Topics | Fair not CheapThe cost of anything we seriously are considering to purchase is rarely the reason to buy or not. Anyone can test this idea by asking themselves is there anything they have bought themselves for their own use that was purchased only because it was the cheapest available? For the vast majority of us the answer is quality above cost for anything we truly want. Do it yourself duck hunts on our wetlands and permanent blinds. For duck hunting the cost of the hunt itself is small considering the equipment required and the time spent learning the finesse of calling and decoying. That leaves the quality of the duck hunt as a decision criteria. In this discussion the hunt has been further defined as do it yourself with the implied of on wild migratory birds.
Public or Private WetlandsMigratory birds still leaves us with many options and in our case limited to the Mississippi Flyway within Missouri. Now how to get on those birds and leave it a do it yourself duck hunt means elimination of the many guide services both on public and private wetlands. Public wetlands while boasting of large acreage are open as aptly described to the public with all the inherent competition and hunter quality issue we need not discuss as they are commonly known. For do it yourself duck hunts the public wetlands option while getting on the right kind of habitat within the flyway does solve the problem of location, but not necessarily the type of hunt the do it yourself hunter is after. That now brings further definition to the quality aspect of the duck hunt. Simply getting on wetlands is not enough. Our private wetlands are strictly for do it yourself duck hunts. Private wetlands while an often times preferred locality to hunt and frequently superior to public wetlands leave the question open as how to access them unless personally owned or as a guest. The answer is well known - paid access. Paid access can be good or bad depending on several factors. The first of course are ducks. Whenever we pay money for something, we want to get the fullest expected or possible return. This is an automatic disconnect with migratory birds. There are simply no guarantees when the flights will best be worked. This leaves us with how to mitigate the cost through expanding the opportunity for success. One answer which we promote is that the do it yourself duck hunter we prefer to work with is the one that enjoys the hunt first and the bag size later. |
