Lead Is Toxic Shot

So why don’t we use lead shot at waterfowl any more?

Why do they have upland Non-Toxic Shot areas?

Does it affect people too?

Is it really that bad?

Lead is Toxic Shot. It has been proven beyond a doubt that exposure to lead is harmful. There are restrictions on the use of lead in gasoline and paints as well as restricting imported products containing lead. Over exposure to lead can cause Vomiting, Diarrhea, Convulsions and Coma. It may also do damage to the Brain and Nervous System. Even Death.

The affects on wild life are the same as humans. The thing to remember is that animals are much smaller and only need a very small amount to do the same. It’s not the animal that has been shot that it affects. It’s the others around it. Lead must be ingested to be poisonous. Waterfowl can be poisoned by the lead at the bottom of a lake or in a field. The same goes for upland game and predators. Lead is mixed in with their food source and accidentally ingested.

Lead poisoning is not a fast and painless death. It is long painful and drawn out. Even more painful and drawn out, in total, is the predators that feed on dead or dieing animals. Now not only has the pray animal suffered but so has the predator.

The same goes for humans. No mater if you shoot the animal with lead bird shot or with a lead slug and you happen to ingest it, or if you happen to eat a animal that has ingested lead prior to you consuming it. The results are the same. Tragic!

That’s why the federal government has stepped up. Not only that, but 23 states have gone above and beyond to dedicate land that only Non-Toxic Shot may be used. Check to see if your state has any of these dedicated lands.

There are effective and affordable alternatives to lead shot. Steel shot is one of the most common and the least expensive. There is a wide variety and selection of steel shot, also many stores and companies carry these products. There is Heavyshot and Bismith to name a few others.

Remember these regulations have been put in place for the good of game and ourselves.

The last thing and most important, have fun, be safe and pass on the knowledge and the love for the sport to others. The youth is our future and with out us passing it on it will never last.

John Rotter JR

Duck Junkies pro staff member

Are your decoys marching soldiers? (on website)

If you have spent much time watching real ducks in real situations your either a birder or a hunter. We duck hunters are known for stopping to watch at local ponds, golf courses and in the marsh to gain some perspective on how ducks arrange themselves, how they sound, and what their behavior is like. If we are lucky we might notice a thing or two that could help us next season with our decoy spread, or with our calling.

One thing I've noticed, and tried to emulate with my decoy spreads is this...Don't make your decoys look like marching soldiers.

If you are using floaters you most likely have two attachment points for the weights on the underside of your decoys, one on the front of the keel, and one on the rear of the keel. Now most ducks will face in to the wind when their is a breeze, but not all. Just like in real life, ducks will be swimming around, turning, diving etc...If you hook all of your decoys only on the front of the keel, when the wind blows, they'll look like marching soldiers.

This is not a natural look for a flock of ducks, and could potentially scare away a group of birds trying to find a place to land. If fact a group of birds facing in to the wind with head held high is a signal that the group is going to take off at any moment. Here's what I do to add variety and give a more natural look to my decoy spread.

On every 3rd or 4th decoy in your spread attach your weight to the rear attachment point on your decoy. When the wind blows, or when a wave passes by, this will orient your decoy away from the other plastic birds. This should give a more natural look to however many decoys you might be setting. My advice, if you hunt with one or two dozen hook every 3rd bird at the rear. If you have a larger spread, say several dozen, hook them every 4th or 5th bird at the rear.


Try this tip and see for yourself if your decoy spread doesn't look more natural.

P.S. - If this tip works for you and you want to add yet another twist, drill a hole in the center of the keel on a few ducks in your spread and attach your weight. This will give the appearance of ducks swimming across the spread, again, a more natural relaxed look.

Nathan Woodard
Duck Junkies Pro Staff
Phoenix, AZ

View this article on the website.

Iowa

Well the turkey season went really well. We hunted almost every day of the two seasons that we chose to hunt. They gobbled every morning and it was great. Its cool to listen to them gobble and the hens yelp to. My dad shot a nice doubled tom during second season and i put on on the ground in third season. Turkey hunting is a great and fun sport. It summer now, out of school, ready for work to start. It will be a great summer and hope it goes fast so i can start playing football and hunting ducks.

Pro Staffer Shannon Smith Takes Second Place

Shannon Smith, Round 3 TexasOpen Real Duck. Placed 2nd!

Wednesday, June 2nd, Duck Junkies Pro Staffer Brock Perry

will be discussing River Hunting on the Kelly Outdoors Online Radio Show.

Last Minute Gobbler

As I sit and write this it is 85 degrees and so humid that you break a sweat walking to the mailbox. At the end of May I can only dream of the fall season that brings duck season with it. Since that time seems like forever away, I will share a turkey hunt with you that took place just over a week ago. I had been out several times during the spring turkey season here in Iowa but I was shooting them with a camera instead of a 12 gauge. I called my dad up on saturday and asked if he wanted to join me on the last day for a turkey hunt. Since we had not hunted together all season he jumped at the chance. We decided to try a non-traditional approach since many of the toms were not as active as they were earlier in the season. Sunday morning we climbed into our texas style deer stand that is elevated 12 foot and overlooks a 2 acre food plot that was just sprouting. We knew they loved to feed on our fresh sprouts and hoped they would come for a visit. As the sun came over the eastern horizon the toms nearly went silent, except for 1. He was gobbling to every call and we had high hopes. After an hour of hearing him gobble and not getting any closer we decided to put a sneak on him. We knew that he was about 200 yards away, through some timber and most likely on the other side in the CRP field. We walked quietly listening to him gobble and as i peaked up over the knoll, there he was full strut at 100 yards with a hen right next to him. I laid in the CRP and dad went back about 40 yards and began calling. Through the grass I could see the tom gobble and strut everytime the striker hit the slate. Unfortunately, the hen he had with him was good enough and he was not even slightly interested in us. The hen however, was and she was coming on a b-line to check it out. She walked right by me at 10 yards and towards the call. Now that she was out of the toms sight I figured my best chance at getting his attention was to spoke her in the opposite direction. So I stood up and she took of running and then flew the other way. I peaked over the knoll at the tom and he was still in the same spot. Dad and I decided to tuck back down in the timber and use the logging road to our advantage which is sunk down so much that you cant be seen from the field. When we got to where we thought the tom would work better I crawled up to the field edge again while dad stayed back to call. As I peered over the knoll the tom was no where to be found. I laid there astonished wondering how in the world that tom could have been spooked. After a few rounds of calling and no response I figured it was time to head in for some of moms home cooked breakfast. I get to my knees and still no bird. I stand up and begin to turn to my dad when a red head catches my eye. 47 yards away he jumps up out of the grass and begins running toward the timber on the other side. Being a waterfowler at heart I tell myself, "You can shoot a moving bird, Shoot!" I swing my 12 gauge remington up, put a slight led on him and pull the trigger. The toms rolls and starts flopping. The hunt was over, we had bagged a nice tom on the last day of the Iowa season. It was not a traditional hunt from the start, but during the late season you have to be willing to think outside the box. It is not all about killing however, my dad has taught me that we are lucky to just be out there. When someone asks my dad if he had any luck hunting, the answer is ALWAYS "YES, I was one of the luckiest people in the world this morning because I got to go hunting." If you understand the meaning of that then you can truly call yourself a hunter.

Justin Tangeman

Eastern Iowa Pro Staff

Michigan Waterfowl (WLP)

Hello Junkies,
If you are not a Delta Waterfowl member you may not have read or watched the clip on EIC & CNM. This is something all of us who cherish our most trusted hunting companions should be aware of. Please take a moment and listen to what Dr. Leland Davis of Reelfoot Animal Hospital and Delta Waterfowl's Retriever Editor J. Paul Jackson talk about. This does not go into vast detail, but it should give you enough information on the subject to form your own research.

Thanks,
Ryan Cote
Duck Junkies
Pro Staff MI

May 2010 Featured Member

The May Featured Junkie is Terry Epping from Illinois.

Hi my name is Terry Epping and I have been a duck junkie since I was 9 years old when my dad first took me duck hunting on the Mississippi river in 1970. My strongest duck hunting quality is teaching others about duck hunting. I love to deer hunt but I live to duck hunt.

Get up and get out

Spring has sprung, time for you to spring off the couch and get around to your local hunting areas. It is a good time to get out and take a look at the areas your normally hunt. The benifits to this are that you are not focused on beating others there and setting the deeks. This will allow you an opportunity to learn more about the area (water depth, effects of the wind, possible blind locations, etc...). Take the wife out with you and show her your spot, it might help her realize HOW HARD you "Slave" during the gunning season.....not so much....

The places I hunt in Eastern NC are often effected by the change in weather, so I am not going to get perfect snap shot of what it will look like this Fall, but every little bit helps. I use this time to find new spots, mark waypoints on my GPS, all of which allow me to stay flexible during the season.

And best of all, while doing this, I can target some Redfish (puppy drum, red drum). March to Aug in NC equals great fishing.....can't beat it......


Josh Bourne
Duck Junkies
Pro Staff
North Carolina

Summer in the South

Spring turkey season has ended, and with it any relief from the scorching temperatures that are already invading peninsular Florida. We're not even half way into may and it's already hitting temps in the 90's. Weather like that can make it hard on a duck hunter who wants nothing more than to get back to duck hunting.

With the summer down time in mind, here's a few things you can do to make the off-season go by faster and keep yourself and your gear in hunting shape.

Decoy Maintenance:
Now is the time to get your decoys repaired and repainted for the next season. There are 2 products I use to repair decoys that have been shot up over a long season of hunting. The first is a hot glue gun which I use to repair errant shot holes in my blocks. The hot glue easily fills the holes and binds to the plastic without any prep work, making them water ready instantly.

The second product is JB Quick. I use it to repair cracked keels and torn anchor loops. Mix just enough to cover the area you want to repair, apply and wait 4 minutes. It's that simple. No sanding needed and you can drill your holes back out for your anchor line quickly.

As for painting decoys, less is more. Don't worry too much about detail. Just get some Krylon and hit the broad stroked. The differentiation in color and bold patterns are more important than the fine details some of your blocks originally came with. AS long as it looks like a duck and has the same markings as what they expect to see, you shuold be just fine.

Guns:
Clean it inside and out. That includes the threads on your choke tubes. cover everything in a light coat of teflon infused oil. I prefer Tri-Flow to just about anything else on the market. It inhibits rust, will not hold dirt or grime, and can not freeze up on you in sub-zero temperatures.

While you're at it, make sure you also clean your gun cases. You would be amazed at how many guys neglect this part of their equipment and never realize that some of these PVC lined, water-proof cases actually hold marsh water for months at a time. No sense putting a clean gun back into a wet, hostile environtment to sit and rust away.

And while we're talking about guns in your down time, one of the best things you can do for your gun and your pattern is to take it to a gunsmith and have that forcing come smoothed and elongated. This will reduce those stray pellets from your pattern and make for a much better shooting gun all around. The good news, it's also one of the least expensive things you can do to make your gun shoot great.

Shooting:
I know summer time is for fishing, but you really need to get some trigger time in as well. Make time to get out on the range and practice your shooting skills. The hunter that spent a month shooting in the summer will go through far less steel shot early in the season than the guy who just broke his gun out the week before opener. Stick to sporting clays and stay away from trap shooting. Trap shooting is too repetitious and teaches you very little about field-applicable skills.

If you can check these things off your list this summer before the season is in sight, you'll be well on your way to more time afield and less down time during the season. Prentative maintenance goes a long way to ensuring a successful season.

Good luck. God bless. And hope to see you all out in the Marsh this fall.

Wood Ducks

I don't know how many people have ponds to put wood duck boxes in or to even watch them but it is truly addicting. I have two family friends who both allow us to put boxes up and come to watch them. They are are amazing to watch them fly right into the box without slowing down to squeeze through the hole in them. If you get the chance go watch them on night or be even better and do you part in conservation and put some up!

Brian Reynolds

Duck Junkies Pro-Staff

Delaware