Jump Shooting

[Crazy Uncle Al Gore]

Does anyone here jump shoot water fowl, if so how do you guys do it and how many do you bring in on average. In my expirence, it's not as productive as blind shooting but stalking ducks is alot more fun than waiting in a blind.

 

[kbheiner7]

I grew up jump shooting mallards on rivers and sloughs.

First, get to know the waters you are hunting. Learn the best stalking routes and take advantage of unique surroundings. For example, one of my favorite rivers runs along some RR tracks. We'd often wait for a train to come along and use its noise to mask the noise over the last few dozen yards of our stalk. Once you've hunted a strech of river a few times, you'll learn where the ducks and geese like to hang out.

I use smaller shot and a more open choke when jump shooting because shots tend to be much closer if you do it right.

Do pay attendion to the wind, partially for noise control and part of give yourself better shots. As you probably know, birds take off into the wind to get maximum lift. Position yourself to get more shooting time when possible.

As for success, it was pretty rare I ever came home empty handed. I'd usually bag 2-4 birds, when 4 birds was the limit on ducks. 4 ducks can get pretty heavy when you're walking 5 or 6 miles of river at a time. I once shot 4 greenheads and two canada geese and thought the weight would kill me before getting back to my truck. Keep in mind I wore neoprene chest waders and was walking in 2 feet of snow.

Now I let the ducks come to me and we pretty much shoot the heck out of them. It's very different from jump shooting, but watching the birds work a set of dekes is awesome, as is the dog work and calling the birds.

Still, I look forward to taking my son up jump shooting next year.

 

[mete]

I've hunted goose by jump shooting on a river in a canoe.Everything is out in the open so you develop some tricks ! I usually get he three bird limit .

 

[Lennyjoe]

Only way to duck hunt down here in southern Arizona. Haven't tried it yet but thought I'd give er a shot one day. I'm used to sitting in a duck blind or in a layout from back in the Ohio days.

 

[A_Swede_17_1911]

I used to jump shoot ducks with a couple buddies. I always missed. My buddies would get 1-2 a peice everytime we would go out and see ducks. Once in awhile we would get a goose.

We would walk sloughs, and rivers, sneaking up on em. Once and awhile we would jump shoot on a big local resvoir when it was drained just sneak up on to the tree line, then pretty much crawl on our bellys till they took off and try to get a couple shots off.

Just wore waders and a vest mostly.

Always was an easy to way to get somehunting in after school or work.

 

[vinpar092]

I used to pirogue or walk slough/river for woodies till Hurricane Katrina put a stop to that at least for now. Many water ways were cleared this year and the woodies are returning to the swamp. I used to position myself on moving water and let them come to me(if the water was high) or sneak on them. I counted 200-300 woodies in the slough years ago. Their wistleing attracted me. It was so beautiful, I just sat and watched for an hour.
vince

 

[Crazy Uncle Al Gore]

Jump shooting is definintly my favorite type of hunting. I'm young so I prefer moving to sitting around. I love stalking and walking through swamps.

 

[swampdog]

What they call jump shooting around here involves going up the river in an outboard at around 30 mph. Game wardens tend to frown on this.

We've got lots of drainage ditches going through the swamp around here. They usually have a mound of dirt running along one side. Stalking the edge can be productive. There is also lots of flooded cypress swamp. Working a canoe around in this works, too.

 

[ARTiger]

I hunt flooded timber mostly more often than not at the same hole (clearing). Two ways to get there - by small jon boat or walk in. About 2 miles either way. When it's later in the season and calling good sized groups in is not working, I like to walk in rather than boat in. Usually there's some other guys there I can hitch a boat ride back with.

Twice in the past few seasons, I arrived at the hole already carrying a limit of mallards and wood ducks. (Lot's of evil looks by my duck-less buddies who had been trying to get ducks in by calling all morning.) It's a learned skill to walk through flooded woods quietly in chest waders, but the shots you get on closely flushed ducks are worth the effort.