Pass shooting or Wings cupped

[Gordie]

what do most you guys out there do?

I personally do not care to pass shoot but I will if the oppertunity arises. My favorite way is to have the birds wings cupped and feet hanging just above the decoys. you know when you stand up out of the blind and that bird has got that Osh-t look on there face. my resons for this is mostly due for a quick clean kill not saying that it cant be done pass shooting but I feel more birds could be wounded pass shooting and the waiting for the shot over the decoys builds the excitement level.

but I think my all time favorite shooting is teal screaming over the decoys, now thats a rush.

I will not skybust. dont even wanna go there

[Stringerless!]

Cupped up with landing gear down ! I will not shoot a duck unless I fooled him. If he comes in without me seeing him first I let him go. I do not have a dog so I have to drop everything in open water because if there is a chance of losing the bird in the weeds I don't shoot. Needless to say I pass on a lot of shots.It is the preparations and set up, calling etc.. that I love. The kill is a bittersweet end to the hunt. Maybe I am getting old ? I witness wounded ducks and geese glide off never to be found by pass shooters off of the dike roads with no attept to retrieve. I think the black cloud shell is the cause of lots of cripples. Now they think they have the range of a rifle !!

[slabchaser]

I enjoy both types of hunting. I think there is a time and place for both. I love watching ducks work in unison over decoys. But when i lived in Iowa my farm didnt have any water but ducks would fly along a fence line to a huge pond on the next property. I like finding out what the patterns of the ducks are.

[Muthagoose]

Lived just 2 blocks away from the firing line on bigstone refuge you would see the clowns sail off bird and NOT make a attempt to retrieve at all.

The same can be said for many that decoy.

Crippling happens just as often if not more in close.How many times have you locked onto that drake mallard,stung another bird in the flock and watched it fly away figuring it will survive?

Divers can be even worse with multiple birds splashed and some lost in the whitecaps.

We all have been there.We as sportsmen can only do our best..

I love the guys bragging about the new gun or that the super shell they generally have NO CLUE how it patterns. They rely the hype of the tv commercial the behind the counter "expert" recommending it.

Even more are lost due to not having the most important conservation tool a gunner can have a TRAINED DOG..

Sorry bout going long on this but there is more loss due to other factors than pass shooting.

Personally I LOVE working them in close but being able to drop them out a ways can be just as cool. Im with Slabchaser on this one love em both.

Its all good if you restrain from out stepping your ability...

[BenO]

I am going to have to agree with stringerless on this one. I think that the number one things that black cloud promotes is SKY BUSTING!! young kids or even adults will see commercials and all the big boys using these shells and think they can shoot a mile and still kill a goose. Any brand will kill goose just has to be in the right range

[Gordie]

Stringerless I hope I run into you someday out in the duck swamp just to shake your hand. thats how I feel but I have a dog so I do pass shoot if I feel The bird will not be lost.

[Muthagoose]

It is amazing that most are not able to judge distance's when bird hunting.Take a range finder out sometime and ask your buds to guesstimate the distance on a flying bird.

I commend you Stringerless on your discretion of not shooting out back of your set up.. Its difficult even for a good gundog to make all the recoveries.

I think one of the biggest problems is the simple fact most people dont practice on live birds.. The Ole barn duck used to keep me on top of my shooting.

[kc0myy]

If you bad mouth one or the other your going to open a box of worms.

[Quackaddict9]

Cupped Wings with their Feet out is how I like it the most but I've done some pass shooting before and it was fun but I don't do it as much when I was younger though.

[BoxMN]

Bringing the range finder out to the blind is an eye opener for sure I get made fun of (key word here is "fun") because I tend to wait until they are in too close when I am the "take em" guy, haha!

Sometimes I wait too long for that "perfect" run, usually on divers, and we end up wasting a "good" shot. You don't need landing gear down in my book for it to be a "good shot" especially with divers, but that is what we really want.

Now we put a special decoy at exactly 35 yards, and that is our judge for the "too far" shots, and hopefully they are about 20-25 yards for our "perfect". In NoDak it is more like 15-20 yards for those slow puddle ducks and sometimes they just come in too darn close, ha! I can't hit them then

I grew up pass shooting, then moved to decoying divers around high school, and that is my fav to this day. Clean kills are the biggest thing, and not taking stupid shots. That's what I try to teach to my grandson, and hopefully I live up to my word. It is much easier to when the birds are flying good and you can let a close flock go as a learning tool.

I started trap shooting in league a few years ago, and even though the shots are different, it has helped me a ton in being a better shot, just more rounds under your belt by the time fall comes.

Ooops, I see I just ram my "typing mouth" over more like 245 cents instead of 2 cents...

[Gordie]

yea box Ive been known to wait a bit to long or wait until that perfect flight down the deeks into your face with the divers but man its still a rush every time it happens even if you blow the shot or dont get the shot just to hear those little lear jets barreling down the pike. God I love duck hunting..

[FishandFowl]

I have fond memories of both although I prefer cupped. Once or twice a season I will do some pass shooting just me, the dog and a folding chair between 2 sloughs.

Being in the blind with the blocks out front is where I forget about all the things life throws at you. When the birds lock up it just makes the experience that much better.

FnF

[skee0025]

I do both. Either way you shoot them they still taste the same, but nothing beats the sight of a couple of ducks dropping in locked up.

[broken_line]

ill take the passing shots when the birds are close they are either blown apart or missed competly.. thats why i use big shot if i hit them they are done if i miss they fly away fine

[HNTNBUX]

I always hunt with decoys and try to get them to commit, but I will take the shot if they are passing by and in range. I am not a duck hunting yuppie.

[LovenLifeGuy]

I only hunt over decoys and prefer cupped with the feet in my face. I love to watch birds work a spread and hate to watch people sky bust. I dont take long shots but dont complain when others do (not sky busting). I have messed up shots and wounded birds with them cupped and landing gear down. Thats why a dog is the best duck hunting tool. I have spent an hour on two different occasions watching my dog battle the wits of an injured bird. Both times he won! I would prefer a clean kill but am glad that the dog recovers the bird, that is what his job is. You can't kill them all!

[dan z]

over the decoys or not at all.. darn shells are to expensive to be blasting at passing ducks. usually let the first susie in and blast away at the higher ducks of the flock so you get time to shoot the close one's after the first shot....

[Gordie]

yea dan I like to do that with ringies let the first one or two touch the water and then driil the incoming and then reload for the outside wave of birds that are srill coming in.

[onlydrakes4me]

Definately try to get them to commit. Feet down wings back. when on water or on land, i try to get one or two to land then take my shot. I absolutly hate skybusters I have no time for people that do this. It is both unethical and disrepectful.