Hard Side Duck Boat Blind? The 230 Detailed Answer

Waterfowl blinds are like another dimension. The moment you sit down or lie down in a blind, you see the world from a different perspective. Time stands still when the birds are overhead and the company is pleasant. It provides appropriate camouflage from sight in the sky and breaks the cold wind.

A good blind is a home, a memory factory and a place where we can share our hunting heritage with the next generation.

Blinds can be anything from a permanent concrete structure with all the comforts of home to a bunch of cattails or marsh grasses. Layout blinds have replaced digging a pit in many cases, and even these require maintenance during the off-season and preparation for opening day. Improve your blind and you can increase your success.

Here are some ways to make your blinds, whether permanent or temporary, better suited for the season ahead.

Temporary blind tips

Don’t destroy the landscape. Avoid chopping down entire trees and shrubs and uprooting large patches of grass just to make a small blind.

Use natural materials to create a worn, years-old look rather than something that stands out as new construction.

Get a different perspective. Walk 300 meters and look at your blinds from a new angle – does anything stand out as unnatural?

Thoroughly soil layout blinds. An out-of-the-box layout will stand out in many cases. Smear dirt and mud all over the top and sides to give it an earthy look.

Always keep a handsaw or hatchet nearby. Packing these tools will allow you to clear the firing lanes when building a temporary screen along a river bank or tree line.

Enter materials. Bring camouflage sacking or other artificial blinding material to throw over a few logs to create a roof for optimal concealment. See Steps to Build a Simple, Temporary Duckway Shade for more information.

. Make space. Temporary blinds can be anything you want, so don’t conform. Make your blind large enough for the entire hunting party, including dogs.

Use tent poles. Packing in a few tent poles will help create a base for an extensive temporary shade when mixed with natural materials.

The Bucket Theory. If you routinely build temporary blinds, carry a 5-gallon bucket of materials. Once the blind is set up, use the bucket as a seat.

Remember it’s temporary. If you’ve built a temporary shade and birds still seem to see you, don’t be afraid to start over. Demolish it and make upgrades for Phase II.

Permanent blind tips

By Gary Koehler

My personal distrust meter went off almost immediately after my boss called me into his office to discuss a story idea. “Error,” he said. “I want this feature to focus on the most common mistakes duck and goose hunters make.” It was like he’d been sitting in the blind with me, taking notes, for the last 40 years.

Could he possibly have the evidence on film? How else could he have known I was the resident expert? Yes, I’ve made all the mistakes, from A to Z. Take the time-tested “One More Swing” strategy, for example. As in: “Leave her a little lower, one more swing, then we’ll take her.” When this happens, you can count on the circling ducks to magically disappear and never be seen again.

While I managed to make plenty of mistakes on my own, too many of those mistakes happened in the presence of witnesses. My former Illinois River Valley cohorts would probably vote to do this book-length piece, a confession of sorts. The truth hurts. Not to mention the recurring nightmares.

Rather than provide incriminating personal evidence of my own waterfowl hunting shortcomings, however, I have chosen to enlist the help of experts, from people who have been there, seen this and are quick to discover the little things that go on the Territory can make a big difference. Rick Dunn, a former world champion duck caller, makes echo calls and regularly grazes flooded lumber in Arkansas.

Dave Smith creates incredibly realistic lures from his home in the Pacific Northwest. Sean Mann, call maker and World Goose Call Champion, hunts the Canadian Plains and Atlantic Flyway each season. And then there’s South Dakota’s Tyson Keller, who has built an impressive rep chasing snow geese down the Central Flyway. Below is a list of the most common waterfowl foul ups.

1. Insufficient Concealment

We’ve all heard it before, but being well hidden remains one of the waterfowl hunter’s most important considerations. Birds are quick to sense movement on the ground. Not being careful is mistake numero uno. Be still, don’t gape and cover up.

“Hidden properly is tremendous,” says Smith. “The main thing is that you have to do something so that the birds focus on the bait and not on your blinds. Most people don’t realize that even a well camouflaged layout blind is easily seen from the air – they aren’t invisible. Instead, place the blinds well outside of the decoy spread. If there are contours or breaks in the landscape to help the blinds blend in, take advantage of them, even if you’re in the middle of a huge field.”

Keller, who has successfully lured huge flocks of snow geese onto his bait spread – rarely an easy task – believes gunners reduce their chances of success by being careless when hiding.

“Whether it’s plant blinds, pit blinds or festival blinds, you have to blend in with the environment,” says Keller. “Not being hidden can ruin a great hunt. Any objects that are out of place in the field will be spotted by birds.”

Keller also suggests literally seeking an advantage. “If you can hide behind a ledge or a small depression in the field, you can minimize your shadow or be in the shadows. Shadows are easy to spot from the air. If you can eliminate your shadow, you’ll be better able to hide.”

Mann considers proper hiding to be part of his spying program. When looking for places to hunt, he pays attention to the terrain and accompanying vegetation.

“Hunters should ask themselves how to hide when spotting birds,” says Mann. “Your goal is to become part of what is already there. If you hunt with ground blinds, how do you become part of the ground? Don’t become a ‘beaver hut’ in the middle of the field, become the ground with no more or less foliage than the surrounding area.”

2. Inadequate scouting

Another common mistake made by waterfowl hunters is failing to look around before hunting. Finding a place to hunt often requires considerable homework and travel. You want to be in an area that the birds use. Mann says hunters should pinpoint where waterfowl are feeding.

“The number one scouting mistake is chasing the ‘X’,” he says. “This is what happens when you don’t put the birds to bed. Too many people stop exploring when they see birds in a field. They say, ‘There they are; we will hunt this field tomorrow.’ Instead, stay and watch the birds take off, then find the exact spot where they last fed. Lock position on a handheld GPS and hunt on the X. You won’t be running around in the dark looking for the right place and your hunt will turn out much better.”

Dunn says his occupations in the flooded woods and elsewhere have taught him it pays to watch the ducks. “Hunters need to remember that hunters usually give themselves away in two ways: beaming and moving. If you’re not hidden well enough, the ducks will tell you; all you have to do is watch them,” says Dunn.

On their hunt for the suspicious snow goose, Keller and his crew have been known to spend hours driving through the countryside in search of birds. But as gas prices have gone through the roof, that approach has changed.

“To make the best use of scouting time and minimize costs, it’s often effective to find high ground in an area that the birds are using,” says Keller. “With binoculars or a spotting scope, you can observe flight patterns and areas where the birds are several kilometers away. If you can pinpoint the high-traffic areas, as well as the fields or watering holes of your choice, you’re much better off.

“Another effective strategy is scouting while hunting. If you bring binoculars, you can pinpoint the areas that the birds are targeting while you’re in the field,” says Keller. “Keeping an eye on the birds while hunting can significantly reduce the amount of driving and exploring later in the day.”

Dun agrees. “We have found that the best time to look for ducks is when the hunt is good. So if you finish hunting early one day, take that extra time to look for more jobs,” he says. “If you use your time wisely, you can find great new places to hunt.

“Keeping a log also helps us record useful information about these potential hunting grounds, such as the date, water depth, available food sources, and the best wind direction for hunting at that particular location,” adds Dunn.

3. Improper bait placement

Once you’ve found a field or wetland used by birds and obtained permission to hunt the terrain, how you use your lures can have a huge impact on your success. Bad decisions cost you birds.

“Common mistakes are placing baits in a certain pattern, putting them all downwind, and setting them the same distance apart,” says Smith. “It’s all old-school goose hunting, and times have changed. Geese have long understood as our fathers did. It’s time to go natural and random in most areas of the country.”

man agrees. And he’s adamant about a critical component. “In my experience, the number one baiting mistake of all time is not spacing the baits far enough apart,” says Mann. “Why do you think they call it a spread? Make sure you have enough parking spaces!

Related: 10 Surefire Decoy Strategies

“If birds come to your lures and they’re hovering and dancing or circling and circling in the air, you haven’t provided adequate parking,” he adds. “If your spread is right, birds don’t circle as much and they don’t look for a place to put their feet. They come right in and land. When in doubt, spread them out.”

Dunn says a good rule of thumb is to space the baits about six feet apart. Large spreads are placed in large areas; smaller, tighter spots require less bait. “And on calm days, it’s almost impossible to take down ducks without baiting,” he says. “That’s when a jerk string comes in handy, and sometimes multiple jerk strings are needed.”

Keller and his accomplices have been known to set up to 1,500 full-body baits for snow and blues. This isn’t feasible for everyone, however, and while goose hunters often prefer large numbers, the overall look can be just as important as the amount of bait.

“My advice is to be natural and creative,” says Keller. “Set your spread as if you were seeing birds in the field. I don’t usually have a set lure pattern in mind when hunting. Birds capture areas where baits are grouped and adjacent holes are nearby. I often place several densely packed groups of decoys throughout the spread to simulate heavy feeding and aggressive behavior.”

4. Unnatural calling

Depend on your decoys to get the job done, but most of the time you’ll need to call out your duck or goose call at certain times to get the birds’ attention. Learning to call takes practice. There is also a learning curve in which calls to use and when to call in certain situations. So, what are the most common call mistakes waterfowl make?

“I’ve always said the biggest mistake is not calling at all,” says Mann. “Today I would say that calling without a clue is the number one mistake. What I mean is that so many people today use calls with no idea how they fit into the hunting scenario. They just try to call ‘like the guy on the CD’ or try to give each bird a calling contest routine. If calls are overused they become ineffective.

See Also: 7 Deadly Duck Calling Mistakes

“Hunters should try to learn their ‘chops’ call from the birds themselves, not from other callers,” he continues. “Other callers can teach you how to make the call, but they can’t give you the cause-and-effect knowledge that top callers need. This can only be learned through constant bird watching. Pay close attention to what happens when you hear the birds make certain sounds. Then you have a clue and can be more effective in the field.

Smith, who also often hunts in high-pressure areas, pays close attention to what other hunters are doing around him. And he’s noticed a pattern of call errors that birds often flare up rather than entice them to.

“In our area, the geese have become extremely call-shy, but few of the hunters,” says Smith. “My success comes from calling very, very sparingly and at exactly the right time when the birds are ready and willing to listen. Often this opportunity comes after the flock has checked the entire spread and the birds need a little lure to persuade them to land. If they can get all the way in without any call whatsoever, all the better.”

Keller also listens closely to his competitors in the field and has learned which techniques work and which don’t. “Unnatural cadence is the most common mistake I see in callers,” says Keller. “It seems that sometimes they try to do more than they can. The point is that hunters should stick to the basics, which sound real and natural.”

The call volume also makes a difference. “The most common mistake duck hunters make when calling ducks is calling too loudly when the ducks are around,” says Dunn. “If you’re trying to get the attention of ducks at a distance, you need to shout loudly. You can also call new ducks loudly at the beginning of the season and get excellent results. But if you want to call ducks consistently throughout the season, you must learn to read ducks and call them at a volume that doesn’t startle them. Watch the ducks closely and they will tell you if you have called too loudly.”

5. Wrong setting of the shot

Which brings us back to the “one more punch” dilemma that has plagued waterfowl hunters for years. When do you set the tone?

“I typically use the first or second flocks of the day to set the pace for the rest of the hunt,” says Keller. “If the first birds jump in without hesitation, it will be very easy to fire. When the birds are cautious or it’s late in the season it can be more difficult to get the shot.

“When hunting educated birds, try to pay close attention to the leader birds in the flock,” he continues. “Usually the leading birds are the loudest and also give you a pretty good indication of how they’re going to end up just by watching them.”

Mann considers others in his hunting party before making a decision on when to fire. “The most difficult part of waterfowl hunting is getting the shot right. You must give the shot for maximum effectiveness. Too many people wait for the shot to be good for themselves when it could diminish your success as a group,” says Mann. “Set the tone so everyone in your group has a chance to contribute to your success.”

I have it.

For years I hunted the cypress swamps and flooded hardwoods of our property like my father had before me: I would don waders and parkas and lean against a tree to erase my silhouette. We killed many ducks this way. However, over the years, standing waist-deep in swamp water while the temperature hovered below freezing became more difficult than it used to be.

The decision to build a duck visor came after one of those cold hunts in late January a few years ago. Frozen, wet from a leaking boot, hungry and tired, I told myself I was fed up with the ducks as I hobbled ashore. Nothing a warm house and steaming coffee can’t cure. After coming to my senses, my friends and I drew up the plans that would eventually become the blind we hunt today.

Our plywood box may not be anything special, but it’s better to spend half the day trembling. Instead of sitting out in the cold, a portable heater now keeps me warm while I lounge on a padded bench. I often indulge in bacon and eggs cooked on a Coleman stove, accompanied of course with fresh coffee. When the mallards are down in flocks, our duck hole becomes my second home.

When the weather warms up and the water level starts to drop, it’s time to build your own blind. With the help of a few handy friends, the project shouldn’t take more than a weekend. Then, when duck season comes, you’ll have a hard time leaving the wood.

Choose a prime location

No matter what type of terrain you’re hunting, look for food like duck potatoes, moor grass, or acorns. Plenty of food attracts waterfowl throughout the winter. Easy access to cover and wetlands, and low hunting pressure keep them lingering.

Look for food sources before choosing a hunting spot. An ample supply of food, such as acorns in the wood, will attract and keep ducks throughout the winter.

Consider the prevailing wind and position of the sun when deciding where to build, and keep both in mind. Waterfowl almost always land into the wind and you certainly don’t want a glare to interfere with shot accuracy. Also, light shining into your blinds will scare away any bird within range.

If your honey hole has held ducks before, it probably will next year. However, if you’ve seen less bird activity, don’t be afraid to venture elsewhere. Habitat often varies, and ducks will always go where the easiest access to food and cover is.

Consider the vegetation surrounding your suspected location. While a blind can be well hidden in the spring and summer, one might bare it when the leaves are dying. Too much nearby cover can affect your vision. Make sure you have a clear view of the water and sky.

materials and design

Your hunting party determines the size of the blind. Six feet wide and 16 feet long sleeps four comfortably with room for one or two more. Get creative. Make your project as big or small as you like. In any case, remember to use pressure-treated plywood and lumber, even indoors, which should resist rot for many years.

When building a duck blind, make sure all of the wood is pressure treated, which is coated with chemicals to prevent the wood from rotting.

Typically, using four 4×4 inch uprights braced with 2×8 cross members provides a solid foundation. Keep the blinds up so you don’t get swamped when the water rises in winter. Fasten the foundation posts into the ground and pour concrete when the area is free of water for added stability. Frame with 2x4s surrounded by half inch plywood walls, floor and roof. The addition of overhead partitions running from the roof to the front wall increases structural integrity and provides room to attach vegetation while brushing. If you leave a crack in the bottom, the water can drain. Cover the inside and outside with olive green or brown spray paint.

The back wall should be higher than the front wall with enough headroom to sit without crouching. Tilt the roof down from front to back. Extend it three quarters of the way down the aperture and stop two feet short of the front wall, which should be shorter than the back wall to allow plenty of room to shoot. Use the same plywood as the walls for a hinged door at the back. In addition to the stairs for you, if you have a retriever, consider building a smaller ramp on the side with a separate platform.

concealment

Ideally, you’ll have plenty of cover to build your shade around, such as B. willow trees or cattail tufts. This will help the set blend in with the environment and make brushing easier as you simply need to collect green vegetation to fill in the gaps. Attach woven metal wire covering the outside to secure seedlings and blades of grass with zip ties. Wait a week before opening to prune any green plants to keep them fresh for as long as possible. Also, covering the outside with olive or tan mesh will help break it up further.

Having lush vegetation near your blinds will help break up their boxy appearance and make them look more natural.

When the blind is alone and there is little surrounding coverage, effective brushing is paramount. To further break up the boxy appearance, drive posts into the ground near the blind and attach small oak or willow trees to them. Dot them at different heights and spacing to mimic a thicket and add a natural look to your project.

final touch

I’ve seen blinds with TVs, kitchens, boat slips, and fancy furniture. The only thing missing was a bedroom. This way you never have to go home. Padded seats and space for a heater are enough for most people. Shelves on the front wall will come in handy for storing extra boxes of shells, as well as a cup of coffee. Don’t forget a place to stash your shotguns, where they’ll be safely out of the way when not in use but readily available. Placing traction tape in strips on the floor can prevent slipping.

The best thing about the project is the fulfillment you will get after the first hunt in your new blind. For me, every opening day, every year, brings the same result. All the hard work I’ve put into building and maintaining my home over the years manifests itself when the first group of ducks race through the wood. For so many reasons I can’t help but smile.

by Wade Bourne

Lot of money! No, not the kind that raise antlers, but what many duck hunters spend to fund their sport: private clubs, fancy blinds, expensive shotguns, oversized bait spreads, and more. This is an endeavor that can soak up money like a bowling ball in quicksand.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Hunters can experience a quality duck hunt while staying on a budget. Thrifty hunters may need to hunt a little harder and smarter, but they can still find quality waterfowl.

So if the recession has left a lasting impression, your credit card’s maxed out, your child’s college tuition has skyrocketed and you can’t afford a 24-karat duck hunt, don’t despair. The quality of a hunt is not always in proportion to its cost. Here’s how you can cut corners to keep duck hunting costs down while still enjoying great shooting.

Hunting grounds for price-conscious hunters

For starters, forget about private clubs and leaseholds. Owning or leasing a prime duck place may cost a prince’s ransom. However, there are many options for budget hunters. All you have to do is find them.

First up are public lands: wildlife management areas, sanctuaries, public reservoirs and natural lakes, free-flowing rivers and streams, military reserves, state and national forests, BLM land, utility land, and Ducks Unlimited projects.

Public spaces? Aren’t they always crowded and hyper-armed? Some are, some are not. The most well-known areas with the most ducks can be mob scenes. However, other areas that don’t attract as many birds may still offer good shooting opportunities. That’s where the “hunt a little harder” part comes in. Finding such spots requires some legwork, but they exist and can be uncovered and enjoyed at little or no cost.

Another option is to figure out how to outperform the competition in high-pressure areas. This may mean going in earlier, going in deeper, or staying out longer. For example, when I was in my late teens and early 20s, a friend and I went to a public wading area in western Tennessee where first-come, first-served seats were available. A hole in this flooded ground attracted ducks like a magnet. To claim it, my buddy and I would wade in two hours before filming time. We’ve had some long, cold waits until sunrise, but we’ve also taken a lot of limits from greenheads there. Other hunters weren’t willing to get off that early, so we routinely charged that price.

Budget-conscious hunters should not rule out hunting on private property. Those who find landowners willing to issue hunting permits can have good hunting opportunities. This is especially true after heavy rains have pushed backwater into farmland or pastures that do not normally flood. Ducks flock to such “new waters” and some landowners give permission to hunt. You’ll never know until you ask.

Also, don’t overlook private ponds and watersheds. Small bodies of water can attract a surprising number of ducks. Glazing public roads is the best way to find these places. True, some landowners will refuse you, but others might give you permission to hunt.

Rafting is almost a lost art, but sometimes small rivers and streams can hold large numbers of ducks. This is especially true during a frost when shallow wetlands are closed and the birds move to running water.

Another point: you don’t have to be in the heart of the Zugstrasse to experience a good duck hunt. In outlying areas, duck numbers may be lower, but hunting pressure is also reduced. As a result, a hunter who finds a few ducks outside of a popular flight path could have them all for himself.

budget blinds

I’ve been looking for duck blinds whose owners had invested a small fortune in electricity, plumbing, full kitchens and even lounge areas. But these qualities were certainly not necessary for hunting success. Many of my best hunts have been made crouching in the undergrowth, leaning against trees, or stretching out in muddy fields or on sandbars. In other words, a fancy hideout or pit is a wonderful amenity, but not a requirement for duck hunting success.

On the contrary, hunters can escape the prying eyes of the birds with only a minimal payout of dollars. Highly effective blinds can be built with a few poles (cut your own), some camouflage netting, plastic zip ties, and natural vegetation.

Natural vegetation can provide the best camouflage when it comes to avoiding being spotted by circling ducks.

In fact, one of the best blinds I’ve ever had was one I built with a partner in knee-deep water in a flooded soybean field. We drove four corner poles, attached shooting rails front and back, and then stacked long, bushy oak branches against the rails teepee style. Circling ducks never saw us as we crouched under the brush.

A layout blind is another excellent option for budget hunters. Some initial investment is required, but the dual benefits of a layout curtain, portability and full, rapid concealment, more than justify its cost. Layout visors can be used in open fields, tidal flats, sandbars and other places where ducks like to work and hunters without layout visors have trouble hiding.

Then there’s the no-blind (and free) option: hide in natural cover. Cattails, sawgrass, willows, logs, and other natural on-site vegetation can provide the best of all concealments when it comes to avoiding detection by circling ducks. Remember that you will need cover both overhead and in front and behind. Also, a swamp seat or shooting stool is handy for lowering your profile and sparing your back while crouching for natural cover.

Low cost decoy spreads

Bait dispersal is another area where hunters can reduce their costs. There’s no question that hunting a large number of realistic baits is effective, but just a few good baits in the right spot can also attract ducks. In my opinion, being on the X is more important than spreading a four star. In many cases, a few dozen baits will suffice.

In situations where ducks work closely together or there is no competition, standard sized (less expensive) decoys will fill the bill. When buying lures, savvy hunters can save big bucks by searching for catalog or website “hot buys”, online postings, and even discount sales. You can buy used baits and touch them up, and you can also save a few bucks on rigging costs by buying heavy nylon line (brown or black) and making homemade anchors (pouring small paper cups with concrete or molding weights out of melted scrap lead). ).

And then there are black plastic bottles. Years ago, my hunting partners and I collected several dozen 1-gallon milk cans, dunked them in cold roofing pitch diluted with gasoline, and let them dry. We then rigged these jugs up with line and anchors and scattered them among the regular baits in our large open water area. In this way we have significantly increased the size and visibility of our setup for a very small cost. The ducks loved this spread. They would land right next to the jugs without any suspicion.

Equipment savings

In addition to blinds and decoys, duck hunters use a wide range of other equipment, and there is an opportunity to save on costs with almost every purchase. For example, hundred dollar acrylic or wooden calls are nice to own, but many companies make $25 plastic calls that play beautiful duck music.

Shooting a nice over-and-under or a high-priced autoloader may carry some prestige, but field-quality pump-action shotguns have probably killed more ducks than any other type. Pump shotguns like the Remington Model 870 have been favorites of duck hunting guides for decades.

Since lead shot was banned for waterfowl hunting, ammunition manufacturers have introduced a range of non-toxic shot alternatives, including modern alloys that are denser and more effective than lead. However, these bowls are expensive, costing $2 to $3 each. In my experience, cheaper steel shot loads are capable of taking down ducks cleanly at reasonable ranges. At the ranges where most decoy ducks are caught, steel shot loads will perform almost as well as their more exotic counterparts at a fraction of the cost.

Waders are one area where duck hunters should not skimp on quality. Sturdy waders with good foot insulation and features such as pockets, shell loops and D-rings are recommended. Most hunters prefer neoprene waders for their flexibility and warmth, but nylon waders cost less while still providing great service.

Hunters often need a boat to hunt waterfowl, but new stealth boats and outboards can definitely be budget breakers. Instead, consider buying a used rig and camouflaging it yourself. Just be sure to buy enough boat to safely hunt in the waters you will be hunting. Also, for two-man hunts on smaller, calmer waters, a canoe or johnboat and paddle are a cost-effective alternative to a larger boat and motor. Both canoes and small johnboats can be transported on cars or in pickup beds, saving the expense and maintenance of a trailer.

Duck hunters commonly use camouflage clothing, a blind pouch, binoculars, a thermos, flashlights, decoy gloves, mechanical decoys, and other accessories. But none of these elements is an absolute necessity. Think about what you want and what you can afford, then build your gear accordingly.

Save money; Hire a guide

For some hunters, saving may actually mean hiring a guide for a few hunts per season instead of hunting themselves. That may sound inappropriate at first – spending money to save money – but it’s actually not. Comparing the cost of a guide versus buying equipment and all the other costs associated with hunting on your own, the first option can be positive. If you are hunting with a guide, chances are you are hunting in a good location, quality hide and over a hunt proven decoy spread. So if you can only hunt a few days per season, a guide might be the best value for your limited hunting dollars.

Duck hunting strategies on a budget

Finding hunting spots and having the essentials is important, but it all comes down to what you do with what you have. Budget-conscious hunters should look for a niche—a place, strategy, or time that other hunters don’t know about or want to get involved in. Waterfowl on a budget need to make up for what they lack in money with knowledge and skill, and there are several good ways to do this. One obvious way is to find a hunting spot that won’t be overrun by competing hunters. Spots like that are out there, but again, it takes some legwork to find them.

Try to find ducks that don’t pressure other hunters, then figure out how to hunt them down.

For example, I know a group of young Tennesseans who travel to Arkansas several times a season to hunt in a small, low-pressure state wildlife refuge. A few years ago they found a place where some ducks were working and since then they’ve gotten a lot of good shots there.

Another reliable strategy is to learn where ducks move under different weather and water conditions and move with them. After a heavy rain, fresh flood water rising into fields or forests in the Auland can attract large numbers of ducks. During a hard freeze, ducks can move to rivers and lakes where the water is still open. On a large lake, try to position yourself at a point upwind at the mouth of a feeder creek where merchant ducks can see your bait. At rivers, just walk until you flush ducks (usually in a pocket or whirlpool next to the bank), then line up where they’ve been resting.

By learning where and when to hunt, waterfowl can stay in the action. This may require you to wade far back into dense cover in a public area where ducks have been driven away by hunting pressure. It may mean that the hunt is timed to coincide with changes in the weather. It can mean being persistently on the lookout for secluded beaver ponds and swamps where birds like to hang out.

When it comes to hunting strategies, cost-conscious hunters should remember two Cs: complacency and creativity. You need to replace the first with the second. Don’t do what everyone else is doing and get comfortable with leftovers. Instead, try to find ducks that don’t pressure other hunters, and then figure out how to hunt them down.

Do you have the right attitude?

Duck hunting on a budget requires thrift rather than recklessness. It means spending on essentials but no gimmicks. It takes effort, which saves you money. Overall, duck hunting on a budget involves a mindset of frugality but no acceptance of mediocre shooting. There was nothing second rate about the hunts my partner and I enjoyed in this Tennessee fording area so many years ago, or on dozens of similar hunts since. More dollars doesn’t necessarily mean more ducks. Waterfowl hunting with minimal fuss can still fill their duck strings, and the gratification of that keeps them laughing all the way to shore.

For years I hunted the cypress swamps and flooded hardwoods of our property like my father had before me: I would don waders and parkas and lean against a tree to erase my silhouette. We killed many ducks this way. However, over the years, standing waist-deep in swamp water while the temperature hovered below freezing became more difficult than it used to be.

The decision to build a duck visor came after one of those cold hunts in late January a few years ago. Frozen, wet from a leaking boot, hungry and tired, I told myself I was fed up with the ducks as I hobbled ashore. Nothing a warm house and steaming coffee can’t cure. After coming to my senses, my friends and I drew up the plans that would eventually become the blind we hunt today.

Our plywood box may not be anything special, but it’s better to spend half the day trembling. Instead of sitting out in the cold, a portable heater now keeps me warm while I lounge on a padded bench. I often indulge in bacon and eggs cooked on a Coleman stove, accompanied of course with fresh coffee. When the mallards are down in flocks, our duck hole becomes my second home.

When the weather warms up and the water level starts to drop, it’s time to build your own blind. With the help of a few handy friends, the project shouldn’t take more than a weekend. Then, when duck season comes, you’ll have a hard time leaving the wood.

Choose a prime location

No matter what type of terrain you’re hunting, look for food like duck potatoes, moor grass, or acorns. Plenty of food attracts waterfowl throughout the winter. Easy access to cover and wetlands, and low hunting pressure keep them lingering.

Look for food sources before choosing a hunting spot. An ample supply of food, such as acorns in the wood, will attract and keep ducks throughout the winter.

Consider the prevailing wind and position of the sun when deciding where to build, and keep both in mind. Waterfowl almost always land into the wind and you certainly don’t want a glare to interfere with shot accuracy. Also, light shining into your blinds will scare away any bird within range.

If your honey hole has held ducks before, it probably will next year. However, if you’ve seen less bird activity, don’t be afraid to venture elsewhere. Habitat often varies, and ducks will always go where the easiest access to food and cover is.

Consider the vegetation surrounding your suspected location. While a blind can be well hidden in the spring and summer, one might bare it when the leaves are dying. Too much nearby cover can affect your vision. Make sure you have a clear view of the water and sky.

materials and design

Your hunting party determines the size of the blind. Six feet wide and 16 feet long sleeps four comfortably with room for one or two more. Get creative. Make your project as big or small as you like. In any case, remember to use pressure-treated plywood and lumber, even indoors, which should resist rot for many years.

When building a duck blind, make sure all of the wood is pressure treated, which is coated with chemicals to prevent the wood from rotting.

Typically, using four 4×4 inch uprights braced with 2×8 cross members provides a solid foundation. Keep the blinds up so you don’t get swamped when the water rises in winter. Fasten the foundation posts into the ground and pour concrete when the area is free of water for added stability. Frame with 2x4s surrounded by half inch plywood walls, floor and roof. The addition of overhead partitions running from the roof to the front wall increases structural integrity and provides room to attach vegetation while brushing. If you leave a crack in the bottom, the water can drain. Cover the inside and outside with olive green or brown spray paint.

The back wall should be higher than the front wall with enough headroom to sit without crouching. Tilt the roof down from front to back. Extend it three quarters of the way down the aperture and stop two feet short of the front wall, which should be shorter than the back wall to allow plenty of room to shoot. Use the same plywood as the walls for a hinged door at the back. In addition to the stairs for you, if you have a retriever, consider building a smaller ramp on the side with a separate platform.

concealment

Ideally, you’ll have plenty of cover to build your shade around, such as B. willow trees or cattail tufts. This will help the set blend in with the environment and make brushing easier as you simply need to collect green vegetation to fill in the gaps. Attach woven metal wire covering the outside to secure seedlings and blades of grass with zip ties. Wait a week before opening to prune any green plants to keep them fresh for as long as possible. Also, covering the outside with olive or tan mesh will help break it up further.

Having lush vegetation near your blinds will help break up their boxy appearance and make them look more natural.

When the blind is alone and there is little surrounding coverage, effective brushing is paramount. To further break up the boxy appearance, drive posts into the ground near the blind and attach small oak or willow trees to them. Dot them at different heights and spacing to mimic a thicket and add a natural look to your project.

final touch

I’ve seen blinds with TVs, kitchens, boat slips, and fancy furniture. The only thing missing was a bedroom. This way you never have to go home. Padded seats and space for a heater are enough for most people. Shelves on the front wall will come in handy for storing extra boxes of shells, as well as a cup of coffee. Don’t forget a place to stash your shotguns, where they’ll be safely out of the way when not in use but readily available. Placing traction tape in strips on the floor can prevent slipping.

The best thing about the project is the fulfillment you will get after the first hunt in your new blind. For me, every opening day, every year, brings the same result. All the hard work I’ve put into building and maintaining my home over the years manifests itself when the first group of ducks race through the wood. For so many reasons I can’t help but smile.

Blind placement of ducks is an important decision when it comes to the success of your hunt this season. But it doesn’t have to be a difficult decision if you use a little forethought, some common sense, and a basic understanding of the species you’re hunting.

Where you place your duck screen mainly depends on the species of duck you are going to hunt. And usually the determining factor in which duck to hunt depends on what species of duck you like to eat. I’m not a big fan of the taste of “divers”, ducks like bluebills or canvasbacks. Being carnivores, they have a fishy taste that I can’t stand. Teal are delicious, but the season is short and I never seem to be able to find the time. So I’m going to focus on blind placement of mallards and wood ducks. In my opinion these are some of the tastiest waterfowl and a good challenge to hunt.

The regular season for the High Plains Mallard Management Unit begins on November 1st. Hunting on public land or water is logistically more complicated than hunting on private property. So first, let’s talk about where to place your duck visor on a private pond or lake. If this describes your situation and you have already optimized your pond to attract waterfowl, you may want to consider blind placement from late mid to late October.

Evaluate your pond’s profile to identify blind placement options.

The first thing you should do is assess the profile of your pond. In particular, look for coves where wood ducks and mallards find food such as small aquatic plants that gather on the surface. An inlet like this might be the ideal place for your duck visor, but there are a few other factors to consider first.

The prevailing wind will affect where you place your duck visor.

Ducks prefer to land upwind, upwind. It makes it easier for them to get up and down on the water. So once you’ve figured out where the ducks are most likely to land, you need to find a way to position your shade so that the wind is at your back when they do so. Check the weather about a week to ten days before the season starts to see the prevailing wind pattern and adjust your shade accordingly. This way there will be a brief moment where your target will appear almost stationary, allowing you to take your shot.

Place your duck blinds where the sun is in your favor.

Another consideration when deciding where to place your duck blind is where the sun will be during the hunt. In a perfect world, I would position my duck visor so that the wind is at my back and the sun is rising somewhere behind me. I don’t have to face directly west, but if the sun can be in the ducks’ eyes and not in mine when they land, that’s an advantage I take.

Optimize your duck blind position.

Once you’ve decided where to place your duck blind, there are a few other things you can do to increase your chances of a successful season. First, there is the problem of camouflage. Cloaking your aperture may seem obvious, but I’ve seen too many hunters underestimate the importance of camouflage to ignore the discussion of it. If you’re using a product like Fast Grass, be sure to add local plants to help the blind blend into your environment. When you think you’re done adding camouflage, add more. If you think you’ve overdone it, a good test is to use a drone (if you or your buddy have one) to get a bird’s-eye view of your blind. You’ll be surprised how the blind looks from the sky and let’s face it, that’s the only view that matters.

Another way to tweak blind position is with your decoy pattern. There is a lot of information on this subject on the World Wide Web, so I will keep my comments very brief. Use your bait pattern to herd the ducks into your blind; Use movement to create lures wisely. Don’t use baits that don’t look like it. Good?

Don’t let bad decisions ruin your season.

If you’ve invested in forage plots and a duck hunting screen, this might go without saying. But it’s easy to get caught up in the moment when the sun is just rising, the mist is on the water and you can hear wings flapping overhead. So, before you and your friends take your places in the hideout, go over the basics of gun safety and establish your lines of fire. It only takes a minute or two and could prevent a life-changing accident.