whos going after ducks this season

[basics]

this will be my 1st attempt at ducks, just gota sort out a suitible place.

any one else having a go?
(any pointers,wink wink)

[swampa]

its a statuatory holiday down here the first day of the season

[rangimotors]

shit yea i will be ill be down in southland like everyone else, will be on a pond in the mimi for opening day and on the grass/stubble in a hay bail mimi the day after, we use everything we can, feed out for a few weeks prep the area and put the shelters up long before the season so they are used to it. use camo and decoys etc we put the work in but have been shooting the same ponds for 3 generations and always full our freezers (and our familys)
the last couple of years we have started the grass/stubble shooting and its mad the ducks just swarm in and its a little to easy, ducks eating habbits are changing alot with the way the country has gone (crops and dairy). we shoot mallards on the pond (might get 50 for the day but better challange) and all paradise ducks on the dry land (shoot hundreads and only take the breasts off, way to many to pluck)
happy hunting its one of my favourite weekends of the year, (just don't drink to much until after the shooting)

[basics]

post up some pics from past years?

[rangimotors]

i'd have to get the pics from my grandad who i shoot with,next tme im down ill grab a few but have to scan them he's stil on the old school sort of camera. I have been going with my grandad and his friend since i could hardly walk let alone shoot, now days grandad doesn't shoot much but still enjoys coming and his friend is close to blind but still likes to come so his grandson and i do most of the shooting but its still great.
i'll get some pics of the pond and our new set up on the paddocks when i can and post up, ibetter get eating i still have about 10 ducks from last year so i better make some room.

[basics]

talking to the boss today, hes gona let me head of his 300 acre property, has some streams and a small pound, but he wont let me pre feed, since its my 1st time i wont say no, see how it goes any way.

[rangimotors]

sounds good, do a few pre trip to scope out where they are, does he have any stubble paddocks or anything? are you planning on just stalking the place or you going to put up some shelters?

[basics]

apparantly there is a maimai (i think thats what they call em) in there some where. how hard out on camo should i be?
as far as i know its just grass for cattle. but ill have to head over and have a look, sus it all out.

what ammo is every one using, is there a big difference in ammo?

[rangimotors]

i reckon the more cammo the better, i don't no about your area but down in southland alot of people are out shooting and that one big flock of ducks might of been shot at and scared off a few times before looking for a safe place to land, from experiance the ducks won't come anywhere near the pond or grass if our truck is less that a few k's away, we usually park it ages away and chuck a cammo net over it, the wind netting (use it at the beach etc get black and green stuff) makes a good cover to put over your window of the maimai because you can still see out of it. Doesn't take much to scare them off and its frustrating when you spen all day watching them dip there wings to come in and get scared off and take off again.
I use the best ammo i can obviously steel for the water area's and the 1550 fps stuff i think usually no. 2 or 3 depending on distances and chockes etc. I use 3 inch sheels as well which seem to work really well last season plucking we could all tell the ones i shot as the pallets had gone through one side and out the other. Be careful though not all guns and chokes can take all ammos.
as to the grass area's i reckon your on to it with a cattle farm usually wet nice grass good feeding for the ducks, chuck up a few hay bails with a cammon net over them for a few weeks before opening day and it migh be a nice back up spot.

Happy hunting im sure others have some prety good advise and experiance.

[basics]

ive been reading lots lately, im cant wait.
just need some more practice so i can hit what im aiming for

[billyvanboheman]

My First season last year, on a friends farm in Mayfield, Just crept down to the pond on a couple of different occasions, I might have to go down before this season, and do a bit of prep, last season we had an old Maimai and decoys to use, but the creek changed course, and they wouldn't land on it cos it was a bit stagnant, they ended up on another small pond that was well surrounded on 3 sides with blackberry, and the open side was out toward the open paddock, perfect spot for them, crap for me
I did manage to stop this one before it got to far away.