thecontractor

i have the allegheny river right in front of my house........tons of different kinds of ducks and tons of canadian geese. i always wanted to start waterfowl hunting but never hung around anybody who had an interest in it. i don't really know the first thing about it. a couple of questions i have is:

do you need a boat??
a dog??
expensive blinds??

i'm sure there's a heck of a lot more that's needed too.
can some of you guys/gals fill me in??
thanks in advance!!

jlb66

You don't need a boat if you're hunting in wadable water but if it's any deeper that your waders yes you do. I have never but would like to get a hunting dog. But I've hunted my whole life without one. It's not a must but it's very very nice you don't have to account for field loses near as much with a dog and they are a great hnting companion and friend, I would love to get one but the wife had other plans. She's coming around though. No, you don't need expensive blinds and top of the line equipment to start out, bulrushes, treebranchs, and other grasses work just fine to concel yourself. Once you get the fever trust me you'll eventually have all the top of the line stuff you can afford.

To start out you need a pair of waders, waterproof decoy gloves, insulated gloves, hat/warm weather and cold weather, facemask, good reliable shotgun, steel, tungstun, or bismuth shot shells, 1-2 dozen decoys w/weights, decoy bag, gun case, snake light/headlight/hands free flashlight of some kind, a call you like, sounds good, is affordable and you will practice with everyday caue that's what it takes to get good at calling, weather proof jacket (4 season parka or wader jacket), wool socks, good durable coffee thermos, somthing to carry shells, ducks, thermos and other things in (a 5 gallon bucket painted camo is a sure bet) and if possible find a huntin buddy to share the fun with. OH!! Don't forget your licenses.

I think that's about it but I may have missed somthings that some of the others may think of. Anyway good luck on starting out and have a blast.

Gundigest

I like field hunting for geese the best, you dont need a boat, wader or a dog. Decoy setup and take down is easy, but occasonally you do loose a goose. wheat or oat stubble works very well and corn stubble. Scout before season and try to get the fields they want to be in.

Decoys
full body decoys are awsome but more expensive, when you decide to get some get the Big Foot Decoys, we like them better than the Flambeu Judges, and Green Head gear Full bodies that we have. If you get shells get the Flambeu, the convertable heads are nice, do not get carry lite. we have repainted the carry lites the most, the paint doesnt like to stay on them. Starting out I would buy the Flambeu Magnum shells ($75) and a dozen silloets ($100) this will give you 18.

If you need a shotgun I would recomend the Benelli Nova 3.5" 12 Ga. In Max 4 camo it is only about $360, if you want the recoil reducer it is about $60 more. For shells we use Federal Speed Shock and Kent Faststeel BB at 1550 fps. For the premium stuff we shoot Remington Hevi shot 1 3/4oz of # 2s, B, and BB at 1300 fps and Kent Impact Tungston Matrix 2oz of #1s

For calls i would start out with a Big River flute, they are easy to use and sound good or their short reed. i also like the H.S. Slammer short reed.

good luck

TheRick

How is the current on the river? If you can hunt back water (no current) that is fairly shallow then you can get started pretty cheap. If there is current then you will probably need a boat or dog.

Really all you would need is a pair of waders, shotgun, shells, license, camo clothes and a few decoys. Especially on small waters I have had better luck early in the year using 4 decoys instead of 2 dozen. Try it out this way at 1st and then when you have some luck it will become a full blown obsession. You dont "need" all of that expensive equipment to shoot a few ducks but when you get into it you won't be able to help yourself from buying all of the latest gizmos!!! Give it a try! Each time out you will learn a little more and start thinking, boy it would sure be nice if I had this or that.

Good Luck!!!