Duck blind on my Wavewalk for Archery duck hunting

Well having survived another kids wedding it is finally time to get my gear in order and start killing ducks.  In my continuing quest to consistently kill ducks with a bow, I realized at the end of last season that my boat had to change.  The marshrat is great but not with a bow.  The Wavewalk was the solution. 

It offers a stable boat and it allows me to draw my bow without the lower limb bumping into my leg.   I also learned that in order to land the ducks in the deeks and not have them take off when you draw you have to be completely covered.

I decided on a scissors style blind because it provides the flexibility I need to account for the bow.

This is the rough draft, pre paint and camo material.  I will update as I get it finalized.  I also realize that I have no idea what this will be like on the water.  It is not heavy so I am not concerned about stability, but by design it is off center.  That could make things creative.  Most of the time my boat was in the shallows or up against shore anyways, so I am hopeful that this design will be effective.

Here is the boat and blind all buttoned up for transport.  With it all closed I have plenty of room for paddling.  The extra long paddle helps. 



Here is a detialed pic. of the scissors part.  I was able to use some steel tubing that I had that fits perfectly inside a 1"pvc.  That allows me to extend the arms out.  The wood is 1x3 oak.  I started with a 6' piece and then trimmed it after I had the blind all settled.





Here it is with the frame in position.  Notice how it leans forward.  That is to provide the room to fully extend and draw the bow.



A friend a long time ago gave me one of those gazeebo things you see at home depot.  He got it cheep at a yard sale and it needed repair.  He never got around to it, and I have been using the frame for other things (gardening) so the fabric will work perfectly for wind screen/roof and the base.  I will add to it some camo material (hunters specialty die cut)







I will cut a window/shooting slot about 18" by 5'  that runs the length of the blind that gives me my shooting window.  It may have to be a bit bigger to see out of but we will see.

 



Here is the inside.



Here is the icing on the cake.  I can also use it for shotgun hunting should I so desire.







I am loving the wave walk and with this kind of blind it will be a killin machine!

I will update with a final after I get camo material.

Since your lab looks like he has pretty high mileage, an advantage of your kayak mounted blind is that you can paddle him over to any ducks you shoot and let him retrieve them from the kayak.

However, you probably should strap down all your gear and put a lanyard on your bow or shotgun in case the wind comes up while you have the blind erected.

However, you probably should strap down all your gear and put a lanyard on your bow or shotgun in case the wind comes up while you have the blind erected.

I like the neoprene sling.  It floats up from the bottom and makes it easier to find the shotgun when diving for it when you forget the leash.  DAMHIK.

That's pretty cool, but we've been keeping it simple in the south sound.  Find a dry spot in the marsh, hide the boats, and wait the birds to arrive.

This is my first duck kill (yesterday) and a Widgeon  :-)

Since your lab looks like he has pretty high mileage

  Are you saying my dog is fat?   She actually has never been duck hunting.  I got her to hunt but ended up going to grad school (something I had not planned for) so here training got interrupted.  So she has just been a really friendly "guard" dog.

I mostly hunt shallow saltwater bays and mudflats. I am anchored (One at each end) when I am hunting and only have to paddle to the spot and then retrieve arrows after missed shots and the occasional duck.   I will take the fabric down to paddle.

Good job on the wigeon.  My favorite duck as is obvious.  I love hunting the Nisqaully tide flats.  Haven't done it since they " improved" it but might actually get down there this year.  I have hunted ducks for 32 years.  With a bow only the last three.  It is a lot of fun.

That was the Nisqually tide flats 

How do you recover arrows from the water?

Killed a lot of ducks there, thought it might be but didn't want to give away your honey hole.

Arrows float with the fetching up.  Just go pick them up.  I shoot the ducks on the water.  This sometimes surprises people because they think of the ol "don't shoot a bird on the water" rule.  But that is actually for shotguns as it is not considered fair chase.  With a bow, shooting them on the water is PLENTY of fair chase, especially since you have to get them to land in the deeks instead of blasting away when they fly by!!  It is basically hitting a nurf football at 30-40 yards moving in the water.  In addition, the arrows skip and don't travel very far so I am not flinging arrows and having them show up in someones back yard. 

The thing I like about it as well is that when you connect, it is a dead bird,  but when you miss you really miss.  I have yet to not retrieve one bird that I have hit with an arrow.  I also do not use broadheads (which could pose a danger in the marsh if un-retrieved) but use a G3-SHG.  It does a number on the ducks.

I could never imagine duck hunting with a bow, that has to be tough.
This was my opening day pic this year.

Sweet!  Getting them to land is the hardest part.  However, I do get to hunt places that are NO SHOOTING zones but are not NO HUNTING zones.  So I am the only  duck hunter in the place.  That part is really nice.  I have also only used the same 4 arrows for three years.  Reduced my shell budget by a lot!!

what arrows do you use?

I use carbon fiber arrows with a 100gr G3-sgh.

Well got it mostly done.  I have a couple of things to tighten up but I think it came out great.



Here is the last thing the ducks see