duck hunting
Duck hunting is the practice of hunting ducks for food and sport. commercial hunting is mostly prohibited and duck hunting is primarily an outdoor sporting activity.
Many types of ducks and geese share the same habitats and are hunted using the same methods. It is not uncommon to take several different species of waterfowl on the same outing.
Wild ducks have been hunted for food, down, and feathers around the world since prehistoric times. Ducks, geese and swans appear in European cave paintings from the last Ice Age, and murals in Ancient Egyptian tombs show men with hunting blinds catching ducks swimming in a trap.
By the turn of the century, commercial hunting and habitat loss caused duck and geese populations to decline in North America. The Lacey Act of 1900, which prohibited the transportation of poaching across state lines, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which prohibited possession of migratory birds without a permit (as a hunting license), marked the beginning of the modern conservation movement. .
In 1934, the US government passed the Migratory Bird Game Stamp Act, better known as the Federal Duck Stamp Act. This program required hunters to purchase a special stamp, in addition to a regular hunting license. Revenues from the program provided most of the funding for duck conservation for many decades and financed the purchase of 4.5 million acres of National Wildlife Refuge land for waterfowl habitat since the start of the program.
Duck hunting season is generally in the winter and fall. At this time of year, the birds have finished raising their young and are migrating to warmer areas. There are three items that almost every duck hunter uses: a shotgun, a hunting blind, and decoys. Decoys are used to lure birds within range, with the blind concealing the hunter. Once the birds are within range, the hunters get up blindly and shoot the birds before they get scared.
The most commonly used weapons are 12 gauge shotguns. In many areas, it is illegal to use buckshot and larger buckshot to trap migratory birds. 10, 16, and 20 gauge shotguns are also used. Taking birds with a rifle is illegal due to the inherent danger of firing long-range bullets into the air.
Duck hunting with lead shot, along with the use of lead sinkers in angling, has been identified as a major cause of lead poisoning in waterfowl, which often feed on the bottom of waterfowl. lakes and wetlands where lead shot accumulates. In the United States, all shot used for ducks must not contain lead. Steel is the cheaper alternative to lead, but steel has a much less effective range than lead due to its lower density. 30 to 40 yards is considered the maximum effective range for duck hunting.
Although steel is the most widely used shot, many hunters do not like its shooting properties. Steel is less dense than lead, therefore its effective range decreases due to a more rapid decrease in velocity. Many companies have improved steel shot by increasing muzzle velocity and making more consistent shot or buckshot. In recent years, a number of companies have created non-toxic “heavier-than-lead” shot from tungsten, bismuth, or other elements with a density similar to or greater than that of lead. These shells have more consistent patterns and longer range than steel shot.
Originally, a duck call was a very simple woodwind instrument. It had a barrel, a soundboard and a reed. Hunters would grunt at the call while saying “hut”, “quit”, or “ut”. With the improvement of calls and calling techniques, the best callers may not use voice. The most prevalent and hunted duck in the United States, the mallard makes the familiar “quack” sound that many associate with ducks. Other species make many different sounds, ranging from high-pitched whistles to very low, growling-like squawks. There are calls for almost all species of ducks. Pintails, teals, wood ducks, diving ducks, and other ducks, including calls from both the male or duck and the female or hen.
In many species, the call of the duck is different from that of the chicken. Mallards make a lower and longer squawk than the mallard. This call is often used while feeding and when landing by a mallard. The quack of a mallard duck requires voice and is replicated by humming into a special whistle-like call. This whistle is often called a 6-in-1 whistle, due to the fact that it can play six sounds from different species of ducks.
In teal, snapdragons make a call of short bursts of a high-pitched whistle. The “teet! (pause) teet! (pause) teet!-teet!” or any other repeat order. This call can be made by blowing short bursts of air into the “6 in 1” whistle.
Most of the duck sounds that people have heard and are familiar with come from females or hens, mallards. Mallards are very vocal and this is probably why the number one call for North American duck hunting is the mallard call.
There are numerous types of structures that qualify as duck blinds. Blinds can be temporary or permanent. They are very effective at concealing hunters and making their movements inconspicuous. For hunting over water, the types of hides are almost limitless. Many of these permanent shutters look like a small shack with an opening looking out over the water and a slice of sky.
Often creating a temporary natural blind as a method of concealment is a hunter’s best bet. This is done by using native grasses or natural vegetation and material and simply hiding in a tree, clump of grass, or bush. More sophisticated natural blinds may have large trunks or branches supported together or tied with string. Temporary shutters are common in sheltered and public areas where a permanent shutter is not permitted. Temporary blinds can be very simple and usually require a three-dimensional enclosure to hide hunters from circling flocks.
With the increasing popularity of boats in duck hunting, many have chosen to use boat blinds. Boat blinds are used to hide a hunter when he hunts from a boat.
Duck season takes place in the fall and winter, where the weather can be harsh. Waterproof clothing is essential for duck hunting. Most duck hunters hunt on water and stand on the water or in a boat. To stay in the water and stay dry, the hunter must wear wading boots. Waders are waterproof pants that have attached boots and are completely waterproof. Typical waders are chest high, but in shallow water waist and knee high waders are sometimes used. Duck hunting can be a very cold sport and the hunter must be well insulated from the cold. Ducks also have great vision, which requires hunters’ clothing to be well camouflaged.
Duck hunters often use a dog to retrieve downed birds. Most often, hunters use retrievers, and sometimes spaniels. The use of a dog provides a number of advantages. Since duck hunting often takes place in cold, wet places, the use of a dog frees the hunter from having to wade into cold water to retrieve the bird. This can be dangerous for the hunter, but is easily handled by a trained dog. It also allows for the recovery of injured birds that might otherwise escape.
Duck hunting is highly regulated. Hunters must obtain a hunting license and face limits on the number of birds that can be taken in a day (bag limits) and the total number of birds a hunter can possess (possession limits).
In the United States, hunters must also purchase a federal duck stamp and often a state stamp. It is illegal to shoot ducks from a motor vehicle, moving boat, or to shoot ducks while sitting or swimming. Many practices once common in commercial duck hunting before the turn of the century are now prohibited. In most areas, shotguns that can hold more than two or three shells must be modified to reduce the magazine size. Legal hunting is done only “in season”. It is also considered good sportsmanship to do everything possible to recover any dead or wounded waterfowl shot by the hunter.
Many states require hunters, including duck hunters, to complete hunter safety courses before they can be licensed.
