White Haired Wisdom

[Flatfish]

There's things I get. And there's things I don't.....

Why use a 20 on ducks? They are usually lighter than a 12, so recoil is close to the same. The reality is, with steel shot, they have a limited range, and on whatever days you use one, the ducks seem to fly by 5-7 yards past that range. You either learn to not shoot at birds that are simple with a 12, or cripple a few extras. Other than the excuse of buying another gun.....I don't get the draw of using a 20 on waterfowl. Uplands and claybirds I totally love the 20. On ducks with bismuth, it's a solid choice. With steel....not so much.

Some folks make a big deal out of the difference between a 22 and 24" barrel on a rifle. If a couple inches of tube makes or breaks you.....it's an excuse. Learn how to handle a rifle. Add in awareness of your surroundings. It aint that hard.

Why is it bad to take a 400 yard shot at a critter that is unaware of your presence.....but it's ok to take running shots at "woods range"? If you have done much of either, you know it's a helluva lot easier to make a shot from prone than it is to pretend elk hunting is just like busting a covey of quail.

Flocked duck decoys are marketing. I've hunted ducks a few times in my life. Some of which over a flocked spread. By the time the duck can tell the difference, he's in range. I've got a few dozen. They work the same as the 39.99 cheapies I have from my youth. I've noticed a lotta the same folks that insist on flocked dekes bob their head around like a pumpkin on a stick, and have shoddy blinds that stick out like a sore thumb. Maybe they think the flocking will make up for a lack of effort on their part? Add in the fact that flocking gets kinda beat up after a couple years use that you feel the need to buy more overpriced dummies....marketing genius.

Stickers on shotguns are dumb unless someone's paying you to have them on there. Nothing good comes from adding adhesive to an autoloading mechanism. I play with glue and tape for money. Stuff sticks to adhesive. Just because the guys on the TV shows/infomercials have a sticker does not mean it's a good idea to plaster your gun with em (I gotta be honest....., I have a Hello Kitty sticker on my duck gun. Got enough questions about it- from folks with stickers on their guns- to entertain myself for a couple years now).

Ported choke tubes are dumb. They do little to nothing to reduce recoil, and increase the noise. Don't do that.

Sadly, most gun magazines are nothing more than ads. It used to be you could read about hunting stories about the adventure of hunting in grand places. Now it seems like every other article is about the newest tactical widget. If I ever to to combat zombies, and I need tactical widgets, I'll be sure to read the newest Blasting & Shooting Magazine.

Reliable firearms matter. Be it in the duck blind, competition or on the hunting fields. If your nifty 300 wizz bang mag has a 7 pound trigger and don't hold zero because the cheap scope....it aint that nifty. If your autoloader jams up with live ammo in it, you are the focus of everyone's attention. Because you now have a potentially loaded arm and have to unjam it without pointing it at someone. Practice in the off season teaches us what we need to know. In the heat of the moment is the wrong time to figure out a firearm isn't reliable.

If you think it's necessary to buy 250.00 pants to chase upland birds, the marketing people love you. See flocked decoys above.

Your Italian shotgun only impresses me if you can apply it. 5-20 grand on a O/U......misses a 20 yard pheasant.

If you are gonna call at game, learn to do so before season. Nuff said.

Pay attention to the critters. Not your equipment. So many folks are fumbling around with gadgets when they should be getting ready to shoot. Unless of course the point of the exercise is to evaluate your nifty gore tex clothing when you should be watching around yourself for shooting windows. That way, you don't snag the 24" barrel on a twig.

Triggers matter. Heavy triggers are bad. Gritty triggers are bad. Creepy triggers are bad. If this statement confuses you, practice a lot more than you do.

When you are handling any firearm, the number one concern is to keep it pointed in a safe direction. Even when hunting in the woods. Even when clearing a jam. Even at a gun shop. If you can't do this, maybe firearms just aint gonna be a good idea for you.

If you can carry a 5.5 pound rifle. But you can't carry a 6 pound rifle.....the rifle aint the problem.

Bullets are tools. If you hunt in the woods, choose a bullet that will work well for that application. If you hunt at long range, choose accordingly. A friend just shot a deer at close range with a long range slug. It didn't end well. Our elk guide last year (In a place where 250-450 yard shots are the common) told me how much he hates the same bullets I use at close range with wonderful results. Neither of them will consider that a bullet is not a one size fits all deal.

Muzzle brakes make a lot less sense than a silencer to me. Why increase blast when you can decrease it?

If you sail a duck out 300 yards, go help the dog find it.

If you gotta stand in the decoys with a whistle in your mouth, and walk your dog into a simple 40 yard fetch via hand signals, you are micro managing. If the dog didn't mark the drop, use a slingshot or rock to get em in the right direction. They are usually better hunters than we are. Let em do their job (without interrupting them every 7 yards). The more you let them hunt, the better they get at it.

[slinger]

Gonna steal your sticker idea.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

[Sneaker]

Get off my lawn.

[desperatehills]

I can't believe you typed that whole thing out, you really need a new hobby

[joeer77]

My kid is going to learn to duck hunt with a 20ga. Get over it. I'll have my 12ga handy to help swat down any cripples.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[Brian304]

I sit here laughing thinking about people getting bent out of shape by a post like this. There are some hard truths contained in it. I am not against expensive gear if that's how you want to spend your money, it just does not equate to competence. I may be guilty of trying. Having gear that functions and being able to perform basic skills consistently well, will usually get the job done.

[baltz526]

I have white hare . If you shoot steel shot and it is stopping in the bird. You are using the wrong shot size.

[Stick'em]

"Never pass up a sure thing for a future possibility." (applies to many things in life)

"Don't wait for a better shot."

[If hunting from a tree stand]. "Never forget where you are."

[444Marlin]

A 24" barrel gives me a longer sight radius and I'm 2" closer the target.

A 20 gauge is 8 more than a 12 gauge.

Muzzlebreaks don't require a tax stamp...taxes are bad. And, it helps accelerate my hearing loss...so every subsequent shot its quieter!

$250 pants to chase upland birds make my bottom look good when I'm missing those shots at 20 yards...with my Italian 20 gauge.

[garyk]

I'd could read this whole thing and maybe learn something today, but the glue is getting tacky and I gotta sprinkle the precious Aero Outdoors Velvet Feather magik flocking on.....

[lilnorthfork]

If you are getting to the age where you confuse wisdom with old geezer opinions, you'll have some company here.

Ever notice how the wisest person in the room is often the quietest? I help people out by making sure it is obvious I am not the wisest.

[raised2hunt]

Originally Posted by Flatfish

Reliable firearms matter.

Why couldn't you have posted this a few years ago before my unreliable firearm cost me an elk? That was a painful lesson.

Maybe one of the other tidbits in this post will save me from future pain?

[willametteriveroutlaw]

Originally Posted by lilnorthfork

If you are getting to the age where you confuse wisdom with old geezer opinions, you'll have some company here.

If there's a dueling geezer competition, I'm voting for the man with the dog, duck hunting problem, and the elephant rifle..

[Headhunter]

Turn that music down
Get a haircut

Originally Posted by Sneaker

Get off my lawn.

[Maidu Man]

Originally Posted by lilnorthfork

If you are getting to the age where you confuse wisdom with old geezer opinions, you'll have some company here.

Ever notice how the wisest person in the room is often the quietest? I help people out by making sure it is obvious I am not the wisest.

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt."

or . . .

Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. Proverbs 17:28

[Coastalhounddog]

Signs By: Tesla - YouTube

Signs By: Tesla - YouTube

[Amahnee]

Originally Posted by Brian304

I sit here laughing thinking about people getting bent out of shape by a post like this. There are some hard truths contained in it. I am not against expensive gear if that's how you want to spend your money, it just does not equate to competence. I may be guilty of trying. Having gear that functions and being able to perform basic skills consistently well, will usually get the job done.

Agree, and always appreciate the OP's insightful input, lol.

[444Marlin]

Originally Posted by Maidu Man

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt."

or . . .

Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. Proverbs 17:28

"Even the hawk feels like an eagle in a room full of crows."

I don't know what that means, but it sounds cool.

[Desert Bighorn]

Absolutely nothing wrong with a 400 yard prone shot with a good rifle and experience.

Regarding barrel length they should all be 23".

Regarding ducks,,,very few on the desert. I have no experience with them.

DB

[andymac32]

There’s absolutely no way you/I can tell if flocked heads matter as a human being. I know last year on the last day of the season we hunted a small pond w/ about 2 dozen flocked head decoys and somehow a non-flocked decoy got tossed out there. When the sun hit that particular decoy it looked like a strobe light reflecting compared to the flocked decoys.

Did it make a difference? I don’t know. I’m not a duck. I’ve had hunts where we could’ve killed 7 limits w/ one decoy. And also had hunts where the most expensive decoy spread in history wouldn’t have mattered or helped.

[444Marlin]

Originally Posted by andymac32

There’s absolutely no way you/I can tell if flocked heads matter as a human being. I know last year on the last day of the season we hunted a small pond w/ about 2 dozen flocked head decoys and somehow a non-flocked decoy got tossed out there. When the sun hit that particular decoy it looked like a strobe light reflecting compared to the flocked decoys.

Did it make a difference? I don’t know. I’m not a duck. I’ve had hunts where we could’ve killed 7 limits w/ one decoy. And also had hunts where the most expensive decoy spread in history wouldn’t have mattered or helped.

I have no experience with waterfowl, but I think a spread resembling a soccer field would work for geese.

[andymac32]

Originally Posted by 444Marlin

I have no experience with waterfowl, but I think a spread resembling a soccer field would work for geese.

Golf course would work better!!!