Posted by Clint on September 18, 1999 at 21:40:16:
I started chasing ducks with my dad when I was 3, (Has it already been 35 years of this?). That started a future which revolves around our feathered friends. I killed my first ducks (blue-wings and mallards) when I was 9 using a single shot .410, went 9 for the first 10 shots. All that lead to missing school to hunt ducks, and the decision to turn my passion for ducks into a career. After a Master's degree on ring-necked ducks in Florida and a PhD on mallards in my home state of Colorado, I took a job in Louisiana. I long ago faded from the killer status. That was when I was high school and was half way through the season, having killed 44 ducks with 66 shots, decided that wasn't the challenge I was looking for, and then began to focus on geese. I'd currently consider myself a speck specialist, but any trophy duck will get my attention.
Long ago, my hunting passion evolved into keeping waterfowl and carving decoys. I have over 30 species currently, and am always adding more. This has influenced my carving as I try to carve more exotics. Because I don't hunt ducks 60 days a season, I can spend time making unusual decoys, and then hunt over them when I feel like it.