# An amazing season....



## toasty (May 15, 2008)

Well, the season is over and once again I had an amazing season. Finished up with 514 ducks and 311 geese, and 32 swans. I averaged .8 shells per bird and shot most birds in the 60-80 yard range, with a few at 100+ yards when I decide to shoot the “good stuff”.
I’ve been asked why I am so effective and how I can average less than 1 shell per bird and decided to jot down some reasons so others can try to be as effective as I am:

Gun – the most critical part of shooting so effectively is the gun, the more you spend on a gun the longer the range you can shoot. I used to hunt with an 870 and could only hit birds to about 30 yards, but this year I shot a $2000 benelli and could hit birds past 100 yards.

Shells – Speed kills. It is the speed that kills the bird not the shot. You can load up saw dust at 1750 fps and bring down ducks. It is that instant rush of velocity that causes the brain trauma. When I really want a lot of range, I shoot a load that goes 2100 fps, that is just plain deadly.

Camo – You have to have a camo shotgun. The first thing a duck looks for as it approaches a spread is for wood or black synthetic guns. If the duck sees one of these guns, it is gone. They have amazing sight and can what type of gun you’re shooting from about 250 yards out.

The Hide – I have found that it works better to stand in the middle of the spread of decoys or a pond than behind a blind or tucked up in vegetation. Ducks don’t expect you to be in the middle of the decoys, when they approach, they are looking at the edges for wooden shotguns, the last place they look is in the middle of the spread and by the time they look there, they are inside of 150 yard and it is too late.

Decoys – Way overrated, in fact hunting without decoys is more successful. Ducks can tell the brand of decoys from 400 yard out. They know if you’re hunting GHG, dave smith, or cheapo flambuea. That tells them how close they can get to the spread without worrying about getting shot at, by taking decoys out of the mix, they don’t know you’re even there.

Underclothing – I cannot stress enough he importance of what you wear beneath your camo. Hunting with a black hoodie gives confidence, without confidence you cannot shoot birds. I usually wear 2 black hoodies under my camo to get the utmost confidence. Sometimes when hunting is slow, I take off my camo and just hunt with the black hoodie on, the ducks just fly in and die at my feet due to my insane confidence.

Pics - When you shoot a nice pile of birds, you should take several pics of the birds in different locations. Take a shot on the truck tailgate and then take the ducks down to the river and take some more pics, then take them to a neighbor and take some pics on his boat. The only proof you have that you shot that many ducks is pics, without pics, you didn't shoot them, each set of pics counts toward your season totals if you post them on the forum.

I’m sure a couple of you other guys kill a bird or two every year. I’d like to know your ideas for good hunting as well, so I can put them down and prove I’m the best hunter on the forum. Please share.


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

--\O


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## Donttreadonme (Sep 11, 2007)

-()/- -()/- *(())* 

Time for me to buy a new shotgun. I have been shooting $42/box ammo, but still average 13.2 shells per bird. NOW I know where I have gone wrong.


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

I forgot one other key factor, you have to not be on the X. Find out where the ducks want to be and then hunt somewhere else. I like to call this the Y. They're not stupid, they know guys try to hunt the X which is why I don't hunt the X, all the smarter ducks will never go into a spread set up on the X. The smart ones land on the Y which is where I'm at standing in the middle of the pond with my black hoodie, camo $2000 benelli, and 2100 fps shotshells loaded with saw dust.


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

Donttreadonme said:


> -()/- -()/- *(())*
> 
> Time for me to buy a new shotgun. I have been shooting $42/box ammo, but still average 13.2 shells per bird. NOW I know where I have gone wrong.


Do you practice skeet or clays during the offseason? If so, stop immediately, all it does is mess you up when it is time to hunt real birds. How many ducks do you get to say pull on? You should see your shell to bird ratio cut in half by not practicing skeet which only messes up your sight picture. If you have to go out for skeet, I'd recommend you wear a black hoodie and put some face paint on, that should help your sight picture some. I've got to see the black hoodie in my sight picture to know I'm shooting straight.

Also, how fast is your $42/box ammo going. If it is under 1635fps, you may as well not even be out in the marsh. Remember, speed kills, not shot. Make sure you don't touch that hevi shot crap, that stuff is always loaded slow just like lead in the old days when we couldn't hit anything.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Toasty, do you wear one of the hoodies backwards?

Hey, how about calls; what's your take on calls?


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

wyogoob said:


> Toasty, do you wear one of the hoodies backwards?
> 
> Hey, how about calls; what's your take on calls?


You bring up a good point about calls. I was sitting there a few weeks ago listening to about 50 mallards call. They are horrible callers, most of them don't even sound like ducks. I do my best to imitate them by never practicing. The worse my calling sounds to me and those around me the better is sounds to the ducks. They know when the sound is too good to stay away. You can't call to much, when the ducks are committed to your spread and about 60 yards out, that is the time to really turn it on. That is when the hail call is your bread and butter. When you're hunting heavy pressured birds, they've heard the feeder chuckles, pintail and widgeon whistles, you have to give them something they've never heard. You blow your call as hard and long as you can. The more you sound like a kazoo at a birthday party, the better your chance to bring in pressured birds.

What kind of idiot wears a black hoodie backwards while hunting? You wear them backwards for the pics if the graphic on the back is cooler than the graphic on the front.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

toasty said:


> wyogoob said:
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> 
> > Toasty, do you wear one of the hoodies backwards?
> ...


OK, makes sense.


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## NothinButGreen (Dec 4, 2010)

Wait I know you. Your the clown that sits on the dike where ever I hunt and shoots the birds that are coming into my decoy spread.


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## duckhunter1096 (Sep 25, 2007)

I'm still shocked that you ONLY took down 32 swans... Makes me feel like a HUGE over-achiever now.


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## hatuquack (Nov 15, 2011)

I've stenciled my screen name on my black hoodie. You wouldn't believe the amount of ducks who need lessons on hatuquack, they come in hordes, not flocks while I'm sitting in the middle of the Y blowing my call.


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

dang only 32 swans. Man we do that in half a day hunt.


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

dkhntrdstn said:


> dang only 32 swans. Man we do that in half a day hunt.


In the interest of full disclosure, I'm not 100% sure all 32 were swans. They were white and kinda big, but I have a hard time telling the difference between swans, seagulls, and snow geese. I usually just shoot and then when they are on the ground I check their wings to figure out which one I shot, but still have a hard time.


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## utahgolf (Sep 8, 2007)

I'm jealous. I only killed half the grebes I normally do


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## NothinButGreen (Dec 4, 2010)

toasty said:


> dkhntrdstn said:
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> > dang only 32 swans. Man we do that in half a day hunt.
> ...


You mean mostly they were pelicans.


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

NothinButGreen said:


> toasty said:
> 
> 
> > You mean mostly they were pelicans.


They were not pelicans, I was told by a buddy that the best way to identify pelicans is by the black speculum feathers. I checked and none of these had black speculum feathers.


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## richard rouleau (Apr 12, 2008)

i just want know how many of thoese geese were snow or blue?


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## martymcfly73 (Sep 17, 2007)

Maybe they were trumpeter swans.


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## NothinButGreen (Dec 4, 2010)

toasty said:


> NothinButGreen said:
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> > toasty said:
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Bull. They were pelicans. Snow geese don't come to utah


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## hamernhonkers (Sep 28, 2007)

NothinButGreen said:


> toasty said:
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Yes they do. There are thousands of them at the Garbage dump!

See I have kill a ton of limits out there


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## NothinButGreen (Dec 4, 2010)

Not fair ^^^^ our garbage dump won't let us hunt


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## martymcfly73 (Sep 17, 2007)

NothinButGreen said:


> Not fair ^^^^ our garbage dump won't let us hunt


You get too hung up on rules and regs.


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## NothinButGreen (Dec 4, 2010)

martymcfly73 said:


> NothinButGreen said:
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> > Not fair ^^^^ our garbage dump won't let us hunt
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Where do you get off?


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## martymcfly73 (Sep 17, 2007)

NothinButGreen said:


> martymcfly73 said:
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I should have added a lol. Or a sarcastic face. I was joking.


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## hamernhonkers (Sep 28, 2007)

NothinButGreen said:


> Not fair ^^^^ our garbage dump won't let us hunt


Just do what I do and wait for the weekend when they are all off, you only need to worry about the rent a cop but he can be bought off with a 12 pack


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## NothinButGreen (Dec 4, 2010)

hamernhonkers said:


> NothinButGreen said:
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> > Not fair ^^^^ our garbage dump won't let us hunt
> ...


Apparently you've never dealt with the fuzz in cache valley :shock:


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## hamernhonkers (Sep 28, 2007)

NothinButGreen said:


> hamernhonkers said:
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Have you tried a bottle of Crown on them? :shock:


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

hamernhonkers said:


> NothinButGreen said:
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> > hamernhonkers said:
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Hell with the booze, he's prolly married with seven kids, just get him laid!


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## Donttreadonme (Sep 11, 2007)

TEX-O-BOB said:


> Hell with the booze, he's prolly married with seven kids, just get him laid!


Tex, I see you have met a few of our local peace officers. :mrgreen:


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