Primitive Weapon Duck Hunting

Eric Patterson

Eric Patterson

Administrator
Staff member
A fellow club member is attempting to kill a duck with a bow and arrow. Anybody here do that or seen it done? I started thinking about this and came up with the grand slam of primitive duck hunting.

  1. Bow and arrow
  2. Sling shot
  3. Atlatl
  4. Blow gun
I kind of doubt anyone has ever completed this but who knows what may have happened over the eons. Anybody up for the challenge?
 
Legality may be an issue. Many states prohibit the taking of game with a blow gun or atlatl.

I made an attempt at a duck with a bow. I carried a full pop-up blind, decoys, chair, and bow about a mile in to a small stream where there is a pool that often holds wood ducks. Sure enough, a drake came and landed. I lined up my shot carefully, released gently, and fully missed. Decided it was too much effort and shooting and eating wood ducks is too enjoyable to squander opportunities with a bow.
 
Eric Patterson said:
A fellow club member is attempting to kill a duck with a bow and arrow. Anybody here do that or seen it done? I started thinking about this and came up with the grand slam of primitive duck hunting.

  1. Bow and arrow
  2. Sling shot
  3. Atlatl
  4. Blow gun
I kind of doubt anyone has ever completed this but who knows what may have happened over the eons. Anybody up for the challenge?
Click to expand...
It's not legal in Illinois to hunt waterfowl with any other means other than approved shotgun and ammo.
 
I wasn't even thinking about the legality of such weapons given the difficulty they'd present to kill a duck and they are all non-toxic. That is unless you're blowing poison darts. 😂
 
A warden would have to be a real hardass to not be amused by a duck hunter with a blowgun, slingshot or atlatl. I'd like to see video's of someone trying with any of the above. Many videos of guys trying to shoot ducks with a shotgun are horrifying, they shoot boxes of shells to get a couple of birds. Imagine how many spears from an atlatl would be required to kill a limit of scoters from a pitching boat? Is it really "taking" if you have a better chance of running the ducks over with the boat? :)
 
You could add kiipooyaq. This is the word Inuit use for a bola that was traditionally used for hunting birds. The Inuit used it for ducks and geese and the mi'kmaq (maritime Indians) used a similar device for hunting shorebirds. I'm sure it was used by most indigenous cultures for hunting birds in flocks.
 
Scott Gilliland said:
You could add kiipooyaq. This is the word Inuit use for a bola that was traditionally used for hunting birds. The Inuit used it for ducks and geese and the mi'kmaq (maritime Indians) used a similar device for hunting shorebirds. I'm sure it was used by most indigenous cultures for hunting birds in flocks.
Click to expand...

Never heard of that so I looked it up. I had no idea that's what Mick Fleetwood was wearing. 😂

Rumours_2048x.webp
 
I have a book that should be in my library ... that is somewhere and I cannot find it. That describes how the Inuit hunt eiders in the winter with no weapons -- just smarts.

Some eiders winter parts of Hudson Bay and other areas of the western Arctic. In fact there are 2-300,000 that over winter in Hudson Bay. When it is very cold (-30 to -40) birds are very reluctant to fly. Maybe because it might be hard to find open water but there are other risks that the Inuit can take advantage of. At these temperatures there is lots of sea smoke (freezing vapour) over open water. They would use 2 crews. One crew would sneek in and hide just upwind of the open water while the there crew approached downwind. The down wind crew would flush the birds, and as the flock approached the upwind crew they would stand up and scare the birds. As the birds flew thought the sea some ice accumulate in their feathers affecting their ability to fly. When they had to turn to avoid the hunters... going low and slow in icing conditions they would basically stall as they turned and fall to the ground. They would just pick them up.

that story has stuck with me for a long time.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top