What keeps ya going... ?

[Killintime88]

Sometimes the pleasure, aint worth he strain....

Well, its that time of year again.. I'm in a mad scramble to scout, improve my rig, tend to decoys, counting steal shot, looking at maps and putting in the miles. This past Tuesday I must have walked a 100 miles on a local WMA.. I called my self hog hunting, but I really was walking to every back water slough, creek, lake and bottom the property offered. From daylight to 2pm I navigated the woods with a day pack and a passion for ducks. I managed to spot three wood ducks and decide to eat my lunch watching them swim... I guess that's when it dawned on me ... I must be mad, or insane, or just dumb. I'm backing out of needed overtime at work, walking off from the deer woods, and day dreaming through Sunday school about potential duck holes.. If id put half the amount of effort into my job, that I spend on ducks, id be rich... I wouldn't even consider myself a successful duck killer... I have yet to kill my personal limit of 3 wood ducks on any Georgia hunt after 5 seasons.... I have hunted 4 and 5 day stretch's and not even shot... Yet the next morning, I find my self launching the boat and heading up river alone, just knowing I got them figured out. I refuse to hunt unethically, and try to utilize state land as much as possible. I may kill enough for the wife to cook up a dressing... BUT I LOVE IT.... Slap mesmerized by birds flipping into a kill zone I spent days finding. My typical harvest of one bird will have me pumped... A few ducks don't carry the MEAT Value a deer offers, but every morning I'm in a deer stand I find my eyes to the sky... Just hoping to catch a glimpse of passing birds... I do get out to Arkansas every year and have my killing fits, and we do pile up some birds... I am studding on building up my property to hold birds... But my question to yall is.... What keeps ya going on the local river/swamp hunts here in Georgia? Where success can be so limited... I cant really explain it, and I'm not going to get all poetic, but I do love a swamp sunrise...

 

[gtmcwhorter]

It’s the love and passion. I’ve hunted far more days in GA where I’ve never fired a shot than when I’ve killed any. Like you I’ve never shot a limit in GA. One of those woodie “holes” I have is and hour and 15 minute drive and an hour hike from the truck to the hole. Made that hike countless times and returned more often than not empty handed. That’s something only a waterfowler understands. There is something magical about watching a swamp or slough come alive that first hour when God shows off his handiwork.

 

[mizzippi jb]

I've been at it a pretty good while. Last year my son finally took a real interest at 13 years old. Man that really rekindled the flame. People ask him if he's killed any deer this yr..... His response is "no, I'm a duck hunter".

 

[DRBugman85]

I started hunting duck in 1962 it was in my blood My Great Grand father,Grand Father and Father duck hunted for Food not the fun of it,I don't hate Ducks as much anymore as in the early days but it's a calling from the past that keeps me going.Today it's the hunt not the killing,to watch a flock of grays cup and drift in my decoys are a group of Green wing buzz in makes my soul happy with GOD'S world today,to watch my Lab work on the birds We shoot and enjoy it as much as I do is a blessing in it self. For me it's not shooting limits anymore it's the time spent with friends and family and a dog that loves to retrieve that makes the hunting enjoyable for me. I may get old but I'll never forget it's by GOD'S GRACE I still have the desire.

 

[Gaducker]

My Father and son keeps me goin, My son is 17 and has been on every huntin trip I have been on since he was old enough to walk in rubber knee boots. When my time comes if I am only remembered for being a good person and dragin my boy everywhere I went I will be ok with that.

And when times get so bad in ga that you are hiking an hour to not see a wood duck at all more than once or god forbid twice...… Its time to expand your horizon and explore different destinations.

 

[mizzippi jb]

Amen to the last part

 

[rnelson5]

The adventure, the hunt, the memories, the people, the parts of nature that a lot of people will never see or appreciate the way that hunters do, and the piles of birds all drive me. Tricking an animal at their own game gets me every time. At the end of the day if you add it all together it is the experience that you can’t put a price on.

 

[The Flying Duckman]

The love of the sport! I hunt public land in GA and TN, don't do it as much as I used to. Don't kill a lot of birds. Got hit with the Big C back in 14 and it took a lot out of me. But to get out and enjoy what the Lord has given and enjoy the second chance, I do it till I cant. Look at the view he gave me on this morning!

 

[Long Cut]

My kin were market duck hunters from the time punt guns were legal to the mid 50’s. It wasn’t until I heard grandpas and the ol man’s stories that got me interested. Before that I was and still am a die-hard deer hunter. But being able to share some experiences with grandpa has really kept me going.

 

[flatsmaster]

I think it's my little 55 lbs of try ... I started out just wanting a dog to pick up a few birds and fit into our hunting and fishing life style after my cow dog died ... I grew up dog hunting for deer in Fl with all the comradiary and then went to a bow only trophy hunter and its solitude ... first time duck hunting that fellowship cameback and it was just FUN and I got a lab to hopefully pick up a few ducks .... as this adventure unfolded I never new how much I'd enjoy working and learning with my dog ... probably in spite of me she has attained her HRCH title and just went 2 for 2 on Master passes in SC ... for me I think it's about putting birds in front of her and letting her do what she loves and me being a small part of it !!!

 

[krazybronco2]

Flatsmaster that is pretty much why i do it now. Try to put the dog on as many birds as possible. Actually didnt go duck hunting sat morning because i got invited to work the dog at a pheasant shoot. had some good shooters and she picked up 15-20 pheasants and flushed 4-5 more.

 

[kingfish]

" Thus we see that the lot of the duck hunter is not a happy one. He is the child of frustration, the collector of mishap, the victim of misfortune. He suffers from cold, wet and lack of sleep. He is punished more often than rewarded. Yet continues. Why ? Because one great day--and great days do come, days when the ducks are willing and the gun swings true--repays him manyfold for all the others"
Ted Trueblood, This Mania We Called Duck Hunting

 

[Duckbuster82]

I don’t see how some people continue to go when they are not killing anything. I know a group of guys that hunt 2-3 days a week and are lucky to kill one or two birds every other hunt. I would have to hang it up. The only thing that keeps me going is the chase but there has to be a reward, if I am struggling or birds are not right I just don’t go. No need to waste time and money.

 

[Muldoon]

Prayer and solitude!!

 

[kingfish]

Duckbuster82, I'm betting that the camaraderie is way more important than killing birds. Speaking for myself I'd rather kill 2 birds that decoyed than kill 6 pass shooting. If I can do that with a duck hunting buddy, all the better. Also, there is way more emphasis on the post hunt breakfast than the hunt.

 

[Duckbuster82]

Duckbuster82, I'm betting that the camaraderie is way more important than killing birds. Speaking for myself I'd rather kill 2 birds that decoyed than kill 6 pass shooting. If I can do that with a duck hunting buddy, all the better. Also, there is way more emphasis on the post hunt breakfast than the hunt.

You can eat breakfast any day of the year without getting up at 3. I Just believe that if I am going to put in the effort that I do I️ want a return. You don’t go to work and not get paid but say it’s ok because you got to see your friends.

 

[kingfish]

Good for you.

 

[tucker80]

Is a love it or hate it sport. I happen to love it.
Friends, dog work, sun rises. List goes on for a while.
I go to Arkansas to get my trigger finger scratched. Here at home it's more than killing for me.
To each his own.