Duck hunting
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Duck hunting is the sport of hunting ducks. Duck hunters almost always use 12 or 10 gauge shotguns. Decoys and calls also almost always used. The term waterfowl is interchangeable with duck or goose. Most geese are taken over land or fields and most ducks are taken over water.
The duck gun in the United States and Canada is usually a pump action or semi-automatic shotgun, however a number of hunters choose to hunt with break action guns including side-by-side and over-under guns. In the United States, UK, Canada, and many western European countries (France in 2006) all shot used for waterfowl must be non-toxic, and therefore may not contain any lead. Steel is the cheapest alternative to lead but steel has a much less effective range than lead. 30 to 40 yards is considered the maximum effective range for duck hunting. In order to kill a duck or goose with a shotgun the bird must be in close.
To do this, the hunter chooses a position that appeals to the waterfowl as a safe place to rest or feed.
Duck decoys are used to attract birds to one's hunting spot or blind. The three most common materials used in decoys are wood, cork and plastic. Cork is almost the same density as a duck and therefore is considered to be the most realistic in the way that it floats and moves on the water. Wood is a cheap alternative to cork. Most hunters no longer use wood or cork decoys because they are much too heavy and maintenance intensive. Plastic decoys are much more common due their commercial availability and cost. Decoys come in almost all species of duck and goose that are hunted. Most hunting experts agree that mallard decoys work the best for general hunting situations because mallards are the most common species in North America and most other species are willing to land in their flock.
Calls
A duck call is a very simple woodwind instrument. It has a barrel, a sounding board and a reed. The caller grunts into the call while saying “hut”. This produces a call that sounds like a mallard hen quacking. There are calls for almost all species of ducks. The pintail and many other ducks including the male mallard make whistling calls.
Blinds
There are two common types of blinds for water fowl hunting: pit and layout blinds. The pit blind is a solid structure that is placed into a hole in the ground or on the bank of a pond. Lay out blind are a new invention that allows a hunter to have a low profile in a field with out digging a hole. It is made of a metal frame and canvas. The hunter crawls in and lies down in the blind. When birds are coming in the hunter can sit up and shoot.
Clothing
Duck season takes place in the fall and the weather is often bad. All the clothing needs to be waterproof. Most duck hunter over water which means that they are in the water and the ducks are over the water. In order to stand in the water and stay dry the hunter must wear waders. Waders are pants that have attached boots and are completely waterproof. Duck hunting is a very cold sport and the hunter must be well insulated from the cold.
Dogs
Duck hunters quite often employ a dog to retrieve downed birds. Most often hunters use retrievers, though Spaniels and some versatile breeds can also fit the bill. The use of a dog provides a number of advantages. As duck hunting often takes place in cold wet locations, the use of a dog frees the hunter from potentially dangerous forays into cold water to retrieve the bird. Such efforts can be dangerous for the hunter, but are managed by a dog quite easily. It also allows for the recovery of wounded birds that might otherwise escape. In this way, the use of a dog prevents waste and ensures that a higher percentage of birds shot end up on the table.
External links
- [The Book of Duck Decoys] - Sir Ralph Payne Gallwey, 1886 (full text)
- [British Duck Decoys of To-Day, 1918] - Joseph Whitaker (full text)
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.
Duck decoys are used to attract birds to one's hunting spot or blind. The three most common materials used in decoys are wood, cork and plastic. Cork is almost the same density as a duck and therefore is considered to be the most realistic in the way that it floats and moves on the water. Wood is a cheap alternative to cork. Most hunters no longer use wood or cork decoys because they are much too heavy and maintenance intensive. Plastic decoys are much more common due their commercial availability and cost. Decoys come in almost all species of duck and goose that are hunted. Most hunting experts agree that mallard decoys work the best for general hunting situations because mallards are the most common species in North America and most other species are willing to land in their flock.
Calls
A duck call is a very simple woodwind instrument. It has a barrel, a sounding board and a reed. The caller grunts into the call while saying “hut”. This produces a call that sounds like a mallard hen quacking. There are calls for almost all species of ducks. The pintail and many other ducks including the male mallard make whistling calls.
Blinds
There are two common types of blinds for water fowl hunting: pit and layout blinds. The pit blind is a solid structure that is placed into a hole in the ground or on the bank of a pond. Lay out blind are a new invention that allows a hunter to have a low profile in a field with out digging a hole. It is made of a metal frame and canvas. The hunter crawls in and lies down in the blind. When birds are coming in the hunter can sit up and shoot.
Clothing
Duck season takes place in the fall and the weather is often bad. All the clothing needs to be waterproof. Most duck hunter over water which means that they are in the water and the ducks are over the water. In order to stand in the water and stay dry the hunter must wear waders. Waders are pants that have attached boots and are completely waterproof. Duck hunting is a very cold sport and the hunter must be well insulated from the cold.
Dogs
Duck hunters quite often employ a dog to retrieve downed birds. Most often hunters use retrievers, though Spaniels and some versatile breeds can also fit the bill. The use of a dog provides a number of advantages. As duck hunting often takes place in cold wet locations, the use of a dog frees the hunter from potentially dangerous forays into cold water to retrieve the bird. Such efforts can be dangerous for the hunter, but are managed by a dog quite easily. It also allows for the recovery of wounded birds that might otherwise escape. In this way, the use of a dog prevents waste and ensures that a higher percentage of birds shot end up on the table.
External links
- [The Book of Duck Decoys] - Sir Ralph Payne Gallwey, 1886 (full text)
- [British Duck Decoys of To-Day, 1918] - Joseph Whitaker (full text)
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.