When one thinks of fall, their train of thought leads them thinking of its numerous qualities: apple season, sweater weather, Halloween. Somewhere down that rabbit trail the splendor of its foliage will rise above all others. Heck, it makes sense considering people flock to it up here in Minnesota. This post isn’t here to discuss the fall colors, though, but rather the lack thereof.
As soon as those beautiful leaves fall, cover that duck hunters once used for blind material is diminished to almost nothing. Unless you have cattails to hide in, most of the undergrowth that line the shores of rivers, lakes and swamps is too sparse to be effective to hide in.
So how does one cover up?
We’ll hide behind fallen trees, rocks, and/or scrounge up as much of the dead foliage as possible for rigging a makeshift blind. Don’t get me wrong, they work but why not eliminate the variables by trying something different.
It may not be new to everyone, but I bet most haven’t tried using their field blind on the wild rice paddy, river edge, and lakeshore. A lower profile translates to less chance of spooking/flaring birds. Yeah, I know you won’t be able to see as much and you’ll be restricted to what shots you can take. If you’re concerned about room in the boat for one, think for a second how big those decoy bags you have are; a modern field blind takes up the same space as half of a slotted bag and can easily be tossed on the side next to the guns.
Why limit your investment in a field blind to just field hunting? Make it multidimensional!
But, but, but what about the blind getting all wet and muddy?????
If you’re hunting water, you’re already wearing chest waders. There’s no reason why you won’t be dry if the blind takes in some water – just make sure it’s on solid enough ground that it doesn’t submerge more than halfway. As far as mud is concerned, your blind should already be “mudded” out so quit with the negativity and give it a try!
Before placing the blind, take 10 seconds and prep the positioning of it; just like you do when placing a deer stand in a tree, it has to be set in such a way to give you optimal opportunity to shoot your lanes (depending if you’re right or left handed). Typically I position it at a slant with the shoreline and/or your decoy spread. Usually I stand in the spot where the field blind should go and pivot my shoulders to figure my shooting lanes then plop it down accordingly. In a seated position, you have about 120-200 degrees to work with for swinging your gun (depending on flexibility and how many layers you have on). Be sure to set aside some of that initial swing for leading the incoming birds. Your primary shooting angles should be right where the pocket or “X” is of your spread. Any follow up shots can be reserved for the last few angles. See the “artistic” diagram below for further clarification:
Just don’t forget to dry out the field blind after the hunt. If it’s frozen and too cold outside, then take the opportunity to pull out your buddy heater or sunflower you use for ice fishing from storage. It’s a great chance to make sure that they’re in proper order before the season starts. There, now you killed two birds with one stone.
If only it were that easy with shotgunning!
*Pictured in the Featured Image at the top is of my cousin on his first ever duck hunt. By putting him in a field blind, he was able to get up close and personal with birds buzzing and working the spread. It was perfect for him to make good, ethical shots on birds and was much cozier than standing in the mud!