Personal Narrative: Duck Hunting

Most people are all grown up when they finally figure out what they want to do with their life. I was 4. I realized what I wanted to be when I attended my very first Rodeo. Even though it was so long ago I can remember that day like it was yesturday. That day got me on the path to my future.

One early saturday morning my dad (Shawn), my cousin (trey), and I woke up at 2:30 a.m. to go duck hunting. When we get out there we are one of the first people there and 4:00 comes along and we sent out to our spot. When we come to a spot that boats can't go we have to walk for about 15 minutes. As we are putting out the last of are decoys we here so more people throwing out decoys and they are pretty close. Well, we start talking to them and they are pretty nice and they ask if they can hunt with us and we said yes. Then, daylight comes and a group of ducks come in and we shot but I was the only one that killed one that we could find and it´s a drake which is a male mallard. Then, my dad shoots and we could not find his ducks.

It was the middle of October, and it was finally time for my long awaited moose hunt. I have waited ever since I was a little girl for this opportunity, and it was finally here. So, my father and I packed up our stuff and left the warmth of Phoenix. We were leaving the "Valley of the Sun" and headed for a place called Wyoming. After two days and fourteen long hours of driving, we made it to our hunting unit.

Of all the hobbies out there one of my most fond hobbies would have to be duck hunting. It’s something that nothing else in this word can compare to. Chasing ducks is something that’s been in my blood for three generations now. From a very young age I’ve been very into the sport. Duck hunting is a passion that comes deep from my family, from my dad to my grandfather we’ve all become obsessed with the sport. Wading through the flooded fields and timber of the Mississippi delta, and shooting ducks is something that will never go out of style to me.

Have thin gloves for shooting your bow and very warm boots since it will be your feet to get cold first. If you have a loose budget, there are a variety of Gore-Tex waterproof and scent-lok garments for the serious bow- hunter.

We rush to get on all of our necessary hunting clothing. My step brother and I go down to lake shore to load our stuff into our boat, lastly I push us off into the cold, dark ,brisk morning. Once we get to our spot we spend time throwing our duck decoys into what we call the “J hook”. As we are set up there is nothing more we can do, besides wait until shooting time. It's still too dark to shoot or see ducks flying, but you can hear their wings whistling over heard. Finally it's time to shoot. We see tons of ducks, we choose carefully on what ducks we shoot because we can only shoot 6 a day. I sometimes feel bad for my dogs because for almost every duck we shoot they have to go retrieve, but then I realize they love it just as much as I do. After we shoot our ducks we head back to camp, as I'm sitting in the front In the boat all I can think about is the next hunt and how amazing it will be, than I'm broken from my daydream from the slobber of my dogs tongue on my hand. At camp our first responsibility is to clean our ducks, which sucks. We pluck feather by feather and fillet out breast by breast. But I can't wait to repeat this process 6 more days in a

My family and I are huge Whitetail Deer hunters and every year when the season arrives, it is always the same. The night before everyone makes sure they have all of their clothes set out for the

In the fall of 2012, I had just completed a six hour hunters education course and my father finally deemed me ready to hunt. Hunting is a tradition that has been in my family for generations. My grandpa taught my father how to hunt, and finally it was time for my father to teach me. “Once a Gerace gets his first kill, he earns the responsibilities of being a man,” That is what my Grandfather told my father many years ago, and now my father told me. Later that week, we found out that we were drawn for javelina hunting, although the hunt was not until February. For the next four months I spent every weekend at the shooting range, the determination I had for getting my first javelina was unmatched. I never wanted anything more in my life.

I sit and wait. The lonely call of a great horned owl breaks the silence of the early morning. A few minutes later I hear the calls of a wolf to the north. I know there will be more howls and within two minutes other wolves start calling. They are talking to each other, telling their pack where they are and if they have found any food. As it get lighter and lighter I wait for the first gun-shots of the season, and sure enough, POW. The season has begun.

This week's weather change could be a boon to duck hunters, as a freeze up north should drive some new birds down into the Grasslands. Last Saturday, my son Bill and a friend had a pretty good shoot at the Santa Cruz Club south of Los Banos. They had a good early morning flight, mostly Greenwing Teal and Northern shovelers. They ended up with 11 ducks, including one Canvasback, before the flight ended about 10:30 a.m. To make it more challenging, they were both shooting 20 gauge shotguns. My son is still shooting the same Remington Model 58 that I gave him in 1970, when he was 13 years old. The public shooting areas showed some increase in averages last Saturday in the Sacramento Valley with Delevan and Sacramento Refuges being the best. In the Los Banos Complex, Merced and Los Banos units picked up to around two birds per hunter.

It was record breaking temperatures on this July 4th day. Red, white, and blue filling up the stands. Fans and umbrellas protecting spectators from the heat of the sun. It was about game time and I was getting ready to take the field for the last home game. Butterflies in my stomach, but I had to tell myself “it’s just another game”. Even though in my heart I knew it was not just another game.

Every year for Thanksgiving, my dad, cousin, and 2 uncles go hunting. Hunting is a tradition that we enjoy on Thanksgiving, and we have repeated it for several years. Hunting is done before the meal, and after, and we normally shoot 2-3 deer

My Family and I were at home eating dinner. After dinner I told my mom that I had left something on top of the mountain, so she said “‘go up to get it Mary. But she didn’t want me to go alone so I went to go see if my friend was home but he wasn’t so I disobeyed my moms rules and went up by myself anyway. And it was starting to get dark so I had to get the base fast but I couldn’t find it. Now it was really dark and 2 hours had already passed and I couldn't my way off the mountain because it was so dark. And with my luck my phone died so I couldn’t call anyone for help, so I just started walking and walking after a little bit I realized I was getting nowhere so again I walked eventually I just fell and went to

Most importantly, waterfowl hunters need to begin collecting gear that helps them survive the elements and have a successful day. First, different types of clothing are required. Hunters should buy the appropriate clothing and camouflage pattern that best fits where

“What the heck was that?” I asked myself, “Hunting season is not here already is it?”