Mallard Duck Hunting for Beginners | Tips & Tactics to Get Started – Foundry Outdoors

Mallard Duck Hunting for Beginners | Tips & Tactics to Get Started

Duck hunting is one of the best sports in the world. As an avid whitetail hunter, I have never been able to quite decide which I love more. Duck hunting is super exciting and a bit faster pace than most types of hunting. Thankfully duck hunting is a bit easier to pick up than most types of hunting. All you really need to do is pick up a few key pieces of gear, set up a blind, and learn a basic calling strategy and you can start bagging birds.

Gear You Need to Get Started

Unlike other game, duck hunting does not require THAT much gear. There are only a few things that you absolutely need for duck hunting. Now that being said, hunting brands will do their best to convince you that you need their latest product to be successful, but that is not true at all. There are plenty of products that are nice to have, but here I will go over the bare basics, so you can get out there and hunt as soon as possible. Here is a more in-depth duck hunting checklist if you want to bring more than the basics.

Shotgun

Unless you are going to try and jump on a duck in the water, you are going to need a shotgun. If you do not already have one, you can get one from a local gun shop for a few hundred dollars. When you are just getting started, do not worry about buying a super expensive shotgun. Sure, the expensive ones are really nice and most of the time you get what you pay for, but a used $300-$400 Remington 870 will kill hundreds of ducks.

 

As for the type of shotgun you should get, there are dozens of models that would work great. If you ask hunters online, they all seem to have a model they all swear by, but really it comes down to personal preference, and if you are trying to stay cheap, it comes down to the best deal or whatever is available in your area. Whatever model you pick, I would pick a 12 gauge. 

As for the ammo, I suggest some steel 3 or 4 shot. If you are a better shot, I would go with the 3 shot, it has larger but fewer bb’s compared to 4 shot. You can look at the ammo we have available here.

Quick tip, when you are shooting at ducks, make sure you lead your shot. They fly fairly fast, and if you shoot where they are, by the time your pellets get there they will not be there anymore. If they are flying from left to right or vise versa, aim a foot in front of them. If they are flying towards you, aim half a foot above them, and away from you, half a foot under them.

Good Camouflage

By good camouflage, I do not mean you need to buy $1000 worth of the most expensive stuff on the market. Really you can wear any camo you want, but you need to make sure that you are well concealed. Ducks have incredible vision, so make sure your colors are not too different from your surroundings, and also make sure you wear a facemask and gloves.

Waders

There are a lot of situations in duck hunting where you need to get a little wet. Waders make this super easy and keep you dry. If you are just getting started, you are probably going to have to get a little wet, especially when you have to retrieve your ducks. There are situations where knee-high rubber boots do the trick, but it really all depends on your unique situation.

Basic Hunting Gear

You also will need all the basic hunting gear, like a blind bag/backpack. You will need a headlamp, and I recommend wearing an orange vest to and from your blind because deer season is during the same time. Do not forget to also get a knife for processing your ducks, I use a fillet knife.

Duck Call

Technically you do not need a call to kill ducks, but it can make it easier to get them to come in, and it’s honestly pretty fun to blow on. If you are worried about learning to use a duck call, you are overthinking it. You really only need to learn the basic quack and that is plenty enough. 

Decoys

Much like the duck calls, decoys are not a necessity but they make things much easier. I also recommend you use decoys if you plan on calling. You can expect to drop around $100 for half a dozen decoys. You do not have to buy the super nice or motion decoys, especially when you are just starting out. Keep it simple.

 

Setting up a Blind

When you get a place to hunt, you need to set up a blind. Because ducks have amazing vision, they will be able to see the slightest movement when passing over you. Most ponds have a simple layout and it may be obvious where you should set up your blind, but if you are unsure, you can always go sit where you think you should for a day and see where the ducks land. If they land in front of you, good job picking your spot, if they don’t, move over to where they are and build your blind. It is also important for your blind to have an overhead cover, you need to make sure they can not see you while circling the water.

Calling in ducks

When you first start out, you can focus on making a simple quack. You should learn how to use this to make a hail call. While it is simple, it is very effective and will bring in more ducks. When you are just starting out, there is no real need in learning the more complicated calls. You can learn them later if you like, but they are not super necessary.

Here is a great instructional video by World Champion Duck Caller Jeff Williams:

Processing Your Ducks

When you do bag a few ducks, it is time to process them once you get home. What I do is breast them out. All you need to do is rip the feathers off the front, and work your knife down teach side of the breast bone. You can then start working each breast off. After I am done, I put them in a bowl and rinse them a few times to get the excess blood and feathers off. When they are remotely clean, you can leave them in the bowl, fill it with water, and put a few tablespoons worth of salt in there. This makes a nice brine that will pull blood out of the meat. Leave it in the fridge for a few days and then they will be ready to cook! 





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1 Comments

Nisha Batel - Feb 04, 2021

These duck are perfect for the hunting for new comers. hanks for sharing the tactics. Have a look on this blog https://bestcrossbowguide.com/

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