Stalking and Jump-Shooting

Stalking waterfowl on foot entails a different problem than stalking upland birds. While upland birds will often run directly into cove- or sit tight at the approach of a hunter, waterfowl, once they spot him, will fly before he comes into range. Nature tells upland birds that their camouflage coloration will prevent detection while they are immobile in the foliage of their natural habitat, but waterfowl instinctively know that their camou­flaging is inadequate when they are on water. Consequently, the successful stalking of waterfowl depends on getting within shotgun range entirely unseen and unsuspected.

There are only limited types of habitat conducive to such an approach. The most common of these are inland potholes, creeks, incidental water holes, such as irrigation ponds on cultivated fields, the intermittent ponds and small lakes of marsh country and flooded lowlands, and inland rivers.

The use of potholes, creeks, and small water of any type by waterfowl is dependent on such factors as resident bird population, fall flights of migrating birds, and the relationship between areas and species-distribution. Weather, and any adjacent feeding grounds such as stubble fields, also have a direct bearing on the degree of bird concentration. Often the general incidence of birds may be determined for distances up to a mile or so by observing them hovering over and alighting on such inland waters. During foul, cold weather, normally coincident with the northern flights, birds will tend to group and rest more than in balmy weather. In short, waterfowl's use of inland waters is variable and may be heavy, spotty, or seldom.

The hunter's problem, once he sees birds alight on inland waters, is to sneak up within range, utilizing available cover and terrain, then jump-shoot the birds as they fly off. During any stalk, flying birds overhead will give the hunter's presence away; and while stalking it is best, when detecting such a flock, to lie low and immobile until it has either alighted or taken off.

Any changes in elevation, the available foliage, and the changing con­tours of streams, creeks, and ponds can help the hunter approach birds unseen, if he knows how to utilize them. From their low position on the water, waterfowl cannot see very far inland, and this is an advantage to the hunter. Consequently, the stalker's approach is generally easy except for the last 50 to 100 yards. As the final distance is the most difficult, the biggest lament of the stalker is that he can't make it undetected, and the birds get up just out of range.

In sneaking up on inland waterfowl, the best technique is to crawl for the final yards up to a stream bank, lake shore, or creek bed, from where the game can be viewed. As the hunter gets close to his objective, he should limit his movement as much as possible. At the last cover, where the hunter "takes a look," he should be very careful not to disclose himself.

If the birds have swum out of range or sight, or if there are no birds where he expected them, then the hunter must alter the direction of any subsequent stalking so as to intercept them at other positions along the stream, creek, or pond. Usually this means cautiously moving back along the route he has come, circling about, then coming up again to some other vantage point.

The hunter should exercise extreme care in carrying his shotgun when approaching waterfowl. There is always the possibility of inadvertently poking the gun's muzzle into snow or mud. When the plugged gun is fired, it will blow up the barrel and may injure the shooter.

One of the sporting aspects of stalking and jump-shooting waterfowl is the fact that, even after a perfect and successful stalk is made and the hunter comes within range, one or two quick shots is all he gets. Thereafter, birds of the same flock won't return to that spot again, and he often has to wait in the same area for others to fly in.

Stalking and jump-shooting take another form in areas of marsh and similar shallow water, which is interlaced with tule beds and similar vegeta­tion. A light boat with a pointed bow and narrow beam is often poled quietly from pothole to pothole, and the birds are shot as they jump from sudden view of the craft and hunters. This type of jump-shooting depends upon a quiet approach, and is most profitable where large areas of water and marsh can be covered.

Retrieving dead birds which fall into rivers, creeks, and small inland potholes is always a problem. Many may be recovered simply by wading out after them, while wearing hip-boots or waders. Many birds that are out of reach will be blown or drift with the current to where they can be picked up closer to shore. Even a light breeze will eventually move a dead bird a considerable distance, if the hunter is patient. Throwing sizeable rocks just over a dead bird in calm water will move it towards the hunter a few yards.

A simple gadget to carry along for those birds that are hard to reach is a small coil of chalkline equipped at the end with a huge treble, or " snag" hook, and a few ounces of lead sinkers. Such a rig, heaved out and over a dead bird, will hook the feathers and enable the hunter to pull it in.

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