Dressing for success in waterfowling generally means wearing clothes that keep you warm but still allow you to handle a gun effectively. You won’t shoot well if your teeth are chattering or your clothes restrict your movements. Consequently, choosing the right clothing and accessories can help you put more birds in the bag. Following are some tips on what to wear when hunting ducks and geese.
Ball Caps
The long bill of a baseball cap keeps the sun out of your eyes. It can also make you miss. If the bill of your cap is curved and you pull it down low over your eyes, the effect can be like looking down a dark tunnel when you mount the gun. Your natural impulse is to lift your head to see better, but as soon as your head comes off the stock, you will shoot high. While coaching student trap teams, I have seen many young shooters struggle with this problem, which can be fixed simply by tilting the cap back or turning it around.
Shooting Glasses
Wearing shooting glasses is important for safety reasons, but I prefer the lightest tint I can get away with. If you wear prescription glasses, choose a pair that sits up high enough on your nose to keep you from looking over the top of the frame or, even worse, through a thick frame that blocks your vision when you tip your head forward to shoot.
Neck Gaiters
Aside from a warm hat, nothing will conserve heat more effectively than a neck gaiter. However, a bulky gaiter pulled up over the lower half of your face can interfere with a good gun mount. This has happened to me, so I don’t pull a gaiter above my chin unless I’m truly freezing.
Jackets and Layers
A heavy, oversized jacket can snag a gun butt and stop your swing. That’s why I prefer to wear several thin layers, which do a better job of trapping heat with a lot less bulk. In bitter-cold weather, I wear merino wool long underwear, a wool shirt, a light insulated vest, and a jacket, all tucked into waders or bibs. Look for jackets with back gussets or some give to the material. Stretch fabrics offer more mobility, and they allow you to choose a coat that fits snugly for more nimble gun handling.
Gloves and Mittens
Cold, numb hands can’t feel a trigger or load a gun, but warm hands in bulky gloves don’t work much better. Besides ammo and snacks, my blind bag holds at least three pairs of gloves. I wear long rubber decoy gloves to keep my hands dry when I set the spread or break ice. Then I’ll switch to lighter fleece-lined gloves that are thin enough to shoot with. I also bring an extra pair of shooting gloves in case the pair I’m wearing gets wet.
Ammo Belts and Vests
You need to keep a few shells on your person and at the ready. Otherwise, sooner or later you’ll find yourself chasing a cripple while carrying an empty gun. Many hunters like neoprene shell belts that hold up to 25 cartridges. I don’t like that weight around my waist. As long as I have pockets or a pouch on my waders where I can keep six or eight shells close at hand, I feel prepared.
If you hunt in the timber, or if you hike to jump-shoot ducks, a camo or drab-colored version of an upland vest is a great choice. Special waterfowl hunting versions are cut shorter, so they will stay dry as you wade. In addition to holding extra shells, vests offer multiple pockets where you can stash a phone, snacks, or other handy items that can be hard to find in the recesses of a parka or blind bag.
