Waterfowling Expert Denny Pitman Tells Us Mistakes
Hunters Make
Denny Pitman Names Other Mistakes That Keep Hunters
From Taking More Ducks
 Editor’s
Note: Denny Pitman of Old Monroe, Missouri, a professional
waterfowler and videographer for Hunter’s Specialties,
hunts almost every day of duck season for ducks and
geese, as he has for the past 16 years. Pitman enjoys
hunting all across the nation, including Canada to South
Dakota, to Missouri, to Arkansas, to Alabama and all
points in-between. Pitman’s job description means
that he must find ducks and geese and film new and better
techniques for hunting duck, while promoting Hunter’s
Specialties’ duck videos, duck and goose calls
and waterfowling accessories. Although on the spot every
day of waterfowl season to locate and take ducks and
geese, Pitman loves his job. We asked Pitman to name
the most-common mistakes that duck hunters make each
year.
Question: O.k., Denny, tell us some more things we
want to avoid to be better duck hunters.
Pitman: Some hunters make the mistakes of: 1) using
poor equipment, particularly calls. I’ve seen
a duck hunter spend $1200- $1500 for a shotgun, $300
- $400 for a layout blind and even more on a boat blind,
$250 for a pair of quality waders and then want to spend
only $15 on a duck call. However, if you want to take
more ducks, invest money in a good acrylic or a wooden
duck call like those made by Hunter’s Specialties.
These calls have better sounds and will work better
for you than any $15 call will. A quality acrylic duck
call will cost you about $125. I use the Hunter’s
Specialties’ Ringer 2 because I believe it’s
the most-versatile call out on the market. With it,
you can blow a ringing hail call in big, open water
or large field situations. Or, you can bring the volume
down and get low and nasty, if you’re hunting
birds in timber or just trying to finish off the birds.
2) using way-too-many decoys of the same kind. Often
serious duck hunters will have from 6-10 dozen mallard
decoys and will put them all out on the water every
time they hunt.
Instead I prefer to mix the species of my decoys. For
instance, if there’s pintails in the region, I’ll
place pintail decoys close to my landing hole to give
the ducks confidence that there’s other ducks
in the spread and a different-colored duck decoy to
look at as they come in to the spread. I also use wigeons,
wood duck, teal and other types of duck decoys in my
spread to give the birds different ducks to look at
other than just mallards. Also, you need to work your
decoys. When you finish hunting, pull your decoys so
that you don’t have ducks swimming in your decoys
when you’re not hunting. If ducks drop into a
decoy spread and swim around in those decoys, they don’t
have to spend too much time there to recognize a plastic
duck. Lazy hunters take fewer ducks than the watermen
do who work their decoys. Putting out and taking in
decoys frequently (before and after each hunt) drastically
will increase the number of ducks you take.
3) not patterning their guns with the loads they intend
to sh oot.
Buy or make a target with a 30-inch circle in its middle.
Back off 30 yards, and shoot for the center of the circle
with BBs, No. 2s, No. 4s and No. 6s. Then you’ll
understand which pattern your gun delivers with each
of those shot sizes. If you’re hunting ducks,
use the choke and the size of shot you’ll be shooting
in the duck blind. If you’re hunting geese, use
the choke and the size of shot with which you plan to
hunt geese. If you’re hunting geese and ducks
at the same time, choose the choke and the shot that
will give you the best pattern with the greatest knock-down
power. I shoot a Benelli M1 Super 90 with a Hunter’s
Specialties’ Undertaker Choke. I don’t need
a 3-1/2-inch gun, and I’ve never shot one. I feel
that if I can’t take a duck at less than 30 yards,
then I haven’t done my job as a caller. I don’t
feel that I deserve the opportunity to take that shot.
Ninety-nine percent of the time, I won’t shoot
a duck unless it’s decoying and locked-up into
my spread. I like the Winchester Supreme High-Velocity
No. 2 shells for duck hunting. This size shot patterns
well in my gun. Then when I shoot a duck with this shot,
the duck won’t be swimming around when it hits
the water. I shoot geese with the Winchester Supreme
High Velocity No. 2s also, because this shot is big
enough, hits hard enough and patterns well enough to
take either ducks or geese with it. If I get the goose
within 30 yards, No.2s will drop that goose just as
quickly as BBs.
Tomorrow: Pitman Names 5 Mistakes
Goose Hunters Make
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