This past Saturday, February 5, I took my 14-year-old nephew Bobby out for his first Duck Hunt. I know hes wanted to do this for a while as I had taken out his older brothers duck hunting (twins-on their first hunts too) but at the time my small boat was at capacity. Bobby recently passed his Hunting Safety Course and he was looking forward to this hunt. Im happy to see this as his parents dont hunt or own guns.
Having hunted an area at least once a week during the regular duck season I knew exactly where I wanted to setup. At the ramp however, the water had dropped considerably since last week and it was already a tough paddle in shallow water. So we turned around and hit another nearby pond that I had not hunted in years. At this pond, we dragged the Gheenoe down the steep bank and we headed off in the darkness. We hit some cattails and found a channel bordered by willows and cattails running perpendicular to the wind. We threw out 2/3s of our dekes and set up with the sun and wind to our back.
Our Area
Not many ducks were flying and it took a bit for the first ducks to come in but finally a pair of shovelers began dropping in on the dekes. Bobbys first shot was a very nice crossing shot as he crumpled the drake at 25 yards out. The second shoveler presented itself as an easy shot as it tried to climb 15 yards from us but he didnt fire as he was struggling with the pump mechanism on the Browning shotgun (12 gauge BPS). A number of ducks were flying close by so I couldnt high five him just yet but I verbally praised him for making an excellent shot. He was pretty excited. First duck hunt, first shot, and first duck! Im not sure who was the most ecstatic, Bobby or me. I know I was stoked!
The next few opportunities didnt quite work out as he missed a few ducks and we got busted by strafers coming out of nowhere. At 9 a.m. the only teal we saw, a pair of BWT, made a direct line for the dekes and Bobby took a nice drake just above the water. The shot was centered as pellets danced around the drake as it was hit. The second teal started climbing practically in our faces but this duck left unscathed with the exception of being motivated by two additional shots. In between ducks we talked about the strategy of our setup and we just enjoyed our time together on the water. Bobby had a couple more opportunities but things didnt come quite together.
We packed up at 10:45 with the intention of hitting the shooting range in the afternoon to work on his shooting my deer rifle and then possibly hit a favorite hog stand but that didnt quite work out as my younger kids wanted some Bobby Time when we came home.
Although there were not a lot of ducks flying our hunt together was a lot of fun and a good confidence builder. Its very satisfying to see his interest in hunting grow. I know I fondly look back on my hunting days together with my father and Im hoping Bobby will feel the same about our hunts together.
Bobby
Bobby & his first ducks
HooYah!!
Brian
