EP417 Duck Hunting Gear 101

So I'm going to start with the most obvious, and that is going to be firearms.

You're going to need a shotgun for duck hunting everywhere that I know to hunt ducks.

Maybe there's somewhere you can hunt ducks with a bow or something like that.

But if you're going duck hunting, you're probably using a shotgun.

And you're going to have to get non-toxic shot, and you're probably going to have to have a choke tube of some sort.

Now, guns, ammo, choke tubes, those are bigger topics.

That's probably something that I will go in more depth in other episodes, and I definitely go in more depth via video.

But you're going to need to get a shotgun.

What kind of shotgun? Well, my favorite recommendation is the one you already have, can easily borrow, or could buy used cheap.

And when I say easily borrow, of course, I mean legally easily borrow.

Something to get you into the woods and then figure out if you like this duck hunting thing.

And then you can go out and buy a shotgun that fits you and complements your style well.

Until you've done some duck hunting, you don't know what that style is.

You don't know how a particular gun or type of gun or ammo or choke tubes might complement you and where you hunt and how you hunt.

You've got to get some experience, I think, to be able to make the best purchase decisions.

But take something, whatever you can get a hold of, into the woods.

Usually, I recommend a 12-gauge shotgun with two- and three-quarter-inch or three-inch shells, depending on what you're using.

And you probably want something like a modified choke tube on average.

Of course, there's applications you'll use tighter chokes, and there's other applications you'll use more open chokes.

And then the kind of ammunition that you might go for, that is worthy of lots of conversation, which I don't want to get into today just for sake of time and all the other things that I want to cover.

But you're going to need some non-toxic ammo.

And of course, I do a lot of videos on that subject and planning to do some more episodes focused on it.

But some steel shot is good enough to get you into the woods and get you started.

You don't need to spend a whole bunch of money to get out there for your first hunt or your first couple of hunts.

So you've got that.