Deer vs. Duck Hunting

Some may think that waking up at 3:00 in the morning to walk a mile in frozen water is a bit ridiculous but for some reason I enjoy it. Many duck hunters believe they are born with the desire to duck hunt and that it runs in their blood. I believe it runs in my blood.

I went on my first duck hunt when I was 5 years old, I did not have a gun, I was just there to experience it with my dad. I remember it being cold and struggling to keep my balance with water up to my stomach and logs submerged underneath the water. Eventually, there was enough light to shoot the ducks coming in. I remember my dad shooting the first shot and seeing the fire come out of the barrel of his gun, then seeing the wood duck fold. When I watched this happen, it felt like a fire went off inside of me that still burns today making me want to hunt.

When I went on my first deer hunt it was a lot more laid back. We woke up early in the morning and drove to where we would hunt and met a man I had never seen before. When we got to the hunting stand, we just sat there for hours, I was young, so I was extremely bored. Eventually, a doe and her baby walked out about 50 yards from us. I remember my heart racing just seeing the deer out in the middle of the woods for the first time and not on the side of the road. I knew as soon as I saw the baby, I would not shoot the mother. I was very sympathetic for the deer even as a young boy. The two deer disappeared back into the woods and the excitement was over.

After waiting, another hour or so, I saw another group of does. This time they were all mature, so I knew I was going to shoot. My heart was racing, and I was breathing hard. Whenever I looked through the scope at what I thought was the biggest one I could not stop shaking. I tried timing my movements so that I would shake the cross arrows right where I wanted to shoot the deer and pull the trigger. When I shot the deer, I had no idea whether or not I hit it. My dad and I got out and started looking for the deer shortly after I shot. We could not find blood on the ground or any signs of it, so we went back to the deer stand and waited for some help. We searched for the deer with the guy that brought us and ended up finding it. I hit the deer exactly where you would want to. I felt so accomplished and rewarded for sitting in the cold stand for hours.

Both duck hunting and deer hunting are very rewarding, they both take a lot of effort and patience. To have successful hunts, whether it is duck or deer, it requires dedication. Both require “scouting”. Scouting is when the hunter searches the woods for places to hunt, looking for signs of the desired wildlife. A duck hunter may walk miles through the mud in search of signs of ducks. Signs of ducks would be feathers in the water and if the hunter is lucky, they will see them flying into the hole which is like a work of art to a duck hunter. A deer hunter may walk through the woods looking for deer tracks and/or scrapes on trees where a buck has rubbed his antlers on to mark territory.

I personally enjoy duck hunting over deer hunting because there is more action. Deer hunting consists of sitting and waiting for hours and sometimes nothing will even come out. When the ducks are flying a lot on a duck hunt it is impossible to get bored. After shooting a group of birds, everything fly’s off and a couple of minutes later more ducks come flying in. After a while, a limit is reached, and the hunt is over. The next step is to pack everything up and go back to your truck. Unlike duck hunting, when deer hunting, shooting a gun will scare all the deer off for a while and they will not come out. After waiting a long time for a deer to come out and shooting it the hunt is over, no more deer will come out, so if you miss the deer you might as well leave.

I truly do enjoy both duck and deer hunting, both make me feel closer to God. There is something about being out in the wild and away from social media that is so peaceful to me. Hopefully, I can continue to hunt and create more memories doing so.