Duck it!

[Robhuntandfish]

  So I have been avoiding taking on a new hobby cause deer hunting and fishing already consume me. But next year a plan is in place to duck hunt.  

On the spot we hunt there are a couple of ponds and lots of swamp and lots of ducks and geese. After the first week of gun you can't find a deer on the place. 

So plan is if my hunting partner and I both have one deer in the freezer by then we are going to duck/goose hunt. Dec 4 opens the season in the area for ducks and also overlaps goose season for Dec 4,5.  

I actually already have some decoys and a duck shotgun but gonna try finding a spot near the ponds we can just tuck into and shoot at flyers going thru.  Should be fun and a lot of laughs mostly I am guessing.  

But am tired of seeing no deer after first week of gun and just grinding it out for nothing. So new endeavor it is!  And with the warmer late seasons we have had the ponds have stayed open.

Hardest part is of course gonna be to actually hit one but have to read up on ducks and geese and all the rules and regs and bag limits and types of ducks. Cause right now as far as I know the big ones are geese and the little ones are ducks. Lol. 

So a mission begins for next year! 

Edited December 13, 2021 by Robhuntandfish

[The_Real_TCIII]

  So I have been avoiding taking on a new hobby cause deer hunting and fishing already consume me. But next year a plan is in place to duck hunt.  
On the spot we hunt there are a couple of ponds and lots of swamp and lots of ducks and geese. After the first week of gun you can't find a deer on the place. 
So plan is if my hunting partner and I both have one deer in the freezer by then we are going to duck/goose hunt. Dec 4 opens the season in the area for ducks and also overlaps goose season for Dec 4,5.  
I actually already have some decoys and a duck shotgun but gonna try finding a spot near the ponds we can just tuck into and shoot at flyers going thru.  Should be fun and a lot of laughs mostly I am guessing.  
But am tired of seeing no deer after first week of gun and just grinding it out for nothing. So new endeavor it is!  And with the warmer late seasons we have had the ponds have stayed open.
Hardest part is of course gonna be to actually hit one but have to read up on ducks and geese and all the rules and regs and bag limits and types of ducks. Cause right now as far as I know the big ones are geese and the little ones are ducks. Lol. 
So a mission begins for next year! 

@otto has entered the conversation...


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[grampy]

Wishing you luck and lots of fun duck/goose hunting! I haven't done it alot, and not for many years now. But it certainly was fun!!

Do you like eating duck and or goose? The main reason I don't  hunt them now, is I didn't care for them much on the dinner plate. But I'm sure a better cook than I could do much better.

[Robhuntandfish]

Thanks Grampy!

Duck is a fine dish if it's not a fish duck. Haven't really had wild goose but have heard it isn't great.  But I'm willing to try making sausage or jerky out of it. Will make it palatable one way or the other. 

Should be a fun journey. I've put it off cause didn't want to go down the rabbit hole of yet another hobby and get addicted to it. Lol. But here we go! 

[Fletch]

6 minutes ago, grampy said:

Wishing you luck and lots of fun duck/goose hunting! I haven't done it alot, and not for many years now. But it certainly was fun!!

Do you like eating duck and or goose? The main reason I don't  hunt them now, is I didn't care for them much on the dinner plate. But I'm sure a better cook than I could do much better.

Sounds like a good time! Can you double dose? Hunt duck and deer same time?

I always hesitated for the fact is how do you know what the heck that bird has been eating? Like polluted Onondaga lake garbage, the sludge water next to someone's outhouse etc.... has Cornell ever tested bird meat lol?

[Lawdwaz]

Rob that sounds great!  I loved all bird hunting but I guess unless I got an invite, my days of hunting the winged critters is done.  You see, for me the use of a dog was mandatory in my enjoyment.  You can kill geese in fields all day long with well placed shots but over water, unless you bring a canoe or kayak (or of course a rod, reel and three gang hook or chest waders!) it can be difficult to retrieve them.

So........the question I have is; black, yellow or chocolate lab?

 

[Robhuntandfish]

5 minutes ago, Fletch said:

Sounds like a good time! Can you double dose? Hunt duck and deer same time?

I always hesitated for the fact is how do you know what the heck that bird has been eating? Like polluted Onondaga lake garbage, the sludge water next to someone's outhouse etc.... has Cornell ever tested bird meat lol?

Well I didn't worry about that til now....thanks Fletch. Lol. 

I am sure the minute we walk out to hunt a ten point will jump out of the brush but really sick of sitting for gun for hours and never seeing a thing. It's been this way since we started deer hunting there.  One, maybe two velvet bucks all summer. Then they show up mid October and are around til gun. Then it's a ghost town. Which isn't all bad cause they are around in bow season. 

I have had ducks and geese flying over my head in the deer stand and keep thinking I need to bring the shotgun.  

[Robhuntandfish]

Just now, Lawdwaz said:

Rob that sounds great!  I loved all bird hunting but I guess unless I got an invite, my days of hunting the winged critters is done.  You see, for me the use of a dog was mandatory in my enjoyment.  You can kill geese in fields all day long with well placed shots but over water, unless you bring a canoe or kayak (or of course a rod, reel and three gang hook or chest waders!) it can be difficult to retrieve them.

So........the question I have is; black, yellow or chocolate lab?

 

Right... See the rabbit hole there....now I need a dog, a canoe ...lol

We are gonna try to keep it simple. I think the way the place is setup I can find a spot to tuck in far enough off the ponds themselves to shoot at flyers as they come in and out. Then can just retrieve them ourselves in the swamp edges. At least that's the plan.  I could actually sit in a couple of my deer stands and every year have shots in range.  

Plus we are only looking to do this 3-4 times a year. More of something fun to do.  I really don't want to get into 4am 40 decoy setups, dogs, blinds, etc.....damn rabbit hole....

[Shoots100]

Your best bet is to sit at the pond before sunset and find where and when the ducks are coming in to roost.

Once you find that time and spot, set up a blind facing away from the setting sun and have some fun.

The problem with hunting a ducks roosting area, is that once you blast them, they don't usually come back, unless the ponds are located on a migratory route.

Local ducks will give you one shot and then their gone, or come back after sunset and leave before sunrise.

So, you might only get one shot and be left there looking at an empty pond for the rest of the season.

If you have a couple of ponds in different areas, jumping ducks is a great way to spend a day.

If you don't have a dog to retrieve them, plan on having some type of watercraft to get them.

[Shoots100]

Buy lots of shells if you plan on pass shooting.

You'll have a better chance and easier target shooting at them when their coming into a spread, than pass shooting.

[sbuff]

Duck hunting is a blast we do it on our pond the first two weeks in October.  Kids like it because it non stop action. Not a steel shot fan but it's the cheapest . I loaded up on hevi shot when it first came out, I'm a huge fan of that. 

When we were younger we use to play cards for shotgun shells,  that could get expensive these days .

Edited December 14, 2021 by sbuff

[Robhuntandfish]

3 minutes ago, Shoots100 said:

Your best bet is to sit at the pond before sunset and find where and when the ducks are coming in to roost.

Once you find that time and spot, set up a blind facing away from the setting sun and have some fun.

The problem with hunting a ducks roosting area, is that once you blast them, they don't usually come back, unless the ponds are located on a migratory route.

Local ducks will give you one shot and then their gone, or come back after sunset and leave before sunrise.

So, you might only get one shot and be left there looking at an empty pond for the rest of the season.

If you have a couple of ponds in different areas, jumping ducks is a great way to spend a day.

If you don't have a dog to retrieve them, plan on having some type of watercraft to get them.

So many come in at sunset. When i am walking out from deer hunting i always joke that it's cover noise for me to get out.  

Just looking to get a few chances here and there. Something new and some action. 

[Fletch]

I always thought the same thing as I hunt/ live in an area called three rivers. Pretty much have geese flying over me close enough to shoot every few sits outa my tree stands. Probably blasting away at geese would cut down on deer sightings from zero to well zero lol.

[Robhuntandfish]

2 minutes ago, sbuff said:

Duck hunting is a blast we do it on our pond the first two weeks in October.  Kids like it because it non stop action. Not a steel shot fan but it's the cheapest . I loaded up on hevi shot when it first came out, I'm a huge fan of that. 

When we were younger we use to play cards for shotgun shells,  that could get expensive these days .

What's the best overall size for a 12 g for ducks and geese? I have a 2-3 boxes of loads to get started but I basically bought them cause it said duck/geese loads on the box. 

[Robhuntandfish]

2 minutes ago, Fletch said:

I always thought the same thing as I hunt/ live in an area called three rivers. Pretty much have geese flying over me close enough to shoot every few sits outa my tree stands. Probably blasting away at geese would cut down on deer sightings from zero to well zero lol.

This occurred to me this weekend when I sat for 5 hours and never heard a twig snap. 

Been hunting this spot for 7 years now. Have yet to see a deer in muzzle season. And when there is snow basically not even a track after week 2 of gun. 

[Robhuntandfish]

The smaller of the ponds there. 

[sbuff]

28 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

What's the best overall size for a 12 g for ducks and geese? I have a 2-3 boxes of loads to get started but I basically bought them cause it said duck/geese loads on the box. 

4 shot is a good overall non toxic size , 2s if your using steal. At least that's the success I've had in my mossberg 835 ulti mag with modified choke . You don't need to go 3.5 shells . Our pond last weekend of gun up north

Edited December 14, 2021 by sbuff

[Otto]

Rob,  I am putting together a winter skeet/trap league, every other Saturday at noon, Camillus Sportsmen’s Club, starts January 8th. If you want to brush up on wing shooting, the trap and skeet field is a good place to start!   Even if you just want to come once in a while.  We also have a Thursday night Trap league in the summer.  Both are “fun” leagues, no commitments. 

I never did duck hunt this season, but we go to Cicero swamp in the early season and do ok there. Both mallards and woodies.   We always hear a lot of shots coming from Oneida Lake though. We have not been on the lake duck hunting. 

We have also hunted Happy Valley WMA.  There are several good ponds there, we have not even been on all of them. 

Your idea to sit on the edge hidden is what we do. We brush in a little three sided pop up blind or bring camo burlap and make do.  Nothing fancy at all.  We have canoed in so we can get onto the other side of the bigger pond too.  We do set decoys and having ducks fly into your decoy is one of the coolest things in hunting.   We have no dogs, so it is up to us (usually my buddy) to retrieve any we shoot.  

It’s a ton of fun! You can chit chat, move around and not be so worried about being busted by a deer you didn’t see behind you.  As far as eating them, I would not be too worried about that.  It would be no different that eating walleye out of Oneida Lake; I’m sure you’ve seen some of the things tossed (etc.) into the lake.   And to top it all off - duck is delicious!!!!

From the few pics I saw of your location, I would say you’ve got a great spot to try out a few times.  And I am sure my buddy and I would be happy to join you sometime!

 

 

[suburbanfarmer]

52 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

Thanks Grampy!

Duck is a fine dish if it's not a fish duck. Haven't really had wild goose but have heard it isn't great.  But I'm willing to try making sausage or jerky out of it. Will make it palatable one way or the other. 

Should be a fun journey. I've put it off cause didn't want to go down the rabbit hole of yet another hobby and get addicted to it. Lol. But here we go! 

I have made goose burgers and ppl couldnt tell the difference of it from beef. Havent hunted ducks or geese in ages. But if you are anywhere close by I have a few decoys if interested.

It is a lot more fun cause you have 3-4 guys and dont have to be quite until the flock comes in.

[Robhuntandfish]

38 minutes ago, Otto said:

Rob,  I am putting together a winter skeet/trap league, every other Saturday at noon, Camillus Sportsmen’s Club, starts January 8th. If you want to brush up on wing shooting, the trap and skeet field is a good place to start!   Even if you just want to come once in a while.  We also have a Thursday night Trap league in the summer.  Both are “fun” leagues, no commitments. 

I never did duck hunt this season, but we go to Cicero swamp in the early season and do ok there. Both mallards and woodies.   We always hear a lot of shots coming from Oneida Lake though. We have not been on the lake duck hunting. 

We have also hunted Happy Valley WMA.  There are several good ponds there, we have not even been on all of them. 

Your idea to sit on the edge hidden is what we do. We brush in a little three sided pop up blind or bring camo burlap and make do.  Nothing fancy at all.  We have canoed in so we can get onto the other side of the bigger pond too.  We do set decoys and having ducks fly into your decoy is one of the coolest things in hunting.   We have no dogs, so it is up to us (usually my buddy) to retrieve any we shoot.  

It’s a ton of fun! You can chit chat, move around and not be so worried about being busted by a deer you didn’t see behind you.  As far as eating them, I would not be too worried about that.  It would be no different that eating walleye out of Oneida Lake; I’m sure you’ve seen some of the things tossed (etc.) into the lake.   And to top it all off - duck is delicious!!!!

From the few pics I saw of your location, I would say you’ve got a great spot to try out a few times.  And I am sure my buddy and I would be happy to join you sometime!

 

 

All fall from the launch we used there was a couple of serious duck boats launching in the morns. From what I hear they do well on Oneida. Toughest part is finding a.place away from houses and boats that poeple won't complain. 

Guys across the road duck hunt quite a bit , it's a whole wetlands area. Tons of geese and ducks. Looking forward to trying it. Thinking we will bring a rod and reel in case one goes as far as the water.  Think the GF has a kayak we could use. Dunno bout my big ass in it but Corey could prob be alright in it. Gonna try to keep it simple. Hell can often get them in range right while in the treestand, would be happy if we got 4-5 shots when we go. 

Love duck, so no issue to eat them as long as Fletch doesn't keep coming up with things to think about. Lol

Would be great to get out there and am sure you could give us some pointers.  

Def gonna keep it simple the first year. I do have a dozen decoys and lines and weights setup. So I have the option there. But I really don't think I'm gonna need them.  Will have to see. Will be a learning experience.  New set of waders in the spring is gonna be a must I'm thinking. 

There was a couple of guys that used to duck hunt the property we are on. It sucked when they were there opening weekend of deer gun season on Sunday and the week after. Owner just has us out there now so think we are gonna try it. 

[Robhuntandfish]

49 minutes ago, suburbanfarmer said:

I have made goose burgers and ppl couldnt tell the difference of it from beef. Havent hunted ducks or geese in ages. But if you are anywhere close by I have a few decoys if interested.

It is a lot more fun cause you have 3-4 guys and dont have to be quite until the flock comes in.

Thanks. I've got a dozen mallards.  But gonna try without the first few times and see how it goes. Just looking for a couple of days of something with some action in late season. Duck closes here Dec 19 wish it was open later after deer season like it is in wny.

[Robhuntandfish]

58 minutes ago, sbuff said:

4 shot is a good overall non toxic size , 2s if your using steal. At least that's the success I've had in my mossberg 835 ulti mag with modified choke . You don't need to go 3.5 shells . Our pond last weekend of gun up north

I think I have 2s and 4s. Also have a Mossberg with a mod choke I was planning to use. Mine is a pump but that will work. I can miss enough with that one for now. Lol. 

[Cabin Fever]

Got many coyotes around there Rob? Might want to throw some predator hunting into the mix. Might help the deer population.

[Robhuntandfish]

11 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

I think I have 2s and 4s. Also have a Mossberg with a mod choke I was planning to use. Mine is a pump but that will work. I can miss enough with that one for now. Lol. 

Strike that. I have a Stevens not a Mossberg. Well I have a Mossberg but that's my turkey gun. 

Also have 2 boxes of steel 2s.  Just enough to embarrass myself and get a good laugh. 

[Robhuntandfish]

7 minutes ago, Cabin Fever said:

Got many coyotes around there Rob? Might want to throw some predator hunting into the mix. Might help the deer population.

A few years ago we had a ton. The last two years have a lot less. Saw one all deer season and only a few cam pics.  Neighbor has been trapping them and it has seemed to help.  Have gone yote hunting a couple of times but never cared much for it. Will shoot them as targets of opportunity in deer season. Shot one with xbow a couple years ago and my buddy shot one with rifle.  I only seem to call them in during turkey season. 

Could do some.trapping there as there are a lot of beavers and fishers but also not into that.  Plus winter I work a whole lot and to trudge out there for a trapline has the same appeal to me as ice fishing....none. lol