It’s around 15 degrees, and my watch says 8 am on a late October morning in 1993. I have my head tucked under a staked-up snow goose shell, as I watch a flock of 8 snows coming at us 200 yards away. Luckily, there’s just enough wind this morning to keep the birds on an approach within shooting range. My hands are starting to lock up a bit as I stuff them through a hole in my white, 1-piece painter’s outfit, and into my parka coat pockets. I started to ponder whether or not I should have been wearing my thick gloves, despite handicapping my shooting ability. My lanyard is laying on the ground, with my snow goose call just inches in front of my face. I didn’t feel the need to sacrifice my numb hands for a couple of barks to an already committed flock of snow geese. The birds are still coming as they do a slight swing off to my side of the decoys. Just as soon as I thought they were going to fly around me and flare, they cup their wings and slice the middle of the decoys. With the flock coming over me, I rolled from under the decoy and grabbed for my gun. In a slow and desperate attempt, I swung my gun up to my shoulder, and pushed it through my 3 or more inches of clothing insulation. With the birds already over me and flying away, I forced a quick couple of shots in a weak swing in front of a bird. An obvious flock of 8 geese fly away, laughing at the white-suited idiot rolling around on the ground. As I sit and recap the entire situation, my confidence in my shooting for the rest of the morning dropped like a rock. How the heck am I going to swing on these birds wearing all this? Sadly, I pondered this a lot throughout the years.

Thinner, warmer clothing will improve your shooting

I think one of the biggest reasons why hunters miss on cold mornings, is their lack of a proper swing due to their thick clothing. All the schools of thought about proper gun mount and swing goes out the window when you’re pressing on 3 inches of cotton or other material over your shoulder. And to make things worse, wearing bulky clothing slows your gun mount down. Even a second delay can make a big difference between shooting at a breast instead of a tail. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you probably don’t live far enough north of the equator. No matter how much time you spend shooting all summer in leagues, you just don’t practice a “handicapped swing”. And when you start consistently missing your target, you start thinking. And that’s when it gets even worse in my experience. Either you spend a lot of time swinging in thick clothing or you better get yourself some new gear.

At that time, I can recall my usual gear for a cold weather hunt. I would start with my pair of Long Johns, followed by the addition of 2 sweatshirts. Over that I put on my thick, non-waterproof bibs. I then put on my COAT, and when I emphasis coat I mean this coat was thick. It was one of the nicest parkas at the time, and it was warm. But when I put it on I felt like I added 50 pounds around me. And at that time, blinds weren’t common, so I was laying on the ground. This was my gear, this was a typical day of waterfowling. My buddies used to poke at me calling me the “Hobo Hunter.” I had the same response every time, “…hunting isn’t a fashion show.”

Fast forward to today and obviously, camouflage has really changed. Not only has the camo changed from the good old brown, the components have changed as well. There are so many brands and styles to choose from, I can’t imagine where a retailer would start in selecting a lineup for a big box store. But if you know what you’re looking for, like me, you’ll be very pleased with what is available today.

I made what I felt was an obvious decision to outfit with newer “super fleece” clothing. The clothing today is getting thinner, more comfortable, and is 100% windproof and waterproof. You can feel it from the moment you first put it on, this is nothing like my old gear.

Here is my layers of clothing I use now in mornings as cold as 10 degrees:

White T-shirt
Fleece Underwear
Hooded Sweatshirt
Venture Heated Jacket (thin)
Insulated Bibs

When the weather gets real tough, I’ll turn up the heat on my heated jacket. I’ve really grown found of this coat, and it’s rechargeable after every hunt. It’s now part of my cold weather routine. Check them out at Extreme Smart Products.

The end result is confidence. I can mount my shotgun in my blind without any resistance, while staying warm and comfortable. Throughout the course of a long hunting season, I find myself shooting better than ever. And the result is fewer cripples, fewer shells, and fewer jokes from my hunting buddies. If you spend a lot of time in the cold, messing with the same situation I described earlier, I highly advise you to look into a wardrobe upgrade. No matter what you choose, going thinner on your clothing will help your shooting. The comfort and flexibility is worth the price, and you will notice the end result.

There’s a lot of different ways to hunt ducks. You can field hunt, open water hunt, hunt shallow potholes, hunt flooded timber, pass shoot refuges, etc. etc. Every state has it’s own unique landscape, it’s own flyways, it’s own style of hunting. This philosophy definitely applies to duck hunting in North Dakota.

What amazes me is the amount of duck boats that I see driving around the state in the month of October. This is the most common practice in most areas of the Central and Mississippi flyways. But North Dakota is a little different, and I suggest to hunters to try coming with a different arsenal this year. In a lot of cases, especially late in the year, boats can be ideal for getting into the back areas where the ducks are holding. But most of the time I would say they’re not needed at all.

When the pressure gets high in the state, the ducks will move to open water. With the large amount of jump shooting, they will target the areas where they will feel safe. These will usually be in the middle of those hard to reach areas. But these are the roost areas, and to keep quality hunting for everyone, these areas need some rest. There’s only so much pressure they can receive before they will make their temporary home down south, never to return again that fall. So in studying the patterns of ducks in North Dakota, you have to understand all of the possibilities that are available to you. The easiest hunting situations lie miles away from the roosts.

On the prairie, ducks are pretty predictable. They will leave the roost in the morning, and head for the direction of their feeding fields. About half the time they will head straight for the field to feed, and the other half they’ll temporarily stop over in an adjoining pothole to group up. In my opinion, these are the areas hunters should be targeting. You can target the birds in the field, or in the adjoining pothole. With a pair of waders, and a few dozen decoys, you can be sure to have birds in your face. Or with a duck field spread, and/or goose decoys, you can have quality wing shooting in the field. With this style of hunting, we’ve always been able to have good shooting and at the same time, not burn out the roost. The result is consistency, as you’ll always be ensured large amounts of birds in the area to hunt. Roost hunting will bring short term results, with dramatic effects in the long term in bird numbers.

I’ll explain a situation that we used on the opening weekend of duck hunting 2002 and still applies today. While scouting at night, we found a roost full of puddler ducks. Towards the later evening, the birds started flying off in waves to a feed field a mile or two away. At the same time, the birds were short stopping the field by about a mile, in a flooded field off a prairie road. At first glance, my buddy was eyeing the field while I was eyeing the flooded field. So we decided to split up and give them both a chance.

My buddies set up off a fence line, and put the decoys about 45 yards upwind of the fence. They put up dozens of goose and duck decoys, and a couple of spinners. The wind that morning was pretty brisk, so it forced the ducks over the hunters in route to the decoys. We weren’t too far away in the flooded field, and could hear their success. They filled that morning with a bag of mallards, pintails and wood ducks. At the same time…

We set up in the flooded field off of the prairie road. We used the natural cover to hide, and started filling the water with decoys the same way they had the night before. We set out two large groups, with a landing zone in between. We also put the spinners towards the middle to bring the birds into the middle of the shooters. As you can see by our picture, we were set up about a mile from the field spread.

We ended up with a full bag of mallards, with a few pintails mixed in. The flooded field we hunted is in the background of the grindage photo.

Later that morning, we watched as thousands of birds poured back into the roost. And that evening, there was an explosion of ducks into the fields and potholes a couple miles away, giving another group of hunters a great opportunity. If we would’ve hunted the roost that morning, I’d assume the birds would be at least a couple townships away and out of the area.

So if you’re coming out to North Dakota for ducks, I recommend bringing your waders, floaters, and a field spread. You’ll be equipped to hunt ducks in almost every situation, and you’ll keep plenty of birds in the area for your group and all others in the area. Give it a try the next time you’re out in the prairie. This is the style of North Dakota waterfowling in the prairie pothole region. Best of luck this year!

Orange Duck Recipe :

• 1 Tablespoon of Vegetable Oil
• 1/3 Cup of Orange Juice
• 2 Tablespoons Grated Orange Peel
• 1/2 Cup Can of Peaches, Pureed
• 1/2 Cup Can of Pineapple, Pureed
• 1/3 Cup Whipping Cream
• 1 Tsp. Bacon Drippings
• 2 Tablespoon Butter
• 1/2 Tsp. Chopped Fresh Garlic
• 1 Tsp. Tomato Paste
• 1 Cup Chicken Broth
• 1 Tablespoon Clover Honey

In a large skillet, heat oil and add 1 tablespoon butter and bacon drippings. Once the oil is hot, add mushrooms and sauté for about a couple minutes. Remove and set aside. Add garlic and brown duck breasts on both sides, remove and set aside. Add the remaining butter and reduce heat to simmer. Once the butter is melted add orange rind, tomato paste, chicken broth, honey, and orange juice. Stir over medium low heat until mixture comes to a boil. Add pineapple and peach, bring back to a light boil. Place breasts in a large pot and coat with sauce. Cook over low heat about 20 minutes. Arrange breasts on serving platter. Whisk whipped cream into sauce and add mushrooms. Put sauce over breasts and place in the broiler. Brown lightly and serve.

Grilled Duck Recipe :

• 4 Duck Breasts (cut into 1/2 – 3/4″ strips)
• Sealed Plastic Bag
• Bottle of Olive Oil
• 3 Tbsp of Soy Sauce
• 3 Tbsp of Worchesteir sauce
• 1 Tbsp of Seasoned Salt

Clean and rinse off duck breasts, place them in a plastic bag, and fill enough olive oil in the bag so it covers the duck breasts. Than add the other sauces and seasonings. Seal up the bag and shake it thoroughly, and refrigerate overnight.

Take duck strips out and cook on the grill, making sure not to overcook the duck. Cook for about 3 – 4 minutes on each side until medium. Great for when you’re hunting on the go.

Asian Duck Recipe :

• 4 lb. duck
• 2 cooked, peeled sweet potatoes, cut into rounds
• 3 peeled and chopped garlic cloves
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 peeled and quartered apple
• 4 tbs cornstarch
• 1 cup oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce
• 3 peeled and cubed turnips

Rinse and clean duck, and cut off all inside fat. Place garlic, apple, and lemon in cavity. In a large pot, fill with water and steam for 20 minutes/lb., or until meat is tender. Remove from water, cut duck in half, and remove bones.

Cut cornstarch into each part of duck. Pour oil in pan, and add salt. Brown duck in hot oil until golden and crispy, drain well when finished.

In small pan combine brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and lemon juice. Heat until sugar is dissolved and ingredients are well blended. Apply mixture over duck and let stand for 30 minutes in warm oven, basting with sauce several times.

Place duck on platter and surround with vegetables.