Summary: Only a small percentage of hunters enjoy the season long duck hunting success that seems so elusive to the vast majority of duck hunters. What do these duck hunters do that helps them bring limits of birds home when most of the other hunters go home with only a bird or even empty handed?
Over the years we have identified Nine Duck Hunting Mistakes that are responsible for causing the majority of unsuccessful days in the field. Here's our list.
Hunting The Wrong Location
Without a doubt this is the most common mistake made by duck hunters that leads to inconsistent results. Instead of identifying patterns or spending the time necessary to scout to find the optimal place to hunt, they set up in a spot that "looks good" or they choose a spot that's been "good in the past". Successful duck hunters know why they are hunting a certain spot!
Calling At Ducks Before Having A Mastering The Fundamentals Of Duck Calling
The second most common duck hunting mistake could easily be listed as the most common mistake. Other than selecting a poor location or the wrong location to hunt, more ducks are lost to poor calling than any of the other common mistakes. And when you boil it down to the least common denominator, poor calling is almost always a result of not having an understanding and mastery of the fundamentals of duck calling. Unfortunately, most poor callers haven't taken the time to learn how to properly blow a duck call and as a result, they suffer the consequences.
Not Understanding How The Weather Affects Duck Habits And Tendencies
The third most common duck hunting mistake that limits duck hunter's success is not taking into consideration how the weather will impact duck movement and behavior. Wind, cold fronts, sunshine, rain, snow, etc. have a major impact on where you should hunt and how you should hunt ducks on any given day. Unfortunately, the vast majority of duck hunters do not take these events into consideration when they take the field. By ignoring the impact the weather has on duck habits and tendencies, you once again stack the odds of a successful hunt against you.
Poor Concealment
The fourth most common duck hunting mistake that we have observed duck hunters make is hunting from a blind that is; to large, to high, does not match the surrounding, is in the wrong location or has little or no overhead concealment. You might be able to get by with one or more of these concealment errors early in the season, but once the birds have been hunted for a week or two, poor concealment strategies will immediately have a major impact on your success. Remember, ducks are looking for what's wrong not what's right.
Not Understanding What Type Of Birds You're Hunting
The fifth most common duck hunting mistake duck hunters make is not understanding what type of ducks they're hunting. When we refer to this common mistake we're not talking about the species that you're hunting but rather are you hunting: local ducks, early season ducks, migrators, ducks new the area, stale ducks (i.e. ducks that have been in the same area for more than a couple of weeks), heavily hunted ducks or late season ducks. Determining the type of bird you are hunting will have an impact on your location, concealment strategies, calling and your decoy set up. It is truly one of the most critical aspects of duck hunting but only a select number of hunters take this into consideration.
Improperly Calling Ducks
The sixth most common mistake costs duck hunters a tremendous amount of ducks throughout a season. In fact, more than most duck hunters would like to admit. When we refer to improperly calling ducks we are referring to the cadence being used, the tempo of the cadence and the pitch along with the volume at which the call is being blown at. In addition, most duck hunters tend to overcall or blow ducks out of their spread. Understanding cadence, tempo, pitch, volume and when to call and when not to call is a critical step to understand if your goal is season long success.
The Inability To "Read And React" To The Ducks
The seventh most duck hunting common mistake duck hunters make is not properly reading and reacting to the ducks they're hunting. Once duck hunters have a mastery of the fundamentals of calling the ability to read and react to the sounds the birds want to hear by using the proper cadence, tempo, pitch and volume can spell the difference between being an average duck hunter and being a great duck hunter. Duck hunters who enjoy calling success that lasts throughout the season read and react to what the birds are telling them.
Not Creating A Realistic Decoy Spread
The eight most common mistake that duck hunters make is not creating a realistic decoy spread that mimics live birds on the water or on the land. Today, many duck hunters do not fully understand how to create this illusion or even more basic, what the purpose of their decoy spread is and should be. Ultimately the purpose of a decoy spread is to produce the illusion of ducks on the ground or in the water, in a natural and safe setting, that will invite other ducks that are in the air to join your spread.
No Landing Zones Or Improperly Placed Landing Zones In A Decoy Spread
The ninth and final common duck hunting mistake made by duck hunters today is either not creating a landing zone or zones in their decoy spread or improperly placing a landing zone or landing zones throughout their decoy spread. The purpose of a landing zone is to act as an invitation. It's an invitation to those birds that are in the air to join the birds that are already on the ground or in the water. It directs the birds to the exact location you want them to be. It's your "Welcome Home" sign.