It was opening weekend in October, and I was extremely excited to go hunting with my bow in hand. I planned to get up early and be ready when the sun came up. The only problem with that was the alarm did not go off. Of course it would have helped if I remembered to turn the stupid thing on. It was a good thing my inner hunting alarm was set and I was up just as it was getting light. No shower today. I grabbed my cold pop-tarts, and I was ready in minutes to try to bag a big one. (Or a little one). I got in the boat and was off! Off to try and harvest a duck with my bow for the third year in a row.

The second problem of the morning was it was extremely foggy. I don't think I could see 30 yards in any direction. I started by following the edge of the lake around looking for ducks in the shallows in the lily pads. The first spot I went toward had always held a lot of ducks. Not this year, no ducks to be found. I followed the edge around and kept my eye on the lily pads. Nothing in the lily pads so I casually looked off toward the middle of the lake and I'd be darned if I didn't have two ducks within ten yards of the boat. I killed the engine and waited for the boat to stop. I got my bow ready and took aim. Just as I was ready to let the arrow fly, the ducks flew off into the fog. That's one of the tough things about hunting ducks with a bow, they seem to know just when to fly!

I headed off toward where the ducks flew, and I got lost in the fog. Not really lost but, I didn't really know where I was until I got close to the edge of the lake again. I once again followed the edge of the lake around. I looked out front and I spotted a small group of ducks in a pocket where the fog was not too thick. I got parallel to the ducks and killed the engine. Once the boat stopped moving from the motor, I picked up my bow and took aim. The ducks were swimming away at about 30 yards when I let the arrow fly. The arrow went just behind a green-headed duck that flew as soon as the arrow hit the water. Two more problems about duck hunting with a bow: the ducks never stop swimming and the shots are usually about 30 to 40 yards. Also, when one duck flies, they all fly. So I've learned over the years that if I try to get too close, one will spook and they will all be gone.

As the morning went on and the fog burned off, I could see the ducks a little easier. On this morning, the ducks seemed to be in the middle of the lakes instead of along the edges. That might have been due to the fog. Let me say now that I am not a big duck hunter. I did get into duck hunting with a gun about 12 years ago, but while I loved it, I could never tell what kind of duck I was shooting at until I killed it and that is a quick way to get into trouble if you get the wrong kind or too many of one kind. Besides, I found that duck hunting got in the way of my archery deer hunting, so three years ago I decided that I would duck hunt with my bow one weekend a year. This is not the easiest way to harvest a duck, but I do usually get a bunch of shooting.

On this foggy morning in October, I did get in a bunch of shooting. I did take feathers off two ducks. On one of the birds the arrow took a drastic right turn and smacked the bird as it went by. I thought the broadhead might have cut the bird, but I think the arrow just slapped the duck because it flew off and didn't look like it was hurt. On my way back to the dock, I did go look for this duck but I really don't think I did any damage to the bird.

Once I got back to the dock, I left my bow and arrows nearby in case an unsuspecting duck decided to swim close enough to me to get a shot. This created another problem because I couldn't get anything done, since I had to keep an eye on the lake all day. It was a slow day of seeing ducks. I must have scared them all away in the morning. Then again, it was a beautiful sunny day and that is not a good day for duck hunting.

Around 4 PM, I took my mother-in-law, my wife and my nephew for a ride on the pontoon boat. Of course I took my bow just in case. My mother-in-law and wife have been with me before when I have tried to bag a duck, and they were always amused that I could get plenty of shots but never hit one when they were with me. We had a few opportunities on this day with about 4 missed shots when we came upon a big flock of ducks. For some reason, these ducks didn't spook as we floated into the middle of the flock. They just seemed to separate.

With my nephew at the wheel, I was ready when a 25-yard shot presented itself. I let the arrow fly and before I realized it my wife yelled, "You hit it!" The duck started spinning so I got another arrow ready because with three non-hunters in the boat I wanted the duck to be put down quickly. No need to shoot again. The green-headed duck was feet up by the time we got the boat going and approached the duck. I quickly grabbed the duck and put it in a spot where my passengers would not have to deal with it. While they have all been around hunters their whole lives, this is the first time they had been present when the kill had taken place and I was very sensitive to it.

What kind of duck was it? I don't know if it was a Mallard or a Wood Duck, but it sure was beautiful. The plan is to have it mounted and added to my collection of archery accomplishments like my pheasant, my partridge, and my Colorado chipmunk. Duck hunting with a bow is not the way to quickly fill the freezer with ducks, but it sure is fun to try. The one thing to remember is keep an eye on your arrow because they do skip on the water. Arrows float, but you need to retrieve them quickly. And you WILL be chasing arrows because that is something that definitely goes with duck hunting with a bow.

 

Mike Alexander

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