When Duck Lore host Sean Weaver couldn’t make the trip to hunt waterfowl in Kansas last fall, Seth Morris and I took his place. Now we don’t quite have the calling and decoying chops that Sean has, but we can jump shoot birds with the best of them.
Jump shooting is a good move to pull out of the bag of tricks when you’re in an unfamiliar place, need to kill time at midday, or just want meat for the freezer. While the idea of flushing and shooting ducks seems simple, there are a few things to consider before putting the stalk on a waterhole.
Here are my best tips for jump shooting waterfowl. If you want to see all the action from our Kansas hunt, check out Duck Lore Season 1, Episode 6.
Out of necessity, I started my waterfowling life as a jump shooter. It’s the simplest, least gear-intensive form of the sport, and all I had was a shotgun, $10 PVC barn boots, and a taste for wild duck. I also had ponds and creeks on our farm that held wood ducks early and mallards late. I’d make a circuit of the place, easing my head over the dam to scan ponds, sneaking through standing corn, and walking along the creek. My shotgun was always at...
For waterfowl hunters, scouting often means hours of windshield time scanning skies, fields, and marshes. It also means hard work, devising a plan, and a bit of luck. Without scouting, a waterfowl hunter’s chances for success go down the drain. But to say that scouting just boils down to driving gravel roads in fall is an oversimplification. That’s like saying deer scouting is just about hanging trail cams, or that you can kill an elk by just...
The half hour before sunrise is the favorite time of the day for most duck hunters, and for good reason: there’s a flurry of activity as the marsh wakes up and many birds move from their roost to their feed. But that quick action is commonly followed by a long lull, sending many duck hunters packing and headed for breakfast. But sometimes breakfast should wait because the hunting is just about to get good. The Midday Flight: Early to Mid-Season...