# Field Hunting vs. Water Hunting



## h20hunter (Oct 28, 2008)

Lets hear you thoughts


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

I like both because you can't hunt certain ducks in a field.


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## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

My favorite kind of duck hunting is for mallards and/or woodies in the corn. Divers on bigger water or a mixed bag hunt on bigger water on a migration day takes a close second.


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## Blue Plate (Jul 31, 2006)

In North Dakota?

Water.

I love the variety you can get: Teal, mallards, reds, cans, and wigeon. Typically pass on the gads and shoehorns but it fun with all the different species.


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## TEALMAN (Sep 27, 2006)

Blueplate, I agree completely.

One question though why pass on the Gads?


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## goosehunternd (Mar 10, 2006)

Field, no question about it.


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## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

Pretty vague question.

Give me a flooded field..


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## Blue Plate (Jul 31, 2006)

TEALMAN - Nothing wrong with the gads, there are just so many that you'll be done so fast if you kill the gads. I think the gads taste great but I would rather target mallards, cans, reds, pintails. etc.


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## Gildog (Jan 30, 2007)

love to watch the splash of the lab when she hits the water...and I'll agree to the opportunity for variety out there on my point on LOW...


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## ndoutdoorsman (May 13, 2004)

Well it would be a tough call......nothing like watching a dog work in the water, and when i go out out theres nothing better then watching a dog do a nice retrieve in the water and come back to his water stand and sit and wait. But Field hunting is what i do most the time for mallards later in the year just cause it gets so insane having thousands of greenies pile in to a cut corn field on top of you.


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## Sandlappa (Sep 9, 2009)

Fields! We don't have much field hunting here in South Carolina. We have been experimenting with the conditioning of released mallards to our fields with some success but nothing like what we see up there. Water hunting we have plenty of and our flooded timber is much more fun than the open pothole gunnning on the prarie.


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## bigblackfoot (Mar 12, 2003)

Sandlappa said:


> Fields! We don't have much field hunting here in South Carolina. We have been experimenting with the conditioning of released mallards to our fields with some success but nothing like what we see up there. Water hunting we have plenty of and our flooded timber is much more fun than the open pothole gunnning on the prarie.


Sounds like game farm pheasants to me. Plant the birds and go shoot them. No thanks. Ill stick to the fields i have to scout and then go set up.


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## goldfishmurderer (Jul 1, 2008)

I have never heard of doing that, releasing ducks and then shooting them. After all the effort I've put in over the years to hunt ducks, I don't think I could go shoot farm ducks that you know are coming right back to you. I'd rather put out my dekes and shoot half my limit and watch real birds flare from my spread.


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## bornlucky (Jul 24, 2007)

I love both hunting styles. But I think water would be my preference since it a lot more demanding physically and strategically. Set up a few canada geese decoys, a few mallard decoys, and a spinner in a field and you are ready to go. Not to mention the comfortable layout blinds we all have nowadays.

With water, you may think you have the right setup, but I have had to change my spread so many times because things aren't the same out in the water as compared to how it looks from the road. And that takes work. Then you get your boots stuck in the mud trying to shoot, fall over a couple times per year, get a back ache bending over trying to hide in the cattails. All in all, it is much more challenging and I find that much more enjoyable. Plus I do love the dogs working in water. My labs stand in belly deep water right along side me and never whimper.


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

Flooded fields are my first choice but can't always be found. Both methods have their own appeal and I will do whatever feels "right" on that particular day.

It seems to me some guys have an adversion to water which is a bit strange considering they are "waterfowl" hunting.


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## castor (Sep 13, 2009)

Field. If it ain't dead one inch before it hits I want it dead an inch later,


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## labman63 (Aug 17, 2009)

Fields in ND. I can/have to hunt water the rest of the yr. But I do like at least one pothole hunt on the ND trip.


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