Bird Hunting

[Jetfire]

Hello everyone. My wife and I live in Airdrie and we are getting all geared up to shoot some ducks and goose. We are trying to do as much research as it is going to be our first time and was wondering if anyone would help us out with somewhere to shoot, impart of their knowledge or even better arrange a time when we could bag some birds together. Willing to answer any questions you may have and take the guidence you provide. Thanks all and hope to hear from you soon.

[Cowtown guy]

Originally Posted by Jetfire

Hello everyone. My wife and I live in Airdrie and we are getting all geared up to shoot some ducks and goose. We are trying to do as much research as it is going to be our first time and was wondering if anyone would help us out with somewhere to shoot, impart of their knowledge or even better arrange a time when we could bag some birds together. Willing to answer any questions you may have and take the guidence you provide. Thanks all and hope to hear from you soon.

Scout, scout then scout some more. Nothing beats getting out there and finding the birds. Start a week or so before the season opens and find where they are feeding. Get permission and kill 'em the next morning.

A couple tips... Geese fly later than ducks. If you want to find ducks, you have to be out BEFORE FIRST LIGHT! Get to a roost that you know they are using. Follow them to a smaller body of water or a field where you can control things better. They will often go from big water to a small puddle in or close to the field they are feeding in. They will literally pile into these puddles.

Geese are a little easier to find simply due to their size and the times they fly. Again get to a roost and watch them leave. Typically it will be 5 or 6 miles to the field they are using. Watch where they are in the field. Take some good landmarks and get to the SAME SPOT after you secure permission and they are gone. Put a flag in the ground or mark it on your GPS. This is where you have to set up. You must have your decoys set up, truck hidden and be ready to roll at legal shooting light. Often you will get some duck action right at legal light so you may as well be ready. Get the truck at least 4 or 500 yards away and preferrably out of sight. If there is a wellhead in the field you are probably good to leave it there as they are used to seeing stuff in that part of the field.

Use the wind! They will always try to land into the wind. Set up your spread accordingly to funnel them into a spot where you can kill them at a reasonable range.

Some of the best duck hunts you will ever have will be in a tiny little 6" deep puddle in the middle of a pea or barley field. Don't overlook these areas. They may not look like much but they can be dynamite.

[Jetfire]

Wow! Thank you very much for the information. I can't wait to get out there. Is it too early to start scouting now? What would you recomend for decoys? Can you mix duck and goose decoys or should I only use one type? Do you know of any crown land near by that would be worth checking out? Thanks again for the help.

[Cowtown guy]

Forget the crown land IMHO. Get to where the birds are feeding. Scouting now isn't effective for finding birds. Its a week to week game with them. It is however a great time to meet landowners and find out where the choice crops are planted. Pea fields near major roosts are a good bet to check out once things get rolling.

DU projects generally allow hunting with foot access only and they do generally hold birds. Sometimes they are a little big to get the birds to co-operate though.

Once the crops are cut you will start to see the birds hitting the fields. Find them, get permission, then kill them. Its just that simple. Until they start screwing with your mind anyway.

Decoys are what they are. Get what your budget allows you to. A guy can get by with a couple of dozen honkers and a dozen ducks. If you can afford it, get the good stuff. I am running close to 6 dozen canadas. 2 dozen of them are full bodies the rest are shells.

Get a laydown blind too. Are they necessary? No but they work like a hot dam. Easy to hide and easy to transport.

[catnthehat]

Find the right puddle/pond, and you can shoot all day long as they come and go!
There are a few that we shoot that are used as staging areas throughout the day by passing flights of ducks, and when it's right you can literally shoot all afternoon!
Up north here, I set my dekes the night before, quite often, and hunt in the morning before work, then pick them up , load the canoe and head to the office - it's close to the edge of town and there are several spots within minutes that produce lots of teal and greenheads!
Sometimes I just cruise and jump shoot the dugouts instead, depennds on the time of year.....
Cat