Missouri Valley Gun Dogs

01/09/2026

Another season 🦆

01/08/2026

When would you shoot?💥

12/31/2025

The Last Day 🦆🔥

12/23/2025

1 Handed Goose Calling

12/23/2025

Stale birds? 🦆
Won’t decoy??
Just accept defeat ❌
OR…
Start making adjustments ✅
Set up differently than you normally would.
Change your hide.
Change your calling style.
Change your decoy spread.
Change often.
Change until you see a pattern.
Do the exact opposite of what everyone else in your area is doing.
…And if nothing you try seems to work - well maybe you’re just really bad at hunting & should find a new hobby 😅

12/18/2025

12/15/2025

4 and out 🦆

A limit of mallards is just 4 birds-
that’s not too difficult to achieve right??

Easier said than done most of the time!

Especially if you establish standards for yourself -
as I always do when hunting solo.

In fact, hunting ducks by “my standard” is one of the many reasons why I enjoy hunting solo.

My Standards, meaning:
“the manner in which you decide to take the birds”

What does that mean??

Maybe it’s difficult to describe.
But I can tell you what it’s not-

It’s NOT pass shooting at birds flying overhead.
It’s not shooting a swing.
It’s not shooting at birds landing well outside the decoys.

So what is it then??

What is this “standard” in which you feel it’s acceptable to shoot a bird??

I want to get the birds “down low” over the decoys.
Eyeball level.
I want them fooled.
Landing, or about to land.
Backpedaling.
Cupped.
Committed.
Finishing.

Tough to describe, but you know it when you see it.

If you’re any kind of consistent at decoying birds, then you understand this does require a bit of strategy & patience.

The hide should be perfect.
My decoys are set perfectly for the wind.
Ideally the sun is at my back or on my peripheral.
Give the birds a place to key in on & land if you do the job right.

And, if I can’t get the birds down low in front of me-
I feel that I don’t deserve to shoot them.
Simple as that!

Be smarter!
Do better!
Try harder!

Sometimes maintaining that standard costs me birds & I will go home short of a limit.

So what? That’s okay!

Because to me, that’s what makes it sporting!

For me, maintaining such a standard is the DIFFERENCE between duck “hunting” -
and not just duck “killing”.

These are just my personal preferences & opinions!
They may differ from yours, to each his own!
Enjoy duck hunting as you see fit!

In summary-

Sticking to the standards I’ve set for myself: 4 Drake mallards shot down low in the hole makes for easy shooting, easy work for my dog & is day of duck hunting well done in my book 🦆