Al Hansen
Well-known member
I have always loved jump shooting I guess because that is what I was taught to do when I first learned how to duck hunt. My next door neighbor was one of my three mentors and I considered him the best duck hunter in Big Stone County which is as far west as you can go in Minnesota.
From those first lessons I found out that I can still use what I learned now that I have retired in New Mexico. When the ducks aren't flying I have learned, through scouting, what ditches to hunt, when, and where. To most hunters maybe an irrigation ditch is just that----an irrigation ditch. Well, it isn't. The ducks that use it seem to know where they want to be for one particular reason or another and that is where the scouting comes in handy.
One of the reasons I enjoy jump shooting is that when stalking a small flock of ducks, let's say five, it is amazing how many times I have come up over the edge and watched at least another five or six jump up----some that I totally missed---maybe sitting on the shoreline.
Another enjoyable aspect of jump shooting is that I might end up taking three different species of ducks if I get lucky and shoot three for three. It is very common to see mallards/gadwalls/widgeons all in the same group.
The most important thing of all is my dog, Chili. Without her, I could not jump shoot because there is no way to go after the ducks. I would sink out of sight in the muck at the bottom of the irrigation ditch and with the action so fast and furious sometimes the birds are just winged. There is no way that I want to lose a duck so therefore a dog is of utmost importance. When times are slow and the birds aren't flying you'll find me glassing the ditches. Just another way to enjoy our sport. More times than not I found myself walking back to the truck empty handed but that is just part of hunting.
Al
I was lucky enough to locate a flock of at least twenty birds in this ditch. When the smoke cleared Chili retrieved a gadwall, mallard, and widgeon. I always carry my Olympus SP570UZ in the pocket of my Drake coat that I wear. It has the right sized pocket with a magnet for closing. As soon as Chili is dashing off to get a duck, I am trying to focus my camera. By the way, I have the camera strap already around my neck before I shoot at the ducks. This whole process only takes a matter of a few seconds to set up and be ready.
Those are tumbleweeds that are in the ditch. They make it interesting for jump shooting, also. Sometimes I have come up over the edge and seen nothing. I will turn to look the other direction and then have the ducks explode because they were behind some tumbleweeds and I just didn't see them. Oh well!
From those first lessons I found out that I can still use what I learned now that I have retired in New Mexico. When the ducks aren't flying I have learned, through scouting, what ditches to hunt, when, and where. To most hunters maybe an irrigation ditch is just that----an irrigation ditch. Well, it isn't. The ducks that use it seem to know where they want to be for one particular reason or another and that is where the scouting comes in handy.
One of the reasons I enjoy jump shooting is that when stalking a small flock of ducks, let's say five, it is amazing how many times I have come up over the edge and watched at least another five or six jump up----some that I totally missed---maybe sitting on the shoreline.
Another enjoyable aspect of jump shooting is that I might end up taking three different species of ducks if I get lucky and shoot three for three. It is very common to see mallards/gadwalls/widgeons all in the same group.
The most important thing of all is my dog, Chili. Without her, I could not jump shoot because there is no way to go after the ducks. I would sink out of sight in the muck at the bottom of the irrigation ditch and with the action so fast and furious sometimes the birds are just winged. There is no way that I want to lose a duck so therefore a dog is of utmost importance. When times are slow and the birds aren't flying you'll find me glassing the ditches. Just another way to enjoy our sport. More times than not I found myself walking back to the truck empty handed but that is just part of hunting.
Al
I was lucky enough to locate a flock of at least twenty birds in this ditch. When the smoke cleared Chili retrieved a gadwall, mallard, and widgeon. I always carry my Olympus SP570UZ in the pocket of my Drake coat that I wear. It has the right sized pocket with a magnet for closing. As soon as Chili is dashing off to get a duck, I am trying to focus my camera. By the way, I have the camera strap already around my neck before I shoot at the ducks. This whole process only takes a matter of a few seconds to set up and be ready.
Those are tumbleweeds that are in the ditch. They make it interesting for jump shooting, also. Sometimes I have come up over the edge and seen nothing. I will turn to look the other direction and then have the ducks explode because they were behind some tumbleweeds and I just didn't see them. Oh well!