Gearing up for Waterfowl
by: Garry Mason
Waterfowl season is just around the corner. There’s a lot of great gear that can help make that next hunt be a huge success.
All of the following products and gear have become a huge part of each and every trip that I take in my pursuit of Waterfowl hunting excluding the new gear which I am excited to have join the ranks this upcoming season.
Waterfowl calls: There are a ton of great Waterfowl calls out there today and great companies that manufacture these calls. My new calls are made by a company from Louisiana called Cedar Hill Game Call Company. I like their double reed Duck call with a wood barrel and plastic insert. This call has a great sound and will not break the bank when you purchase one. I always keep extra calls in my blind bag in case something happens to the one on my call lanyard.
Shotshells: Most of my hunting buddies will spend a ton of money on a new shotgun, then shoot the cheapest shotshells available all season. My experience has taught me that this can cost more money in the long run just because of the amount of extra shots that a hunter might have to take in finishing off the Duck or Goose that he just brought down. When I started shooting better shotshells, my amount of one-shot kills increased dramatically and therefore I started getting more doubles and an occasional triple once in a while. I use a shotshell that has been out for a couple of years from a company from the Clarksville TN area called Backridge. These shotshells are packed with a denser than lead pellet load which has a great pattern. Also, the recoil on this shotshell seems to be less than that of the cheaper loads. Impact on target is greater as well with these new Backridge loads. Although these new shotshells are not cheap, when you calculate shot amount per Duck, I think that you will agree that they are worth every cent of the price paid over the cheaper loads.
Sunglasses: Yes I said sunglasses. This is an item that I don’t leave home without. Most folks think that sunglasses are for summertime, however, I wear great eyewear year round and most importantly in the duck blind. My eyewear of choice is Costa Del Mar. The polarized lens in Costa’s glasses are some of the finest available today in the eyewear industry. My favorite lens from Costa for Waterfowl hunting is their Sunrise Lens in the 580 series. This lens is yellow in color with a mirror outer coating. This combination really makes low light colors pop plus gives the hunter a sharp image in all types of surroundings. I have the Camo frames in several pairs and I always keep a backup pair. Costa’s can be purchased at Haddad’s in Munford and in most Bass Pro Shops across the country.
Waders and hunting bags: My choice is Banded. I have been using Banded Waders and Blind Bags for the past two seasons and I spend around seventy days a year in a pair of waders. The waders that I wear have to be tough in all kinds of conditions. Banded Waders and gear are some of the toughest that I have ever used. The Banded waders are lighter than most neoprene waders yet very warm and comfortable to wear in even the coldest and wettest conditions. My choice pair of Banded waders are the Black Labels. Warm and dry in Banded Waders. That’s my idea of a great Duck hunt.
Motion Decoys: The Mojo company wrote the book on spinning wing decoys and now they are rewriting it with their new products. Last season Mojo came out with their all-new design in the spinning wing motion decoy with the new King Mallard. The King, as we call it for short, has remote control options that allow you to turn on and off up to four decoys at one time with one remote. This feature helps to save money and time. Before this, a Waterfowl hunter would have to hard wire decoys to a battery back in the blind or pit with a main switch going out to the decoys. The new design of the King Mallard made the decoy more realistic and the new painted wings are made of durable hard plastic with magnetic inserts.
Added to the new line up for Mojo for 2018 is the smaller version of the King Mallard called the Elite series. The new Elite series comes in species such as Wood Duck, Mallard, Pintail, Gadwall, and both the Bluewing and Greenwing Teal.
Another redesigned product out this year is the Flock of Flickers that can be used on land or water.
Decoys: there are a lot to chose from when it comes to decoys. I choose to use Avery and Green Head Gear decoys. These decoys are not only great looking and realistic in design, they are also rugged. These great decoys come in three different designs, Pro Grade, Hunter Series, and Essential series and the hunter can pick and chose the decoys that he needs in the price range that he can afford. Avery offers just about everything that Waterfowl hunters need when it comes to decoys and accessories.
Shotguns: Last Waterfowl season I had the opportunity to use the new Mossberg 935 and the 930 models. The 935 is a 3.5 inch shotshell model and the 930 is a 3 inch. These Waterfowl guns performed flawlessly in all types of weather. Snow and ice, freezing rain, hot and muggy, none of which bothered or altered the performance of these great Waterfowl guns. I used the camo variety of both guns and I have to admit that I was very pleasantly surprised at every aspect of both guns. So much so that I am buying another 935 Mossberg this season to have on hand just in case someone needs to borrow a great shotgun.
Other great gear that I use includes Carlisle tires for my ATV - the Black Rock series which gets me through mud and snow with equal enthusiasm. This tire is tough yet forgiving and for an aggressive tread design offers a comfortable ride even in hard terrain.
WarEagle Boats. This great company has been around for many years and offers a long list of great Waterfowl boats in different sizes and lengths to meet the needs of just about any and all Waterfowl hunters. Wareagle Boats have become the standard, in my opinion, in which all other Duck boats are judged. Wouldn’t you rather be in a Wareagle Boat?
Avery Pop up Blind. The Avery company developed their pop up blind for the hunter that wanted the flexibility to be mobile and have a duck blind on his boat in which he could hunt in almost any on the water condition. From hunting timber to open water, the Avery pop-up blind has given many Waterfowl hunters extra opportunities by being able to hunt places where the Ducks and Geese were using. The Avery blind turns almost any duck hunting boat into a duck blind, therefore, making areas accessible that otherwise would not be available to the hunter.
I hope that you have a chance to spend many days this year in a blind or boat while chasing Waterfowl. If by chance you find yourself in need of products like the ones mentioned above, then maybe I have helped you to make the decision on what gear to purchase. The choice is yours. Great Hunting!
Garry Mason
Outdoor Guide
Cedar Hill Game Calls
(318) 982-2003
Backridge Shotshell Company
Costa Del Mar
Banded
Avery, GreenHead Gear
Mojo Outdoors
Mossberg
Carlisle
Wareagle
HDS Outdoors/Haddad’s Department Store
69 Crigger St, Munford, TN 38058 1-877-237-3006
Bass Pro Shops