Waterfowling Expert Denny Pitman Tells Us Mistakes
Hunters Make
Some Common Duck-Hunting Mistakes
 Editor’s
Note: Denny Pitman of Old Monroe, Missouri, a professional
waterfowler and videographer for Hunter’s Specialties,
hunts almost every day of duck season for ducks and
geese, as he has for the past 16 years. Pitman enjoys
hunting all across the nation, including Canada to South
Dakota, to Missouri, to Arkansas, to Alabama and all
points in-between. Pitman’s job description means
that he must find ducks and geese and film new and better
techniques for hunting duck, while promoting Hunter’s
Specialties’ duck videos, duck and goose calls
and waterfowling accessories. Although on the spot every
day of waterfowl season to locate and take ducks and
geese, Pitman loves his job. We asked Pitman to name
the most-common mistakes that duck hunters mak e
each year.
Question: What are some of the most-common mistakes
that duck hunters make?
Pitman: Many duck hunters: 1) don’t spend enough
time scouting. They like to hunt the same blind, day
in and day out, and hunt over the same decoy spread.
They’re generally not willing to get out and find
where the ducks are to tailor their hunting to those
locations, instead of hunting where they want to be.
To be a successful duck hunter, you must be willing
to move and travel, just like the ducks do. You must
identify the areas the ducks are using. If you don’t
have permission to hunt those places, you need to get
permission. You’ve got to be where duck
wants to be before the birds arrive there. If you reach
those locations and set up properly, then you can take
birds almost each day you hunt. 2) don’t remember
just how smart ducks are. If the birds fly over a region
and see the same blind, decoys and spinning-wing decoys
they’ve seen there the day before, they’ll
shy away from that area.
3) don’t use enough camouflage. Most duck hunters
feel that if they’re in a blind, then they’re
hid, and the ducks can’t spot them, no matter
how much or how little brush the blind has on it. However,
for a blind to be effective, you must put brush on that
blind from the surrounding area to make that blind look
like part of the landscape, not just an odd pile of
brush. You also need to check your blind every d ay
and each week to see if it needs more brush, or if you
need to move around the brush that’s there. 4)
call too much. When you spend hours, days, weeks and
years practicing with your duck calls, of course when
you get out on the water you want to blow those calls
– generally a lot – regardless of how the
calling affects the ducks. You also probably enjoy blowing
your calls like competition callers or how you’ve
seen hunters blow their calls on videos or TV shows.
But wild ducks don’t call as much as competition
callers and TV personalities do. If you want to take
more ducks, call less. Also listen to what the ducks
in a region are saying and how they’re saying
it. Then mimic that calling. In my experience, most
duck hunters overcall the birds.
Tomorrow: More Tips for Taking
Ducks from Denny Pitman
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