Like most things in today’s world, the sport of duck hunting is divided into factions: old vs. young, in-state vs. out-of-state (aka “oosers”), public land vs. private land, this camo vs. that camo and so on. Most of those divides are just for good fun. However, some waterfowlers take themselves too seriously and tend to bicker about such things as if it’s of monumental importance — typically via a keyboard.
Another categorization of waterfowlers is far less controversial than those above while getting a fraction of the attention.
This intriguing classification of hunters, often overlooked, originates from the 1970s research of University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse professors Dr. Robert Jackson and Dr. Robert Norton. Their extensive interviews with over 1,000 deer and waterfowl hunters led to identifying distinct phases a hunter typically progresses through over their time afield. This research, known as The Stages of the Hunter, is a crucial framework still taught in hunter education courses nationwide. Unfortunately, many waterfowlers don’t consider or reference these stages beyond the test to obtain their hunting license.
The doctors specialized in human behavior and were keen on improving hunter morals and ethics. That interest served as the basis for the research and guided their development of the evolution of hunters as they spent time chasing their respective game of choice. There isn’t necessarily a timeline order as some hunters may leapfrog over stages to reach another. Those who hunt more than one type of species may be at one stage for ducks but at another stage for deer, for example.
The stages aren’t akin to a personality test you may have taken at work. The categorization is not nearly that formal or intense. However, some definitive traits funnel a hunter into a specific grouping, and typically, those are easy to spot.
Not all hunters progress through all five stages. Pending a hunter’s core motivation, they may not move up the ladder.
Quality seasons may allow them to advance, while tough ones make them slide back into the mindset of one of the early phases. Motivations jump around with the hunter’s definition of success.
1. The Shooter
By Jackson and Norton’s definition, a shooter is simply that. Skills afield are not very refined, and the hunt is simply an opportunity to pull the trigger at something. The success of the outing isn’t defined by how many, how fast or what species. Many would lump kids just getting their feet wet in the sport as shooters, but this also applies to adults new to the sport or who duck hunt a couple of times a year.
The company kept or the time at duck camp likely supersedes the results of the actual hunt.
The shooter can be tough on spoonbills, ringnecks and the like, or maybe even a blackbird or two on a slow day. The urge to learn to call ducks or geese or the how/why of decoy placement isn’t even on the radar of a shooter. The Boone and Crockett Club, a hunter-conservationist group, says this about a Shooter: “The number of shots taken or opportunities missed can be the measure of a good day.”
2. The Maximalist
If you solely focused on social media, one may believe this phase might contain the majority of hunters. The “five-man by 7:45 a.m.” crowd dominates the feed many days during the season. Waterfowlers in this phase of their hunting career firmly believe shooting a limit proves one’s worth in the sport, and a hunt is not considered successful without achieving that goal.
However, many who have progressed past this phase realize there is much more to waterfowling than a limit. Sure, hunters love reaching that point in the hunt where they get to unload their shotguns with smiles all around. Those hunts make for some great stories and memories. But a limit should never be the only marker of whether a hunt is successful; if that’s the case, there will be disappointment more days than not.
The limiting out phase coincides with an improved hunter skill set, and reaching a limit is believed to justify one’s skill. This hunter is a better caller and is increasing their understanding of why waterfowl do what they do. They are more advanced but tend to be narrowly focused on what happens over their decoy spread or the buddies they are trying to outhunt. There’s not much thought about the long term with this crowd, and they get caught up in the “how fast and how many” mindset.
3. The Trophy Hunter
Typically coinciding with some maturity, the trophy hunter shifts from having a “piles make smiles” mentality to quality over quantity. Trophy hunters get more selective with their shots. “Drakes only” is a common Trophy hunter edict. Passing on “trash” ducks is another. While the shooter isn’t afraid to go the plug on shovelers, the trophy hunter will rarely, if ever, even consider raising their gun at one.
Trophy hunters may also slow a hunt down as the group approaches a limit to “band hunt.” I’ve been on a handful of hunts where someone in the group makes that announcement, but I’ve never seen a band shot under those circumstances. Odds are the proclamation isn’t really to pick out a band amongst a group of incoming ducks or geese but is an effort to slow the experience down a tad and enjoy the moment.
A trophy deer hunter would pursue mature bucks with big racks and pass on the younger, smaller deer. Waterfowlers can’t tell age while ducks are in flight, outside of white-fronted geese with no specks. It’s also rare to spot a hybrid while in flight, but you can spot a prized bird like a black duck mixed among a flock of mallards.
4. The Method Hunter
Limits and trophies are still a priority with the method hunter, but another element is added: “how” the birds are harvested. Tree-topping ducks as they circle overhead or taking stretch shots at 50-plus yards on passing geese aren’t part of the equation with a method hunter. Passing shots are rare, while waterfowl fluttering over the decoys is preferred.
A hunter who is a deft shot may choose passing shots that offer a challenge level. I’ve also seen method hunters that choose to pass on the ducks down in the decoys and prefer the ducks climbing out of the hole as those offer a more difficult shot.
The method hunter often displays more patience than the previously mentioned phases. Small groups of ducks may hit the decoys without a shot call while waiting for the bigger group to commit. Some days that works, and some days, the wad never gets in range, and no shots are fired. For a method hunter, that’s no big deal.
5. The Sportsman
Readers of Greenhead have probably seen a grandfather or dad reach the sportsman phase. They’ve harvested plenty of waterfowl, and now the days afield are about the experience and less about the pile. Once-hardened hunters turn into mentors. They would rather allow others to shoot while they sit back and enjoy the sunrise or the sight of mallards maple leafing through the tree limbs.
Texas Parks & Wildlife says this about sportsman stage: “What animal is being hunted, how it is being hunted, the immersion into nature and the companionship of who you are hunting with all combine to create a more sophisticated appreciation of the hunt.”
Trigger pulls aren’t as important as they once were. Companionship, especially if children or grandchildren are involved, is paramount. Conservation and perpetuation of this great sport also kick into high gear. This hunter is grateful and content, often looking back to memories and forward to ensure the resource is available for the future.
Personal Take
Jackson and Norton were clear that not all hunters progress through all five stages. Pending a hunter’s core motivation, they may not move up the ladder. Also, their phase may depend on the season or the day. Quality seasons may allow them to advance, while tough ones make them slide back into the mindset of one of the early phases. Motivations jump around with the hunter’s definition of success.
After roughly 50 years afield, I can definitively say that I’ve been through all five stages. I have clear memories of being a shooter as a kid, tagging along with my dad at Crockett’s Bluff Hunting Lodge in the White River Bottoms. My teens through my mid-30s were undeniably all about the limits and advancing my skills with ducks. Keep in mind a portion of those seasons were during the 30-day, two-mallard limit days of the late 1980s and early 1990s. If our hunt fell short, I would walk the farm jump-shooting mallards out of the ditches to finish a limit.
Trophy and method hunts came along as I got older, especially when I seriously started hunting specklebellies about 20 years ago. I no longer wanted to pass-shoot them and learned to call and decoy these birds while trying to pick out barred-up mature birds and letting go of the young ones, also commonly referred to as “chickens.” The hunts don’t always work that way, but not from lack of trying.
I am firmly planted in the sportsman stage now, and this phase will last until I can’t do it anymore. As an advocate for “resource first, hunter second,” I have clarity that the better days afield come from taking care of the game we chase and the habitat in which they spend their time year-round. When decisions regarding rules and regulations prioritize the hunter or deviate from hunter ethics, the resource inevitably suffers.
The later phases also push the responsibility of mentorship, which is sorely lacking in today’s waterfowling world. Social media has skewed far too many hunter’s views of what’s truly important in hunting. The belief that “limits” are the utmost status symbol has stunted the growth of hunters hanging on far too long to the limiting out phase.
The faster modern-day duck hunters can push past the limiting out phase and progress to sportsman, the better off ducks, geese, habitat and, ultimately, long-term hunting will be. Guaranteed.
