There is no better place to be on a below freezing January day than out in the timber somewhere hunting ducks. As I get out of the truck, the smell of a swamp instantly hits my nose and I can now see the clear sheet of ice lying perfectly across the water. The place that I always go hunting at is way out in the country, miles away from city limits. There are no streetlights or sounds of cars passing by. The only things you can hear are the sounds of nature and animals. I had about a one hundred yard walk to my duck blind through the thick iced over water. With every step I took, the ice made a loud crushing sound. It was way below freezing and the water that slashed up under the ice chilled my hands. Once I got to the duck blind, I decided to take a seat and try to warm up. The duck blind was about ten feet long horizontally. It could easily seat four people, but this morning all of my hunting buddies had overslept. I had to make sure the blind blended in well with the surrounding area of trees and brush, so I had put all kinds of yellow cane, green shrubs, leaf-less tree limbs, and dark green grass on the …show more content…
I knew this one was going to land and grabbed my shotgun. I tried to be very quiet as I clicked the safety off my gun. I saw the lone mallard drake straight in front of me coming right into the middle of my decoys. It was beautiful. The mallard slowed its flapping wings and cupped them to slow down to land. Right before it landed, I let out one loud shot and dropped it on the spot. It dropped about ten feet out of the air and hit the water with a loud smack, causing a big splash. The duck I had killed was gorgeous. It was a fully-grown mallard drake. It had a big green head that was shining in the sunlight and a bright yellow bill. Its bright orange feet indicated that it was a duck that was new to the area. It was a nice kill that would soon be food on the