Sharing Ducks?

By Sacha Szymczak - Aug 11, 2003

The silence and darkness was suddenly interrupted by the sounds and headlights of a truck making its way on the old gravel road adjacent to the flooded corn field. The time was o'dark thirty and I had already situated myself, and my decoys in what a few days of scouting had told me was the best hole on the field.

It was not long before I realised that the occupants of the truck had the same spot in mind, or at least to close for comfort. I decided the best way to handle this situation was to go on over and have a talk with the guys to see if they had permission to hunt the field or not, and to offer a shared hunt in the field.

After a quick slog through the murky water that now had the field completely covered with the exception of a few corn stalks, I was at the truck talking to the two other hunters. They too had received permission to hunt this field, and like me chose a midweek day to improve their chances of a limit of greenheads.

It was still an hour before legal shooting light and I didn’t mind chatting with the two older gentlemen to see if they would be interested in hunting over my spread. A thermos of hot coffee was shared as we told a few hunting stories of days gone by. After a few minutes of  "feeling them out" I asked if they wanted to hunt with me so we would not compete for birds, they graciously accepted my offer, and were more than happy to just leave their decoys in the truck to save on work.

The three of us settled into the temporary blind I had constructed a few days earlier and our talking slowly faded away as shooting time drew nearer.

I could tell these two fellas enjoyed the very same things that draw so many a waterfowler to the field, the smell of the land, the still morning air, the rush of excitement when you hear the whistling wings of mallards circling your decoys. No words were spoken between us for the ten minutes prior to legal shooting time, we didn’t need to speak, the upwards gaze spoke volumes as we watched the flights of mallards circle us.

I looked at my watch, only a few minutes to go! I gently called to the ducks that pondered over the decoys, it wasn’t long before a dozen mallards had settled in among the blocks then, another dozen, and another, the ducks continued to pour into the murky water of that flooded corn field in what seemed to be an endless stream of feathers while hens on the water chuckled and quaked in a frenzy of excitement.

Still no words were said between the two older gentlemen and myself, even long after we realised that shooting time was long past. The sight was amazing, hundreds and hundreds of mallards had set into the field this particular morning, as well as some widgeon that were whistling in the far corner of the field. The three of us watched in awe for a half an hour longer without a word, but we came here to hunt so I broke the silence "shall we?" I asked, and a resounding "yes" was my answer. I suggested we take the next group of birds that "cup up" for a landing, no sooner had I finished explaining the plan when the next flight was locked up and committed to landing in the mass of ducks just in front of us.

The shots broke through the noise of the feeding ducks like a knife cutting through butter! We had dropped 5 greenheads in the volley of shots but the "hurricane" of birds that jumped off the field completely awed us! The sound of all the ducks lifting off at one time was amazingly loud. The shear numbers almost blacked out the skies in front of us. After retrieving the fallen birds we laughed and talked about what a great morning it was to see that many ducks mere feet from us! Our laughing, storytelling, and talking was always interrupted with the works "hunker down, here comes some more"often followed by a few shots and splashes as the ducks came crashing into the water. The day had given us three limits in short order, but more importantly it gave three hunters a day to remember and a friendship that only a hunter knows. I have been hunting on many fields that I would have never had the chance to hunt had I not simply talked to the gentlemen in the truck that fall morning.  They too have had hunts on many of my fields because of the friendship we now share.

As times change in today's fast moving world, people are often drawn in to a mentality that "this is my spot" or "who are you" even "your ruining my hunt"! I cant blame a lot of people for feeling this way, after all, we have to work hard for our days off, the gear we use, the licences we buy and everything we take into the field with us, so many become protective of our hunts. Sometimes, with an open mind, and a friendly "hello" it's not so much what mind frame we take to the field but the way we feel when we get home!

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