NWWC HUNT WIRE: Cogdell's advice on making the tough duck shots count
POSTED Nov. 2, 2011 / 4:50 p.m.

SEATTLE - As an Olympic shotgun medalist and avid waterfowl hunter, Corey Cogdell is the first to admit that effective shooting – and gun handling in general – is a helluva lot more difficult in the dead of winter than during the September dove season.

“Well, for one, you’re not freezing to death when you’re dove hunting,” Cogdell jokes. “Really, though, where a lot of people get into trouble during waterfowl season is they have to get so bundled up, a duck comes in and they have problems getting the gun up. It’s tough when you have about 15 layers on. It can really affect you.”

The mechanics of waterfowl hunting are, frankly, wildly different than any other shotgun hunting you’ll do all year. You’re often shooting from an odd position (think layout boats and blinds), you’re adjusting to odd shot angles, and you’re generally challenged with conditions that hamper your ability to focus on the proper mechanics of an effective shot.

Here are some of Cogdell’s suggestions for:

Managing the sitting/laying shot
“The most important thing in awkward shots – like where you’re sitting, which is not a great shooting position or a normal mount – is to focus on getting the gun to your face versus your shoulder,” she says. “You have to hold the gun away from your body a little and try to bring it to your face first.

"If you’re hitting the gun with your face first, you’re going to be consistent with your cheek on the stock, looking down the barrel and getting your eyes lined up on the target.”

Success on the overhead shot
”You don’t have a lot of overhead shots with doves or upland birds, but you get a lot of shots with ducks and geese where you’re shooting more straight over your head,” Cogdell says. “Flushing birds don’t challenge you with that. The biggest thing is in getting your mount right: most crossing shots, you can fudge a little if you don’t get a great mount.

"With the overhead shot, you have such a smaller margin of error because of the mechanics, where the gun sits high on your shoulder.”

Hitting the long-range bird
“You don’t always get close shots with ducks and geese: sometimes they fly high and won’t come in, so you’re going to have to learn how to manage longer-distance shots,” Cogdell says. “You have to use a longer lead, and the only way you can figure that out is to go to the sporting clays range and really practice those shots. Finding the right choke is a big deal, too.

"Standard chokes aren’t going to pattern that well with steel, so get a choke and hit the patterning board before you hunt with it. Getting the right pattern for longer-range shot is important.”