I’m often asked about goose hunting, and I believe that goose hunting is more weather-dependent than duck hunting. Sometimes our geese will show up right after Thanksgiving or possibly after Christmas. We do get a few snow geese that come through north Texas. However, generally, they usually come down the flyway further west or further east of us.
I’m often asked what kinds of blinds we use. The blinds depend on where the ducks are coming in, and what type blind is the most appropriate. We do have some metal-frame plywood blinds with cushioned seats that we can move to different areas. During the late season, the ducks are on the move so much that we use the Avian-X A-Frame Blinds that come in Mossy Oak Shadow Grass Blades. We brush them up with native grasses and put those blinds right on the edges of ponds. We have portable dove stools with backs on them that hunters can sit on while they’re in the blinds.
On cold days, we have Mister Heater Portable Buddy heaters that we can put in the blinds to help our hunters stay warm. When the ducks come in, everyone stands-up and shoots. Once the shooting’s over, we sit back down. If the ducks aren’t flying, we’ll have some coffee and snacks. We use the Avian-X decoys to put out in front of our blinds. We’ve got decoys that are mallards, pintails, wigeons, teal, gadwalls, bluebills, redheads and canvasbacks and a few wood duck decoys. On a typical morning, I’ll usually put out about 8 dozen decoys - mallard, wigeon, pintail and gadwalls - depending on the lake, where we’re hunting, and what type of ducks I’ve seen on the water the day before the hunt.
I’m often asked, “What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever had happen in a duck blind,” and that’s hard to say. Duck hunting is a very social sport and having a good time and being with your friend is as much a part of the hunt as taking ducks. On one particular hunt, we had a TV crew hunting in one of our timber ponds. The host of the show decided he hadn’t had enough of his cappuccino, so he was returning back to his truck to get another cup. We‘d had a great shoot that morning and had just about limited out on ducks. While the TV host got out of the blind and walked back to the truck to get another cup of that high dollar coffee, I unloaded his shotgun and closed the bolt. The host started walking back towards the timber hole where we were hunting, got in the blind and was smiling and happy.
After he had halfway gotten squared away, I looked up and spotted four giant Canada geese coming straight for us. We called to them, and the geese set their wings, coming into our decoys to try and land just as I called the shot. Everyone in the blind got shots off, except the TV host. He pulled the trigger, and his gun went, “Snap,” and failed to fire. He pulled the receiver back and tried to load shells into the chamber two more times, but each time when he squeezed the trigger, all he heard was, “Snap.” Once the smoke cleared, all we heard was, “Who unloaded my gun!” When he realized he was on camera, he turned to face the camera and said, “Somebody thought that unloading my gun was funny!” and then he had to laugh, too. Everybody in the blind and behind the camera was laughing. Duck hunting is more than shooting ducks. Duck hunting is about friends, fellowship and fun. On that day, all but one in our party had a good time.
Day 2: J. J. Kent Tires of Deer Hunting and Learns to Hunt Texas Ducks
Tomorrow: Kent Outdoors Homes Plenty of Deer and Turkey on Their Properties
