Thread: Crash course on duck hunting

maimai 5-10 yards back or shoot ducks on way in......

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

you CANT USE LEAD over water......
need to purchase licence (you arent lawnowner or manager)
steel shot in #2-3-4 is what I use...for pond where ranges are going to be short eg 30 or less yards #4 all the way....falcon put out good non expensive loads.
2-3 decoys might be enough. if you cant call well DONT AT ALL.pocket/bucket of small stones to carfully chuck into water to create ripples works great just dont let ducks see movement AT ALL.
need nuteral colours eg greens n browns as ducks ARENT colourblind like deer.
swing through your bird in flight eg come up from behind pass the bum pass the beak BANG keep swinging. best time bar none to fire is when they about to land...wings flared landing gear down and air brakes on...all vitals are at most vunerable then. most times you can get dead ducks off pond with string attached to one bank then walk around pond carefully pulling belly of string around to push them across.
keep well hiden and dont let ducks see movement.
take lunch and plenty heaps cups of tea.

This. Most people over call, if you’re going to do it, go easy, especially on a little pond. If they’re coming they’re coming, not like you’re drawing them to your corner of a lake.

Originally Posted by Sideshow

Get some bicycle inner tuber. But a stake in on the opposite bank to the Miami, attach the inner tube to a green line. Next fix a few decoys to the line. Attach inner tube to stake and run it across the pond to the Miami. If you peg it down and run it up and into the Miami via a bit of black alkathene this will help keep it hidden. Now you pull the cord towards you tie it off. When you see the ducks fly past release the cord and the decoys swim across the pond lots of ripples. Worked well for us we had two big ponds and used to set up three lines.
In the off season you could ask the farmer if it would be alright to fence the pond and plant some cover. Make it more duck friendly.
Spend a bit and you can make a real haven. Flax is good around the Maimai as well as honey suckle. Saves on cutting down Manuka.
OH if it’s not been said (sorry if someone else has covered it) gloves and a face mask your face and hands look like someone shining a torch to a duck.
Good luck have fun and pluck them while there warm. It’s a lot easier than when cold

Would a 20 or 410 be better at that range? I have a colleague with a 410 I can borrow.

Thanks for the advice. I will put it to good use!

He does do some pest trapping all year round but the planting is a good idea.

There is a long fence around it which is good.

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With little to no experience 410 no! 20 minimum. Last thing you want is to be pricking birds (wounding).
You need to be right on the money to shoot well and get clean kills with a 410.
Just use smaller shot size get to a clay ground and practice it's not rifle shooting! Shotgun shooting is a totally different discipline.
What your trying to do is really trow a tennis ball to hit another fast moving tennis ball.
Lots come into play and making the ball that your throwing smaller is not going to help you at all.
I've never shot a lot of steel shot (please someone with more experience at the ranges he's talking about step in).
But practice is key. Pace out your pond then put in some markers so you can start to judge the ranges, I used to place a dead duck on a post then mark out 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 yards. This gave me enough idea to figure out how far away the average duck was....this all then goes to shit when a teal our spoony flys through.
Anyway practice and gun fit!

Originally Posted by Sideshow

With little to no experience 410 no! 20 minimum. Last thing you want is to be pricking birds (wounding).
You need to be right on the money to shoot well and get clean kills with a 410.
Just use smaller shot size get to a clay ground and practice it's not rifle shooting! Shotgun shooting is a totally different discipline.
What your trying to do is really trow a tennis ball to hit another fast moving tennis ball.
Lots come into play and making the ball that your throwing smaller is not going to help you at all.
I've never shot a lot of steel shot (please someone with more experience at the ranges he's talking about step in).
But practice is key. Pace out your pond then put in some markers so you can start to judge the ranges, I used to place a dead duck on a post then mark out 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 yards. This gave me enough idea to figure out how far away the average duck was....this all then goes to shit when a teal our spoony flys through.
Anyway practice and gun fit!

Right. 410 is out.

Good thing I bought 250 clay birds shells and birds then!

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what part of the country are you in bud????

yeah nah....... but if close by could lend ger etc.... loan some decoys.....
and I dont poach ponds.........havent done so for many a year,far easier to go to local farm where we have permission or go walk a creek.
was also thinking if opening weekend lit a fire in his belly I could take the man out and show the not so common art of jump shooting.
see that photo in my Avitar??// that was my young cockers first day of work...all jump shot in a couple of hours on public water.

Nice bag! Used to love doing that still do but mostly now night flighting on some water meadows here in the UK

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

yeah nah....... but if close by could lend ger etc.... loan some decoys.....
and I dont poach ponds.........havent done so for many a year,far easier to go to local farm where we have permission or go walk a creek.
was also thinking if opening weekend lit a fire in his belly I could take the man out and show the not so common art of jump shooting.
see that photo in my Avitar??// that was my young cockers first day of work...all jump shot in a couple of hours on public water.

The farm is in Cambridge. I'm in Auckland unfortunately.

That would be great.

That's a good haul of ducks. I've seen some videos of the Clarke boys and they've done pretty well.

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Originally Posted by Russian 22.

The farm is in Cambridge. I'm in Auckland unfortunately.

That would be great.

That's a good haul of ducks. I've seen some videos of the Clarke boys and they've done pretty well.

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I can loan you some decoys if you want. Hopefully I will also be shooting a small pond so only need half of what I have.

PM me

Originally Posted by 300CALMAN

I can loan you some decoys if you want. Hopefully I will also be shooting a small pond so only need half of what I have.

PM me

Done

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right well jaffaland is a bit far away from south canterbury but if you down this way.....
right you lot....one of you up that way MUST be able to find a bit of time /gear to get this fella started....
give him sone different shotties to swing and see what works etc etc etc. one more duckaholic is one less on the anti side of the fence.
Im hooked for life on shooting ducks and can still picture that first female parrie dropping like a lead balloon when hit with .410 some 35ish years ago like it was yesterday....can also remember my sons first solo ducks and a couple of other young fellas first aswell.....
good on ya 300calman thats a good start.....but a man can never have too many decoys ,even if we do leave half in the shed,same goes for calls,dogs,guns,camo nets,gumboots,jackets,boats........

Falcon from farmlands no4 34 gram for close and falcon no3 34 gram for last shot. How long is the barrel on Toby's shottie? Go for quality over quantity for decoys( @Dundee will tell you a trick on riging them ). For a duck call get duck commander ole raspy for $40 and practise all you need is three quacks ( you can play round with ole raspy and get quite a good parrie call with it.
For feed you can just pick up or rake acorns pretty into a bag. Im a crazy young fulla and pick them up and put them in the freezer and bring them out at the end of the season when there's not as much feed around.


Take a mate and a Bacon and egg pie (with peas of course .

great advice till you put peas in the B+E pie. Fail lol

3 quacks.........to same speed as 3 blind mice tune
single quack is sheilah saying gidday
no quacks better than wrong quacks...
a shaker is better than a badly blown caller.