With a cold southerly wind that had been blowing for a few days, these were near-perfect duck-hunting conditions and what I dream of as a duck hunter.
I had worked on getting out on a Sunday evening for a duck hunt. I decided on visiting my sister’s father-in-law’s place I last hunted 15 years ago, where I had one of my best solo duck hunts ever. The weather conditions were almost identical too. I was brimming with excitement about another successful hunt there.
Just behind their house is a drain that can hold a few ducks and a lot of pukekos, which cause havoc with their chickens. The hunt started by trying to jump shoot this drain. I poked my head around the shelter belt. There were about 30 mallards and a few dozen pukekos on the water and the bank.
There are a few houses reasonably close to this creek, and the available shooting lanes are limited. I tried to sneak in against the shelter belt, but they were cagey and knew I was up to something. Most of the ducks got up just out of range and in line with the houses, but I was able to get one duck on the bank under the trees.
Walking my way back, a pukeko flushed out of the trees behind me and I was able to spin around and get that bird quickly.
With all those ducks sitting on the drain, what should I do? The ducks had spread out around the area. The last time I set up with the Mojo in the middle of the paddocks, it was at least a few 100 metres from the drain and any other houses. This makes for easier and stress-free shooting, without worrying where I can shoot.
In the neighbour’s paddocks beside where I can hunt, there is a creek that runs through them and can have ducks around them. Where the drain is located, there is a shelter belt that runs on the northern side. As a result, shooting opportunities are limited due to the position of this shelter belt and the houses. But would all those ducks want to head back to the drain? I decided to lug my gear out into the paddock. I sat in front of the burn pile that was set up about 20 metres from the boundary with the decoys and Mojo about 15 metres across and out into the middle of the paddock.
It wasn’t long until a few ducks started to move around the area, with a few looking back at the drain and at the neighbours.
I debated whether to move quickly or stay put. I stayed since I had some good cover and/ the wind to my back.
Being aggressive on the caller and with the intermittent movement of the Mojo, I was able to bring the ducks over for a look from the creek. The first pair came through, and I winged the drake. Ace was quickly onto where it fell and chased it down in the long grass without issue.
I couldn’t quite get one of the wings of the Mojo on right, and that quickly worked itself loose. Due to the cold conditions, the Mojo remote battery was not working reliably. I didn’t want to risk not being able to get it working again, so it ran with only one wing. It didn’t seem to worry the ducks.
These conditions, with the fact the ducks didn’t appear to have had much hunting pressure in the paddocks, allowed the ducks to work well to the calling and the flashes of the Mojo in the low light. There were plenty of ducks flying around the area, and they were mostly interested in the drain and the paddock. But I was able to use my calling to bring them over for a look at the decoys. I started to focus on the drakes, and they could not resist the duck call. This was not my most impressive shooting as most of the ducks were within 20 metres. I am over-choked for this distance of shooting with a tight pattern. Downsizing the pellets can help spread the pattern, and I just picked up a slab of 4’s down from 3’s to test. Once I started missing, I was focused on making the shot rather than just shooting the duck. Ace was kept busy with the wingers, the longest being about 200 metres away by the time he caught up with it.
A passing duck at 40 metres flew across, looking to go to the neighbours. I just stood up and swung through with a beautiful kill, and that thud that comes with a stone-dead bird hitting the ground.
To finish the evening, a snapshot was taken right at dark as a pair looked to come into the Mojo. Once Ace found this duck in the dark, it was the only hen shot for the night and the last as it got too dark to see.
What a great hunt, even though I was not quite on spot ‘X’ where the ducks wanted to be. That didn’t stop me from being able to pick up some ducks.
