As the technology changes our way of life, we begin doing things that we would have thought 50 years ago wouldn’t have been impossible, if we could have even thought that far ahead. This way of life seems to leak right on down to our outdoor activities like deer hunting, waterfowl hunting, turkey hunting, fishing etc. Things like motion decoys, game trail cameras, electronic fish finders etc. Who would have ever thought that you would be able to sit in your recliner in front of your big screen with a bowl of your favorite popcorn, look at your smart phone and see a shooter buck standing at your electronically controlled deer feeder? It seems that nowadays we can’t go to the woods or water without our trusty electronics.

Let’s take a look at how this “electronic world” we live in has changed the way we hunt waterfowl.

When it came to decoys; back in the early days you were a lucky man if you even had any and if so, they were carved from wood. Folks either made them themselves, or someone made them for you, and I would bet that most people didn’t carry in 3 or 4 dozen of them because more than likely they didn’t have that many, and it would have been a hefty size load!

Decoys nowadays are lighter, lots more colorful and very realistic; some are even “flocked” which is a velvet like material on the head or on the entire decoy. Motion decoys that have spinning wings, swims and dips under like a feeding duck, flying ducks and the list goes on. Some of these motion ducks are driven by the wind; some are battery operated and even remote controlled, and last but not least the ole trusty jerk string which is a long string with a weight on one end out in the water and 4-6 decoys tied to it and someone outside of the duck hole jerking on it making the decoys look live.

Duck calls still operate the same as they did years ago, one end is to blow in and the other end you cup your hand around to make the call have different sounds and tones. Although the operation of them has remained the same the style and colors have been drastically renovated. You can now buy a single reed, double reed, and I have seen a few triple reeds which are not as popular. The old wooden calls are not as popular in the woods now since the acrylic duck calls have taken over, yes there is still the “die hards” that blow a wooded call and as long as the ducks like the sound, who cares.

Clothing is one of the most appreciated improvements for all hunters especially waterfowl. Clothes manufacturers now a days have really made winter outdoor sports much more enjoyable. Back in the day, wool was the going thing. I’ve been told that wool is the warmest clothing when it is wet. Well whatever, but when it is colder than an Eskimo frozen in an ice cube, that is cold to me, don’t be trying to pull the wool over my eyes!

Duck holes and their names.

This has always interested me. Don’t be expecting the mailman to deliver at these places because they are not on their routes.
Here we go with a few:

Ice Box Hole, never seen an ice box there but it can be cold.

Preacher Man Hole, never seen a preacher there, but I bet there has been some religion lost there!

Swimming Hole, give you 3 guesses why it got that name and the first 2 don’t count.

Alligator Hole, never been an alligator there so go figure, maybe someone in the hunting party had an alligator mouth.

10 – 3 Hole, and actually the last duck of the first season (103rd) is mounted.

Butter Fly Hole, is not a place to take family on vacation in the summer to see butterflies; it just looks like a butterfly from an aerial view.

Circus Hole, when this hole was being hunted there was so much stuff flying, swimming, spinning, yup it looked like a circus without a ticket booth.

Dog Stand Hole, the last time I seen this hole there was a dog stand in it but it wasn’t fittin’ for a dog to sit on, these names go on and on and each one is unique in itself.

Finding duck holes in the long ago days meant that you had to venture out on your own and find one or maybe clear one out for yourself, now you can sit at the comfort of your home and find one or more on your computer, plug it in on your GPS, load up, hook to the boat, kiss the better half and kids good bye and off we go. Oh and you can still see the family while you are gone on Face Time, that’s it!!! All these electronics we use can still keep the family happy.

Boats, motors and accessories, this is a piece that has came along way. From oars, to outboards with them shear pin props, to the modern day props and let us not forget about the mud motors. The GPS navigation on these boats now days, the light bars, inboard lighting. We now have a very nice means of transportation for duck hunting verses the old wooden boats, canoes and paddles.

My how times have changed with what we are doing in the outdoors nowadays compared to how our forefathers grew up!

An old man was asked by a young hunter in a duck blind on a cold day “Grandpa if I duck hunt all my life will I be a millionaire?” The Grandpa answered “If you go to college and get the very best doctor degree and make a billion dollars, you will be a millionaire very soon whose duck hunting.”