Duck hunting sucks

[Buckslayer]

I agree 100% That Guy. The number of hunters is definetely up since the 70's, which in turn pushes the ducks around more, making them harder to find. I guess I can see everyones point of view on this one, but its still a pretty bold statement to come out and say Duck Hunting Sucks. You are probably right, the numbers in Duluth may be down, but there are still ducks around. If you just go out to "ole honeyhole I've been hunting since 1970", and expect to shoot a limit, I think you might go home with the "duck hunting sucks" attitude. Like everyone else has been saying scout, scout, scout. You might not shoot a limit, but I bet you'll shoot something.

On the other hand I love that people have this attitude, it pretty much guarantees that when I do find that flooded field, or flooded crp, and get permission to hunt, that nobody else will be out there......because Duck Hunting Sucks!

How can one person estimate 30,000 birds?

[riverrat56]

That Guy, I can agree with your last statment thats forsure. When hunting the heavily hunted public lakes I wonder what in the heck the flocks of geese way off in the distance thinking when there are 9 differt flocks all honking at them or at least trying to. And to top it off from every direction the noise is coming there is only 6 or 8 geese there but a whole bunch of fake looking ducks.

Ah well sometimes its just as fun to sit back and watch other people screw up a flock of geese than it is to do it yourself.

We try to keep a light positive attitude in the blind, if someone else messes up a flock for you ya we get a little mad but o well get the next one, whenever a flock of ducks is circling oone of us is usually making some stupid remark. From "Do you think it matters that only one wing on Air Lucky is spinning?" to " Give'em the feeder, their hungry"

I guess what I'm trying to say is heck ya I want to shoot some ducks when I go out but I don't drag my butt out of bed at 3 after a tough football game just to shoot a few stinky teal, it's the moments in the blinds with some good friends and just watching the sunrise and hearing the morning.

Whats that quote from the MossyOak commercial, "God only gave me so many sunrises, I don't plan on missing any" I guess to me thats what waterfowling is all about.

[bassman222]

Your right the hunting does suck......... we couldn't even kill limits for two guys this weekend ....

I thought we were in ND sunday morning for the first 45 minutes and didn't even shoot at the teal and ringnecks!

Sat.

Sun

[Roosterslayer05]

Buckslayer- I dident estimate 30,000 birds the DNR did. That was the DNR count of mallerds where i was hunting that weekend. I went to the DNR office with the pops and got the count.

Boilerguy- I hunt your area every year from pheasent opener till the end of the season. I scout my a** off, i work my a** off and its still tough to bag some birds. Work harder you say?? How about getin in your waders and walkin half a mile with decoys on your back to a secluded pothole no one else is willing to bust their a** too?? Still cant shoot birds if you only see 5 flocks in a morning and none even look at your decoys or you whiff on the only flock that comes in. Oh and its 70 degrees to boot, Around holloween! you think there's a hole in your waders cause your soaked in sweat, yea thats not working hard enough! I love duck hunting and will continue to go even when theres less birds. I think its outragous that i even talk about the "good ole days" when im 19! What a drastic decline! You cant ignore the fact that the wetlands in SW MN are horibly degraded. Im helping the downward decline by being a DU member. Im also going to school to try and become a wildlife manager/biologist for the DNR. Im sure you know by now where i mostly hunt since very few area's down their can hold those bird numbers that i talked about and man does that place need some restoration!

[Eric Wettschreck]

Like I said before, I'm not going to say the duck numbers are not down. Nor am I willing to say there is a serious problem with wetlands in the state. But I will say that duck hunting does not suck. If you honestly think it sucks then why in the heck are you doing it???? I think getting kicked in the jimmy really sucks so I do everything I possibly can to avoid it.

Don't come on here complainin about how hard you work to scout and get to a dried up pothole just to sit there and not see a teal. If you only saw 5 flocks you worked your butt off to get to the wrong spot. I've shot a few limits this year. I'll continue to have good hunts. Not all of them, but a bunch of them. If you'd like to join in I say c'mon down and I'll take ya out with us, but there will be zero squakin.

[Buckslayer]

Great post Boilerguy. There is a mojor difference between scouting and working your A** off. If I was going to walk a half mile in waders with decoys on my back, I'd make sure I scouted the area first. If the ducks wouldnt even look at the pothole, they were probably never sitting on it in the first place. I dont think there's a duck hunter in here that hasn't worked there a** off at some point in time to get to a spot.

[Guest]

Most of the time, working smarter, not harder will pay off better results.

Personaly, I would rather put the extra gas in my truck and DRIVE for the extra 45 minutes that it would take to walk 1/2 mile loaded down with gear... gas prices suck, but I usually have at least one other hunter with me to share the expense.

Duck hunters are pretty hard core and will show up about anywhere at any time. If you can find that pothole back in the woods, or in the field to hunt when the birds are using it, more power to you!

Personaly, I usually check the reports within about an hour of where I live/hunt and go scouting from there. If the birds arent flying heavy, I'll hunt old reliable holes and get a couple birds most of the time out my back door with the rest of the masses(public water near metro).

I enjoy my time in the field or I wont be out there. Even the hard hit metro waters can be prodctive... sometimes you just have to wait for the morning skybusters to run out of shells or get bored and go home.. pick off a bird here and there through the mid day.

Hunting is what we make of it. If you dont enjoy it, dont do it. The fish bite this time of year also.. go fishing if you cant enjoy hunting.. then we can deal with the fishing sucks rant!

NOTE: I am not critisizing anyone for their efforts in the field. I'll be the 1st to admit, hard work doesnt always pay big dividends. A bit of luck is always needed when hunting. I have scouted endlessly in the past and found the honey holes just to find the birds gone the next day, and worse yet still there but they all landed on the other side of the lake and stayed there all day. Thats hunting!

[ChuckN]

Amen brother Boilerguy!

I am coming down that way...bringing the polar front with me. Hope to enjoy the stiff, cold, northerly winds and hopefully some snow mixed in for fun. Can't wait. Birds or no birds, duck hunting is a sickness full of fun.

[slimngrizzly]

I have a horrible attitude when it comes to the hunting in Minnesota...... but I love it too much to quit. In the 80's there were ducks everywhere. Now in the last 3-4 years I have nearly quit duck hunting because of empty skies. I enjoy being out. I dont have to shoot birds but I at least expect to see ONE.

On a brighter note, I have been pounding the sloughs this year because its been the best Ive seen it in 5 years. Weve been folding the Greenheads and seeing a lot of birds. Now widgeons, ringnecks, gads, and cans seem to be showing up as well and im sure the front tonight and the next day will move more birds.

P.S.You know this is the first BIG fall weather front coming that I can can think of in the last 3-4 years. Im excited. Its like a real fall again!

Good Luck, go for the green.

[hanson]

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P.S.You know this is the first BIG fall weather front coming that I can can think of in the last 3-4 years. Im excited. Its like a real fall again!

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Amen to that!

We've had too many nice (warm temp) falls for the last 5 years. The birds haven't had to leave Canada while our hunting season is open. When the temp does change and the birds move, our season is nearing its end. I think that has more to do with most folks thinking duck hunting sucks than anything.

I would say that the last 3 duck seasons, I would hunt opening weekend and than not hit the slough again until the end of October for the specific reason I listed above. Opener was always good, we had local birds around and would have a good weekend hunting. But after opener, the birds were gone and nothing was happening up north to push more down. So we'd wait and wait for the weather to change to get some migrators.

The waterfowl season is 60 days long here and if you can seriously tell me it sucks after 1-1/2 weeks, well...

I'm just going to venture a guess and say that this season is going to be the best in a long while.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Chuck, where down here are you going???

The Mrs and I are going fishing on Saturday but if you're nearby on Sunday I'd love to hook up and shoot a few.

[ChuckN]

Oh geez, I thought you were a bit farther north. My bad. We'll be paying a visit to the Appleton area.

[eyepatrol]

I'd have to agree with Hanson. There just hasn't been the cold weather needed early enough on in the season to get a good fall migration hunt over the past 5 years or so. I've been hunting right up to the last day (around Thanksgiving) and there's little around. Then, a week or two after the duck season closes, the cold snap hits and there's mallards galore! (and big Canadas too)

Hopefully this year will be different. I think what plays a big part in pushing the ducks down is getting a big snowfall up north and getting the lakes and ponds to freeze up north. Eliminate the food to eat and the water to sit on and they'll move out. Problem is, that isn't occurring until December over the past few years.

The cold weather forecasted for tomorrow will push some ducks around, but it will be a while before we see anything major in my area (southcentral MN). BWT and woodies should move pretty good once this cold snap hits (and a few divers too). We should also start to see ducks flocking up into larger flocks too....not your 5', 10's or 15's, but your 20's on up. It can be pretty crazy when you get a flock of 40 or more divers to scream into your dekes!

Oh, one last thing....duck hunting doesn't suck if you truely enjoy the sport. Nothing ever sucks if you truely and purely enjoy it.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Appleton....Cripes, that's up nort!!!!

[tearin' lips]

It may not be like in the good old days, but if you put in the time and the effort in areas that will produce, you will get ducks. The past three years have been phenomenal for me. Most people get stuck on the same spots, using the same old decoys, in the same old two group pattern. Part of being a good waterfowl hunter is adapting to the hand that is dealt to ya. I usually run a large spread, but if that isn't producing I switch it up. I have run as few as eight decoys and shot a limit of ducks in thrity minutes.

When I ventured into the bay this weekend I say a sad sight. Spots that hunters would be competing over are no longer being competed for. There were two other hunters in the big bay all weekend with us and that is unheard of and really sad. what happened to the tradition, the love of just being out there. Is everyone that focused on killing a limit of duck everythime they go out?

Surely a controversial topic, if anyone has to quit duck hunting because of it fine, but instead you can take my course of action and work to improve the situation. Will it ever be like the good old days in Minnesota? Probably not, but can we make it better, definately yes.

There is so much more to say, but not enough time...

[FarByondDrivn]

Duck hunting rules! I have only been in the game for about five years but it seems like I get the "sickness" worse every year. A lot of guys have mentioned the camraderie that they share with their hunting partners in the blind and I can't agree more. Their have been times when my friends and I were laughing so hard at each other that we would miss birds! I do a lot of different kinds of hunting from deer to turkeys to pheasants but their is just something really unique about waterfowling that can't be explained. DUCK HUNTING RULES!

[chefjim]

I agree the thought of being in slough or on the river gets my heart racing. I have been skunked a few times but still go back and enjoy being out there on the water and setting up decoys and drinking coffee while the sun comes oh yeah anbd being so excited the first day that when they do come in to land the gun isn't loaded. it is good to be a duck hunter snow is coming and i cant wait nothing better than busting ice to put decoys out.

[sachem longrifle]

Don't get me wrong. I still buy a duck stamp and am a bronze sponsor of DU. I have a well trained Lab but i am hoping against hope, I feel

[The_Duckslayer]

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You must be in the wrong part of the state. Down around the Northfield area (35 miles south of Twin Cities), I am pounding them. I have 19 ducks in 5 trips out - if I could shoot better, I would have 20....

Good luck!

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Hey Walleye, if ya don't mind givin me a sorta location as to where all these ducks are that would be great! I live in Lonsdale and only have 4 so far. I have a 16FT Jon boat and a 10 Ft duck boat. Should you want to get together that would be cool as well. You can reach me at jcschmitz at mchsi.com

Edit: After I thought about it for a while that sounds kind of tacky huh! Not the way that I meant it though and if you would like to meet up for a hunt sometime let me know. Have a good one and N Joy the Hunt././Jimbo

[DRH1175]

It should really be a good fall with this cold weather that will get them moving down. Honestly if you are really into duck hunting you would give either ND or Canada a try. That is where I usually go and if you don't limit out each day you had a bad day of hunting. It is amazing a few miles west will do for ya!

[RBuker]

I have a unique perspective on this whole issue.

I bought some land several years ago for duck hunting and I live on the same land. I built a sixteen foot blind with walls, doors, and shelves for my coffee and ammo out on my point. I don't hunt anywhere else... ever. Over the years I've kept detailed records of my hunts.

I hunt that exact same spot every day of the season when the lake is not frozen over. I've been doing it the same every day for several years.

I lay that all out as background.

The number of ducks has steadily decreased each and every year until this year so far. It looks like this year will be the best it's been in the last 4 but not as good as it was before that.

I'm certain that with some scouting I'd be able to find and kill more ducks than my one or two a day the way it is now. That's not the point for me. I enjoy the hunting at my spot. I don't like fighting the crowds on public water and I don't enjoy getting up so early that I suffer the rest of the day at work. I rather enjoy walking out of the house five minutes before shooting time, going out to the kennel and getting out a dog and then walking out to the blind three hundred yards away. I sit down, put my coffee mug up on the shelf, load my shotgun and get ready. If I get a duck or two from time to time I'm happy and so is my dog. That, to me, is duck hunting.

Randy

[tealitup]

Good perspective Randy - Its the hunt not the kill that makes the day. The harvest is just a bonus.

[Mark Christianson]

I feel a lot the way Randy says it.

We have private land that the family owns and nearby property near ours owned by long time family friends.

I prefer to hunt our own private waters versus public lands. Its also not very far from our cabin so its convenient in that respect as well.

The number of birds compared to not too many years ago, pales in comparison the last few hunting seasons.

I realize you can spend hours scouting and probably locate some birds to shoot. Thats fine. I accept that. But I dont do it. I don't rant on here about no hunting success. Sure I miss the great shoots from years gone by. It's clear that duck populations are struggling for some species. It would be nice if ducks were on an overall upswing year over year.

I will not stop duck hunting. No way. I won't sit here and rant that there are no ducks, because I know there are ducks somewhere.

Bowhunting has become a bigger part of my life the last couple years, so I just choose to do that a little more now instead of putting countless hours behind the wheel to find ducks. I am happy in the end.

People say on here "Put your time behind the wheel and go scout". True, but if trends continue for populations to decline, but when do you say its not right to have to search high and low for something that should be more numerous in numbers to begin with?

Duck hunting doesnt suck one bit when a guy really thinks about it. Harvest levels might suck some days, but duck hunting sure doesnt suck.