Welcome to Duck Hunting 101
As the dawn broke, some of the dozen new duck hunters watched redheads swim in the decoys — and then their guide, looking at the clock on his phone, counted down the seconds to shooting time.
At 6:18 a.m. the first shots rang out over the calm bay. Soon a couple of duck feet could be seen paddling — upside down.
Hunters in other blinds in the bay heard the shots, as sound was traveling well in the super-humid air.
The group of new hunters all came from Texas A&M University-Kingsville, where they are undergraduate and graduate students in wildlife biology. The trip was arranged through Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation and the Delta Waterfowl University Hunting Program.
When they arrived at Port Bay Club, in Rockport, on Monday, Nov. 11, most didn’t have a shotgun, waders or camo clothing. The program provided each of these for the new hunters to use, along with BOSS shotshells.
That afternoon, they had plenty of new experiences. In pairs with their guide, they headed out in the boats, got the decoys out and got settled in their blinds. Unfortunately, few ducks flew and only two birds were shot by the entire group.
Something changed overnight, though, perhaps due to the incoming cool front. On Tuesday morning, ducks were seemingly everywhere.
Two hunters, Madison Garvin and Brie Garza, were in the blind with guide Jeremy Griffis, who noticed them whispering and giggling and asked why.
“We want to know if we can put mud on our face,” Garvin said. “But you have to do it too.”
“Sure,” Griffis replied, lifting his boot and removing some coastal mud from the soles. Each put some on their faces.
Once the shooting began, Garvin, of Jourdanton and a freshman technician for Dr. Bart Ballard duck banding study, said her first duck was a redhead.
“It was my first time shooting an animal of any kind,” she said. “I didn’t know how I would feel about it. But it was exciting.”
Garza, of Rio Grande City, shot a redhead on her first shot. She had hunted dove before, but never ducks.
Four new hunters were graduate students — one studying ocelots, another mountain lions, and two were involved in quail research. A few had hunted deer and a few more had been on dove hunts, but none had hunted waterfowl.
The morning greeted each of the blinds with redheads flying overhead from the north and heading into the marsh, and plenty of other species working into the decoys.
At the Port Bay Club, the day turned out what managers said was the best so far this season, with a total of around 50 ducks brought into the picking house.
And the guides and managers commented on how each of the students were extremely safe, especially in their gun-handling skills. It turned out, they had all gone on a skeetshooting outing as part of the program.
Cody Krupala, of La Grange, said his first duck was a green-winged teal hen.
“I got six ducks today,” he said.
George Cheney, of Cookson, Oklahoma, also shot his six-duck limit.
“It’s a really rewarding part of conservation and it’s something I want to get a part of in my future,” he said.
All of the new hunters were interested in how the ducks were cleaned and, at the campfire, asked about cooking the birds.
Guides and more experienced hunters shared the best recipe sites and social media pages.
At the end of the trip, all of the students said they plan to hunt again.
“I’m probably going to go again this weekend,” one of the graduate students said.
To learn more, visit lsonfoundation.org.
