Steve D., The Hunting Sensei
http://www.HuntingSensei.com

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, getting to try out and test new hunting gear is one of my favorite things about the sport of waterfowling.  Yes, I love spending time with friends and family out in the field, and, yes, I enjoy the great outdoors and the sport itself, but I feel like a little boy at Christmas again whenever we get a new piece of duck hunting equipment to try out.  I’d say it makes me giddy except Big Steven would make fun of me…so, let’s just say it makes me very happy…in a manly sort of way.

One of my favorite new pieces of duck hunting gear from this past year has got to be the Otter outdoors Final Attack Duck Blind Boat.  This little amphibious duck blind was an absolute blast to get to use on the 3 or 4 trips we took it out on.  The best way to describe the Final Attack is as a great duck boat which can also be converted in to a water blind, a permanent pit blind and even a portable land-based duck blind as well. 

The Final Attack Duck Boat and Blind weighs about 75 pounds and has built in rear wheels, making it very easy to transport and set-up.  Otter Outdoors has designed a very solid boat at 8′ long and 44″ wide.  What I like even better is that the Final Attack Boat Blind is rotomolded with no seams to burst or leak.  We’ve had boats in the past where seams were popped and there is nothing worse than having to lug a half-submerged duck boat back to shore in 45 degree water.  Well, except for having to listen to Big Steven complain while he is lugging a half-submerged duck boat back to shore in 45 degree water.  Makes me wish my hearing was as bad as my wife seems to think it is.

While we didn’t get a chance to use it, Otter Outdoors’ Final Attack boat blind comes with a transom for an optional motor.  It’s a great option to have even if it isn’t one we’ll be making use of any time soon. 

Now, I do want to say that the 420 pound weight limit on the Otter outdoors Final Attack Duck Blind Boat is probably just a tad overstated.  We had Big Steven take it for a test drive to some near disasterous results.  Big Steven weighs in at just under 400 pounds and stands about 6′6″ tall and he pushed the Otter Outdoors Final Attack Duck Boat over the limit.  I won’t say exactly what happened because Big Steven would kill me, but it was funny and involved a whole lot of sinking.

Big Steven’s mishap notwithstanding, for average or even large-sized hunters looking for a great duck boat blind to add to their duck hunting equipment, or even for those looking for a very solid temporary coffin-blind for the land, I’d recommend checking out the Otter Outdoors Final Attack Boat and Blind for Duck Hunting.  Also, make sure to take a look at the optional back rest and snap-on blind accessories to fully trick out your Final Attack Duck boat and blind set-up. We also picked up the optional removable cover but wound up leaving it stowed and unused in the back of my truck.  

Final Attack Duck Boat
Length: 8′
Width: 44″
Weight: 70 lbs.
Cockpit Dimensions: 58″ X 26″ X 13″
Weight Capacity: 420 lbs
Construction: polyethylene plastic
Color: Marsh Brown
Wheels: Molded in
Occupants: Single User
Warranty: 3 year limited
Options: removable cover, snap-on blind and back rest
Price: Under $450

-Steve D., the Hunting Sensei
http://www.huntingsensei.com

Welcome to the Toolies!

Today's video episode of the Hunting Sensei takes us back down to Wister, California on December 14, 2007.  This time around it was Big Steven, myself and my nephew Chris, who had just returned from a tour of duty with the Army in Iraq and his ranger training. 

Our duck hunting was very successful, and we were able to test out a cool new decoy, the Wing Magic Decoy.  If you're looking for a way to spice up your duck decoy spread early in the season when spinning wing decoys aren't allowed, the Wing Magic decoys add a very nice alternative.

Until next time, happy hunting!

-Steve D., the Hunting Sensei
http://www.HuntingSensei.com

Welcome to the Toolies!

The 2007-2008 Duck Hunting Season was absolutely great this time around.  Nothing better than getting to go out duck hunting with your son, family and friends.  A good time was had by all.  One of the things I really enjoy doing when we go out on our trips down to Wister or Mendota is to test out new equipment.  My wife calls it “playing with my toys,” but I call it “industry research” and make sure she doesn’t find any of the receipts!

During the season I was able to test out an interesting new duck decoy called the Wing Magic Decoy.  Like everyone else I was looking for a way to add a bit more variety to my duck decoy spread, especially earlier in the season when spinning wing decoys aren’t allowed.  With a little bit of that “industry research” I mentioned earlier, I came across the Wing Magic website and, needless to say, my interest was sparked indeed.

The website described the Wing Magic Decoy perfectly, it is a jerk string decoy on steroids.  After watching their videos online, I reached for my credit card and placed a quick order.  The decoy arrived less than a week later and we were good to go for our next trip down to Wister, CA.  The first thing I noticed out of the box was how beautiful the molding and paint job on the Wing Magic Decoy are…the manufacturers did a solid job and the level of quality in the entire product is top notch.  The only essential item you need for the Wing Magic Decoy to work is a bit of 1/2″ conduit pole.  Once you’ve got that you are set and ready for action.

Putting together the Wing Magic Decoy was a snap - it took less than 2 minutes to assemble - and getting the decoy set up out in the water was just as easy.  Four taps with a mallet and the Wing Magic Decoy was in place and ready to pull in some ducks for us.  If you check out the video, you’ll see the motion of the Wing Magic Decoy is excellent and incredibly life-like.  It was all I could do to keep Big Steven from shooting the thing…and, it wouldn’t be the first decoy he’s shot. 

The only downside to the Wing Magic Decoy is the 75 foot cord, which pops out like a sore thumb in the water.  I’m not as worried about the color of it as the movement it makes in the water.  This next hunting season we plan to solve that problem with a couple of sinkers with swivels to get the cord off the surface.  I’ll do an update once we’ve had a chance to test it out.

All-in-all, the Wing Magic Decoy performed magnificantly and we look forward to using it again on our next hunting trip out in to the field.  You can find more information and order the Wing Magic Decoy at www.WingMagic.com.

Until next time, happy hunting!

-Steve D., the Hunting Sensei
http://www.huntingsensei.com

Welcome to the Toolies!

Big Steven and I had a great trip out to Wister. We just got back today and I hope to have some pictures up in the next few days. In the meantime, one of the questions we get asked a lot here at HuntingSensei.com is “What about reloading shells? Is it worth the effort and what are the best shotgun shell reloaders to use?” Hmmm, I guess that was more than one question.

The short and long answer to the first part of that question is “Yes.” Reloading your empties can allow you to shoot for as much as 50% of the cost over the course of a season, maybe more depeding upon how much you shoot. It is also an incredibly relaxing way to start off the new season. My wife, Gina, and I spend the weekend before the dove opener and load 500-600 shells in preparation and we have a lot of fun.

As to the question of which reloader is the best: I am very happy with my two MEC Shotshell reloaders. I have one set up to load shells for Gina’s 20 gauge and one to load 12 gauge shells for Big Steven and I. There are a number of different versions of the reloaders, which I’ll post links to here in this post for you all to take a look at. My personal choice is the Mec Sizemaster.

The MEC shotgun shell reloaders are very well built and solid. They perform time after time without a hitch at all.

The MEC reloader is also very simple to use. I’ve had a number of newbies come in here to the Toolies to help me get ready for the new hunting season - my wife, my daughter, my best friend and his son - and they all have been able to get started and up to speed after a few shells.

I’ve also never had a shell misfire or come up with a problem. The way the MEC reloader is set up, you almost have to make a mistake on purpose in order to make one at all.

If you’re looking to save money - money that can add up pretty quickly when you’re out shooting for a season - then look in to reloading your own shells. Think about it this way, you’re already picking up your empties so you’re halfway there! The savings can be huge.

Until next time, happy hunting!

-Steve D., the Hunting Sensei
http://www.huntingsensei.com

Big Steven and I are heading back out to Wister tonight for a day before Thanksgiving shoot. We’re hoping things go a bit better than they did on our last trip which netted 4 ducks for me and a rail bird Big Steven mistook for a snipe.

There is absolutely nothing more satisfying than making a good shot while you’re out in the field. Watching as a set of ducks commits to your spread, opening up as they come in to range and then listening for that tell-tale splash as a bird goes down in to the water. And, there is nothing more frustrating than missing a shot you should have made.

Over the course of the past week or so, as Big Steven and I took a look back on that trip to see what went wrong for him, we analyzed what he was doing wrong. The first thing we discovered was that he was left eye dominant. What that means is he instinctively shuts his right eye which throws off his aim as a right handed shooter. I’ve known a lot of hunters who experience this problem and there are a few options to solving it. First off you can shoot left handed. You can wear an eye patch over your left eye during the shoot to help train yourself. Or, you can suffer through a lot of missed shots until you train yourself to use the correct eye. Big Steven doesn’t want to switch to shooting left handed so he’ll be trying out an eye patch on our shoot tomorrow. We’ll give you all an update on how it went once we get back.

Going over Big Steven’s problem also allowed us to come up with a list of 6 shooting tips to help make sure you fill your limit every time.

Shooting Tip #1: Don’t Shoot at a Flock - Shoot at a Single Duck at a Time

If you watch a lot of hunters out in the field you’ll notice that they aim into a flight of birds coming in instead of targeting a single bird and staying on it. The problem with just taking a shot into a fight of ducks is that most of the flock is made up of air and you’ll miss more times than not. The key is to lock your sight in on one bird and to stick with it until you take it. Focus and follow through will get you more ducks than letting the excitement of the hunt break that focus.

Shooting Tip #2: Slow Down

One of the things my son-in-law, Mathias, suffers from is getting overly excited and trying to take a shot before he should. This is something a lot of new hunters suffer from and is one of the main reasons most end up missing ducks or geese they should have been able to take. Giving in the the excitement will cause you to be jerky when mounting your gun, will give you poor follow through and will send you on that trip back to the truck for more shells sooner than it should. Take a nice, slow, deep breath before you fire…slow yourself down. There is plenty of time to two and sometimes three very accurate shots before the ducks pull out of range.

Shooting Tip #3: Don’t Compete for the Same Birds as Your Hunting Partners

Something you’ll hear at some point in every group hunt is a debate over who downed a bird. This happens because most hunters tend to sight up the closest bird — the lowest and easiest shot — and you’ll wind up with two or more hunters all taking aim and firing at the same bird. What I like to do is shoot for the trailing or last bird if I’m in a group or hunting with Big Steven. This makes sure I’m the only one targeting a bird, it gives Big Steven a clear and easier shot and after my first shot it gets my shotgun in the right zone to take any flaring duck on my subsequent shots. It also lets me get in position to take whatever ducks Big Steven shot at but missed.

Shooting Tip #4: On Long Shots Make Sure to Lead More Than You Think You Should

On those longer, passing shots the thing to do is to make yourself lead the duck more than you think. If you don’t, then the distance and speed of the duck will have you shooting behind your target every time. Shooting in front of a bird gives you an infinitely better chance of hitting a bird than the no chance shooting behind it gives you.

Shooting Tip #5: Head on Ducks are Shot When Not Seen

If you’ve got a duck coming at you head on, the key to taking it is to mount your shotgun so the barrel is just below the duck. As the bird comes in to range, swing your gun up and through the bird. Fire once your shotgun barrel covers the bird and you’ll start to fill your limits faster. Now, if you’ve got a bird coming in and dropping down in to your decoys, hold you barrel just blow the bird so your shot flows in to its flight path.

Shooting Tip #6: Follow Through Is Key - Never Stop Swinging

The single most common reason for hunters missing is from stopping during their swing. As a hunter you absolutely must follow through with your swing if you want to be successful. Think of it like trying to hit a baseball. If you stop your bat as soon as you hit the ball you’ll completely mess up your coordination and the natural stroke of the bat. The exact same thing happens when you’re shooting and don’t follow through with the natural motion of your swing. Make sure to keep your shotgun moving even after firing and you’ll notice a much better feel to your shots and you’ll take more birds.

Well, it’s about time to get ready to head back out to Wister for another day of hunting. Until next time, happy hunting!

-Steve D., the Hunting Sensei
http://www.huntingsensei.com

One of the problems every waterfowler runs in to is a leaky decoy — either from years of use and abuse or, sometimes, from an accidental shot. That “accidental shot” is precisely what happened to Big Steven and I at our last trip out to the Wister Unit here in Southern California. A nice set of 3 teal burst out of the bush right at water level and flew a few feet over our decoy spread. We both took a pair of shots and Big Steven pegged a couple of our decoys in the process. Of course, I blame Big Steven for hitting the decoys because I’m the one telling the story here. He took down his bird but he also took down a pair of magnum pintails in the process.

After we came back to shore from retrieving both the fallen birds and the fallen decoys, I thought it would be a great topic to talk about here on the Hunting Sensei. It’s something we all go through one way or the other but not everyone knows how to bring a hole-filled decoy back from the dead.

Lucky for us, we both realized our decoys were damaged and I was able to quickly mark the leaking holes while the pintails still had water in them. The holes are always easiest to find right away. However, sometimes you don’t have the luxury of knowing exactly when your son decided to try and fill his limit with your decoys and you need to find a hidden leak.

If you find yourself with a low-riding decoy (or one that has decided to turn itself into a diver!), finding the problem spots are easy enough to find and repair, and the repairs will get your decoys back to working as well as new in time for your next hunt.

Now, the first thing you have to do is to find where the problem is in your leaky decoy. The only effective way to do this is to submerge your decoy in water. Once you’ve got it nice and partially full, take it out and turn it in your hand. Squeeze firmly and you’ll start to notice drips or streams of water if the hole or holes are large, or bubbles if the damage is smaller - such as from a crack in the decoy’s seam from being dropped. Mark any holes or leaky spots and you’ll be good to go to get started on your repair.

Once you have your leaks marked, what you’re going to want to do is take out your handy Craftsman drill with a 1/8″ bit on it and drill out the hole. You’re making the hole bigger so you can squeeze in silicone to make a strong enough patch to last for many seasons to come. You’re also going to drill a hole in the very tip of the decoy’s tail so you can hang it or rack it to allow any remain water to drain out, as well as to let the decoy full dry on the inside.

Probably the best latex/silicone based adhesive out there is Lexel, which comes in squeeze and caulking gun tubes. Now, Lexel is about 3 times more expensive than something like Liquid Nails but is going to be stronger, much more flexible and has a better adhesive strength. Lexel works great in a caulking gun. If you use it in a caulking gun you’ll want to make sure to plug the tip of the tube with a toothpick or metal spur because it the Lexel won’t set up in the tip and will be easier to clear. Finally, Lexel takes paint extremely well after it sets (generally after about 2-3 days).

Once you have the Lexel set up in a caulking gun (my instrument of choice for leaky decoy repair), apply it to all holes and/or cracks you’ve marked, making sure to allow some of the sealant to go inside the body of the decoy to make an interior plug as well. Use a wet finger to finish your mound of Lexel on the outside of the body. After you’ve got all the holes filled, set your decoy out in the sun for the 2-3 days it takes for Lexel to set and you’re ready to recheck the decoy for leaks.

If you have more extensive damage, such as a broken bill or extra large hole, then make use of an epoxy putty. Sonic Weld is a very good expoxy for this task.

Lastly, once you’ve finished your repairs and your decoys are leak free, move on to touching up your decoys…depending upon the damage, some decoys may need a completely repaint.

Now you’ve got repaired decoys that should last as long as any that haven’t popped a leak…or been shot by Big Steven. Now, get out there and use ‘em in your favorite spread.

That does it from the Toolies for today. Until next time, Happy Hunting!

-Steve D., the Hunting Sensei
http://www.huntingsensei.com

Big Steven and I spent the better part of last weekend hunting out in the Salton Sea region of Southern California, at the Wister Unit.  We had a blast and brought home a few ducks…along with an egret Big Steven thought was a snipe.  Now, a few of you might be asking, “but, Big Steven didn’t really hit anything this time around,” and you’re right.  However, what you don’t realize is that Big Steven has a very specific range in which he is deadly accurate — unfortunately, that range is between 25 and 27 yards.  Anything less than that or further away and he misses…but if a bird flies into that 2 yard killing zone it’s dead.

With the aid of my son-in-law, we’ve put together the first in what I hope to be a long line of Hunting Sensei video episodes detailing our adventures in hunting. 

Once you’ve taken a gander at the video, feel free to drop us a line to let Big Steven and I know what you think.  Until next time, Happy Hunting!

-Steve D., the Hunting Sensei
http://www.huntingsensei.com

Today is a great day. Not only are Big Steven and I heading back out to Wister tonight, but I’ve got in a great reader email asking a question about hunting on a rice field. We don’t do a huge amount of hunting on rice, which tend to be a lot flatter and have more visibility than hunting in flooded timber. Because of that visibility, setting up a good blind in a rice field can be tricky.

Let’s hear what Bruce has to say about his upcoming hunting trip.

NEW TO HUNTING RICE. LOOKING FOR SOME INFO ON HOW TO SET UP DECOY SPREAD. BLIND FACES WEST RICE CHECK RUNS NORTH TO SOUTH. JUST LOOKING FOR A FEW HELPFUL HINTS. THANKS, BRUCE

Bruce:

Thanks for the note and for the question. Most of the tips for Duck Spreads I posted still apply to what you’re doing. The rule of thumb is to face most of the decoys in to the wind since most ducks, like planes, will land that way. As with other spreads, make sure to mix up the types of decoys you have - some in the feeding position (head down), some alert looking left or right, maybe a couple on the hailing position and a few in the sleeping or resting position. Variety is one of the keys to making your spread look natural to incoming ducks and will help get the to commit.

Now, floating decoys will probably not work for you since they have keels which won’t really work in ultra shallow or drained rice fields. If you have duck decoys with removable keels then those should still work out ok. A few “wing things” and a couple of spinning wing decoys will also help tremendously provided they are legal to use in the area you’ll be hunting in. You have to be careful with any of the powered decoys as local laws may control when and if you can use them on a hunt. Here in Southern California the spinner decoys can’t be used until later in the season in December. Make sure to check out the regulations for your particular area.

As to how to set up your spread, everyone does it differently and you will get different results from field to field. Unfortunately, duck hunting isn’t a science, it’s an artform and you have to sculpt your spread to work in any given situation. The standard “J” or “V” patterns usually work pretty well for us, but sometimes they come up empty. The key is to control where your landing zone is and to make sure you are leading the birds in to your blind. Watch if the wind is going parallel or perpendicular to your blinds and toss out your spread from there.

And, finally, I want to say, don’t wait for the birds to land before you take ‘em. There’s no sport in that at all. I see more and more younger guys waiting for birds to hit water before they take there shots and I just don’t see the point in that. You might as well shoot the decoys…which Big Steven has done from time to time.

I hope that helps out, Bruce. Good luck on your hunt! If anyone else has any questions about duck hunting, or hunting in general, feel free to send them in and I’ll try my best to answer them.

That’s it for me today. Until next time, happy hunting!

-Steve D., the Hunting Sensei
http://www.huntingsensei.com

 Well, as I promised, here are a bunch of photos from our shoot on the opening day of duck season.  Big Steven and I were at the Wister Unit here in Southern California — and we’ll be back again this weekend (November 3, 2007).  I was finally able to get Big Steven to send the pictures over for us to post up here on the website.  We had a blast and are hoping to have photos and some video of this weekend.

Check out the pictures and let us know what you think!

As I mentioned before, Wister was jam-packed this year and there was very little organization going on.  Everything was crowded, a lot of people didn’t have their blinds picked out when they were called up and it was a bit of a mess.  Very unusual for Wister, which is usually right on the ball.  I do want to mention that there were a lot of young hunters this year.  It was great to see so many young people taking up the hunter’s mantle.

As always, the snack shack out front was the happening place to be in the early-morning hours before things opened up.  A great place to get slightly over-priced sodas and to hang out and shoot the breeze with your fellow hunters.

Wait a minute…how the heck did that get in there?  That’s right, if you dedicate yourself to hunting for as long as I have then you too can have a body like this.  And, yes, those are the official Hunting Sensei Boxers…I’m just glad I didn’t wear my camo thong this time.

I swear, I can’t take Big Steven anywhere.  You’d think after his problems with the outhouse that he would have taken his dump BEFORE we left for Wister.  You may not know this, but when Big Steven passes gas he can take down a Wood Duck at 35 yards.  I wouldn’t lie to you!

There I am…hard at work.  After 9am there wasn’t a whole lot going on.  I think 4 hours went by without us seeing a duck of any kind.  Sometimes you just have to sit back and relax.

What happens in Wister stays in Wister.  I tried to tell my wife that I had a couple of beers and one thing led to another…At least she said we could put the drinks on her bill…

We didn’t get a whole lot of birds that first day out but we sure had a lot of fun…and that is the most important think.  Well, that and getting the picture that looks like Big Steven is doing the squat and grunt.  Good times.

Well, until next time, happy hunting!

-Steve D., the Hunting Sensei
http://www.huntingsensei.com