The Top 5 Reasons You Aren't Shooting Your Waterfowl Limit

You can get away with some mistakes as a duck hunter and still kill birds. But if you want to consistently shoot limits, you need to be on your ‘A’ game. To help you get there, we spoke with two of the best waterfowlers in the country, Tony Vandemore and Bill Saunders.

Vandemore is a hunter, conservationist, and owner of the Habitat Flats Lodge network. Saunders has been hunting waterfowl for 40 years and guiding for 30 through his outfit, Big Guns Waterfowl, in Washington State. He’s also a call maker, serving hunters and competition callers alike.

According to these two experts, the following five things will almost always keep you from shooting a limit of birds. If you want to leave the marsh with a heavy duck strap, read on and commit their advice to memory.

1) You’re Not Doing Your Homework

Scouting is one of the most important parts of a duck hunt, yet many hunters don’t give it enough thought. Both Saunders and Vandemore feel this way, and they each think it’s the first thing a hunter needs to do if they want to bag more birds. Simply put, if you don’t scout, you’re really just guessing when it comes time to hunt.

“Birds are much easier to kill when you’re exactly where they want to be,” says Vandemore. “A lot of times, we’re looking at different food sources. We also look at how the birds are moving. If they’re packed tight together, they’ve got plenty of food, and if they’re racing across the ground, they’re having a hard time finding food.” Vandemore will try to match his spread to what he sees while scouting when he can.

“We live in a world of instant gratification,” says Saunders, who feels that hunters need to spend more time studying waterfowl. “You need to actually know the quarry that you’re after. I think there’s a generation out there that doesn’t appreciate the bird as much as shooting a pile of birds and getting a picture for Instagram. Be aware when you’re scouting of what the birds look like during the time of year you’re hunting them, watch how they move through a field if they’re feeding, and listen to their calling."

Saunders also feels that hunting pressure plays a big role in scouting. “On public ground, you always want to look for areas with more bird activity, but I would also look for areas with fewer hunters,” he says. “I would actually take less bird activity if I knew there were going to be fewer hunters.”

2) Your Calling Is Doing More Harm Than Good

Calling can make or break a hunt. Bad calling or calling at the wrong time will push ducks away from your blind. The key, according to Vandemore and Saunders, is to think more about what the ducks want to hear and how they’re communicating with each other.

“Calling can get a lot of people hung up, especially calling too much,” says Vandemore. “A lot of times, when you get the birds started—wings cupped and coming down—you can really tone it down. And just because your calling might work today doesn’t mean it’s going to work tomorrow. You have to read the birds every day.”

“When a lot of people hunt with me, they’re surprised with one thing in particular,” says Saunders. “Most days, I don’t call very much. If you call too much or call at the wrong time, it will trigger birds to have a negative reaction. Know when to call, and if you’re not good at reading birds, keeping that call in your pocket or calling softly is probably the best thing you can do.”

3) Your Shooting is Sub-Par

Something that’s in every hunter’s control is shooting ability. You aren’t born with it, and you need to practice. Both Vandemore and Saunders feel that poor shooting is to blame for many hunters not filling a bag limit. But there are a few other things about shooting that will hold you back as well.

Saunders feels that the shooting skills have declined among hunters as a whole over the years. “I just don’t see as many guys that participate in sporting clays or trap and skeet shooting anymore,” he says. “Just get out and practice. When I was growing up, I took every opportunity I had to get trigger time.”

“If you can shoot sporting clays, that’s a fantastic way to keep up,” says Vandemore. He also suggests going dove hunting and early teal hunting to warm up for bigger ducks.

Along with practice, both hunters think that knowing your equipment, staying consistent with that equipment, and having confidence in your gun, choke, and load is key. “I’ve shot the same loads in the same gun with the same choke tube for the last 20 years or more,” says Saunders. “I know where I need to point that gun if I need to drop a bird, wherever it may be. Guys are always looking for a magic load or choke tube, and they switch things up. Combine that with a lack of practice and the excitement of a hunt, and you’re going to have a hard time.”

“You need to know what your gun is doing,” says Vandemore. “I’m a firm believer in patterning my gun.” Vandemore sticks with the same 28-gauge shotgun and small #6 shot for ducks and geese, season after season, with the same choke all year long. That consistency helps him know exactly what his gun is going to do. “I see guys unscrewing and screwing in new chokes depending on where the ducks are at, and I just have trouble buying into that. If you have a combination that works well at 40 yards, it’ll work well at 15 yards.”

4) You’re Not Letting Birds Get Close Enough

It’s easy to get excited when a group of ducks turns into the decoys. But calling shots too soon can drop your chances of bagging more birds. The same can be said for not adjusting your spread or hide if you don’t see birds committing.

“When ducks circle and circle and move on, it’s most likely a decoy issue,” says Vandemore. “When they come in and flare, it’s more an issue with your hide.” Vandemore feels that a lot of people also get impatient, which leads them to call shots too early. “I think patience is key,” he says. “I’d rather kill one good bunch at 15 yards than scratch one bird out of five different flocks at 40.”

A big part of getting birds close is a good hide. If you can’t blend into the surrounding terrain, it doesn’t matter if you’re on the X or not. Some birds might be dumb enough to come to your decoys, but most are going to stay far away. “If you can step back and say ‘yeah that looks like a duck blind,’ I guarantee ducks are going to think the same thing,” says Saunders. He feels this is possibly the number one mistake that will keep you from getting a limit. “I see guys build blinds that look like tiki huts when they’re done. I also see a lot of hunters building huge piles of brush in areas that don’t have that kind of vegetation.”

5) Your Decoys Aren’t Doing Enough

Decoys play a huge role in how many birds you can shoot in a day, especially on public ground. Birds that don’t see what they like will just move on, and if you can’t separate yourself from other hunters’ spreads, ducks and geese are going to notice.

“I like setting big spreads,” Vandemore says. He prefers to run a lot of Canada goose floaters, even when hunting ducks. Part of the reason is for visibility. Ducks feel comfortable around Canadas, and goose decoys are easier to see from a distance. He also likes to run geese to separate his spread from the competition.

When it comes to decoys for Saunders, he feels that there’s a big difference between good and bad fakes. “Let’s go back to what I said about hides,” he says. “If a decoy doesn’t look like a duck or a goose to you, it certainly isn’t going to look like a duck or goose to the bird.” Saunders also suggests “matching the hatch” when it comes to plumage and keeping decoys clean. Later in the season, many hunters’ decoys will start looking shabby. At the same time, ducks are getting more vibrant as they change into full plumage. Depending on when you’re hunting and where you need to try to match how the ducks actually look in your area.

“Even if you can’t afford very many of them, buy the best-looking decoys you can find,” Saunders says. “If you’re not a very good judge of what a duck or goose looks like, ask somebody who is.”

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