Sea Duck Hunt

[Joe Graziano]

Had the opportunity for some duck hunting on the Chesapeake with my son, home on leave from the Army, and good friends. We hunted out of Tilghman Island and were fortunate to have warm sunshine, calm water and just a bit of breeze to move the birds. This was my first time hunting sea ducks and what a blast! Lots of action. Beautiful day on the bay. It always amazes me fin, feather and shell abundance of the Chesapeake. I decided to bring the Bernardelli 20 ga and did well with Kent Bismuth, 2 3/4 in, 1 oz of #5 shot. When I did my part, it brought down the birds nicely. I even had a couple longer shots where it was surpringly effective with a full choke. And unlike my hunting partners, my shoulder wasn’t sore after. Some of those hot waterfowl loads are just punishing, to the shooter! I fired a few as we switched guns. I’ll stick to my 20 for ducks and save the 12 for geese. We took primarily bufflehead, with a bluebill, mallard and old squaw as well. We ate a bufflehead and bluebill, not bad at all. Most importantly, it was a really fantastic time hunting on the water with family and friends together over the holidays.