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Kayaks and canoes for duck hunting?

8K views 29 replies 20 participants last post by  diverduckduster 
#1 ·
hey guys, new to the forums... : :grooving:
im 15 years old and next year i will be able to go hunting on my own...we let our cousin use our boat to go hunting in, so the only time i even get to go is when he takes me......
but i have a kayak and a canoe and i want to try hunting out of them... have any of you had any experience with hunting out of them?
 
#2 ·
I personally don't have experience hunting out of one, but I do have a few suggestions:

1) It would probably be best to use the canoe, unless you are hunting very small water and you can get away with the kayak. Duck hunting requires a fair amount of gear and weighing down either one could be very bad. So be careful with weight requirements and wear a life jacket.

2) when shooting, stay as low as possible in either one. In the canoe, maybe sit on the floor and use the seat of the canoe to lean against. This would also make an extremely low profile blind.

Let me know how it goes but be very safe when using either one of these, especially if you are in a cold environment.
 
#3 ·
I have a canoe I use to hunt the river and small creeks with when it's too shallow my jon boat. They work great, you'll be able to carry a lot more decoys/gear with the canoe than the kayak. Only bad thing is there tippy, so be careful who you bring cause some people suck at canoes and will get you both wet.

If it's really cold make sure you bring a dry bag with extra gloves and coat in case you get wet, cause you ain't getting anywhere fast to dry off.

I wouldn't try hunting out of it, just beach it and cover it in some camo netting and lay a few limbs over it to break it up.
 
#5 ·
Don't hunt out of it. Build you a couple of blinds where you like to hunt, take the canoe in where your hunting, beach it and conceal it a couple hundred yards away and hunt out of the blind. Don't hunt out of it, there's really no advantages to doing so.
 
#7 ·
Yes, I have done both and prefer a kayak, as they way you sit in them, makes them more stable and easier to paddle.

This is my Commander 120 we use for river fishing and hunting Flat Water


Now, I don't really recommend hunting alone, in a kayak much. Where are you hunting? Pond? easy place to get out if you get wet?

When hunting out of one get a lifevest made for summer with mesh on the shoulder. make sure you can wear it under your coat and shoulder a gun with it on and NEVER take it off while out. The kayakers rule is if the air and water temps do not equal 120 when added (air + water) you need to have waders and a life vest on at all times! The life vest acts like a wader belt and helps keep you from being under long and keeps water out mostly.

I am also going to probably buy a Ride 135 and make a blind for it next year so the dog can tag along and the water she brings in will drain right out.

Here is how I made a blind for my Commander 120 that we use like layout boats.
http://archeryrob.wordpress.com/2013/03/20/waterfowl-blind-for-a-commander-kayak/

I love hunting and fishing in my kayak, but I take extra precautions and don't normally do it alone!
 
#8 ·
I use a kayak for hunting quite a bit. I only use it for transportation to the blind though, I don't shoot out of it.

Like everyone else has said, be smart, only take it on flat water and in places you feel comfortable. Always wear a life vest and have a plan for what you'll do should you go in ahead of time.
 
#10 ·
Mine, shown, weight about 65 pounds and I can carry it by the gunwal on my shoulder. I carry two bags of decoys bungeed to the top, my blind, gun, blind bag. We also usually hunt in groups so I most times just carry one decoy bag.
 
#11 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have just started using a kayak to hunt with, I load it in the front of my boat and get close to where I'm hunting then put in the kayak. It is red so I had to camo it. It's an emotion comet 8ft that I won from Budweiser. To camo it I took a camo burlap and some military netting and some raffia grass. Yesterday I had a dozen decoys strapped to it, blind bag behind the seat, and gun laying inside parallel to my legs. I haven't hunted out if it yet, just get out and hide in some brush but tomorrow I think I might try and hunt out of it. Here's a pic of me sitting in it before I put the grass on it and one after.
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1387224282.476235.jpg

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1387224303.325555.jpg

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1387224325.392359.jpg
 

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#12 ·
my kayak is a 8 or 9 ft pelican something or other.....i only weigh 130 and my dad has gone in it and he weighs over 200..... so im not worried about my gear.... Mines already green but still needs camo....the only time that i would use it would be when i decide to go by myself or with one other person which i dont usually do.....
 
#14 ·
Yeah I thought about making some sort of stabilizer for if i decide to hunt out of it, I can already see myself swinging on a bird and getting off balance and going for a swim. I took it out Tuesday and intended to hunt out of it but instead I just pulled it up under some trees and got out and hunted
 
#15 ·
Has anyone tried to float hunt rivers with them? I have access to three kayaks and just so happen my group consist of three people. We were kicking around float hunting but were very worried about shooting out of them.

Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk
 
#16 ·
vincentpa said:
How much gear can you carry in a kayak? How heavy is yours?
I can fit myself, my gun, my blind bag and maybe 10 decoys in and on my kayak. I could probably figure out a way to hold more decoys, but there are three of us so together we are able to take out what we need without too much difficulty.

As for weight, I believe mine is somewhere around 50 pounds.
 
#17 ·
im thinking of buying a 2014 old town predator, a guy in my town is selling his for $850, i have to go check it out to see if there is anything wrong with it bc its a $2000 kayak... its a sweet kayak which i would also go fishing in bc im really into kayak fishing, if i dont get that there is a really cheap brown no name brand kayak in a town close to mine but its a sit in and im looking for a sit on top.....
 
#18 ·
On transporting weight with a kayak... decoys float. The drag will get annoying but you could also tow a cheap wood box. Its just weird to shoot from. When you lean into the recoil you tip to the opposite side. Then you pull the trigger and tip a tad bit more and tip over or flood over the gunwale. This is the reason guys think the recoil tipped them over. Its more because they leaned in preparation for the recoil and then became unstable. We usually set up and got out of the water and hunted from the land. We used the kayak to retrieve birds and when we got bored we would paddle around getting birds to fly for the guys still in the blind. I really miss my kayak. You dont get stranded by your motor when you are the motor.
 
#19 ·
The Predator is a very nice kayak, but it's not a $2000 kayak, more like a $1300 kayak, brand new, at Hook1. It would be plenty stable to shoot out of and be a great fishing kayak also. $850 sounds like a deal still, and about $450 off, as long as its in fairly good shape.

Now, use the extra money and get yourself waist waders, a dry top with neoprene neck or Semi-dry top and a nice PFD that you can shoulder a gun while wearing! When you hunt low to the water, be prepared to take a roll in the water!

Posting this again. I wrote this mostly for kayak fishermen I saw going out in the spring without dry gear or PFD's, but it applies to hunters in kayaks also. Cold water will kill you fast, be prepared to deal with it!
http://archeryrob.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/cold-water-kayaking-safety-and-the-involentary-gasp/
 
#20 ·
Float hunting is primarily what I do with my nucanoe during hunting season don't know what sort of kayaks you have but have shot our of my nucanoe plenty. But the nucanoe is about as stable as they come. The creeks and small rivers I float hunt would be hard to do with more than one boat if you do it with one boat you will probably have to have one leading and shooting and just switch who leads. Usually two of us go in my nucanoe one paddles in back while the other shoots up front and we just switch after each time we shoot at a group of ducks or two. Would be hard to have two boats going and shooting together on the creeks and rivers we go on.
 
#23 ·
i use my 12ft.canoe to get around in all but rough water. i NEVER,NEVER shoot while on the water,one guess why not. with this in mind i have 2 tips for you---#1 i attach a short dog leash to a boat cushion and clip the other end to the sling on my shotgun. #2
get yourself a dry bag,also called a boundry waters bag, and bring a complete change of clothes.( put on your waders,coat etc. and jump in a nice cold lake.now try to catch your breath,and swim even 50 ft.) thats why you always wear your pfd.and why i no longer shoot from my canoe.
merlyn
 
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