Waterfowling Expert Denny Pitman Tells Us Mistakes
Hunters Make
More Tips for Taking Ducks from Denny Pitman
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 make each
year.
Question: Denny, what are some other things that duck
hunters do that keep them from taking as many birds
as they can.
Pitman: Some duck hunters: 1) sky-bust too much. Since
the main reason that duck hunters go hunting is to take
birds, often hunters become so intent on taking birds,
they simply get their shots off without working the
birds in close to their blind to get really-good shots.
They may shoot when the birds are 40- to 50-yards out,
instead of waiting and letting the birds come in with
their wings cupped and their feet out, 10
to 20 yards from the blind. By waiting for the flock
to finish right in front of the blind, you’ll
have some of the most-exciting duck hunting ever. The
secret to taking more ducks is not how many birds you’ve
shot at during the day but rather how many birds you’ve
put in the bag. If you’ll hold your shot until
the ducks finish right in front of your blind, you’ll
have more-exciting duck hunting, you’ll bag more
birds, and you’ll be more successful than if you
attempt to take the birds at 40 or 50 yards. The sport
of duck hunting isn’t about how far away your
gun and your shells will bring down the birds. Successful
duck hunting is about how close you can get the birds
to the blind before you come up to take the shot. If
you watch wild birds, you’ll notice they’ll
often circle an area where they intend to land 10 to
15 times before they finally drop down and put their
feet in the water. So, don’t rush your shot. Instead
let the birds do their thing.
2) have too many chiefs in their blinds. If you have
more than one or two people in a blind, someone has
to be in charge. Usually you only need one or two callers.
But, if eight hunters, who all know how to blow calls
and want to blow them, are in a blind together, probably
each of them will think he has a magic call to cause
the ducks to drop into
the blind. Instead of effectively calling the ducks,
you’ll have too much racket in the blind, no one
will be working together, and the hunters will flare
more birds than they’ll call. The other problem
associated with too many chiefs in a blind is that you
also may have two or three people who want to call the
shot. In a large blind with several people in it, only
one person should do the calling and call the shot.
If several really-good callers are in one blind, then
let one caller call to a flock and call the shot, and
on the next flock, let another caller call to that flock
and call the shot. If there are a couple of callers
who have hunted together for several years and know
how to help each other, then two callers can work together.
But most of the time, letting the callers work and call
the shot separately is more effective. However, two
callers can work together by not stepping on each-other’s
notes. In other words, the second caller should wait
until the first caller has completed his routine to
start his calling sequence. The callers have to be able
to identify which sounds the ducks are reacting to,
and the second caller has to be able to give the same
types of calls the first one has given.
3) move in their blinds too much. A part of the fun
of hunting ducks is watching what the birds do,
how they react to calling, and how they’re working.
However, if everyone watches the ducks, the birds will
spot that movement in the blind. Too, some people like
to talk in a blind commenting, “The ducks are
off to the left,” “The ducks are off to
the right,” “The ducks are behind the ones
you’re calling,” or, “Can you believe
the birds did this or that,” etc. Then of course
you always have someone in the blind who enjoys pointing
at ducks. All of this movement and talking will spook
ducks and cause the birds to flare. Ninety-nine percent
of the time, the person calling to the duck is looking
at them. So, if you want to know where the ducks are,
watch the caller’s face and his eyes. His eyes
will point right toward where the birds are. The best
thing you can do is stay down, keep your face and hands
covered and not move until the caller says to, “Take
‘em.” When I’m calling, I use Hunter’s
Specialties’ Camo Compac, mostly the black and
brown colors on my face and hands.
Tomorrow: Denny Pitman Names
Other Mistakes That Keep Hunters From Taking More Ducks
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