How to Hunt Ducks on the Cheap

In recent years, duck hunting has developed a reputation as an endeavor only for the affluent. Thumb through retailer catalogs or walk through a sporting goods store, and you quickly see why. A pair of waders may run between $600 and $1,000, while a high-quality semi-auto shotgun can set you back another grand or two. Custom calls and top-tier decoys can fetch a couple hundred bucks, and dedicated duck boats rigged with surface-drive motors may necessitate extended payment plans. Foregoing these expenses and instead purchasing an outfitted duck hunt at a premium lodge is hardly any better, as that cost can be excessive as well.

Modern duck hunting can indeed be very expensive—to the point that it sometimes scares off newbies and veteran hunters alike. However, it doesn’t have to be. Intrepid waterfowlers needn’t spend loads of money, book expensive guides or have the finest gear to kill ducks. By using some simple equipment and spending a modest amount of time preparing and scouting, hunters can enjoy incredible duck hunting without breaking the bank.

GATHER THE GEAR

Duck hunting can be gear-intensive, as hunters typically chase birds in a wide variety of terrestrial and aquatic environments. As such, some items are essential; however, when possible, try to use what you already have. If you must add something, consider borrowing from another hunter, finding gently used gear on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace or splitting the cost with hunting buddies.

Paul Wait, the senior director of communications at Delta Waterfowl, remembers fondly his time waterfowl hunting on the cheap. Early in his career, he hunted with a bunch of guys that, like him, didn’t have much money but loved hunting. His group pooled resources to buy some full-body goose decoys and pick up second-hand shell decoys, eventually collecting a couple dozen fakes.

With everyone contributing toward decoys and scouting, they had some fun hunts, many of which Wait still happily recalls. Bottom line: Gearing up needn’t cost a fortune. What follows are some of the sport’s essentials, and how to get into them without dropping a major chunk of change.

Eyes on the Skies

Scouting is the greatest key to duck hunting success. Therefore, the most essential gear item might be a binocular. Don’t splurge here, though. An entry-level 8x42 will help you find ducks at a distance.

Cover Up

Camouflaging yourself is important, but having the latest pattern printed on high-tech fabric isn’t. A solid earth-tone jacket and pants, inherited duck brown camo or cheap army-surplus-store apparel can all work. The goal is to break up your outline and cover your skin, including your face and hands.

Minimalist Mimicry

Many duck hunters go through a “more is better” phase with decoys before realizing a handful of dekes, or even none at all, can work just fine. A half-dozen or dozen decoys often produce, and they’re much easier to transport.

Cheap Calling

With practice, a simple, mass-produced, double-reed duck call works great. More expensive calls might yield a better sound, but real ducks don’t always sound perfect anyway. If you can roll your “Rs” using the sound you made to imitate a machine gun as a kid, you can make the brr sound of a diving duck on a dabbler call. Often, you may not even need a call, but it’s nice to have one as long as the price is right.

Wade In

A good set of waders or hip boots is necessary on some hunts. Use what you have or snag a simple pair of camouflage or brown neoprene waders. Rubber hip boots are fine on many hunts and cost less, but waders are a bit more versatile.

Float On

Cheap watercraft options abound. A small, 12- or 14-foot johnboat works most places. Kayaks, with their tiny draft clearance, shine for skinny water, and there are many affordable models. While you can’t stand in them, canoes excel in similar spots as kayaks and serve admirably for float hunts. Belly boats also work for hunters who aren’t traveling far on the water. Use whatever watercraft is available, and give it a coat of flat brown or olive-green spray paint if necessary.

Simple Storage

Blind bags come in countless shapes and sizes, with soft bags, hard cases and dry boxes all offering something different. A two-gallon zip-top bag will keep items dry on most hunts. If you have more to carry, consider a camping backpack or dry sack you already have on hand.

Guns and Ammo

Premium semi-auto shotguns are nice, but an old pump gun will kill ducks just as well in the right hands. I admire the ballistic coverage and performance of today’s blended nontoxic loads. However, if hunting the right spots and doing my job, I can work ducks close and kill them with cheap steel at a fraction of the price.

Blend In

Pop-up blinds serve hunters on boats, along field fence lines and in picked cornfields. However, pre-existing natural cover can often be used for a hide, too. Sit next to a tree, pile up some driftwood or settle in among some canes and cattails. Stretch old burlap over stakes, thread branches or plant stalks through chicken wire frames or make a blind lean-to with some old wooden pallets. In fields, lightweight layout blinds help you hide in open country.

AFFORDABLE OUTINGS

Freelance, budget-conscious DIY duck hunters should consider local hunting options and trips to Midwestern waterfowl hot spots. Always follow state water-access laws. Scout unfamiliar locations by first examining aerial photography overlays found on free websites like Google Maps or Bing Maps. Find landowner parcel ownership info from county websites or by using mapping apps when seeking hunting permission on private property. Once focused on an area, scout thoroughly, moving around until you find huntable numbers of accessible birds. Then, plan your hunt.

The Midwest offers many opportunities for hardworking hunters—certainly more than can be listed. However, here are a handful of scenarios that offer freelance duck hunters amazing hunts on the cheap.

Northwoods Divers

The Northwoods areas of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin provide incredible diver duck hunting on waterbodies ranging from large fishing lakes to small tamarack bog wetlands. Wild rice patches, river-connected lakes and bogs hold rafts of ring-necked ducks, scaup, redheads and goldeneyes.

One of the best hunts I had with my first retriever came after scouting a few lakes in a chain deep within the Chippewa National Forest. I turned down a forest road and looked up to see a sedge marsh covered in ringnecks, aka blackjacks. Early the next morning, I returned with a friend, my Labrador and a sack of diver decoys on a rope. After plopping down on the shore next to an alder tree, we watched flocks of birds pile in all morning. We left with smiles on our faces and birds on our game straps.

Small Stream Strolls

Most hunters overlook small streams and rivers, but they’re stellar options across much of the Midwest. In agricultural areas, some drainage ditches may represent the only surface water in an area. Additionally, small streams don’t freeze as quickly as ponds and marshes, which turns them into duck magnets.

In his hunting career, Wait has covered many miles of small streams with only a shotgun and a pocket full of shells. When doing so, he often eases down small creeks waiting for ducks to get up and flee, at which point he makes his going-away shots count. With a dog, waders aren’t even necessary. In his home state of Wisconsin, Wait finds ducks crowded into small trout streams that duck hunters rarely touch.

“I remember paddling this trout creek,” he says. “We jumped green-winged teal flocks four different times, and the smallest group we saw was probably 35 birds. You couldn’t pack another bird into some of these spots.”

Big River Birds

The Mississippi Flyway’s namesake river offers many opportunities as it snakes through Minnesota and forms the border for Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Missouri. Back channels, oxbows and flowing marshes create countless pockets of water that hold ducks during peak migration. With hundreds of miles, you can keep moving until you find a mass of migrators or more birds move in on you. Sometimes, even the main channel attracts birds. The Illinois, Missouri and other rivers offer even more big-river duck options.

Walk-In Wetlands

There are few finer hunts than walking or rowing into a marsh, kicking out some ducks, tossing out some decoys and waiting for birds to trickle back. Hidden-in-plain-sight sloughs and ponds hold countless ducks and pull in migrators. Squealing wood ducks or packs of chattering gadwalls are frequent customers each morning on these marshes. Launch a boat, kayak or canoe, or simply walk in. Try loafing in a belly boat. If you’re where birds want to be, you won’t even need calls or decoys.

Pothole Pilgrimages

A trip to the Prairie Pothole Region, including parts of Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska can yield remarkable results, even on a shoestring budget. One look at aerial photography reveals how the region—found primarily in the Central Flyway—got its name and why the duck hunting is so good. Resident and migrating ducks pile into the area each season.

Pack an ultralight layout blind, a pair of waders, a dozen decoys, your camo duds, a shotgun and some ammunition, and you’re ready to hit the region’s fields and countless waters. Scout to find the best spots, and get ready to hear a mass of whistling wings. There are more places to hunt in the densest portions of the pothole region than you could visit in a lifetime.

Do your homework and bring along some key gear items, and an inexpensive duck hunting trip here—or at any of these locations—can be incredibly satisfying. Sure, you can spend frivolously and experience great duck hunts. But the types of hunts covered above prove that you don’t have to.