Rookie Duck Hunting Question

[efnm]

Well no luck on drawing crane this year so I thought I would try to learn duck hunting with my kids but I am coming with no experience in it. I'll be hunting in Socorro or a bit up north, probably La Joya.


My plan is to wade hunt over some decoys so:

What species decoy should I get? I assume mallard?

Any favorite brands of decoys that have worked well?

Any favorite waders out there?

Thanks for helping in calling a last minute audible on waterfowl hunting.

 

[junior]

LAST EDITED ON Sep-04-18 AT 04:18PM (MST)[p]I have killed ducks over about every decoy brand out there. Scout, find ducks, and set up where you find them. Wader, read the reviews. They can get expensive so you may want to decide how much you will actually go. Either way even the good ones don't last forever...calling mallards where they were the day before, just stick with feeder calls...being camouflaged is important, nothing bright or shiny...good luck!
Edit to add, alot of different species of ducks will decoy to a mallard decoy and malard feeder call!

 

[joesikora]

Junior makes some great points.

Decoys? Mallards, if a duck is that close to tell the deference he's dead
If legal use a couple of Robo duk decoys they will greatly help if calling skills aren't as solid as you'd like. In small areas of water less is more

Waders, Hodgman or Lacrosse neoprene

Cover, stay hidden until your ready to shot. Cover your face with mesh mask ball caps or use camo makeup.

I only know about duck hunting in IL. We hunt Horseshoe Lake and Diamond Island on the IL River

What kind of duck call do you like to blow?

Joe

"Sometimes you do things wrong for so long you
think their right" - 2001
"I can't argue with honesty" - 2005
-Joe E Sikora

 

[efnm]

I totally spaced on the duck calls, I have no preferences but am going to try some that a friend has.

Thanks for the water suggestions, I was thinking that neoprene are not that necessary around here vs Illinois, until very late season.

Camo for sure, though. I learned that with cranes...

 

[Simo42]

If you are taking the kids and have the time, take them scouting with you as well. If you are on the X as it is called(the spot the ducks want to be) your odds go way up! Conceal faces and minimize any movement when the ducks are getting close. If you are where they want to be especially in the early season you will not need to call that much if at all.
Simo

 

[coryb]

Leave the calls at home or have the discipline to use them only as a last resort to turn ducks that already passed you by and are definitely leaving. 9 out of 10 duck hunters kill less ducks because of their calling, or the calling of other hunters near them. If you watch ducks in the wild they are never called down by other ducks. If you are in the right place (or a good enough place) and stay concealed you will have shots. Shoot a high end shot and only when the ducks are close. If you can't tell species and sex they are probably out of range. Good luck

Cory