Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2025 i Wildfowl

❚ JAHPOO DECOYS FLYWAY DEPUTY If you’re looking for an easy-to-use, easy-to-deploy motion decoy, Jahpoo’s Flyway Deputy is calling your name! These hand-painted decoys are new to the game, but they’re already making a name for themselves; helping hunters across the nation add movement to the spread, and birds to the strap. The decoy runs on a 4AA battery pack and can be programmed to an on/off remote. It has a continuous run time of 4.5 hours and is built with simplicity and efficiency in mind. $190 | jahpoo.com ❚ BANDED FINISHER SPRINKLER DECOY This decoy is made to create a realistic splashing motion that sends ripples through your spread. Made from GHG’s tried-and-true Pro-Grade decoy body, it works like a sprinkler head spraying water from the hose. The water…

The beauty of emerald iridescence on a drake mallard in a cold north wind can be found in every flyway of North America. There are places, though, that these birds that shape our heart’s desire congregate more than others. Some of these have been well-known destinations for sporting gents since before the market hunting days ended; others have developed over time due in large part to migration shifts from weather or pressure. All, though, are the mallard meccas of our dreams. MISSISSIPPI FLYWAY There has been more ink spilled about Arkansas and mallards since outdoor writing started than just about any other subject; and deservedly so. While the number of mallards harvested in the state may have dropped in the past few years, it still ranks as the top place…

We‘ve been robbed! Was that my voice, or just my brain screaming in recognition of the empty display cabinet? We had just returned from a week-long house hunting trip in Arizona, 500 miles to the east. Walking into the den something caught my eye that stopped me cold. Glass doors slightly ajar, the cabinet across the room was bare...emptied in our absence. This was truly a sickening feeling, not only for the loss but also for the violation that is far too personal. Missing from the unsecured and mostly decorative cabinet were a few inexpensive guns—a .22 rifle, the 20 gauge shotgun that I had given my wife years earlier as a wedding gift, an old 870 Remington 12 gauge, and my mother’s .410 bore single-shot that I was refinishing.…

IN THIS WILDFOWL ISSUE, we travel to Michigan in the late 1800s for a glimpse of an excursion where the sportsmen camped in tents. We recognize the double-barrel shotguns, and it’s easy to pick out the goldeneyes and bluebills from the hunters’ harvest of about 90 ducks, but the photo resolution makes it difficult to identify other species. A sheet iron stove pipe rises vertically from the back of the front tent, and the cook to the left is holding a massive iron skillet. That’s about all we know with certainty. Each year during the fall and early winter of the late 1800s and early 1900s, the broad waters of the Great Lakes in Michigan were home to unimaginable numbers of diving ducks. Schooners, steamships and locally built double-masted Mackinaw…

“WHO MADE THAT SHOT?” was the question that came from the group. I barely heard it. My ears rang, and my eyes locked on the giant hole in the snow that swallowed the colossal honker. Not even a wing tip stuck out. The shot was far, and it wasn’t luck. The flock of nine Canada geese had their black feet down when the “kill ‘em” call came. This was the lone survivor. I heard steel pellets hit the bird square as it fled. My shot was last. The goose flew straight away, but when I sent it, it crumbled. I was still in shock, both at how far the shot was and that the bird died so hard. Damn, it was cool. As to the question, I just raised my…

These days, smart pilots will do anything to steer clear of flocks of ducks or geese and prevent a bird strike, but that was not always the case. In fact, there was a time when it was considered great sport. The hunting of waterfowl from airplanes in America occupied but a short legal window, from 1910 until 1918, but during those eight years, it was heralded as one of the most thrilling sports of the age. Daredevil flyers and wealthy civilians piloted gravity-defying machines rigged with nets to snare live ducks and geese, or they targeted waterfowl with shotguns from the cockpit. Later, the “sport” of running a plane into flocks with the machine’s propeller gained popularity. Military aviators raised the ante, and although it sounds like fiction today, they…

❶ BAND: 1265-01824 HUNTER: James “Max” Beals, Cedar Springs, MI SPECIES: Wood Duck (M) BANDED: 9/6/2022, Denham Springs, LA RECOVERED: 10/14/2023, Allendale, MI COMMENTS: This was my first time going duck hunting. I’ve been wanting to try it for a couple years now. I got invited by some buddies and it didn’t disappoint. The first hour of shooting light had ducks on us nonstop. The wood duck was the second duck I’d ever shot. ❷ BAND: 1298-58547 HUNTER: Dean Kortekaas, Grand Rapids, MN SPECIES: Canada Goose (F) BANDED: 6/24/2022, Verdon, NE RECOVERED: 9/24/2023, Koochiching Co, MN COMMENTS: Me and two buddies were hunting a field that I have had a lot of success in. A flock of geese landed, and I shot two out of the flock. My buddy was…

AS THE WEATHER COOLS, few things beat the aroma and flavor of a freshly cooked pie. Fun fact: It doesn’t have to be the dessert variety. The pie recipe here is basically one big pot pie courtesy of store-bought pie crusts. If you lack a deft hand when it comes to making your own pie crusts, feel welcome to incorporate the store-bought variety. A bonus is how finely we dice our duck breasts. Doing so helps sort out any residual shot. Still, always remind those who eat wild duck to chew slowly. If it’s obvious your duck breasts were “well shot” and may have some residual blood in the meat, you will want to brine instead of salting ahead of cooking. A saltwater brine (1/2 cup each of kosher salt…

The 20-minute trudge through the cypress swamp was double what we’d planned. The ice, thicker than anticipated. Unusual for North Carolina. Progress required stomping, not ploughing through, busting it open with our thighs. When we reached the duck hole, we were sweating. The work had just begun. “We have to open up this whole area; from the beaver dam, over to that treeline, and everything in between,” said Brad Evans, his breath mingling in the beam of his headlamp. “We’re going to have to hustle to get it all done by shooting time.” My friend, Austin Crowson, and I turned off our headlamps to take in the celestial sky. Lifeless trees reached to the stars above. We could hear a trickle of water flowing through the beaver dam. Our eyes…