Originally Posted By: Tamid
I have guided duck and goose hunters for many years and most have no idea if they have actually hit the bird that drops but say they do. Almost all have pumps and semi's and fire all 3 shots at every flight. 3 birds come in 5 hunters unload and one will actually swear 'he' shot them all. I budget 3 boxes of shells for a limit of 8 birds per hunter. That's 10% success 'if' a limit is actually taken.

On the other hand, watching them makes me a much more patient shooter and my success rate is closer to 35 - 40%. But I do use an over and under and often wonder if my success would improve with a single shot.


I think there is something to the positioning of the birds that attract more attention. My first trip to Arkansas was during the 1998 season - unbelievable migration that year. We would have 30 birds come in, 6 guys would shoot, and we all thought we had hit the birds we were trying to shoot. I think we were all shooting at the same 5-6 birds. When you look at a bird, pull the trigger, and the bird falls you tend to think you shot it. I would be certain I had tripled but someone else would be saying they hit some of the same birds. That was all fine and dandy until the dog showed up with a duck band.