Today is:

- Sara J.Parker From Magnificos Kingdom & Love Me Tender From Magnificos Kingdom on hunting

- Visit American Gundog club

- American Pointing labrador Association (Testing Rules & Other things)

The Unofficial Rules of Duck Hunting


by Frederick Benton
November 14, 2001

In this sport, getting tipped off is everything.
The goslings and ducklings have hatched, feathered out, and completed their first training flights. They, and their proud parents, will soon be whistling down from the northern breeding grounds. Another fall migration is about to begin.

And you, fledgling duck hunter, what about you? Will you be ready, well briefed, and organized? Properly attired? Or will you stumble, clueless, through the fog and the mud, and disgrace yourself by committing acts of such deplorable ineptitude that even your retriever You say you've graduated from a big-dollar shotgun shooting school? You say you've memorized every word in the federal and state waterfowling hunting regulations? You tell me you're a virtuoso with your new hand-carved, digitally tuned, silver-inlaid, imported Kookaboola-wood mallard call?

I laugh in your face, amigo. Because I know how it is to be a rank beginner.

I've made plenty of my own mistakes and have learned the hard way that the unofficial rules are just as important as the official ones. Having a firm grasp of the fundamentals is in your own best interest, so here are some additional points of information that will help you in your days afield.

Your ultrareliable shotgun will only jam or freeze up when you have clueless honkers overhead inside of 30 yards or fat mallards settling in to your dekes at 20. It will function flawlessly throughout your frequent missing streaks. This is a law of nature and cannot be changed.

You will lose a single shooting glove from at least three pairs each season, along with at least one flashlight and several decoys. But you will always find more of these items than you lose. The trouble with such windfalls is that the gloves will be half-rotted, the flashlights will be corroded, and the decoys will be riddled with shot.

Consistently shooting at out-of-range birds is called skyscraping and is a cardinal sin. The sinner is not called a skyscraper, though To avoid the above label, ask an experienced duck hunter for help in judging range. If you're alone, remember this time-tested rule of thumb: Eyes or feet It is never permissible to relieve yourself in your waders, even when the water level is near your armpits and the nearest dike is a quarter mile away. You shouldn't have guzzled that full Thermos of coffee in the first place.

Full-body shivering is a socially acceptable part of duck hunting. So is wiping your runny nose on your glove or sleeve. There is no shame in acquiring a head-to-toe coating of slime, muck, duck blood, and corruption. It is an unpardonable disgrace, however, to admit to your partners that you wouldn't mind being someplace else.

No dog? You'd better focus like a laser beam on each bird that drops. Forget doubles. If the duck falls in cover, get a precise line on him and GO. If he hits water and comes up swimming, finish him NOW.

There is a broken-wing cripple swimming hard for the bulrushes and another low bunch headed for your decoys.... Forget 'em. There is no higher priority than finishing a crippled bird.

In the unlikely event you find some hapless soul who will eagerly accept some of your unpicked, undrawn ducks, thank your lucky stars and send this saint a bottle of whiskey at Christmas. If he accepts spoonies and buffleheads, make it a bottle of good whiskey.

No shooting coots, ever Parking areas for waterfowlers are minefields, so never step out of your vehicle without looking down first. If it's dark, make a flashlight reconnaissance. Why? Well, what's the first thing every big, excited, well-fed Labrador and Chessie does after leaping out of the truck after a long ride to the marsh? This just isn't a pretty picture....

It's 4 a.m., you're on time Be prepared for odd sights and sounds in the marsh. For example, don't be surprised if, some opening morning, you encounter a couple of old boys in a johnboat scattering ashes of a recently deceased pal across the feather-strewn waters of his favorite hunting spot. Show respect and throttle back as you go by. When they fire a last salute and then blow a quavering version of "Taps" on their duck calls, it is good form to doff your cap and lower your eyes. And don't laugh c)2001 Times Mirror Magazines.

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