Getting into waterfowl hunting can seem intimidating to some, but learning the basics is quick and easy. (Kenzie Fitzpatrick photo)
October 27, 2025
By Kenzie Fitzpatrick
I’m the kind of person who says “yes,” signs up for or volunteers for things before knowing all the details. This has led to some of the best experiences of my life. As a Tennessee-licensed hunter, I’ve opted in to receive the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation email newsletter. In November, they sent an email inviting women to register for a “Women’s First-Time Fowlers” event in Dyersburg, Tenn., in January to kick off the new year. The email went out at 9:23 a.m., I registered at 9:29 a.m., and the 50-person event sold out shortly after.
The hunt provided a space for women to learn how to duck hunt alongside other women, cultivate a community of shared learning and experiences, and lower the barriers to entry into hunting. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation (TWRF) collaborated with industry partners and private donors to cover the costs of ammunition, clay targets, food and some much-needed cold-weather gear. They planned and worked with local hunters to set up the hunting blinds with one to two hunting guides per group. They even provided loaner shotguns for those who didn’t have their own. This opportunity doesn’t come up often, so I felt fortunate to be a Tennessee resident and get a slot to participate.
Instructors for the event demonstrated how to handle, load and shoot hunting shotguns. (Kenzie Fitzpatrick photo) Getting into hunting can be overwhelming. It requires having the right gun, gear, ammunition, knowing licensing requirements and knowing where to hunt legally if you plan to hunt public land. Beyond that, you must learn how to call, set up a decoy spread correctly and put together a blind in the right spot. What I’m trying to get at is that hunting requires a lot of learning. The best way to learn how to hunt any species is with a professional guide, an outfitter, a friend or a family member who has experience hunting. I learned a lot on this trip and wanted to share the things I learned about duck hunting.
Pattern, Practice and Install the Right Chokes! The hunter is responsible for ensuring their gun is ready to use, in working order and set up for an ethical kill. When hunting with a shotgun, this requires patterning the gun with the ammunition intended for the hunt and confirming the proper choke(s) are used. The best way to hone your shooting skills is to practice shooting 3D steel or paper animal targets to replicate what you will see in the field.
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Federal regulations state that shotguns used to hunt migratory game birds cannot hold more than three shells. In Tennessee, migratory birds, except waterfowl, may only be hunted with No. 4 shot or smaller. While there isn’t a required barrel length for hunting ducks, it is recommended to use a 28-inch or 30-inch barrel. Almost everyone on this trip used semi-automatic shotguns, which are easy to load (especially in a blind), chambered in 20 gauge, with some exceptions shooting 12 gauge.
Fifty new female waterfowl hunters were provided the opportunity to learn about hunting ducks and geese with the help of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation. (Kenzie Fitzpatrick photo) I have an affinity for over/under shotguns, so I brought my Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon I Vittoria 12-gauge shotgun with a 28-inch barrel for this hunt. Because there are two barrels, I could run two different chokes. Generally, a modified choke is ideal for hunting ducks, but I also like to use an improved cylinder and light modified choke, depending on how far I need to shoot. Be sure to pattern your shotgun with the choke you plan to use with your hunting ammo.
The event was an entire day dedicated to dry fire and live fire. We started the day by ensuring everyone had the correct license to hunt waterfowl and migratory birds in Tennessee. We were all separated into groups of 5 to 6, which would be our hunting party for the next day. Each group was given dummy 12-gauge and 20-gauge rounds to practice loading and unloading their shotgun.
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The state loaned some soft-shooting Beretta 20-gauge semi-automatic shotguns, which have a different shell release lever than other brands. Because of my experience with Beretta shotguns, I was happy to lend a hand and show two ladies in my group how to use the loaner shotgun. After lunch, we went to the range where multiple stations were set up to shoot clay aerial targets that replicated patterns ducks move in. Some of our practice ammunition was 7½ shot Federal Top Gun, Challenger First Class , and Aguila Target Loads , which wouldn’t be legal for hunting. Our hunting ammunition was S3 Steel No. 2 shot from Apex Ammunition. The final station was the “flush blind,” where we had the opportunity to shoot in front of a small lake in a replica duck blind as a group and shoot at 4-8 clay targets launched from throwers placed all around the lake. By the end of the day, everyone was much more comfortable with their shotguns and ready to hunt.
The ladies were given dummy rounds to learn and practice how to load and unload shotguns. (Kenzie Fitzpatrick photo) Stay Low, No Sudden Movements Ducks might be easily called in, but if they see any movement or anything out of place, they won’t give you a chance to shoot them. Their vision is incredible. They can see a wider range of colors than humans and objects two to three times farther than humans, all in fine detail. It’s important when ducks fly in not to make any sudden movements, especially without wearing the proper camouflage. Depending on the blind you’re in, you always want to stay low and keep your body and gun under cover until the ducks come in close enough and your entire hunting party is ready to shoot.
John Riley was one of the landowners who hosted our group to hunt on his property. He was our official hunting guide, along with his bird dog, Bella. Angie was our secondary guide, one of the best sporting clay shooters I have met.
Our blind was bigger than some of my college apartments and had better amenities. The blind was a giant concrete container dropped into the lake with an upper wooden deck outfitted with chairs and enough room to comfortably host 8-10 hunters. The area behind this deck was lower into the ground and had an oven, space heater, and chairs, and it was high enough for even tall people to stand in without slouching or turning their necks. The top of the hunting area of the blind was all open, with groups of reeds and branches bunched up to cover the opening of the blind. These bunches could be easily moved to the left or right, leaving an opening for you to stand up with your shotgun and shoot. While John would call the ducks in, we huntresses would stay low, keeping our guns down and heads under cover until John would yell, “Shoot them,” to which we’d pop up and start pulling triggers.
Duck Identification and Calling Aren’t So Simple The biggest hurdle to duck hunting is identifying what’s flying, ensuring it’s legal to hunt (or you haven’t bagged your limit), having specific waterfowl calls, and knowing how to use them. Ducks make typical quack sounds but also make particular calls such as feed, comeback, pleading and welcome calls. Some of the most unique calls sound like whistling and are for mallards or pintails. I love to see how many duck calls hunting guides carry around their neck. If you get the chance, ask them about their order of calls. Without looking down, they know exactly what position each call is in, so they know which call to grab when ducks are flying in. I learned a lot from John just by listening to the cadence and frequency of his calls.
By the afternoon, I started to pick up slowly on how to identify species of ducks. The pintail, to me, is now the easiest to differentiate. The long tail ultimately gives them away, but the males have a large white breast and white neck stripe that stand out from below. The male mallard is the most identifiable and recognizable duck. It has a white neck-ring that separates the green head from the chestnut-brown chest and gray sides. Regarding sounds, it was extremely easy to hear the geese that flew near our blind but never flew close enough to take a shot at them. What I learned most from this hunt is that I have a lot of studying to get good at identifying and calling in ducks.
The new hunters practiced shooting with clay pigeons that replicate duck flying patterns (Kenzie Fitzpatrick photo) Good Gear Goes a Long Way The Women’s First-Time Fowlers didn’t require any fancy gear because of the hospitality and setup of the blinds. However, some ladies were fully equipped with proper waterfowl hunting gear, so it’s worth mentioning that having the right gear makes a hunt more effortless and more pleasurable. It is hard to find ladies’ pants that fit, are comfortable and have excess pockets to store things in. I go between the Beretta Hook RipTech Pants and 5.11 Tactical’s Women’s Icon Pant . What I appreciate about both of these brands is that they designed an entire women’s clothing line to fit women’s bodies and make practical clothing with pockets and pouches that we need in the field.
Muck Boots are necessary if you have to trek through any water, and I use the Women’s Fieldblazer tall boot. For this trip, I wore the Lady Eurolight Hunter 300 boots from Meindl because there was no water or mud to hike through, it was below-freezing temperatures, and these are the warmest pair of boots I own. I also knew if it were raining, that the Gore-Tex material would keep my feet dry. I don’t have a set of bibs (yet), but if you plan to get hardcore into waterfowl hunting, I know those will come in handy. I always wear eye protection when I shoot guns.
Sometimes you don't limit out, but the experience of being in the field is reward enough. (Kenzie Fitzpatrick photo) It doesn’t matter if I’m only hunting or shooting at targets 1,000 yards away. I like to protect my eyes. Hunters HD Gold lenses are designed for hunters to give you more contrast in low light, and they darken or lighten based on UV exposure, so there’s no need to change lenses. Electronic hearing protection is a game-changer when hunting while still having the ability to hear sounds. I use Walker’s Disrupter Bluetooth earbuds that cancel dangerous levels of noise while enhancing environmental sounds.
No Guarantees A bad day of hunting beats a good day at work. The opportunity to hunt can be promised, but the harvest cannot. Thirteen groups went hunting that second day, and we heard from a few groups that shot a few ducks and one group that harvested 20 ducks. Our group got one pintail in the morning, and while everyone else had to depart, my new friend Kaytlyn and I stuck around to go back out with John and Angie for an afternoon hunt. We ended up with two handsome male Mallards and were rewarded with the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen. I would have loved to have seen more ducks fly in, but this was a memorable trip. I’m forever grateful to the folks who put it on, volunteered their time, supported the event and helped 50 new women waterfowlers gain some priceless knowledge.
