't need that much to hunt ducks and have fun.

AHFox said:

Sounds to me more like you have a gun fit issue with your A5 more than anything. I've shot lots of different guns over the years now I stick with my old SXS AHFox HE Grade (SuperFox) 12 GA and homemade 2 3/4 inch 1 1/8 OZ 4 Shot Bismuth with a velocity of 1250 FPS and of course tight chokes Improve Mod and Full. I've hammer both ducks and geese out to 60 yards with that load.

I've been lucky to live in Nebraska and South Dakota. While growing up in Nebraska Duck hunting on the South Loup River and the North Platte River using a couple of dozen deocys. I've hunted wearing all the camo and huge spreads of decoys while below Lake McConaughy Hunting both Geese and Ducks. I've done it all. But now I find myself going out wearing little to no camo typically just a camo hat on and a Mojo decoy and a couple of old beat up decoys, my black lab and old burlap sack to cover the dog up. However I let her move around some. I don't call much or at all. I shoot a couple of ducks and I move on to another location or to upland birds here in South Dakota. I've gotten to the point where I just didn't want to carry or deal with all the decoys. I gave a bunch of my decoys away to kids wanting to get into the waterfowl game. I think a lot of guys overthink things and buy a bunch of stuff to go out and hunt ducks. When they really don't need that much to hunt ducks and have fun.

Click to expand...

Most in my area be envious to be in your position. The areas that I have to hunt in Central Virginia are drastically dwindling where it is borderline no longer feasible to waterfowl hunt due to ongoing pressure and dwindling birds in the area. You have to become industrious to be successful (even in the early mos). Even those hunters who have been more lazy in their approach because of their crazy expert ability to call and know the land are starting to give it up. Pretty sad. I have since transitioned to bow hunting with big game which has been a blast.

amszete said:

Most in my area be envious to be in your position. The areas that I have to hunt in Central Virginia are drastically dwindling where it is borderline no longer feasible to waterfowl hunt due to ongoing pressure and dwindling birds in the area. You have to become industrious to be successful (even in the early mos). Even those hunters who have been more lazy in their approach because of their crazy expert ability to call and know the land are starting to give it up. Pretty sad. I have since transitioned to bow hunting with big game which has been a blast.

Click to expand...

Duck hunting on the North Platte river has become money driven in the last 20 years. I don't bother hunting the platte anymore due to this and we see less and less duck hunters due to this. South Dakota has a lot of public ground here and that is where I do 90 to 95% of my hunting. I've given up big game hunting I don't bother with it anymore it's not worth my time. What helps us here with the Waterfowl hunting is for out of state hunters you have to be drawn in the lottery to hunt waterfowl.