blah i dont care any more ive decided to skip it and just keep hunting small ponds and jump shooting so i dont have to hunt with some of the guys that have responded here.
duck
- Thread starter Gspman
- Start date
Re: very first refuge duck hunt at san J
This late in the season less is more. That goes for calling and decoys. You can start with your 3 doz, but you will probably end up pulling them if the birds aren't responding well. I would build a jerk cord. Don't pull when they are coming in, but when they are on the swing and minimize your movement in the blind.
Don't take the blind as brushed up enough. I always added more cover to every blind I hunted there.
If you have the time, drive the refuge and scout. With a #7 you will have a good choice of spots. Take a map and make notes.
Good luck.
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I would say let the birds work, but no one does that there so you are competing with a bunch of tards.GSPman said:
This late in the season less is more. That goes for calling and decoys. You can start with your 3 doz, but you will probably end up pulling them if the birds aren't responding well. I would build a jerk cord. Don't pull when they are coming in, but when they are on the swing and minimize your movement in the blind.
Don't take the blind as brushed up enough. I always added more cover to every blind I hunted there.
If you have the time, drive the refuge and scout. With a #7 you will have a good choice of spots. Take a map and make notes.
Good luck.
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Re: very first refuge duck hunt at san J
blah after reding some of the posts ill NEVER hunt a refuge or put in for reservations again. i wouldnt want to run into some of the guys that have responded here.
blah after reding some of the posts ill NEVER hunt a refuge or put in for reservations again. i wouldnt want to run into some of the guys that have responded here.
Re: very first refuge duck hunt at san J
I also applied for almost every day and just got drawn for this weekend for the first time this year, so this also interests me. From my previous experiences all the crazies in so cal hunt there with bad calls, lots of decoys and sky busting. Ducks will actually move away from calls and shy from some decoys. I am gonna stick to small spreads and hope I get lucky. Does anyone know if there have been lots of wigeon lately?GSPman said:
Re: very first refuge duck hunt at san J
I'll be out there on Wednesday (#5)......Spoonies & teal are the most prevalent duck species......This time of year it's normally less decoys and more movement. But it really depends on the blind site, weather, and the size of the water you're hunting.....Big water, big spread.....Since San J really doesn't have big water (think Henshaw), I will probably go fairly small with a ton of shakers.....Spinners are necessary at places like Henshaw, but a place like San J where blinds are close together and every blind has a spinner. Then I think there effectiveness diminishes to a point that they actually scare birds......2 cents
ps.....This time of year the drakes are starting to look for mates.....I separate by species and birds will almost always go to their own kind.....I also have odd numbers with at least 3 drakes to 1 hen.
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I'll be out there on Wednesday (#5)......Spoonies & teal are the most prevalent duck species......This time of year it's normally less decoys and more movement. But it really depends on the blind site, weather, and the size of the water you're hunting.....Big water, big spread.....Since San J really doesn't have big water (think Henshaw), I will probably go fairly small with a ton of shakers.....Spinners are necessary at places like Henshaw, but a place like San J where blinds are close together and every blind has a spinner. Then I think there effectiveness diminishes to a point that they actually scare birds......2 cents
ps.....This time of year the drakes are starting to look for mates.....I separate by species and birds will almost always go to their own kind.....I also have odd numbers with at least 3 drakes to 1 hen.
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stikbrandon
Guest
Re: very first refuge duck hunt at san J
No decoy's needed,stay still don't move don't call unless your an exsperienced caller.
Shoot at every bird in your range.
No decoy's needed,stay still don't move don't call unless your an exsperienced caller.
Shoot at every bird in your range.
Re: very first refuge duck hunt at san J
I haven't been out this year but I went out several times last year. PM me and I'll give you a few good blinds.
Don't bring 3 doz. it's not needed. Listen to what Steve said. San J is very beginner friendly. The morning will start with all the hunters at the check station and Tom will give a rule/safety briefing. Then the rezzy line wil start. Ask Tom what is good. He won't steer you wrong. He is very friendly.
As far as deeks, I'd leave the mallards at home. 1 doz is just fine.
I haven't been out this year but I went out several times last year. PM me and I'll give you a few good blinds.
Don't bring 3 doz. it's not needed. Listen to what Steve said. San J is very beginner friendly. The morning will start with all the hunters at the check station and Tom will give a rule/safety briefing. Then the rezzy line wil start. Ask Tom what is good. He won't steer you wrong. He is very friendly.
As far as deeks, I'd leave the mallards at home. 1 doz is just fine.
Re: very first refuge duck hunt at san J
I met tom and he was awsome at the clean up day. he filled out volunteer papers for my 16yr old son and just seamed like an all around great guy. i figured a doz decs with a jerk line or 2 with minimal movement. seam like just try to make a nice relaxing place for the birds to want to hang out in.
thanks all
I met tom and he was awsome at the clean up day. he filled out volunteer papers for my 16yr old son and just seamed like an all around great guy. i figured a doz decs with a jerk line or 2 with minimal movement. seam like just try to make a nice relaxing place for the birds to want to hang out in.
thanks all
Re: very first refuge duck hunt at san J
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I hope this was a joke...stikbrandon said:
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Re: very first refuge duck hunt at san J
Making a suggestion to pass shoot anything in range is ridiculous. He is just learning effective range most likely. Setting your furthest decoy out at 30 yards is a great way to do this.
If he is still working on bird ID than getting them in really close or even getting them to land is a great way to confirm what you are shooting before you pull the trigger.
Telling someone new to shoot at everything in range is asking for trouble.
Early in the season when scaup are not legal pass shooting and mistaking a hen ringer for scaup is damn easy, even by the most seasoned waterfowler.
On a #7 you can have good decoying opportunities at SJ.
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Come on guys. The guy obviously is looking to get into decoying birds and learning how to waterfowl in a correct manner using decoys.8SteelTown said:
Making a suggestion to pass shoot anything in range is ridiculous. He is just learning effective range most likely. Setting your furthest decoy out at 30 yards is a great way to do this.
If he is still working on bird ID than getting them in really close or even getting them to land is a great way to confirm what you are shooting before you pull the trigger.
Telling someone new to shoot at everything in range is asking for trouble.
Early in the season when scaup are not legal pass shooting and mistaking a hen ringer for scaup is damn easy, even by the most seasoned waterfowler.
On a #7 you can have good decoying opportunities at SJ.
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Re: very first refuge duck hunt at san J
WOW, give good advice so they can enjoy the sport....period.Allow people to learn how to do it right after advise is given, be a good examples of ethical hunter in and off the fields we can keep this sport alive for our kids.... Post pics of experiences with honey holes and locations removed to respect the spots people work hard to find. That's the site It's simple people. We all are after the same stuff.
WOW, give good advice so they can enjoy the sport....period.Allow people to learn how to do it right after advise is given, be a good examples of ethical hunter in and off the fields we can keep this sport alive for our kids.... Post pics of experiences with honey holes and locations removed to respect the spots people work hard to find. That's the site It's simple people. We all are after the same stuff.
Re: very first refuge duck hunt at san J
Come on guys it's still duck season, let's not give hatchet a reason to login and make fun of us.
Lame posts deleted,
A lot of us know each other in real life so our jokes end up in here and often come off wrong. Some of you guys have a lot to learn about duck hunting. Both of you know who I'm talking about. nicapopolis could teach you both a few things
OK..... Thread clean up over
Come on guys it's still duck season, let's not give hatchet a reason to login and make fun of us.
Lame posts deleted,
A lot of us know each other in real life so our jokes end up in here and often come off wrong. Some of you guys have a lot to learn about duck hunting. Both of you know who I'm talking about. nicapopolis could teach you both a few things
OK..... Thread clean up over
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stikbrandon
Guest
Re: very first refuge duck hunt at san J
This noob has a question..... What is effective range ???
This noob has a question..... What is effective range ???
Snake Charmer
Happiness is a warm gut pile
Re: very first refuge duck hunt at san J
Thanks forum janitor for cleaning that up, it was getting ugly. Too all of you new to water fowling I cant urge you strongly enough to find an experienced mentor to help you through the first few years. Refuge hunting requires cooperation between all involved. Sky busters are no fun to hunt around.
Thanks forum janitor for cleaning that up, it was getting ugly. Too all of you new to water fowling I cant urge you strongly enough to find an experienced mentor to help you through the first few years. Refuge hunting requires cooperation between all involved. Sky busters are no fun to hunt around.
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stikbrandon
Guest
Re: very first refuge duck hunt at san J
Is downing birds at 50 yards a bad thing I'f you can kill them effectively ?
Is 50 yards considered sky busting if the birds that are WORKING your decoys aren't committing to dropping in?
We all know spoonies loved to do the half a mile circle, they come in check your spread and bank... you rip your call they turn around heading your way only to flair, cause the guys in the blind next to yours has a dog that's out of control.
In situations like that are you guys telling me that shooting ducks at my comfortable range (40-50yards) is a bad thing?
I'm not saying you cant get birds to drop in because that would be Naive of me to say something like that, but to say you should let the birds work because They WILL drop in on your spread, now thats a naive statement.
I love watching birds commit drop the gear and Bam Bam Bam, And when the conditions and hunters in the blinds around you are right and on the same page its awesome, let the birds work. But to say don't shoot at birds that are in your range at a refuge ... That's rediculious.
Honestly my dog is a wired mut, for her to burn her self out on long retrieves and cripples so be it, long shots sharpens my dog.
Everyone hunts differently, there's no right or wrong way to hunt a refuge, some people sky bust (it is what it is) some shoot what is in range and some wait for the birds to drop in.
At the end of the day if you don't pull the trigger, you go home empty handed. I personally bring my improved mod choke and a extreme range choke with me and I see how the day plays out with my imp-mod choke in my gun at first light.
I'm no pro fowler but iv smoked a few limits on locked up birds. I hunt the W and SJ quite a bit whether that's on a draw or swet line.if not on a refuge I'm at new river taking limits. There's tons of guys on this forum that could show me a thing or two but I'm self taught.
I can run a double reed, trained my dog my self and i kill ducks ! Bottom line we are all hunters and need to support each other. Who cares, as long as we are safe out there, trial and error will tune ones skills.
No need for crazy insults These are my opinions and only mine, Im a fowler and hunt quite a bit, that being said, to me if your next to some guys that are sky scrapping from the blind over, it suck but it is what it is....
Is downing birds at 50 yards a bad thing I'f you can kill them effectively ?
Is 50 yards considered sky busting if the birds that are WORKING your decoys aren't committing to dropping in?
We all know spoonies loved to do the half a mile circle, they come in check your spread and bank... you rip your call they turn around heading your way only to flair, cause the guys in the blind next to yours has a dog that's out of control.
In situations like that are you guys telling me that shooting ducks at my comfortable range (40-50yards) is a bad thing?
I'm not saying you cant get birds to drop in because that would be Naive of me to say something like that, but to say you should let the birds work because They WILL drop in on your spread, now thats a naive statement.
I love watching birds commit drop the gear and Bam Bam Bam, And when the conditions and hunters in the blinds around you are right and on the same page its awesome, let the birds work. But to say don't shoot at birds that are in your range at a refuge ... That's rediculious.
Honestly my dog is a wired mut, for her to burn her self out on long retrieves and cripples so be it, long shots sharpens my dog.
Everyone hunts differently, there's no right or wrong way to hunt a refuge, some people sky bust (it is what it is) some shoot what is in range and some wait for the birds to drop in.
At the end of the day if you don't pull the trigger, you go home empty handed. I personally bring my improved mod choke and a extreme range choke with me and I see how the day plays out with my imp-mod choke in my gun at first light.
I'm no pro fowler but iv smoked a few limits on locked up birds. I hunt the W and SJ quite a bit whether that's on a draw or swet line.if not on a refuge I'm at new river taking limits. There's tons of guys on this forum that could show me a thing or two but I'm self taught.
I can run a double reed, trained my dog my self and i kill ducks ! Bottom line we are all hunters and need to support each other. Who cares, as long as we are safe out there, trial and error will tune ones skills.
No need for crazy insults These are my opinions and only mine, Im a fowler and hunt quite a bit, that being said, to me if your next to some guys that are sky scrapping from the blind over, it suck but it is what it is....
Re: very first refuge duck hunt at san J
This conversation plays out over and over again. Every year on every duck forum out there. The same opinions form. You are right, there is no right answer, just opinions.
My thoughts. I do not hunt for sustenance. So ducks are just icing on the cake. Of course they are the goal, but the whole hunt leading up to it means a lot to me.
The scouting, targeting specific species of birds, decoy strategies, the hide, etc. Are all part of the game.
Taking 50 yard shots would totally defeat the purpose of the above things I consider fun. 10 to 15 yard shots in the hole, now that is fun. In essence I was able to execute my plan.
I hunt with a mod choke. I have been thinking about going to improved cylinder for closer ranges.
You are hunting buddy and I agree as a whole we should stick together. That doesn't mean we can't disagree on things. Some guys are going to like hunting different ways.
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
This conversation plays out over and over again. Every year on every duck forum out there. The same opinions form. You are right, there is no right answer, just opinions.
My thoughts. I do not hunt for sustenance. So ducks are just icing on the cake. Of course they are the goal, but the whole hunt leading up to it means a lot to me.
The scouting, targeting specific species of birds, decoy strategies, the hide, etc. Are all part of the game.
Taking 50 yard shots would totally defeat the purpose of the above things I consider fun. 10 to 15 yard shots in the hole, now that is fun. In essence I was able to execute my plan.
I hunt with a mod choke. I have been thinking about going to improved cylinder for closer ranges.
You are hunting buddy and I agree as a whole we should stick together. That doesn't mean we can't disagree on things. Some guys are going to like hunting different ways.
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Re: very first refuge duck hunt at san J
I don't know Nic.......I find some of these posts ridiculous. But I guess if your effective range IS 50 yards then why the hell would you bring decoys. I don't hunt SJ often but when I do I always shake my head and say to myself, "Why the hell do these guys bring decoys if they're not going to let the birds work?" I mean what are decoys for? Not for 50 yard shots. Who cares how many birds you miss, sail or wing. Who cares if you and your dog are all over the refuge trying to find these crips. Who cares if you shoot at birds working my decoys on the swing, they were at 50ish and it's all about me. It seems SJ is full of "Hunters" like this. The blinds being so close at SJ just exaggerate these issues. There are people with this mentality at all the refuges but with blinds being so close at SJ it makes it seem worse there.
I don't hunt with the, it's all about me attitude. The way I was brought up that attitude is wrong. But hey, these too are just my opinions.
I don't know Nic.......I find some of these posts ridiculous. But I guess if your effective range IS 50 yards then why the hell would you bring decoys. I don't hunt SJ often but when I do I always shake my head and say to myself, "Why the hell do these guys bring decoys if they're not going to let the birds work?" I mean what are decoys for? Not for 50 yard shots. Who cares how many birds you miss, sail or wing. Who cares if you and your dog are all over the refuge trying to find these crips. Who cares if you shoot at birds working my decoys on the swing, they were at 50ish and it's all about me. It seems SJ is full of "Hunters" like this. The blinds being so close at SJ just exaggerate these issues. There are people with this mentality at all the refuges but with blinds being so close at SJ it makes it seem worse there.
I don't hunt with the, it's all about me attitude. The way I was brought up that attitude is wrong. But hey, these too are just my opinions.
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stikbrandon
Guest
Re: very first refuge duck hunt at san J
You hit it right on the head. " who cares" . The way I see it if You don't want to hunt a refuge because or people's styles of hunting then go fork out the cash and buy some property with a pond or beat brush in the valley till u find a pond with nobody on it an let the birds work.
If half the people that are concerned with the way people duck hunt worried about more important things like the black lives matter movement and crazy ass Jessie Jackson and al sharpten we would live in a better place
duck-boy said:
You hit it right on the head. " who cares" . The way I see it if You don't want to hunt a refuge because or people's styles of hunting then go fork out the cash and buy some property with a pond or beat brush in the valley till u find a pond with nobody on it an let the birds work.
If half the people that are concerned with the way people duck hunt worried about more important things like the black lives matter movement and crazy ass Jessie Jackson and al sharpten we would live in a better place
Re: very first refuge duck hunt at san J
I missed the thread before it was cleaned up, but Nic, you are right on target. Consistently shooting at birds 50 yards away is bad practice. I don't care who you are or how well you shoot. If you consistently shoot at 50 yards you will absolutely cripple more birds and miss more as well, ultimately ruining hunting for those around you. I would pose this statement, "If you want to shoot at the very maximum effective range of your shotgun, knowing it will ruin hunting for those around you and you will cripple/miss more birds than if you were more patient, go shell out the money to buy some land or beat the bush in the valley to find a honey hole."
A few weeks ago I was out at Mendota and I had a single bird working my deeks. There was another hunter close by and the bird was checking out his deeks as well. The bird made a wide circle and few over my blind at about 50 yards. I could have tried the shot, but the bird was headed towards the other hunter's blind. I passed on the shot and let the bird work. That's what hunters do.
I just hunted geese with a legendary hunter this week. He spoke about this very issue and talked about how other guides will take those long passing shots. He said this, "Be patient. Trust your calling. You will lose some, but in the long run, you will become a more effective hunter and it will pay off."
Maybe I'm getting way off topic but it seems that hunters now days have the wrong attitude. It's about me, getting limits, bragging about how fast you can get a limit, trophies, take as much as I can, etc. I've even seen it in my circle of friends. I have one friend who doesn't want to share the take. "That's MY bird, I remember shooting that one." When I pose the question, "Maybe so, but we all lugged decoys, we all set up decoys, I did the calling, we all played a part" he doesn't care. What the hell happened?
I missed the thread before it was cleaned up, but Nic, you are right on target. Consistently shooting at birds 50 yards away is bad practice. I don't care who you are or how well you shoot. If you consistently shoot at 50 yards you will absolutely cripple more birds and miss more as well, ultimately ruining hunting for those around you. I would pose this statement, "If you want to shoot at the very maximum effective range of your shotgun, knowing it will ruin hunting for those around you and you will cripple/miss more birds than if you were more patient, go shell out the money to buy some land or beat the bush in the valley to find a honey hole."
A few weeks ago I was out at Mendota and I had a single bird working my deeks. There was another hunter close by and the bird was checking out his deeks as well. The bird made a wide circle and few over my blind at about 50 yards. I could have tried the shot, but the bird was headed towards the other hunter's blind. I passed on the shot and let the bird work. That's what hunters do.
I just hunted geese with a legendary hunter this week. He spoke about this very issue and talked about how other guides will take those long passing shots. He said this, "Be patient. Trust your calling. You will lose some, but in the long run, you will become a more effective hunter and it will pay off."
Maybe I'm getting way off topic but it seems that hunters now days have the wrong attitude. It's about me, getting limits, bragging about how fast you can get a limit, trophies, take as much as I can, etc. I've even seen it in my circle of friends. I have one friend who doesn't want to share the take. "That's MY bird, I remember shooting that one." When I pose the question, "Maybe so, but we all lugged decoys, we all set up decoys, I did the calling, we all played a part" he doesn't care. What the hell happened?