Started and hunted ducks and geese on and off over the last 16 years. So I'm no "old hand" in the least.
For me - cripples get swatted on the water to end their misery. Try not to have that happen to begin with but if you've hunted ducks - it's something that happens.
Otherwise - all else are shot in the air. People I hunt with - all are shot in the air. Just seems to be the right way to do it. All our hunting is over decoys - either out on the bay (big water) or we have some ponds and small lakes we hunted but still - decoyed and called.
Pheasants are then the natural progression of the discussion....You are out hunting with a couple dedicated Pheasant hunters and their Dogs..You going to shoot a Pheasant you catch out in the open standing or walking around. See one crouched down in the cover...shoot it as long as the Dog is in a safe position???? For the fish in the barrel shooters it should make little difference.
Pheasants are then the natural progression of the discussion....You are out hunting with a couple dedicated Pheasant hunters and their Dogs..You going to shoot a Pheasant you catch out in the open standing or walking around. See one crouched down in the cover...shoot it as long as the Dog is in a safe position???? For the fish in the barrel shooters it should make little difference.
pheasants in cover is a little different in cover than ducks on water , though, dogs and people tend to pop up in the least likely places .
When I started hunting, my mentors lived through the 1930s or were their children. They were all from agricultural or rural backgrounds so their take on "hobbies" was different from others. Pheasants were shot as they were found and a running pheasant was described as, "getting up to take off speed." Pheasant hunting was mostly a part of a family gathering so drives were the rule.
Filling the bag was the goal and, with up to 20 or more drivers with 10+ blockers making a drive, that meant a lot of birds. But, there were a lot of birds back then making drives feasible and one could get their limits between 9:00 AM shooting time and mid-afternoon.
Armament was also a bit different with single shots often making up half or more of those carrying shotguns. Having just that one shot and a mentality that abhorred waste made a running bird fair game. 22 rifles were commonly seen and a Remington 514 was the gun I carried for my first two years. I didn't get a rooster with it on the drives but I got a few on my own later on.
Dogs weren't much of a concern, seldom were they brought from home to than those living at the farm being hunted rarely were they brought out as they were "farm" dogs and not very well trained for classical bird hunting. If a dog was brought out, it was kept on a leash by one of the kids too young to hunt. At the end of the drive the dog(s) would be let loose to find cripples, often being eaten by the hungry dog.
After the pheasant populations crashed and I got into actual hunting dogs and hunted on my own. Originally, out of concern for my dogs I shot flying birds instead. At some point my view point changed as ground sluicing pheasants as what one did when "poor."
In 45 years I can recall shooting, with a shotgun, only one running pheasant that wasn't obviously wounded and that was 6 years ago. We hit a field that others had hunted earlier that day hoping to find some missed birds or birds that filtered in. That particular bird ran maybe 80 yards and dodged around other 4 guys without flying. I would have called my dog over to run it down but the bird was headed to posted land so I shot it.
I'm not against shooting roosters with a 22 and I get a couple that way every year. Same as with ruffed grouse except one can use a centerfire for them. It takes a lot more skill in woodscraft and shooting to get either of them in that manner compared to using a shotgun and dog.
My natural preference (perfect scenario) is to shoot them on the rise OR while cupping in. You have to have done some scouting, setup correctly, and let birds work to consistently land them or cup them.
If they won’t get up, I have zero issue with smoking the first on the water….but like having a kid or new hunter for that first duck that way. It rarely happens, but some prefer to swim to cover or dive, rather than jump up.
Super expensive decoys have always been a negative return on investment item for me.
For shooting that duck on the water, the shooter should ALWAYS be given permission to disregard the decoys.
Dogs don’t care how the retrieve came about.
After 40+ years of hunting ducks, I find that those that harp the most about others shooting them on the water are FAR more likely to be sky-busters and three shot whiffers. At least most water swatters are more proficient at NOT sky-busting or making a lot of useless noise and educating birds.
I'm old school and hunted ducks HARD from teens through my fifties. We didn't shoot anything on the water but cripples. Also unless the duck was very, very close it was more difficult to kill ducks on the water, especially a tough old diver. Much of the time we hunted in tidal saltwater with the boat high and dry, so if you only wounded one on a strong outgoing tide it was a good way to lose a dog. Many times we shot more shells finishing ducks on the water than knocking them down. Guess it might be different hunting in flooded shallow water.
Last edited by Offshoreman; 07/26/22.
AKA The P-Man
If you cherish your memories with kids, be a good role model . . . . so the RIGHT memories of you mean something to them.
My natural preference (perfect scenario) is to shoot them on the rise OR while cupping in. You have to have done some scouting, setup correctly, and let birds work to consistently land them or cup them.
If they won’t get up, I have zero issue with smoking the first on the water….but like having a kid or new hunter for that first duck that way. It rarely happens, but some prefer to swim to cover or dive, rather than jump up.
Super expensive decoys have always been a negative return on investment item for me.
For shooting that duck on the water, the shooter should ALWAYS be given permission to disregard the decoys.
Dogs don’t care how the retrieve came about.
After 40+ years of hunting ducks, I find that those that harp the most about others shooting them on the water are FAR more likely to be sky-busters and three shot whiffers. At least most water swatters are more proficient at NOT sky-busting or making a lot of useless noise and educating birds.
Different strokes.
100% my experience with them as well. If I have managed to work birds all the way to the water then I feel I have beat them at their game and I shoot the first on the water then the rest as they get up. But then again I don't pass shoot or jump shoot ducks either. If you want to pass shoot go find a dove field. And IMHO jump shooting ducks vs working them is kinda like jerking off versus getting laid. The end result is the same but one of them is a helluva lot more fun than the other
I kind of like how the United Kingdom handles the question - you are allowed a quota of ducks and it is up to you how to do it. I've standing invitations to punt shoot ducks and shoot geese by the light of the moon. I just need to make it happen.
I kind of like how the United Kingdom handles the question - you are allowed a quota of ducks and it is up to you how to do it. I've standing invitations to punt shoot ducks and shoot geese by the light of the moon. I just need to make it happen.
Of course the season would then have to be shorter and the bag limit smaller to preserve the resource. No thanks.
Punt guns in England today….they are rarely used, and it’s not about big kills. “Irish Tom” must have been an absolute hoot with 10 ounces of BP and 50 ounces of shot.
You will never again see punt guns allowed for hunting here. They went out along with market hunting. However they would be the ultimate water swatters.
Although selling game for market is still allowed in England. However, there are those pushing hard to make it illegal.
Good read on the punt gun era would be “Outlaw Gunners.” They hung on down around Chesapeake,Md long after market hunting was made illegal.
I would be perfectly happy shooting a 2 or 4 bore punt gun, it is much easier to safely mount and fire one of those than a larger model. It is also what is owned by those who have extended me invitations to try out. I can't imagine the recoil of a maximum legal punt gun as it is a bit over 1 bore in diameter.
And it is not the crass thought of a large bag but the nostalgia and tradition of using such a specialized piece of equipment in the manner it was designed. As young boys, my great uncles got in on the end of the market gunning era. They were the retrievers and ran down cripples in their canoes. Then they got to pluck the birds afterwards. Prices reached a high of $1.50 for canvasbacks but most were $0.50 or less.
Have that book on the shelf, along with several others about market hunting along the East Coast as well as the Mid-West. The latter was as large or even larger practice as the east but extended over a larger area and was not romanticized to the extent it was in the east.
If i feel like its going to be a slow weekend (or if i just feel like it) i will shoot the first few ducks on the water just to make sure i bring back something, especially bc we make a big duck gumbo saturday night and it would be a big let down to not have any ducks to put in it (in desperate times we have substituted marsh hens aka clapper rails).
But if there is plenty of action i will absolutely shoot them on the wing 100%, nothing feels better than making great shots on flying birds
As for worrying about shooting decoys, i try not to shoot them but it doesnt really matter to me bc i use foam filled anyway…either filled from the factory or done to old hollow ones using great stuff
The error of this thought is all big game is not usually shot inside 30 yards. Most Waterfowl being mostly shot inside 30. Either passing, or with wings cupped ready to drop in. Wings cupped over the decks is already almost standing still, quacking out “Shoot me.” But no, let’s wait until they are in the water, saying hi to their new friends. 😂
You water swatters must be really hungry, or have little confidence in their ability with a shotgun. Double 😂😂
Lack of confidence in one's shooting - maybe, maybe not. Not all who attempt to shoot birds on the wing are capable either. It is a foolish comparison to make one practioner seem more "skillful" than the other.
It does say something about one's woodsmanship abilities to either call ducks in to land in one's spread and/or to sneak close and stay hidden to surprise said ducks. It is a skill those unable to accomplish tend to dimishment and dismiss. I most definitely cannot do the later consistently but the occasions I can are memorable. The former is much more common, tough not assured, and shooting ducks or geese as they try to rise is a simple task not requiring much in the way of ability. Except divers, they tend to show their backs and butts when taking off making for an easy shot but difficult kill.
