I will add a bit more to the already great list of suggestions.
Waterfowling is an art, not an excuse to go shoot stuff. There is a long history and culture associated with water fowling that many young shooters seem to miss. If you try hunting ducks for the first time, try to view it as learning a new language or how to live in a foreign culture. Read books not just about how to kill ducks, but about the history of waterfowling, call making, decoy carving, etc. Many of the old school techniques work better than the modern gadget heavy approach. Study up on what ducks eat, how to ID ducks, shot gunning techniques, etc. When you head into the field, do so with the intention to learn something rather than to kill something. Every time. And decide in your head that if you get some time outside and you learn something about ducks, you were successful.
Many of the younger generation are coming into the sport expecting it to be like the tv shows. Matching camo sets, face paint, beards, sponsor stickers, beautiful flawless decoys, countless electronic gadgets, $20k boats, $1.5k shotguns, $200 duck neon duck calls on a lanyard full of bands they bought on eBay, and a race to see who can kill the fastest limit of the best ducks and get it posted online to brag. None of the things on that list are bad, but you know the guy I'm talking about. Those guys tend to fall away when the hunting gets tough because they aren't in it for the experience and they don't get the culture and heritage.
Chances are, walking in on public land with no mentor, it's gonna be a while before you figure it out well enough to consistently kill birds. It may be a while before you kill a single duck. You're gonna fall in the water, get stuck in the mud, lose stuff, get set up on by a loud mouth that owns the lake, get peppered, shoot and miss a bunch, get real cold and real wet, and generally have some miserable experiences long before you ever figure it out. If you treat all of that as an introduction, a hazing experience, the first awkward words in a new language, you can persevere and find a new, life long obsession that will call out to you every time you see a body of water or hear a goose overhead in the Fall.
And when you do finally figure it out... When it finally just all clicks... It's a lot more than just a limit. It's a language that speaks to you like no other can.
Waterfowling is an art, not an excuse to go shoot stuff. There is a long history and culture associated with water fowling that many young shooters seem to miss. If you try hunting ducks for the first time, try to view it as learning a new language or how to live in a foreign culture. Read books not just about how to kill ducks, but about the history of waterfowling, call making, decoy carving, etc. Many of the old school techniques work better than the modern gadget heavy approach. Study up on what ducks eat, how to ID ducks, shot gunning techniques, etc. When you head into the field, do so with the intention to learn something rather than to kill something. Every time. And decide in your head that if you get some time outside and you learn something about ducks, you were successful.
Many of the younger generation are coming into the sport expecting it to be like the tv shows. Matching camo sets, face paint, beards, sponsor stickers, beautiful flawless decoys, countless electronic gadgets, $20k boats, $1.5k shotguns, $200 duck neon duck calls on a lanyard full of bands they bought on eBay, and a race to see who can kill the fastest limit of the best ducks and get it posted online to brag. None of the things on that list are bad, but you know the guy I'm talking about. Those guys tend to fall away when the hunting gets tough because they aren't in it for the experience and they don't get the culture and heritage.
Chances are, walking in on public land with no mentor, it's gonna be a while before you figure it out well enough to consistently kill birds. It may be a while before you kill a single duck. You're gonna fall in the water, get stuck in the mud, lose stuff, get set up on by a loud mouth that owns the lake, get peppered, shoot and miss a bunch, get real cold and real wet, and generally have some miserable experiences long before you ever figure it out. If you treat all of that as an introduction, a hazing experience, the first awkward words in a new language, you can persevere and find a new, life long obsession that will call out to you every time you see a body of water or hear a goose overhead in the Fall.
And when you do finally figure it out... When it finally just all clicks... It's a lot more than just a limit. It's a language that speaks to you like no other can.
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