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One of the favorite pastimes of
many southern men and women is duck hunting. It provides an escape
from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It gives us a chance
for to get back to nature. Over the past twenty years duck hunting
has become more and more popular. The season here in Southwestern
Louisiana usually last from early November to late January. There
are two splits in the season. In between those splits is a week break
for the ducks to have a break from being hunted. I will just go into
a few details on what you need to get started duck hunting.
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LOCATION
For duck hunting one only needs to find a place with plenty of water and certain surroundings and ducks are sure to be there. In Southwestern Louisiana there are many different areas to hunt ducks. The three main areas I have hunted are rice fields, marshes, and wooded areas. Rice fields are excellent areas to harvest ducks. There are tons of rice fields in and around Southwest Louisiana. These provide food and a place to rest for ducks. The main specicies found in these areas are mallards, greyducks, pintail, teal, widgeon, spoonbill, and canvas back. Another great location for hunting duck in Southwestern Louisiana is marshes. Louisiana is filled with large marshes which are a duck haven. Marshes are probably the most popular place to hunt around here. The one marsh I have hunted the most is Sabine Wild Life Refuge. It is not the easiest hunting, but you are guaranteed to almost always kill ducks. The main specicies that are found here are the mallard, pintail, teal, greyduck, widgeon, spoonbill and gadwall. These are just a few of the many specicies found in marshes across Louisiana. |
In order to duck hunt one needs
some special equipment. The first and foremost item a hunter needs
is a shotgun. They range from 10 gauge to 20 gauge, there is also
a 4-10 which is the smallest gauge. I use a 12 gauge, it is the most
popular. There are different models, but the best are Browning,
Remington,
and Benelli. I have a Remington 11 87 special purpose which is shown
below.
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Shotgun shells are another important piece of equipment. The shotgun will not work unless you have them. They are made to fit the gun size, such as a 12 gauge shotgun. The shot inside them comes in different sizes as well depending on what type of hunting you are doing. Camouflage is something that is very important when duck hunting. You need to be hidden from the ducks sight so proper camouflage is important. You should make your choice depending upon the surrounding where you are hunting. You should try to match your surrounding as much as possible. A hunting dog is not necessary, but can be a big help in retrieving ducks. The most popular hunting dog is probably the Labrador retriever. And finally you need to have a proper duck blind. You need to use brush from your surroundings and make sure you are well covered. Ducks can see very well!
Well I hope I have given some a good idea of what duck hunting is like. REMEMBER duck hunting is not just a sport, but also teaches respect for nature.
Here are the types of ducks I talked
about ( some have pictures ):
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