Waterfowl season is well underway, and with any season comes the migration. For the avid hunter, waiting on the migration to finally make it your way is not an option. Whether it’s early season north of the border or a destination like Arkansas timber, hitting the road to hunt ducks opens up new hunting opportunities and a change of scenery. Getting ready to travel to hunt ducks can be intimidating at first. From flying with a firearm to making sure you have the right gear for the long haul ahead, having the right tools and tips will make the process easier. We’ve teamed up with Negrini Cases to bring you 10 essential pieces of gear for the traveling duck hunter. This curated list presents an opportunity to add items to your travel bags before you head out on your next waterfowl hunting trip this season.
Emergency Preparedness Kit
Hunting ducks, especially when traveling, can come with inherent dangers. Anytime you are hunting, firearm safety and preparedness should be at the top of your mind. With that, every hunter should carry a first-aid kit capable of handling the worst-case scenario. Items like quick clot, tourniquets, compression gauze and chest seals are essential first aid/trauma kit items that could mean all the difference in a life and death scenario. Have these in a first aid kit in addition to the basics, and know when and how to use each item. If you’re hunting with a dog, be sure to have first aid equipment specific to your canine companion. No one wants to be hundreds or thousands of miles from home when something goes wrong with someone or their dog and no proper way to render aid.
In addition to first aid, every emergency preparedness kit should consist of survival essentials. Zip ties, tape, and chapstick (for chapped lips and stuck zippers) are basic but versatile pieces of gear worth having on hand. To round out an emergency kit keep a satellite communication device, multi-tool, and or pocket knife handy. These three pieces of gear can do a surprising amount of tasks.
AirTag It
Losing a call lanyard, your favorite calls, and your prized bands is something no duck hunter wants to experience. Thankfully, there is a simple tech fix to help put your mind at ease. Snag an AirTag with a waterproof case and add it to your lanyard before you pack it in your bag. This will allow you to quickly find your lanyard, whether it’s back in the field, in the trailer, or on the lodge coffee table, where you set it down for a quick second before your attention focused elsewhere. If you have extra AirTags, it doesn’t hurt to throw them in bags, in a decoy trailer, or even under the recoil pad of your gun. This way, you will always know exactly where your valuables are.
Pack Your Gun in a Quality Travel Case
Traveling with your gun is not without its own set of worries and concerns, but a quality gun case can simplify the process. Our go to travel case is the Negrini 16406LXP Waterfowl Hard Case. Whether we’re loading up the trucks for a hunt across state lines or catching a ride to the airport for a flight, it is the most convenient and compact travel case we’ve ever used. The built in combination locks are easy to use and negate the need for multiple locks and keys for your travel case. In addition to that, they are International Air Travel Certified and TSA compliant making air travel a breeze. Negrini cases are also tough. Really tough, and they’re just as at home at the airport check-in counter as they are in the back of the truck. One of the biggest advantages I’ve found is that they fit in perfectly as an everyday travel case for your shotgun. Whether that be on a long road trip or just down the road to your local skeet club, it’s extremely convenient to have a case that’s great for travel, easy to toss in the truck, and a great option for home storage.
Regardless of your destination, Negrini cases are a simple way to protect and transport your shotgun. They also offer several additional case options for semi-autos, O/Us, rifles, and handguns, so you never have to sacrifice protection and convenience. If you’re looking for additional travel tips for traveling with a firearm, check out our article on how to fly with your gun here.
Hearing Protection
Protecting your ears should be part of every duck hunter’s philosophy, especially since you only get one set of ears. The unfortunate stigma in the waterfowl hunting world is hearing protection distorts sounds like calling and birds flying overhead. Yet, keeping the ability to hear the ducks flying, the flutter of their wings as they decoy into the spread, and to talk amongst your buddies in the blind is something that you cannot get back if you lose it from not wearing hearing protection. Luckily for hunters, modern technologies have created hearing protection that enables you to hear effectively while canceling out the sounds of gunshots.
Several companies make hearing aid-style ear protection that can compensate for any current hearing loss and pick up specific sounds without distorting things like calling or talking with friends. In addition, electronic ear muffs have come a long way, amplifying sounds and canceling out gunshots completely. At the very least, make sure to have foam earplugs on hand. Buying a bulk tub of foam earplugs for your blind bag is a great way to ensure you always have protection when traveling.
Boot and Wader Dryer
There are a few things in the duck hunting world that make life miserable, and having water logged boots or waders with no way of getting them dry ranks near the top of that list. Now factor in being hundreds or thousands of miles from home with no way of getting your boots or waders dry for the next morning’s hunt. A boot/wader dryer will make life easier for you, especially since nobody wants to stand out in the water in wet boots or waders on a cold winter morning. If you’re flying, a full-sized boot dryer is off the table. However, advancements in backpack-hunting technology have led to the rise of portable fanlike boot dryers. They pack down small, are lightweight, and can easily be thrown in a checked bag to keep your waders and boots dry on a trip.
Choke Tubes with Wrench
Having the ability to adjust your shot pattern on the fly can be the difference between an okay hunt and a great one. Adding an extra reliable choke tube or two with a wrench to your blind bag is a travel essential. You never know what hunting conditions will bring, so be prepared and get the most out of traveling to hunt. Additionally, if you are traveling with your shotgun in a Negrini case, there’s plenty of room to store extra essentials, like choke tubes or some spare gun cleaning supplies, right alongside your gun. If you’re looking for a more permanent choke tube organizational solution, check out Negrini’s lineup of choke tube cases.
Rain Gear
If you are traveling for your hunts, waiting for the weather to change is not an option. Your time is precious, and you’ve already put in the miles and money to get to your destination. Make sure to take care of yourself and pack proper rain gear, as weather conditions can turn on a dime. A good wading or rain jacket is a worthy investment that always makes the cut, whether hunting near home or traveling thousands of miles.
Optics
Traveling to a new place to find ducks means scouting. To effectively scout, a good pair of binoculars is a necessity. These allow you to identify feeds, roosts, and get an idea of how many and what species of birds are around. Packing a set of binos can never hurt and will come in handy more often than not.
A rangefinder is another piece to add to your kit, and it will go a long way with setting up decoys and knowing the distance for ethical shots. Everyone finds themselves in a plausible situation, questioning the distance to a certain area in the spread at one point during a hunt. Utilizing a rangefinder during your hunt will help you make clean, ethical shots so the birds fall immediately instead of flying off.
Gun Cleaning Kit
Taking care of your gun is crucial to ensure the safety and longevity of its lifespan and your ability to bring down birds. No one wants to pull their shotgun out on a trip to find signs of rust and particles in the barrel, nor do you want to drop your gun and get mud all in it with no good way of getting it clean before the next hunt. A gun cleaning kit is essentially a first aid kit for your gun, and you’ll be thankful you have one with you when you need it the most.
In addition to cleaning supplies, it’s always good to have a few spare shotgun components on hand. Throwing in a couple of extra take-down pins never hurts, although we hope you won’t need them. Also, having an extra charging handle might seem a little extra, but trust us, it’s well worth it, especially if you hunt with buddies who shoot the same gun as you.
Flashlight/Head Lamp
Setting up decoy spreads, brushing in blinds, and finding your way in flooded timber generally take place under the cover of dark. Adding a flashlight or headlamp to your bags before you travel will save you from a misstep and falling into the water or walking in the dark to set up decoys. There are two main types of headlamps: rechargeable and battery-powered. Each has its own pros and cons. Rechargeable, you’ll need a place to plug it in and should charge it after your hunt. Battery-powered, on the other hand, will need backup replacement batteries, but it does have the benefit that you’ll always have power as long as you have batteries. Whatever you prefer, make sure to pack backups. Whether you lose one or it dies, you can never have too many headlamps on the road.
Final Thoughts
Traveling can be intimidating, but don’t let that keep you from experiencing new places and hunting. Some of the most memorable experiences in waterfowl hunting can be with your buddies, experiencing new places and new hunting styles. From the flooded timber of Arkansas to the potholes of the Dakotas and even the salt marshes of Long Island, the waterfowl hunting world offers tremendous diversity. Keeping yourself in one area is doing a disservice to what this sport has to offer.
Our list of essentials for traveling duck hunters is by no means an all-encompassing list of everything you’ll need. That said, these are some incredibly useful and important pieces of gear to have. If you make sure to check these off the list before your next hunting trip, you’ll hit the road confident and prepared for the hunt ahead. So get out there and explore, make memories afield that will last a lifetime, and stay safe this hunting season.
Thanks to Negrini Cases for helping make this guide possible and for making sure no matter where we’re headed, our firearms always travel there safely!