Waterfowl?

[Georg3]

Lots of good advise above but we get ducks into our field spreads as well as geese, usually before the geese show up. Use a flag to help attract geese if you do try this on your own and even with just a few decoy separate them into a couple small groups or more depending on how many blocks you have. The same is true with blocks on the water, separate them to look like multiple family groups that have converged on the same spot. Listen to the geese and let them guide you on calling, if they are making a lot of noise then call like crazy and if they are coming but not calling much then back off and call a bit more reserved. Seems like the lessers call so much more than there larger cousins. Lots of flaging with either regardless of which variety, they can see the flag from much further away than they could ever hear a call. I have always had to adjust calls to get them to sound like I wanted so about 30 years ago or so I just started making my own. My duck calls are the old Arkansas style single reed, nice and raspy like a old hen mallard and I prefer the short reed style goose call as they are easier to master than the flute type call. Here are a couple pic's . I am the guy on the right in the first, then a pic of a youth hunt with my nephew and a friend and his son. next are some of my call sets.

[Musta Demoni]

Thanks to all for the input here, sincerely.

[xtrema312]

Lots of good info provided from what I skimmed. YouTube is a great resource for somebody getting into the sport now. There's also some great forms out there to spend time in learning about the sport. This can definitely be time and equipment intensive.

I think the easiest way to get into duck hunting is to get some basic clothing, gun, waders and a handful of wood duck decoys. Calling wood ducks is pretty simple. Look for some small creek areas or small shallow ponds in wooded areas. Wood ducks are a lot of fun and you can shoot them in close cover timber areaa. I found it was sometimes easier to find these little spots than to get a great field spot for geese or get setup to hunt ducks on larger bodies of water. You don't even need a blind. You just stand up next to a tree.

Field hunting geese is my favorite. It's just so much easier to get out into a field and set up then having to wade through muck and mud for duck hunting. I'm getting too old for a lot of that. A layout blind is the only way to fly in the fields. My favorite set up is silhouette decoys.I can haul layout blind, my miscellaneous equipment and six dozen decoys out on my quad, pull it out in a jet sled when there's snow, or even hauled out in a wheelbarrow. All that stuff will fit in the back of most SUVs.

The number one key to hunting waterfowl is to be where they want to be.

There's no better way to eat waterfowl then jerky! Everybody I feed it to thinks it's better than any other meat they have had in jerky. It's not strong flavored and I've never had anybody that didn't know me guess what it was.

[Jackam]

The number one key to hunting waterfowl is to be where they want to be.

Truer words have never been spoken.

There's no better way to eat waterfowl then jerky! Everybody I feed it to thinks it's better than any other meat they have had in jerky. It's not strong flavored and I've never had anybody that didn't know me guess what it was.

Are you talking duck or geese?

Although I'm a fan of jerky, there's no way I'd "waste" a goose on jerky. People tell me all the time how greasy a goose is. Well, that tells me that they have never cooked a wild goose. My wife doesn't have much interest in cooking/eating any other game meat, but when I would bring home geese it was a really really good day. The goose lean dark meat of the goose breast is coveted here. Fabulous stews, bacon wrapped nuggets of deliciousness, thin sliced slow cooked tender meat for philly cheese sandwiches.... Wow!

No as for duck.... I really don't care for duck. I don't like liver either. They remind me of each other.

Do you make jerky out of duck? That would have my attention!!!