Wednesday, October 6th, 2010
Stand on Main Street in Stuttgart, Ark., during the Wings over the Prairie Festival and a hunter might start thinking that the only successful caller is one who can create a 90-second symphony of sounds on his favorite call.
But if you strip away the elaborate hail calls and the rolling feeding chuckle, what you have left is a basic framework of sounds that any hunter can master. And according to one world-champion caller, the simple stuff is all you need to call more ducks.
Step 1: The Basic Quack
Arkansas duck hunter Jim Ronquest is quite familiar with both sides of the duck-calling world.
As winner of the 2006 World’s Duck Calling Contest, Ronquest knows what it takes to win over a panel of judges. But as a hunter, guide and producer of Rich-n-Tone Call’s popular “RNT-V” program, Ronquest’s livelihood is grounded in being able to bring ducks up close and personal.
Ronquest’s first rule in calling ducks: Get down to the basics.
“The bottom line is, if you cannot make that one single, basic quack, you will struggle with everything else,” says Ronquest. “It is the foundation for just about everything you do with a duck call.”
Ronquest suggests that hunter’s say, “hut,” “hoot,” “wick,” “wack” or another similar word into the call, using the tongue to stop the flow of air at the end of the syllable.
“Once you can do one, do two, then three and so on until you can make five quacks right in a row, keeping them all exact, all on the same level,” says Ronquest.
Read Steps 2, 3 & 4 written by John Pollman by clicking on the following DU Link.
About Global Sporting Safaris, Inc.
Global Sporting Safaris, Inc. is a Full-Service Hunting Booking Agency located in Casper, Wyoming and established in 1991. We have a staff of 6 Hunting Consultants and Fishing Travel Agents with a combined 140 years of experience. We specialize in Duck Hunting in Argentina and Mexico. Global Sporting Safaris invests time, effort and financial resources in developing our hunting trips with a constant eye on the quality and professional services they offer.
Tags: argentina duck hunting, du, duck calling, duck hunting in argentina, duck hunting lodges, duck hunting trips, Ducks Unlimited, hunting duck in mexico, mexico duck hunting, mexico duck hunts
Posted in Argentina, Canada, Duck Hunting, Game Calling, Hunting, Hunting Destination, Mexico |
Saturday, July 31st, 2010
Mexico Duck Hunting for Cinnamon Teal
I have been fortunate in the fact that I have had opportunities to hunt a lot of different places over the years, mostly for ducks and turkeys, but the two trips that have been on the top of my list for a good while have been a late season duck hunt in Mexico and a turkey hunt in New Zealand. When 2004 ends, both of those hunts will have become realities for me, and I must admit that my Mexican waterfowl experience lived up to all my expectations.
My fantasies about duck hunting Mexico had always centered around the famous Laguna Madre on the east coast. As I researched duck hunting south of the border in more recent years, I learned that although there is still good hunting in eastern Mexico, the most consistent shooting is now found along the Pacific coast. I am a stickler for detail when planning a hunt, and I found just the person I was looking for to make a trip to the left coast of Mexico a reality in Dick Kennerknecht, owner of Global Sporting Safaris.
Dick told me he represented the Sinalopato Duck & Dove Club in Los Mochis, Mexico, and it was the place I had been searching for. Dick explained that once in Los Mochis, I would stay at a 4 star hotel (part of the club) and be able to make morning and afternoon hunts in the surrounding countryside. Hunters have a choice of shooting doves or ducks each morning or afternoon, and I told Dick I wanted to hunt ducks the whole time.
At the end of January after most seasons in the U.S. closed, the adventure started. My group consisted of Lamar Underwood (editor of Sports Afield), Neil Dickenson and Anthony Brown (of Knight & Hale Game Calls), and after flying over the Mexican desert and mountains for a couple of hours, we were pleasantly surprised when lush green crop fields and plenty of water covered the landscape as we descended toward Los Mochis. I knew we were in for a treat when I could see numerous flocks of ducks from the plane.
The next morning Lamar, Anthony and I were shuttled by airboat to a small blind situated on the edge of a canal that connected two large lagoons just as the sun was peaking over the horizon. The noise of our ride sent thousands upon thousands of ducks and shorebirds into the air, and our already high expectations grew exponentially. One of my goals for the trip was to bring back a prime drake cinnamon teal to be mounted, and I thought, “surely out of all these birds, there is one drake that will give me a shot.”
When we reached our small blind, our bird boy Miguel set out 9 or 10 Carry-Lite decoys, and Anthony settled into some nearby brush with his video camera. Lamar took the right end of the blind as I stationed myself to his left. The action began immediately with small groups of teal buzzing up the canal just off the deck every couple of minutes. We never had time to fully load our guns until we had 6 greenwings on the water.
When Lamar and I finally got a break and settled our gear, we just looked at each other and smiled. Shortly thereafter, Anthony hissed, “big ducks out front.” I saw a trio of what appeared to be gadwalls cruising by about 200 yards away, and I grabbed my new Knight & Hale Bachelorette call that we were field testing and offered a greeting. The gray ducks turned on a dime and approached quickly. They made one pass, and I made a pleading comeback as Lamar backed me up with a double reed Smooth Talker (another new K&H call we were testing). That was more than the gadwalls could handle, and they cupped and committed. At less than 20 yards, Lamar and I came up in unison and dropped a drake each. “Now that was fun. I didn’t know how much effective calling we would get to do down here”, I said as Miguel waded the canal to retrieve our birds.
We shot more Greenwing teal, wigeon, gadwalls, and even a scaup or two, but I hadn’t seen a cinnamon teal. Dick said the drakes would really stand out in a flock because their bodies would appear black in contrast to the white underside of their wings. I imagined they would look like miniature black ducks at a distance.
About 9AM, flocks of big slow flying ducks that made an odd whistling sound began to fly over. Miguel told us they were “peachy willow”, and upon inspection through binoculars, we saw that they were black-bellied and fulvous tree ducks. When a small flock flew by fairly close, Miguel mocked their whistle, and the group dropped down low. Lamar and I both scored doubles, and to our amazement, the lone survivor banked hard at 100 yards and came right back over the blind. He was up pretty high, but since lead shells are still legal in Mexico, I knew I had the load for the job. When my barrel swung past his beak, I touched the trigger and the big brown duck folded up and almost fell in the blind.
I am by no means a great shooter, but that was one of those rare mornings when I was “on”. The action had slacked off and we were taking a much-needed break, when I saw two small specks approaching from straight down the canal 90 degrees to my left. When they were 150 yards out and barreling toward us at what looked like Mach IV, I recognized the back bird as a cinnamon teal. I quickly told Lamar and Anthony what I saw and to be still. I also said I only planned to shoot the back bird.
The pair stayed their course, and at 25 yards, I rose and took my shot. I completely missed, and the teal launched almost straight up without missing a wing beat. I found the drake again, and the second time my lead was correct, and I dropped my prize. Miguel hurried out and brought in the most beautiful little duck I have ever seen. He was a mature drake in perfect plumage, and my shot hadn’t torn him up at all. It is a good thing I connected on that opportunity, because that was the only prime drake cinnamon teal that any of our group took.
After that I was thoroughly satisfied, and Anthony came over and took my shooting position. I thought I was on with the gun that morning, but Anthony made me look like a novice. With his first 8 shots, Brown knocked down 4 teal and 3 black-bellied tree ducks.
Soon after, the airboat came back to pick us up, and we made the short ride back to the launch. The other groups had fared equally as well, and between the four groups we took about 100 ducks. After the season I had in the States last year, when the morning’s take was hung up on the picture board, it was a mind-boggling site.
That afternoon, we hunted a wide open saltwater marsh with spectacular mountains as the backdrop. Lamar, Anthony, Carlos (our new bird boy) and I were dropped of at a small blind in the middle of a huge lagoon. Carlos set out half a dozen brant decoys and about a dozen pintail and wigeon imposters. I was looking forward to shooting some brant, and we had seen quite a few pintails on the ride in as well.
There was a huge raft of brant about a half a mile down the lagoon from us, and when the airboat left, he passed by them just close enough that they took to the air. They broke up into several groups, but none came our way. Most regrouped about 300 yards to our left, and then Carlos began calling. He pointed to the right, and we saw a dozen brant bearing straight down on us. At very close range, I knocked down two of the big birds, and they fell right in the dekes. We shot brant off and on through the warm afternoon. Lamar let Anthony take the shots at brant because he has hunted them so many times on the eastern seaboard. Brown and I knocked 4 out of the next flock, and Carlos came back with a big smile on his face. One of the brant was double banded.
As the warm afternoon (temp.s in the mid-80’s) wore on, the brant action slowed and the ducks worked better. A major concentration of pintails congregated about 200 yards behind us, and we occasionally coaxed in small groups to our decoys. Again, we took wigeon and teal mixed in with the sprigs. As our first day came to an end, we were treated to a spectacular sunset complete with purple mountains and shimmering water.
The next morning we had steady shooting on another freshwater marsh, and had a delicious shore lunch of prawns and smoked chicken. The afternoon really was hot, and I was glad I had worn my Under Armour HeatGear under my TrekLite. The temperatures rose above 90 degrees, the duck hunting was fast and furious and our barrels were just short of turning red.
Next we hunted a different part of the same marsh, and Neil Dickenson joined Anthony and I for the PM shot. We took a great variety of ducks including bluewing, greenwing and cinnamon teal, bluebills, wigeon, pintails, gadwalls, and Mexican mallards (a species much like black and mottled ducks).
While shooting teal, we all kept hearing mallard calls, but we thought we were either imagining things or hearing the guys in another blind calling. The calling continued so we decided to give our Bachelorettes and Smooth Talkers a try. Soon we had a pair of “mallards” circling, and with feet down, we took the brace. We were treated to working the big ducks numerous more times in singles and pairs throughout the afternoon and ended up with 9 of them on the strap.
The action was so heavy that afternoon that we actually ran out of ammunition an hour before we were picked up. We took 8 species of ducks that afternoon in what turned out to be the best hunt of the trip.
The final morning of our hunt Lamar, Dick, Neil, Anthony and I all went to a small inland pond that was a special spot that is normally reserved for Bobby Balderrama, owner of Sinalopato Duck Club. The pond was only about an acre in size, so the shooting was tight. We had some huge flocks of teal come in, and we took our fair share, but again the highlight of the morning was working Mexican mallards.
In the intimate setting, we found the K&H Bachelorette calls really shined. One is able to produce quality duck sounds at very low levels on the Bachelorette. When hunting small water, it is very important to call softly and not blow the ducks out.
That was the first time I had a chance to hunt with Dick Kennerknecht, and he really put on an impressive shooting display. I don’t think a single duck escaped that he shot at all morning.
Our last hunt was back on the marsh where we hunted the first morning. A large and varied bag was again taken, and everyone saw action right up until dark. It had been a long day, and we were all ready to get back to the Plaza Inn for a late dinner, but I for one wished that I had another day or two of hunting left.
In the three days we hunted at Sinalopato, I saw more action than I had all season long at home. It was an experience that lived up to every one of my expectations. Passage in and out of Mexico is a breeze with only a birth certificate and driver’s license, the food was delicious, the guns were top shelf (all Benellis and Berettas), and the hunting really was what dreams are made of. Best of all, U.S. hunters can take this remarkable trip after their seasons close at home. All I can say is that if you are looking for the duck hunt of a lifetime take a trip to Mexico’s Pacific Paradise.
SIDEBAR:
A little more about duck hunting in Mexico…
When traveling to Mexico for a duck hunt, keep a few things in mind. Seasons run into March, so you can go after US seasons close, and the later you go, the better the ducks’ plumage will be. You will most likely hunt in warm weather, so take light clothing. I was thankful to have a light rain jacket for the early morning airboat rides, but within an hour I was sure glad I had on my Under Armour HeatGear and TrekLite. Afternoon conditions are much more like those I am used to dove hunting in rather than waterfowling. Most duck hunts can be combined with dove shoots for those that want a combo hunt. Quality guns and shells are usually available from the outfitter, so the expense and hassle of traveling with them is unnecessary. Logistics are much simpler than you might expect, and using a US Hunting Consultant such as Dick Kennerknecht makes traveling south of the border an absolute breeze. If you go, just be ready for the duck hunt of a lifetime and prepare to have a sore shoulder!
This article was written by an independent outdoor writer Tim Herald for Global Sporting Safaris. Global Sporting Safaris, Inc. is a Full-Service Hunting Booking Agency for Mexico Duck Hunting, Mexico Bird Hunting and Guided Duck Hunting located in Casper, Wyoming and established in 1991. We have a staff of 7 Hunting Consultants and Fishing Travel Agents with a combined 175 years of experience.
Tags: bird hunting guides, bird hunting lodges, bird hunting trips, dove hunting mexico, duck hunting in mexico, duck hunting lodge, duck hunting lodges, duck hunting outfitters, duck hunting trip, duck hunting trips, Global Sporting Safaris, GSSafaris, guided duck hunting, Hunting, hunting consultant, hunting dove in mexico, hunting duck in mexico, Knight & Hale, Knight & Hale Game Calls, mexico bird hunting, mexico bird hunts, mexico dove hunt, mexico dove hunting, mexico dove hunts, mexico duck hunt, mexico duck hunting, mexico duck hunts, sinalo pato duck and dove club, sinalopato duck & dove club, sinalopato duck and dove club, Tim Herald, Trek Lite, Under Armour
Posted in Dove Hunting, Duck Hunting, Hunting, Hunting Destination, International Travel, Mexico, Wingshooting |
Monday, July 26th, 2010
BY JIM NIEMIEC
LOS MOHCIS, SIN., MX –
Royal Slam of Teal by Jim Niemeic
It was a banner year of wing shooting for those who visited the Mexican state of Sinaloa this past season. The extended dove and duck seasons that ran through mid-March offered wing shooters additional hunting opportunities well beyond the general seasons in California.
Western Outdoor News boarded a turbo-prop at John Wayne Airport with Gus, Hank and Mark Osterkamp and Steve Hoblick of Fullerton and made a quick 2-hour flight to Los Mochis, thanks to an 80-knot tailwind pushing the plane south.
Clearing customs was a breeze and after a quick lunch at Mr. Owens Restaurant the hunt party headed out to a dove field about a 25 minute drive north of the Plaza Inn. Jesus Maldonado had 20 ga. Beretta shotguns and plenty of ammo already in the hunt rig and guide Joe Moreno and his bird boys were right on time.
“This year has been an excellent year for mourning dove hunting and up until a couple of weeks ago there were plenty of white-winged dove in the area. I think the larger species of dove have moved off to nearby breeding grounds, but believe me you will have an opportunity to shoot a least a case of shells this afternoon in this spot,” were the confident words of Moreno.
Even though California enjoyed a good late season on mourning dove last year, the skies around Los Mochis were loaded with thousands of birds as we headed off in different directions with our bird boys. The afternoon hunt would end with a limit shoot for all as the birds winged in over cactus and sage which offered makeable, but challenging shots.
There is not much time for rest when wing shooting in Mexico and the alarms went off at 4:30 AM, allowing time for breakfast and to make the pre-daylight drive up to the 35,000 acre north marsh that was holding vast numbers of puddle ducks and some divers.
“The marsh that you will be hunting this morning has been a great loafing area for pintail, Mexican ducks, all three species of teal, shovelers, some Black Brant and redheads. These wetlands have been offering up pretty consistent gunning all season and now that the season is winding down we are looking at fully feathered adult birds ready to continue their migration to their breeding grounds. Your airboats will be ready to take you out to dry blinds on the marsh for a full day of duck hunting with an afternoon meal at our hunt hacienda,” said Sinalo Pato Duck and Dove Club outfitter Bobby Balderrama.
Hot Dove Shoot by Jim Niemeic
A cold front had just passed through traditionally warm mainland Mexico, but the weather warmed early and the ducks started flying as soon as hunters loaded their shotguns. The first morning’s hunting was very good with most every hunter in the party shooting more ducks in just a few hours of hunting than they had all season long back in the U.S. This hunting editor, who had a very poor duck season stateside, topped off the first duck shoot of the trip by bagging all three species of adult drake teal (green-winged, blue-winged and cinnamon).
Duck hunting on the vast wetlands and marshes that surround Los Mochis can hold in excess of 3.5 million ducks during the peak of the waterfowl migration. In addition to the dabblers and diving ducks that winter in the region, there are also huge populations of native pichiquila and large Mexican ducks (looks like a fat hen mallard and traditionally fly in pairs).
Duck hunts on the marshes can offer mixed results and after a very successful morning hunt the winds kicked up to about 20 knots from the west and all but blew the birds off the marsh, which resulted in just a minimal hunt, good by California daily harvests but well below the liberal 20-bird limit of the state of Sinaloa.
“Don’t worry guys your morning duck hunt will be excellent. We have been resting a part of the south marsh for your group, the winds are starting to back off and tomorrow you should enjoy one of the top-ten hunts of your wing shooting life,” were the confident words of Balderrama, as the group feasted on huge fresh shrimp, stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon.
Mexico has offered up excellent wing shooting for well over a half of a century. Today the hassles of crossing the border with shotguns, gun permits, licenses, hunter agreements and birds stamps is all taken care of by the outfitter prior to your arrival. The ability to shoot Beretta and Benelli shotguns, have plenty of ammo for all hunts and then be able to bring home liberal limits of dove and ducks makes booking a mixed bird hunt to Los Mochis an option that should be put high on the list of hunts for next season. There are flights from LAX to Los Mochis, via Phoenix and Hermosillo, but there is talk about Delta starting up direct flights (perhaps with one stop) from LAX to Los Mochis, in time for next hunting season which will kick off in November.
The sun rose in an orange glow over the vast southern marsh as teams of duck hunters headed out to their blinds. Joining this writer in a blind would be Bobby Balderrama. The flights started off a little slow and then wound up in a frenzy, as flocks of teal, Mexican ducks, shovelers, gadwall and pichiquila swarmed our blind site. We literally ran out of shells and had to call for more ammo from the nearby airboat. At the end of the morning all the groups showed up at the launch site about the same time and filled the game rack with full limits of big puddle ducks. Yes indeed it would be a hunt to remember for a long time.
The Sinalo Pato Duck and Dove club offers a variety of wing shooting packages for groups or individual hunters and there are additional options available for those who want to add a day’s fishing to their visit to Los Mochis. For information on booking a hunt next fall call Dick Kennerknecht of Global Sporting Safaris toll free (888) 850-HUNT, x2 or log on to their web page at Sinalopato.com. Story and photos by Jim Niemiec, WON Staff Writer.
Global Sporting Safaris, Inc. (GSS) is a Full-Service Hunting Booking Agency for Sinalopato Duck & Dove Club in Los Mochis, Mexico. GSS was established in 1991. We have a staff of 7 Hunting Consultants and Fishing Travel Agents with a combined 175 years of experience. We hold integrity, ethics and honesty in high regard and deal with each client in a one on one basis. Global Sporting Safaris invests time, effort and financial resources in developing our outfitters and guides with a constant eye on the services they offer.
Tags: Dove Hunting, dove hunts, duck hunting lodges, duck hunting outfitters, duck hunting trip, duck hunting trips, Global Sporting Safaris, GSSafaris, hunting booking agent, hunting consultant, hunting consultants, hunting dove in mexico, hunting duck in mexico, Jim Niemiec, Jim Niemiec WON Staff Writer, mexico bird hunting, mexico bird hunts, mexico dove hunting, mexico dove hunts, mexico duck hunting, mexico duck hunts, mexico hunting, mexico quail hunt, mexico quail hunting, sinalo pato, sinalo pato duck and dove club, sinalopato, sinalopato duck & dove club, sinalopato duck and dove club, upland bird hunting, Western Outdoor News, Wingshooting, WON, WON Staff Writer
Posted in Dove Hunting, Duck Hunting, Goose Hunting, Hunting, Hunting Destination, Mexico, Quail Hunting, Wingshooting |
