12 excellent ways to totally botch your duck hunt

Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to hunt ducks across North America with some of the continent’s best waterfowlers, including outfitters, hunting TV hosts, call makers, decoy manufacturers and ammunition company reps. Having spent time afield with such hardcore waterfowlers—they earn their livings from hunting—I’ve come to realize it was often my own mistakes that spoiled some of my previous hunts, or at least made them less successful than they could have been.

Thankfully, I’ve also learned that most duck-hunting missteps can be easily fixed once they’re identified. Often, it’s just a matter of paying attention to the small details. To help save you some tough times afield, here are the 12 most common ways to screw up your duck hunt, complete with advice on making sure they don’t happen to you.