I have decided this year to take up waterfowl to have more days hunting.

Season opens in September and runs to January.

Can someone recommend cold weather waders and a lay down blind.

I will be DIY this year on our properties.

If you are south of the Mason-Dixon line, you don't need real cold weather waders... that you break ice to get your boat out in.

I'd get a pair of 3-5mm neoprene waders and call it good enough. They will be too hot in the early season, and not enough if you deal with 20* temps with a howling north wind. Frankly, waders are consumables in duck hunting. Mine last 3 years at best.

Lay out blind... get the cheapest you can find. you pile up local vegetation on them to conceal. Honestly, if you own the land and have access to farming equipment, pit blinds are way better than lay outs, and you get to stand to shoot, which helps a lot to keep swinging on the bird.

Find someone to teach you how to call ducks and geese. That makes the biggest difference- a good caller can pull into a poor decoy spread, but a bad caller drives everything away. Get out as soon as the birds are able to fly and call some in to a few decoys- watching them without worrying about shooting will teach you a lot.

If you have good land, you can probably get some experienced guys to hunt with you and mentor you for giving them access... that will really shorten the learning curve.

Learn to ID birds on the wing- if your September season is a teal season (I would think so, as our duck season starts the last week of september in MN and I think we are quite a bit north of you...) learning how to identify them on the wing is critical.


I'd say a gun would be the last thing you need to worry about, although every duck hunter around here seems to need to buy a new waterfowl gun every other year...

Decoys- don't overdo it. you can spend a lot of money, but until you know how to work with them, too many will cost shooting opportunities compared to a couple dozen. get a dozen or two cheap ones (cabelas or whatever the local sport mart has) and see what you like and don't like.

I have friends who swear by the light water keeled dekes, my bigger water hunting makes those look like your toy battleship in the tub, and I use magnum weighted keels. Mallards work for most ducks, and until you know what you want or are specifically targeting divers (and you know what kinds are around) getting other species is not worthwhile.

Geese field decoys do need numbers... so unless you want to break the bank, I'd hunt with an established group to start with, or stick to pass shooting geese. I hunt with a mix of shells and bigfoot whole bodies. I have a small spread- 8 dozen. I do not get the attention of big flocks, but when I hunt with some friends and we are putting a couple hundred decoys out, it gets then to commit (but we are also decent, not great callers as well.) I use a ratio of 4 shells to one whole body. Ducks will work somewhat to geese decoys in the field, but if you really want to do field hunting get a few dozen mallard shells as well.

A retriever also is very helpful- if you can afford a dog (more so time than money). Upland breeds usually don't handle late season weather up here very well, but if your upland dog does retrieving well, take him along and you will get a lot more birds in possession compared to wading out and looking for the downed birds.

crbutler is spot on, the only thing I can add is check your Craigslist for decoys. I have found good deals in the off season.

Great thanks. Respectfully and humbly, I will need cold weather wadders as in the late fall and winter I wear 1200 gram boots and heavy clothes. I get cold with temps getting into the teens.

During September and October, I will not need them.

We have a bunch of geese land in our properties early in the season, so I am going to break myself in on them.

If you are using a layout blind you don't really need waders... Assuming you are hunting a dry field. A good pair of insulated bibbs is preferable for that purpose.

Waders are like rifle calibers among waterfowlwers. I used Cabelas Neoprenes for a good number of years and had good luck with them. But they seem to have cheaped out on them in the last 5 years and now you couldn't give me a pair.

In terms of Neoprene I like the Drake mid season and late season waders depending on how cold it is outside. Don't let anyone tell you its not cold enough in the SOuth to justify those weights. You'll want something with 1600 grams of insulation in the boot if you will be standing in knee deep water when its 20 degrees out. These are expensive $350-500 a pair. The Sitka waders are $1,000 a pair and worth every penny if you can find a pair that fits. I Cant or Id have a pair. ALot of hunters have gone the lightweight breathable route in waders and there's a lot to recommend them You can layer your insulation inside to suit conditions...just wear heavier long underwear. Just heed this advice...cheap waders WILL fail and WILL leak and WILL make your life miserable. Its not a question of if but when.

IN terms of dekes....it depends. Ar you hunting local birds in fields and ponds in KY or nirds coming down the flyway. In Shelby COunty where we hunt local geese and ducks in layout blinds in corn fields we will get by with a spread of 20-30 geese...and you only get one opportunity with the birds when they are moving from feeding to roosting areas. If you hunt a small pond a half dozen duck decoys will do the job...mallards and wood duck decoys are really all you need.

Where we hunt in Arkansas the geese won't even look at you unless you have a couple hundred dekes in a spread and we'll typically have 120-150 duck decoys around our pits in the flooded rice fields.

If conditions permit I prefer a flooded timber hunt which typically requires a boat, a dozen duck dekes or so and REALLY good knowledge of an area and where the ducks like to go. Like it will take you years to find a hole in the trees that the ducks will actually use. There's a lot of magic in a good timber hunt but last year then woods in Arkansas never flooded enough for a shoot. And I've had many season like that.

IN terms of guns....you need something that can handle 3" steel shot. A plus would be something that also can run 3.5" shells. But steel shot is required for all waterfowl. I run a Beretta A400 Extrema and also have a Benelli SBE2 Both have been great guns and very reliable durable. If you are just getting into it and don't want to drop $1500 on a gun buy a Benelli Supernova pump gun for about $500 and if you enjoy the sport you can keep it as a back up loaner gun when you buy a semi-auto. I run a 20 Gauge Nova in the early season when the shots are close (like 20 yards) just for fun.

Duck hunting is addictive and fun....but its not a cheap sport..

I own a home in Northeast Arkansas and belong to a club where we hunt flooded rice fields out of pits. We have great hunts typically but I don't even want to think how much I paid per bird...LOL

I also go to Canada about every couple of years and we hunt out of layout blinds in barley fields north of WInnepeg. Great hunting...lots of birds and lots of limits.

Not many places in KY have migrators come through on a regular basis. Along the Ohio a little. Some of the biiger waters in Western KY. The rest of the state is hit or miss and mostly a miss in most years in this respect. Its not that you can't do well with local birds in ponds and fields. But you have to understand that once you bang up the ducks on a pond or geese in a field you probably won't see them come back for a couple of days...lol

I figured I would need the waders to go get the birds.

So, I guess I need a set uninsulated for September?

I have no idea if these are migraters. Staring in March we start having them land. Then we see them again September-October.

I never see ducks. Maybe a Drake and Hen once or twice a year.

I found a bunch of Tungsten Matrix 3 inch No5 shot. If nothing else, I can use it for Turkey.

Here is the general plan. Large cut crop fields. Geese want to land on the fields and largish ponds adjacent to fields.

Around the pounds are cider trees.

I know sometime around September 1, Geese will want to land on pounds and fields.

The idea is a lay out blind (manufacturer) uncertain) within those ciders and high grass and shot a geese or two while they land.

Kill them where they want to be, and not give them much of a reason not to be there.

Number of geese: at most 15 or 20.

Let me offer some generalized information on this subject:

First and foremost should be your transportation. Truck, boast, on foot, whatever, make sure your transportation is 100% reliable. It has to get you there and, more importantly, get you back. I hunt a gulf bay in Texas and i use a small jon boat. I have to make sure the motor is good-to-go every time I go out. The tires on the trailer have to be good and the hubs have to be greased.

Second, your hunting clothing needs to keep you warm and dry. Being cold and wet is miserable. If you use chest waders, look into the "Breathable" kind. The neoprene is very heavy but will keep your warm. The breathables are lighter and they also have insulated boots and removeable liners.

Third,
Look around for used decoys and get about 2 dozen (1 dozen if hunting on foot). Decoys are expensive and you can repaint/repurpose the used ones. All my bluebill and redhead decoys are repainted mallards.

Check out Macks Prairie Wings layout blind. It's a half-lounge chair with a camo blanket. It has loops to attach some grass or native vegetation. It runs about $100.

Get yourself 2 duck calls: a whistle and a mallard call and watch some youtube and learn to do the calls, then tailor them toward the types of ducks in your area.

The last thing you should worry about is your shotgun. You don't need a camo'd out Benelli or Beretta to shoot ducks. However, I hunt in salt water so a camo or cerracoted gun is a must for me.

Good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by LHeym500:
Here is the general plan. Large cut crop fields. Geese want to land on the fields and largish ponds adjacent to fields.

Around the pounds are cider trees.

I know sometime around September 1, Geese will want to land on pounds and fields.

The idea is a lay out blind (manufacturer) uncertain) within those ciders and high grass and shot a geese or two while they land.

Kill them where they want to be, and not give them much of a reason not to be there.

Number of geese: at most 15 or 20.

So from your description you will be hunting resident geese. Not migrators. The key with the resident geese is to learn their patterns and when they fly. They will have VERY specific times when they roost, feed and fly. Twice a day they fly. You goal is to know where they feed, where they roost and when they fly and be out in your spread when they are up in the air. I promise you will be able to set a clock with their timing on most days. But to play it safe give them a half hour window on either side of the flying time. Beyond that you are wasting your time.

Of course as food sources change due to harvest patterns etc and as days get shorter the geese will change their patterns. So you have to pay attention to what's going on and adjust accordingly. You can't expect them to follow the same pattern in October that they will in January.

Thanks. Kind of like patterning early season deer or turkeys.

I appreciate all.

in terms of layout blinds...don't buy one until you've had a chance to use it and see if you fit and will be comfortable or not. I'm 6"3" and its hard for me to find a layout blind where I'm not cramped or scrunched up. I found a couple that will but 80% aren't worth a darn for me. YMMV there...

When it snows I go down to the Dollar General and buy a white fitted mattress cover and use zip ties to camouflage my layout blind in the snow. Otherwise use the native stuff you'll find in the field where you set up Corn stalks for a corn field etc.

If you are talking groups of 20 at most, then you really don't need too many goose decoys, and if you are patterning them well enough you actually might do just as well pass shooting them.

As to just using the waders for retrieving downed birds, it would make a lot more sense to me to not hunt in the waders, and get some cheap lightweight fishing stuff and put it on when you go in the water and wear your regular hunting gear in the blind. Even the best "armored" neoprene waders get beat up in cattails; getting in and out of layup blinds is asking to get rips in them.

Cabelas and others sell a decoy pick up hook that extends out like 10'. If the ponds are a bit smaller or deep in spots, having one of those helps to avoid going over your wader tops... could help with getting birds in hard to reach spots.

If you set up your shooting right, you shouldn't be dumping the geese into water, anyhow. Ducks, yes.

I'm not really familiar with cider trees- How tall? I am assuming its some kind of apple tree- so building a blind out of stuff around them is easy enough. The suggestion for a chair blind is good in that situation, and really a chair or stool with some supports and camo netting that you can add local stuff to and make a blind on the spot is probably better.

Frankly, I wouldn't spend a ton of money until you do it a bit- once you are in there, you will discover what works for you.

Layout blinds in my book are things you use in large farm fields after harvest where you can't or don't have enough access to put in some form of more permanent blind (meaning something you can use for more than one hunt) I'm not that old, but laying on the ground and then sitting up to shoot gets cold, wet, and uncomfortable in a hurry. It works, but there are options. Cheap side would be buying some of those reclining lawn chairs, spray pain them black or brown, and buy a bunch of camo burlap and use that like a blanket. After a bunch of mice got to my last purchased layout blind (which cost a bunch) during the off season, that is what I went to, on the rare occasion I need to use one.

Those tungsten matrix shells are really nice. Too expensive to use everyday if you are a daily waterfowler, #5 will work great on ducks, and do fine with decoyed geese- but are not heavy/big enough for pass shooting geese unless you are good enough to hit them in the head/neck consistently (and with the patterning, at 40+ yards that becomes questionable).

I've gone to bismuth as its not quite as expensive as tungsten, but also isn't hard on your teeth if you bite a pellet like steel or tungsten alloy (the matrix stuff is more like grit if you bite it than the TSS or hevishot stuff, so its good also...)

Lead was by far the best... but thats long gone for waterfowl here.

Sorry about the tree identification I am typing with my thumb. The trees are cedar.

What 30 feet up at most. There are limbs and branches all over the place. There are cattails around the pound. There is this dry, high grass just off the bank that time of year. I do not know what it is called.

I honestly think shots are going to be close as they are going to be wanting to land. At least, they do every year. I have been watching these birds fly in for years. There are a few coots as well. I have been back in the timber on top of the ridge muzzleloading hunting deer and watched the land. The muzzloder season is only 2 days.

I love the hook idea. And recline chair.

Thank you all.

Unless a Cables or Sportsman’s sets up a display layout blind, I will not get to try one as no one around here hunts waterfowl that I know. The local gun shops do not even sale waterfowl stuff. Hence, my post. What I use, I have to order.

I do not bow hunt. I was given a Brest out drake Wood Duck when I was quail hunting in North Carolina. I cooked it up like steak. It was delicious.

This is an experiment a bunny slope to try out waterfowling.

I need something to hunt September to deer rifle season, and something to hunt after. I hunt turkeys on Spring, Fall, Winter season but they are sort seasons. I also have gone to killing one turkey a year. So, if I kill in April (like this year). I am done.

We will see how it goes. I just need one to play with in the kitchen.

Those 20ish geese are a lot to me. I realize after saying that, that number is not a big number to the dedicated in dedicated areas.

Basically, if I can kill one or two and cook them up well. We will make a bigger wager on the next game.

I can hunt Western Kentucky private land as my hunting lease is out there, but the focus has been on deer. I actually never hunted turkeys on it bc, the turkey hunting on our property has been so good.

Calling....well here's the rub. A duck or goose call is a musical instrument and some people can play them and some people should have their calls forcibly removed from their hands and broken into small pieces. LOL

Seriously, Calling is more than just knowing what notes to hit. This is its own problem that takes practice and a tuned ear to know if its being done correctly. More importantly is to know WHEN to call and how loud and the proper cadence/tempo. All of which are dictated by the situation. Far far too many people in a duck/goose blind think they have to make noise all the time and any time there are birds in the area. Again, these folks are annoying to hunt with and need a regular beating and their lanyards cut.

There's nothing wrong with learning how to call...and we all have to start somewhere. But this is an area where you will benefit from watching and listening someone who knows their way around a call... A good place to start is in your car when no one else is with you...listen to some recordings and instructions. Phil Robertson's crew has a good series of instructional videos. AS do the folks from RNT etc. But in the field get with someone who knows what they are doing.

I am a fair caller. But when I'm in the blind with some of the folks in my club who are really good I let them do it. Lots of times I'm the best caller in the blind or even the only caller in the blind. There are many folks who waterfowl hunt who won't call because they never picked it up and there are some who shouldn't. The worst guy is a bad caller and does dumb stuff like blows his call in the face of the birds as they are coming into the dekes....dumb dumb dumb.

I figure any attempt by me to call is just giving them a reason not to be where they otherwise would be.