Muzzleloader Duck Hunt Success

[Dale Allen Raby]

Never did much duck huntin'. After many years of shooting AT ruffed grouse and woodcock, I realized that I was not much of a shotgunner. Sounds like a productive day though!

 

[Nuthatch]

Coots make fine meals if done well. You just can't be lazy about it. Better meats, like venison backstrap, let you get away with just about anything. Coot will make you work a little. To me, coot tastes about the same as canada goose. I'm not a big fan of waterfowl as it is but I've learned to make it work.

For us, poul d'eau jumbalaya works well. The sausage (andouille or any Cajun sausage) hides just about all the gamey flavors. I've made it a couple of times with a mix of teal & coot. Nobody in our family can tell the difference between the two on the fork.

The Meateater cookbook on my shelf has a recipe for an apple/cherry chutney that pairs well with just about any waterfowl. If I were to do coot as a standalone dish, I'd probably sear it in bacon grease, cook it med rare & then dress it with that chutney. Like so many things, it works if you work it.

 

[Nuthatch]

My teenage son wanted to learn to duck hunt this year and added the challenge of using a Muzzleloader. I taught him calling, decoy set-ups, wind direction, concealment and reading a pond or body of water. We tried different shot with different load combos. What was most consistent in his Pedersoli 12 gauge with choke tubes was 1 1/8 ounce shot and same scoop for powder. The #5 Bismuth from Rotometals gave patterns that matched the name on the choke tube and were very consistent. Due to the mist and moisture, we loaded a card wad and then an olive oil soaked 1/2-inch fibre wad. The wad was put on a plate until it soaked up the olive oil about 3/4 up. We thought the oil would keep the barrel coated, keep the fouling soft and from becoming soup and keep it easy to load. The initial load was with Goex 3F but the reloads were pre-measured in tubes with Pyrodex RS. Musket caps from Schuetzen were used.

He was sitting in high grass off a pond at daylight. The first duck, a male gadwall, came over and circled. A little chuckle call had him turn and descend. At around 25-yards over the decoys he pulled the front trigger with the Modified barrel and the duck dropped dead onto the bank on the other side. About a half-hour later, a redhead came from right to left and skimmed low over the water. He dropped that one dead on the water with one shot from the Modified. A little while later two birds began to make loop-da-loop circles over the lake. We figured out they were Coot, and he decided to get one. On a straight away, the modified barrel knocked feathers out at around 30-yards and the Improved Mod barrel knocked it down at nearly 40-yards. Nearly an hour later a group of 5 ducks circled high. Several series of calls brought them down over the decoys. The modified barrel knocked one down at 32-yards and there was apparently a miss with the second shot as nothing happened.

At this point, there were more ducks in the distance, so I handed him the 19-gauge that had the same loads down the barrels, but was IC/Mod choked. While I am loading his 12-gauge, a pair of ducks passed the pond and turned back on a call and chuckle. Two wood ducks dropped in and he killed the male with one shot and missed the second one, which was probably a female but I didn't get a good look. Now I hand him back the 12-gauge and take back the empty 19-gauge. Were about to leave and a single black blob came gliding out of the left corner of the pond. Two shots dropped another coot onto the water.

Overall, a great first duck hunt with 4-ducks (3 species) and 2-coots. The effort to pattern and develop loads was worth it and the hit-to-miss ratio was quite favorable.

I've been thinking about getting a percussion shotgun for waterfowl. I tried a flintlock trade gun this year and coot was about the only thing I could manage to hit. Everything else was just too fast. I swear they can see the movement of me raising up to point, see that puff of smoke & get out of the way before the shot arrives. But we're mostly pass-shooting on public lands.

Sounds like some great memories.