Duck Hunt Questions

[SneakyPhil]

I am not sure if I have asked this before but here we go. Since my daughter was 5 (now 13) she has gone on at least one dove hunt a year with me. This year I've been too tied up with work until now. Now she doesn't shoot much but she enjoys being out and retrieving birds. I've never been duck hunting but have wanted to give it a shot. I'm thinking about booking a duck hunt and bringing her along. She does have a .410 pump but am not sure she would actually shoot. I am not sure a .410 would do for duck hunting anyway. Of course, I will talk with her about wanting to actually shoot prior to booking.

Questions: who would you guys recommend for a hunt near Katy where she could tag along? If she does want to shoot has anyone ever used a .410 for ducks? Of course, I don't want to break the bank just get out and spend some time in the field with her. Thanks in advance.

[BULL21]

20 gauge is about as small as I would use. I imagine you would have a hard time finding steel shot in .410 too

[wilcox1088]

You can find it and kill ducks with it. It's challenging but can be done. My dad hunts with a .410 sometimes during teal season. I can give you recommendations on a hunt just pm me

[Lone_Wolf]

www.mackspw.com has steel shot and heavy shot for a .410 - If your main objective is to spend some time with your daughter and have a gun in her hands while you do it, without the goal of her killing a lot of birds, then I'd let her tag along with the .410. If you want her to have an upper hand and actually have a better chance at hitting what she's shooting at and knocking it down, a 20 ga is the better choice.

[Bleu]

I don't have any suggestions on a guide service, but I fell in love with duck hunting from batting cleanup with my .410. I always felt like I had a very important job, and it kept me excited about going back.

[ultralite09]

For an outfitter, theyre not super close but not terribly far from houston. I would recommend Run N Gun Adventures out of Bay City, I would say they will give you the best bet for plenty of action for you and your daughter.

[SneakyPhil]

Thanks guys. I could run back to the valley some time and pick up my old Mossberg 20 gage with adjustable choke if she wants to reall hunt.

[stxhunter]

Run N Gun is good. Have heard good things about their operation, but haven't personally been.

I went with Drake Plantation during teal season and will most likely go again for duck/goose. Their blinds and setups were nicer than expected.

[Homer75]

http://Prairiewaterfowlhunts.com

I have a buddy that guides for this guy, if you need another guy I’d go in a heartbeat. I have a Yildez youth 20 that I let my oldest daughter use for birds. I would think it would be frustrating to use a 410 on ducks unless I was a great shooter, which I’m not.

[MarkV]

My buddy guides for Run N Gun and my wife knows the owner. They run a top notch operation and have been killing some birds.

[Z7buckmaster]

This was this morning. They are from Rockport not sure how far is it from you. I guarantee you that your daughter will have a blast on the boat ride. Adam is the owner also our guide this morning. He manage to put us on ducks on 80 degree weather a blue skie. Back Lakes Lodge

[El General]

A 410 is an experts gun, but if she is just gonna water swat and shoot cripples it will work. I don’t know any guide outfits on the west side, but I will second Drake Plantation on the east side. I been hunting with them for years and they are good guys.

[hube06]

Karankawa Plains Outfitters

[quackadikt]

If you want her to shoot that .410, see if you can find some Bismuth, Kent TM, or something similar for shells. Pretty positive that Hevi is making .410 loads in #6s and #7s. That's what I would have her shoot. Let her water swat a few and I bet she has a blast!

[Ishi&Elvis]

IF you can find it in 7.5 you will get better coverage. Used it for almost all my hunting growing up. If you can get into a shooting situation where ducks are going to be close that will help. My Dad put me on teal early on shooting on potholes and I never looked back. Still miss it, just don't live close enough to the coast any more to warrant the equipment.