Great Duck Hunting Dogs are Worth Their Weight in Gold

Great Duck Hunting Dogs are Worth Their Weight in Gold

Waterfowl hunting, also referred to as goose hunting and duck hunting, is an outdoor sporting activity enjoyed by people all over the world. Many hunters use duck hunting dogs to retrieve their downed ducks.

Duck hunting dogs not only retrieve dead ducks from cold water and difficult terrain, where a hunter could possible be injured but duck hunting dogs also search for and recover wounded ducks. These wounded ducks could escape or die a slow, painful death. Because of their keen sense of smell, well-trained duck hunting dogs usually have no problem finding and retrieving ducks shot by the hunter.

Small game hunters using shotguns normally have gun dogs or duck hunting dogs, which primarily hunt waterfowl and small game. The three classes of gun dogs are pointing breeds, flushing spaniels, and retrievers, which are all good duck hunting dogs. They train pointers to locate their prey and stand motionless, pointing at the bird or small game. These duck hunting dogs point or freeze to keep from flushing the game until the hunter gets into position.

Most pointing dogs will retrieve downed birds. Pointers are loyal, affectionate dogs that make wonderful pets and love to hunt. English pointers, German shorthair pointers, Irish setters, English setters and German wirehaired pointers are great duck hunting dogs.

Flushing spaniels or flushing dogs are duck hunting dogs that hunters have used for several hundred years. Hunters train them to stay close, usually within thirty-five or forty yards. Flushing spaniels work close, so the hunter gets great shots at the fast flying ducks the dog flushes out. English Springer spaniels are great flushing duck hunting dogs and make a great housedog. These dogs are loyal, compassionate, and extremely intelligent, with natural hunting abilities. English springer spaniel flushing duck hunting dogs work hard, are good tempered and love hunting.

Retrievers are duck hunting dogs that recover the ducks or other waterfowl without damage to the game, because of their soft mouths. They are quick to learn, easy to train, enjoy hunting, and love to please. A well-trained retriever can mark, follow hand signals, retrieve to hand and knows many more commands. The hunter commands his or her retriever to mark and the dog looks up for a falling bird.

There are times when it is necessary for a retriever to follow hand signals. Hunters must be able to direct their dogs remotely, in some situations, so hand signals are extremely important. The retrieve to hand command is where a retriever puts the waterfowl directly into the hunters hand. Great duck hunting dogs are worth their weight in gold to a hunter.

The Sport of Duck Hunting Is Even Better With Duck

The Sport of Duck Hunting Is Even Better With Duck Hunting Boats

People around the globe enjoy the sport of duck hunting. In the United States there is good duck hunting almost everywhere but you find some of the best duck hunting in Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Louisiana and other Mississippi River bordering states. Some duck hunters use duck hunting boats on flooded fields, small ponds, lakes and rivers while others hunt in dry rice and cornfields on foot. Some duck hunting tools along with a shotgun include, duck decoys, waterproof clothing, and duck hunting boats.

It is amazing how much literature there is on duck hunting techniques, blinds, duck calling and calls, duck hunting dogs, duck decoys, and guns but how little information is available on duck hunting boats from both the past and duck hunting boats available on todays market. Most of the highly specialized duck hunting or waterfowl boats like the well-known scull boats and monitor marsh boats from the 1980s through the 1940s vanished when they outlawed market gunning.

The Barnegat Bay sneakbox were famous gunning skiffs originally made for market hunters. The first boat, built in 1836, had improvements added until fully developed by 1855. It was traditionally made of well seasoned Jersey cedar and approximately twelve feet long, four feet wide with seven inches of freeboard and a three-foot dagger board. It sailed in extremely shallow water and was easy to beach. Sneakbox duck hunting boats have changed very little since then. Duck hunters nowadays use them to slip up to rafting diving ducks. A hunter will normally put out the duck decoys in open water, row upwind of these and anchor the sneakbox. Lifting anchor, they let the wind push them towards the decoys and within firing range of the canvasbacks or other ducks decoyed.
Layout boats are one or two man duck hunting boats or special gunning boats, most often used for hunting migrating divers in open waters, usually close to a large group of duck decoys. A larger boat or tender boat sometimes piggyback or tow a layout boat into position. Duck hunters often have different thoughts on what a layout duck hunting boat should or should not look like. In heavy water, hunters use stouter, larger layout boats whereas in calmer water with fewer waves, they often choose more sleek-looking layout rigs. Layout duck hunting boats have a low profile and are normally less than ten feet long. The bottom line is that layout duck hunting boats are watercraft meant to hide hunters properly, protecting them from the elements, while they hunt.

Safety Is of Utmost Importance If You Own a Duck

Safety Is of Utmost Importance If You Own a Duck Hunting Boat

If you own a duck hunting boat such as a Jon boat, duck-boat, or even a rowboat and hunt ducks or waterfowl around ponds, rivers, streams, lakes and other waterways, it is extremely important for you to have the proper boating education. Hunting and boating deaths and accidents have declined over the last few years, since they instituted both suggested and mandatory education programs.

Duck hunters must keep up on non-mandatory duck hunting boat education efforts and observe the legal rules, so that boating accident statistics continue to improve. Hunting while you are boating adds new dangers and new dimensions. Hunters need to observe both hunting and boating rules and boating techniques, due to the added danger elements of boating and carrying a duck gun together.

A duck hunting boat such as rowboat and Jon or duck-boats often do not have the lateral stability of some other boats. They are easier to broach or swamp, just by weight distribution shifts within the boat. A hunter in a duck hunting boat also endures the dangers of weather changes, which could lead to harsher weather elements.

One major threat to both sportsman and hunter is the danger of hypothermia during the fall and winter season, which is when waterfowl and duck hunters are usually out. Another added danger is multiple hunters in a small duck hunting boat. Hunters need to map out their fields of fire and make sure that they maintain them exactly. Factored into this mix, hunters need to understand about movement inside the duck hunting boat caused by dogs jumping and hunters swinging their rifles or shotguns.

Returning home safely with no accidents, after spending your time in a duck hunting boat shooting at waterfowl, is a perfect way to enjoy this sport. Like any indoor or outdoor sport, you require education and preparation. Both waterfowl hunting and boating, including a duck hunting boat, requires mandatory boating and hunting education in most places. Many states require people to take a boating safety course before he or she can obtain a boating license and hunter safety course before they issue you a waterfowl license.

Hunters with their duck hunting boat license often choose Jon boats for duck hunting. They design this flat-bottomed duck hunting boat, usually made of wood or aluminum, to stand up to the rigors of the weather. Some of the durability features include formed-in, rounded keels, superior cast lifting handles, coined and extruded ribs, and durable, tough paint finishes. They also offer options such as a pedestal seat, dual console, center seat, vinyl heavy-duty floor covering and even digital stereo CD players.

Duck Hunting Blinds Are a Duck Hunting Necessity

Duck hunting blinds are camouflaged shelters to conceal the duck hunter from ducks and other waterfowl when hunting. Duck hunting blinds are permanent or temporary. Meant to conceal hunters so ducks do not notice their movements, some duck hunting blinds are on land while other duck hunting blinds conceal a hunters boat, vehicle, dog, motor, and other items. There is an almost limitless selection of duck hunting blinds for hunting over water. Hunters can make their duck hunting blinds from natural material such as native grasses and vegetation or purchase camouflage duck hunting blinds. Many public areas prohibit permanent blinds so hunters use temporary duck hunting blinds when hunting in these areas.

Ducks have very good vision so duck hunting blinds should conceal the hunter while blending into the surroundings. In some cases, the natural cover is dense and high enough to hide under but ducks will detect movement so the hunter must stay still. Permanent duck hunting blinds are usually the most comfortable but building and maintaining the blind is labor intensive. One disadvantage to a permanent blind is that if the ducks change positions on a body of water, which they do often because they have exhausted the food supply, the wind switches, or the hunting pressure increases, you are not mobile. Hunters with portable blinds easily transport them and set up fast.

Some types of portable duck hunting blinds include a cameo mesh blind that you drape over poles. You can use this blind both on land and over water to fool the ducks. One-man collapsible duck hunting blinds have an observation window and a seat, which conceals the hunter completely. The hunter collapses the blind by stepping on a pedal when the ducks are close enough to get a clear shot. Collapsible boat blinds work exactly the same way except they cover the entire Jon or duck boat. Fiberglass one-man coffin duck hunting blinds are really low profile and the hunter stays down by inclining on a backrest. A giant goose, magnum decoy blind with viewing slots, hides the hunters by having them blend into their spread of decoys.

Some of the many permanent duck hunting blinds available include the stilt and box blinds. Theses blinds normally have bench seats, wooden floors and corner posts. Chicken wire covered with vegetation hides the hunters. Box blinds are on land whereas stilt blinds are set in the water. A boathouse blind is similar to a collapsible boat blind because it covers the entire duck or Jon boat and the hunters. It is almost like a portable garage because they drive heavy posts into the ground with an end opening for the boat to slip out of to recover downed ducks. There is also a door for easy access to a hunting platform.

For The Thrill of a Lifetime, Go Arkansas Duck Hunting

For The Thrill of a Lifetime, Go Arkansas Duck Hunting

Arkansas duck hunting and goose hunting is a wonderful experience, steeped in rich duck hunting traditions. Hunters find some of the worlds best public duck hunting opportunities in Arkansas. There is the National Wildlife Refuges and Arkansas Game & Fish Commission Wildlife Management Areas for hunters that prefer going on their own or for other hunters who want to experience Arkansas duck hunting, there are many excellent waterfowl guide services available. Some of these Arkansas duck hunting guide services are located in places such as Walnut Ridge, Brinkley, Little Rock, Stuttgart, and Dewitt.

Many of these guide services, which are found in the heart of the flyway, provide hunters with extraordinary meals, comfortable lodging, and personalized service. A typical day for Arkansas duck hunting, using guide services, often starts in the early AM hours, where you have coffee and a continental breakfast. Duck hunting guides discuss the days duck hunt. They also do a gear check with the hunters. Then they transport the hunting party to the site, where they normally hunt until around noon depending upon the hunting conditions and weather. Many guide services also offer PM hunting for interested duck hunters.

Finding a reputable guide is extremely important when Arkansas duck hunting. You certainly do not want to become a hunter that spent a lot of money for a very bad duck hunt. Before booking your Arkansas duck hunting trip, do your homework. Good tour guides are worth the money because they know all the best private and public hunting areas.

Without a duck-hunting guide when going Arkansas duck hunting, you could end up lost or have no idea where to go. Look for a duck hunting guide service that is established, speak to the owner, ask for references, and talk to other duck hunters. Make sure they can provide you with the services you are looking for when Arkansas duck hunting.

The best time for Arkansas duck hunting is typically anywhere from mid December to the end of the duck hunting season in January. January is consistently the very best time for ducks and great weather conditions. In NE Arkansas, good Arkansas duck hunting normally begins a little earlier in the season than places such as Stuttgart.

The Arkansas Game & Fish Commission can provide hunters who wish to go Arkansas duck hunting with up-to-date rules and regulations. In Arkansas, all migratory bird hunters over sixteen must register with the Harvest Information Program. The daily bag limit in one calendar day is one duck. They allow hunting only during the open shooting hours. It is your responsibility to know the hunting laws when Arkansas duck hunting.

Alabama Duck Hunting Information

Alabama is a terrific destination for people wanting to hunt deer, waterfowl, and small size game. Alabama deer hunting and Alabama duck hunting takes place in a huge variety of terrains ranging from swamps and thick wooded areas, to the upper states rolling hill regions. For anyone wanting to deer or duck hunt, Alabama law requires you to have a valid hunting license.

For hunters looking for Alabama duck hunting information, there is the Alabama state website and many other sites that have duck hunting available to the public. Another Alabama duck hunting information site that also has general information for fishing and hunting is Outdoor Alabama. You can apply for your hunting license online there.

For hunters that want to experience Alabama duck hunting, information available says there are some excellent waterfowl hunting from the Tennessee River valley through North Alabama. Many hunters believe that the weather is the influencing factor on whether you have a successful or unsuccessful duck hunt. The better the weather, the fewer wildfowl and the worse the weather, the more ducks there are to hunt.

If the weather is terrible for a long length of time, the duck hunting is normally great. They claim that storms from the north bringing cold weather and hard winds mean it is time to get out all your duck hunting gear, while a southern warm front moving into the area means terrible duck hunting. Alabama Game & Fish has Alabama duck hunting information available.

The Alabama duck hunting information available states that the environment along the Tennessee River is ideal for ducks because of the agricultural crops and milfoil produced there. There is an abundance of water and food, along with good backwater areas, and the river provides ducks with an ideal habitat. Unfortunately, they have to rely upon bad or severe weather from the north to push the waterfowl to Alabama. Some of the waterfowl that show up include coots, scaups, and mallards.

The Alabama duck hunting information available shows that the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, which is located near Decatur, Alabama, close to the Tennessee River, is a migrating and wintering habitat for ducks, geese, and other birds. Each winter, up to 60,000 ducks migrate there and spend the season dodging hunters and feeding on crops. From the Alabama duck hunting information available, they allow no shooting in Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge but they hunt the sections around it heavily.

Duck hunters will find from the Alabama duck hunting information available that just across from Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge is Swan Creek WMA, which is one of the premier public property waterfowl and duck hunting tracks. This is a great hunting area in Alabama.