2 reasons. One, the pattern is much wider at a 35 yard shot. Most people can't hit nothin at 10-15 yards cause the pattern is no bigger than a softball.

Two, the more ya get them birds ta focus away from the proximity of the blind the better ya are and less birds will flare.

 

Also shots look further on than what they might be on tv.

 

2 reasons. One, the pattern is much wider at a 35 yard shot. Most people can't hit nothin at 10-15 yards cause the pattern is no bigger than a softball.

Two, the more ya get them birds ta focus away from the proximity of the blind the better ya are and less birds will flare.

Well... I shoot full and xfull with blackclouds with no issues stoning em at 10-20 yards... And the way I see it if birds are flaring off my blind then I didn't build it right or brush it good enough... Those are just my opinions so not trying to sound all knowing or like an ***.. Just my thoughts on that... :thumbsup:

 

Also shots look further on than what they might be on tv.

Prolly so... Just seemed there was alot of skyblastin goin on...

 

Well... I shoot full and xfull with blackclouds with no issues stoning em at 10-20 yards... And the way I see it if birds are flaring off my blind then I didn't build it right or brush it good enough... Those are just my opinions so not trying to sound all knowing or like an ***.. Just my thoughts on that... :thumbsup:

Whether the blind is covered er not isn't the concern for the guide. It's more about the guides customers moving or faces sticking out.
I'm a good shot myself and shoot consistently 48/50 but alot of people can't hit $hit.

 

Podcast- valid point sir... Guess that would be an issue since it's the customers hunt not the guide... But in our blind standing to early and not covering up is a good way to get a dirty look lol... Unless it's a first time hunter than they get to learn something...

 

I'd see that done for two reasons as well, but slightly different...

1) Like said above, to keep the birds from having the hunters or the blind in the same sight plane as the decoys. Regardless of how well you think you have brushed your blind, if you can redirect the scrutiny of the birds to your spread only then you are giving yourself an advantage. I'd rather use the wind, but that's not an option with every location. Ducks see every kind of blind there is on their migration South...they are probably better schooled on picking them out than the average hunter.

2) Sometimes you'll see guys putting them out farther to lock up a piece of water and push the birds closer for the landing. I'll do this on a slough and it can be the difference between a 35-40 yard shot and a 15.

 

A lot of that perception is the camera, but when a bird drops on the water and it's another 20 yards beyond the decoy spread I'm getting the idea that the hunters didn't let the birds finish. I watched a video recently profiled here on chat somewhere bragging about a particular decoy and all of the shots were straight up for the most part and birds were falling well outside of the decoys, none of the birds were finishing, but we all have days like that. Making a video of duck hunting has got to be one of the toughest things to do, making a video of a deer hunt or turkey hunt is much easier. The video that outfits like the Duck Commander get is incredible.

As far as distance to the decoys, like i usually say, there are always variables that come into play. Wind direction, current flow, even species of duck you are hunting. Divers don't typically circle where we hunt, so you don't worry that much about overhead cover, however mallards and many other puddlers circle quite a bit, so that changes how you think when setting up decoys. I never put decoys directly in the line of sight from the direction I expect ducks to come from, but they don't always cooperate as we all know. I've been caught more than a few times with ducks coming in against the grain so to speak because I wasn't set up for that, I was in the line of sight over the decoys and didn't have good cover that direction. My blind is nothing more than some tumbleweeds most of the time that we disperse after each hunt. We never hunt from what most would think of as a duck blind. If we have three people hunting, which is typical, we will be 10 yards apart, not sitting together in a blind.

Hunting rivers and sloughs like we do here it's pretty easy to set things up to where the birds will cross in front of us and settle in behind the decoys which are placed up stream, the pocket being about 15-18 yards away on the snake river which is about 150 yards across. On the slough, which is only about 8 yards across, we have to back away from the bank another 10 yards or so to get the shot pattern time to open up. I always use a factory modified and rarely shoot over 15 yards on the first shot and never over 30 yards unless trying to finish a cripple. Shooting like that is tight and fast, more suited to diver hunters I suppose, but slow moving mallards become real easy. When birds are finishing in the decoys it's rare to need more than 10 or 12 shells to shoot a limit.

For the most part, I don't set decoys out more than 20 yards away. That's just our hunting style, right or wrong or what works for you can be entirely different.

 

...I see alot of guides on tv setting their clients what appears to be 20 yards back from the first deke...

Most experienced guides I know, and that's a bunch, would think that a fine way to get their decoys shot up. Which isn't to say I don't also know a few who seem afraid closer decoys will draw attention to the blind.

For what it's worth this guide figures it makes the blind and what's in it all the more conspicuous if it appears birds are shying away from it. I like decoys close to the blind to help make it appear whatever's going on there has been found benign by the "birds" on the water. Also want shy birds that decide to skirt the outside of the decoys to be within good range when they do and, as suggested, for low shots to go over, rather than into, my decoys.

That's not to say everything's in tight, but most of it generally is.

 

Rick

I'm glad to hear that from ya cause I was beginning to wonder if I was in the minority on the hunting closer to the dekes.. I definitely agree with your opinion on the dekes making the blind seem safe... We usually hunt out of layouts in tall grass, well brushed low profile blinds, or in the brush around sloughs in the woods so I feel pretty confident were hidden (although were not perfect I'm sure).. We even use full bodies on banks and really shallow areas near the blinds which I feel adds more confidence to the birds about our locations. I do put dekes out further as well but I would say roughly our furthest decoys are out about 25-30 yds at most. I really enjoy working the birds and fooling them into the spread and seeing them up close and personal.. Guess it's my personal preference and to each there own I was just noticing the distance last night. Thanks for the input! It's good to hear it from a guide for sure!

 

I have at times perched some full bodies especially woodies on the end of the log my blind was attached to. Like was said if my blind is brushed correctly then the birds won't see it until it is to late.

I guess I like to hunt my decoys close as well and I agree it does look like alot of sky bustin on most of those video's.