# I HATE DUCK HUNTING!!!!!



## hoghunter011583 (Jul 21, 2008)

Well, I grew up hunting ducks more than any other game. Me my dad and brother hunted them about 4 days a week during the open season. Once I was old enough to hunt alone, about 17, I started squirrel and rabbit hunting. 
When I would go duck hunting I'd almost feel like I wasn't really hunting! I mean it is just a matter of gearing up and then just waiting!!

Well, I started hog and deer hunting and would duck hunt only when my brother wanted to go, he is a duck hunting fiend. After 2 trips I was done with the ducks and ready to "hunt" some big game!!

Welp, I am at that point again, duck hunting is stupid. I mean it isn't hunting you aren't hunting anything!! You just scout and scout and scout and when you find ducks you put out your gear and don't move till they are in range!!! Hunting is tracking an animal and looking for sign and feed and all the rest of it. Seeing where the animals are sleeping eating drinking, dumping and then HUNTING that animal. So, even if you never shoot the animal you have been hunting, atleast you really went hunting.
Now, take duck shooting. I went out the other day and found a really good area, lots of ducks. So, I waited till today cause the weather is great for duck shooting and I go out there and nothing. The birds moved along to another area!! So, did I even go hunting this morning? I mean I got all my camo on and got up early and got set up but that is not hunting. I think I took a walk this morning!! A 5 mile walk for no dang reason on earth!!! I didn't do anymore scouting because for what, I mean since the birds move out that fast what is the point. I might as well just go back tomorrow and hunt that same spot and they might be back!!!! It is really just a matter of having the right gear and haveing the right habitat and then it is just a gamble!!! In the mean time YOU JUST SIT THERE!!!! Atleast other hunting you are really hunting and looking for them AHAHAHAH I'm sick of it!!!!! That is it, no more decoys and calls and rest of the trash that goes with it!! From now on I'm a jump shooter!! Atleast you get a rush while sneaking up on them and atleast you are hunting them even if you don't shoot anything!!

OK, I feel a little better about getting skunked!! think I'll go get drunk now and then load the canoe up for Howard slough!!
I can't wait till next year when I can deer hunt!! I think I'm going to start hunting the grouse again!! It sure is going to be nice to duck hunt from a layout boat, man, I did see a lot of coyote signs today, maybe I'll go duck hunting and in between the flights I'll call for coyotes! Or just go coyote hunting and if I see some ducks go jump shoot them ahaha hunting season drives me nuts!!


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## lunkerhunter2 (Nov 3, 2007)

I sat in the marsh for 4 hours today and only fired 3 shots at some passing birds. They were not coming close enough to the dekes so i had to pass shoot at those 2 birds. I had a great time. You never know what is going to happen. I think that figuring out the birds is HUNTING in every aspect. You have to pay attention to what is going on and have it all make sense and form a strategy based on what you see. It sounds like you might need a few cold ones to bring you back to reality. Have a few for me, i will be back in the stinky marsh in a couple hours. :lol:


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## nickpan (May 6, 2008)

You make no sense to me :?



> Welp, I am at that point again, duck hunting is stupid. I mean it isn't hunting you aren't hunting anything!! You just scout and scout and scout and when you find ducks you put out your gear and don't move till they are in range!!!


How is this different than.....



> Seeing where the animals are sleeping eating drinking, dumping and then HUNTING that animal. So, even if you never shoot the animal you have been hunting, atleast you really went hunting.


That second quote my friend is the definition of "scouting", in which you used 'scout' many times in your first quote.

When you go wait for ducks and they don't show up, how is that different than waiting for a deer that you've patterned and he just happens to decide to go somewhere else that morning??

Maybe i'm missing something??


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

I feel your frustration, but how is hunting coyotes any different that hunting ducks? You sit around with a call and wait/hope for something to come in.

Sounds like you just have a short attention span. We all like the action, but honestly, there would never be a rush of adrenaline if we just sat out there pulling the trigger all day. That would get boring and monotonous as well. 

As for deer hunting- I like it, don't get me wrong, but how many deer can one guy hunt in a season anyway...1! That's it. And unless you're a bad shot, you only shoot once, maybe twice. This is all under the assumption that you actually drew a tag. I'll take duck and upland hunting any day over deer hunting for this very reason. You can hunt for 4 months, kill 7 animals each day, and you aren't confined to a particular geographical region.

Here's what I'd recommend to you:
Keep scouting for ducks like you have been doing, but take your gear with you! Then if you find a mess of birds, you can get in on them right then and there instead of leaving for a day or two and worrying about whether or not they'll be there the next day! You'll always be ready if you find the "X."


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## hoghunter011583 (Jul 21, 2008)

Chaser said:


> As for deer hunting- I like it, don't get me wrong, but how many deer can one guy hunt in a season anyway...1! That's it. And unless you're a bad shot, you only shoot once, maybe twice.


Like I said, I'm loading up the canoe for another hunt tomorrow. I just needed the rant and my wife is not home!!
You kinda made my point though. Deer and upland game and my favorite (hogs). That to me, and this is just me, it is more of a hunt. I know all of the scouting while duck hunting is part of the hunt. 
But, think about this and this is just my personal choice about hunting, my brother and dad are the opposite.
When you are scouting ducks, are you looking for sign, or ducks? I know you can look for feed and feathers but you will see that all over the marsh and it doesn't mean your going to shoot ducks in those ponds full of feed. I know you need to watch for the flyways and all the rest of it I have been hunting ducks since I was 6 years old so I know how to get into the birds. Maybe it is the same to some guys but for me looking for tracks and trailing an animal to its bedding area and then seeing what kinda feed it is eating and doing this for a few days until you see that animal is in my book a real hunt. If I go hog hunting and don't shoot a hog I am fine with it cause I've picked up the trail and followed the heard for a while and maybe heard a snort but just couldn't catch up to them. To me that is better than shooting a duck!

Hey I still do it and trust me I would be willing to bet that I put in more work than maybe 98% of the guys out there to hunt ducks but I don't feel like I'm hunting while I'm out there, I feel like I'm in it for the rush and mainly the meat!
While I'm hog hunting or deer hunting or even rabbit and squirrel I feel like I'm hunting. Just me and this is after being skunked on a perfect day so give me a little forgivness!!


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## Nor-tah (Dec 16, 2007)

Your like....-8/- -#&#*!- O|* O-|-O *-HELP!-* -O>>- -O>>- *OOO* *OOO* O*-- 

I'm like... :rotfl: o-||

Switch to de-caf dude... on second thought, dont. Works boring today. o-|| o-||


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## hoghunter011583 (Jul 21, 2008)

honkerfool said:


> You make no sense to me :?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That second quote my friend is the definition of "scouting", in which you used 'scout' many times in your first quote.

When you go wait for ducks and they don't show up, how is that different than waiting for a deer that you've patterned and he just happens to decide to go somewhere else that morning??

Maybe i'm missing something??[/quote:35f5fto5]

You are missing the bottom of my post where I said I was loading up the canoe to go to howard slough tomorrow!!
I like the stalking part of other hunts, makes ME feel like I am hunting and learning my game rather than just waiting on it. I don't like still hunting that is just me. Like I said, i'm going to start jump shooting ducks, I just enjoy it more. I'm not niave and think that duck hunting is just a matter of throwing out the dekes and waiting, i know you have to know what you are doing to shoot ducks. My whole thing is this. If I'm lets say rabbit hunting and I see lots of fresh sign. I know those rabbit on in the area it is just a matter of figuring out a way to get them. With ducks if you go out and there are no birds in the air and no birds on the water, your done, no hunting that day!! That is just me. My brother thinks the opposite. Keep this in mind, I still will walk 10 miles in a day to shoot some ducks :wink:


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## utahgolf (Sep 8, 2007)

awe,, the rant of a frustrated duck hunter...just when you think you've had enough, you are out there the next day at 5 in the morning...we are crazy but I love it!!!!


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## hoghunter011583 (Jul 21, 2008)

utahgolf said:


> awe,, the rant of a frustrated duck hunter...just when you think you've had enough, you are out there the next day at 5 in the morning...we are crazy but I love it!!!!


Finally someone who understands me!!! Ok, I got the canoe tied up on the truck, gun cleaned, all my stuff together lets see what else......oh yeah I need to set the alarm cause I need to get out there extra early so I can get to the spot.. Lets see 6 na 5 no I think 4 30 should do.!!


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

I'll be too hungover to duck hunt tomorrow... don't know if that makes you feel any better, but at least you'll be hunting. Well, I guess I will be too... but for a bottle of Advil. Have a good time with it, at least you're getting out of the house.


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## Artoxx (Nov 12, 2008)

I didn't know how few REAL duck hunters we had on this forum. :mrgreen: 
I recognized the insanity that is the aftermath of a frustrating week or two of duck hunting almost instantly. :twisted: 

I have had quite a few of those days myself, and if I am not mistaken, I have posted threads which were much like this in feel, if not in content. -/O_-
After the first few days or weeks of duck hunting I begin to hunt them out of SPITE, as much as love. :twisted: 
I have hunted Geese out of spite for YEARS! :lol:


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## duckcommander (Aug 6, 2008)

Wow, seems like you're due for a good hunt. Bottom line is you can't have good days without bad ones. If every day was a good day then hunting would be boring and you wouldn't be hunting for anything you'd be shooting. And i disagree with your logic entirely. It takes a lot of know how to be able to go to public ground and kill birds. I grew up hunting public. We'd be out on Farmington starting at 3:30 a.m. You have to know what type of spread to put out. Where to go, when to go, how to set up your spread depending on the wind, how to call, when to call & when you sound like a total dip sh*t calling, when to shut the hell up & not call. There's so much that goes into duck hunting that it sounds like if you're this frustrated then you may just want to give it up. At least duck hunting that is. That's what hunting is about. In order to enjoy the good days you have to enjoy the sh**ty ones. At least you're not sitting behind a book or a desk. Quit bi**ing! Go out and enjoy being outdoors.


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## hoghunter011583 (Jul 21, 2008)

duckcommander said:


> There's so much that goes into duck hunting that it sounds like if you're this frustrated then you may just want to give it up.


Nah, I'll never give it up!! I like to eat them to much!! 
Hey we all get frustrated with ducks!! Atleast the serious guys do. I'll be out there in the slough again tomorrow and this time it is war!!! :twisted:


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## Gumbo (Sep 22, 2007)

This planet is covered with sordid men who demand that he who spends time fishing shall show returns in fish.
--Leonidas Hubbard, Jr.


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## Fowl habits (Dec 4, 2007)

for u to have an amazing day you need an equally crappy day to compare it to, otherwise you would never know. Love the rant though, glad that im not the only one that get frustrated


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## hoghunter011583 (Jul 21, 2008)

Fowl habits said:


> for u to have an amazing day you need an equally crappy day to compare it to, otherwise you would never know. Love the rant though, glad that im not the only one that get frustrated


well yesterday was a good one and today just sucked!! Soon as the birds were jumped they hightailed it out towards antelope island! I think those things just raft up on the lake and feed in the marsh all night!
Then I decided to hang fence wire on the sides of my boat and tie weeds to it for camo. If you are thinking that sounds like a hair brained idea, you are right!! That was a mess and a serious stuggle!! I put a few holes in my hand with the wire, almost flipped the boat a few times and when the sun can up not one bird flew near me!! Didn't even fire a shot!!
Next time I'll get them!


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