Mississippi Duck Hunting

Greetings from the Blind

A Ross and Cackler Goose

The private land we hunted near Ruleville, MS in the Delta Region of the state was 3 parts mud, 1 part waterfowl. Despite this being my first trip to Mississippi, having long read about the great duck and goose hunting in this part of the world, I wasn't exactly blindsided. Neither was I that, despite the amount of waterfowl in the area, this late-season hunt was a tough one of wary birds.

I've never killed a pintail; nothing changed after this trip. Oh, we saw tons, dropping from the clouds, those long necks peering down into the pit blinds. No matter the concealment, I just felt naked under their jeweler's eyes. One gorgeous sprig landed just out of decoy range but will remain well within memory for years to come.

Drake Greenwing Teal

The mallards I expected, in full plume this time of year, but almost as spooky as the pintail. And I've seen shovelers - or "smallards" or "Hollywoods" or " Spoonies" or whatever the code name was at the moment for these birds - but not in the numbers that floated across the flooded corn fields. We busted a few gadwall the first morning in a flooded timber situation. It'd been 10 years since I've shot a greenwing teal, and I placed a great deal of thought into having a drake mounted, but the damage was too significant.

The Ol' Specklebelly

So, too, with my specklebelly, my first goose of any breed. The geese - the geese were incredible to a fellow not in any way accustomed to the numbers and the noise. Thousands of snows, cacklers, specks, blues...all morning and night, their laughs and honks carrying across the open. After my speck, Harris took down a Ross and a cackler. For me, the variety of game was like an exotic hunt in a faraway land.

Which it wasn't, of course. It was downright easy to get to Mississippi from Florida, and I'm glad I did. Wish I'd taken a few more pics, but I simply enjoyed the scenery, hunting, and camaraderie too much to be lost in a lens.

A little bit of everything

But, here, I wanted to share what pics we took. Hope you enjoy and had a successful duck season yourself.

Max helped, too.