If I don’t make a purchase within the next few days, it will be the first time in 33 years that I haven’t bought one. I wish I could say that it was a purchase of financial significance that I have saved on. I would be elated if I could have made the purchase of a four wheel drive pickup in the last 33 years. Several homes have been purchased during the last 33 years. I know that the investment in my 401K over the last 33 years could have been more wisely spent on items like a Parker double barrel or a custom built rifle, but that money is surely gone. No, the item for which I have been able to discipline myself to hold onto my money is a federal waterfowl stamp.

That’s right, as much as I love the sport of pursuing waterfowl, and as long as duck and goose hunting has been a part of my life, I have yet to don a pair of waders this season. Reasons are many. Time constraints are always legitimate reasons not to go.

Hunting costs for all species are escalating each year. By the time you figure the cost for dove hunting, then add deer hunting expenses, and maybe top it off with probably the most expensive, that being duck hunting, cash leaves here in a hurry. If we didn’t spend a dime on hunting, “the government’s” bailout of the automobile industry would seem trivial compared to our money saved. You did notice I had the government’s (us) in quotations didn’t you?

I must be honest though, the $15 price for the federal duck stamp is not the reason I haven’t purchased it. I found that much money in my Christmas stocking. The primary reason for not purchasing this year’s stamp is because duck hunting has gotten so sorry over the last few years it isn’t worth the time and effort. By not having a license, this will keep me out of the blind and from being disappointed hunt after hunt. Maybe another reason is that I know the waterfowl population is down and maybe the ducks don’t need any additional pressure on them. Don’t take me wrong, I still love every aspect of the sport. I’m also sure that if mallards were abundant like I once knew, I would be right in the middle of it.

You may say that one gun won’t make the difference. You may be right. Also, I do know waterfowl populations are more affected by habitat and nesting conditions than by hunting pressure. Still, I remember when duck hunting was not the “in” thing, and back in that day ducks were everywhere.

I remember asking a hunting companion of mine one morning what that deafening noise was in the distance. He replied that it was ducks rising off their roost in the flooded Delta National Forest. You don’t see or hear that very often anymore.

It seems like this same scenario played out in bass fishing, and more recently, turkey hunting. Quality hunting is decreasing when it comes to waterfowl. I used to hear the duck guns booming and limits of mallards were the norm. Just yesterday I called one of my delta hunting acquaintances to see how they did in the blind. The answer came in the form of a subtle, “one pintail, two shovelers, and two bluebills.”

The man of whom I am speaking is a duck hunting machine. Decades past found him every morning with limits of mallards in the boat or blind. I was with him on many of those mornings. We never hunted in the afternoons. That time was spent scouting for ducks for the next morning and sipping bourbon. He is still just as good today as he was 20 or 30 years ago. His calling and shooting is lethal. We just don’t have ’em like we used to.

Before I am chastised for not supporting waterfowl by purchasing this duck stamp, I want you to know that I did buy our Mississippi state stamp. I do know “they” say that these monies from duck stamp purchases are used to restore wetlands and help the ducks. I have also been told that my retirement funds will come back too. Yeah right.

Maybe I have come to the point in my life where I have made peace with the ducks. Regardless of my reasons for not buying the stamp or sitting in the blind, I still would love to have a dozen or so picked mallards for the oven.

Maybe there is still hope, for my son is still chasing them. He’d better hurry though, because he is learning fast about the heartbreaks of duck hunting. Who knows, maybe I will still buy one this season. We still have a little time left.

Until next time enjoy our woods and waters and remember, let’s leave it better than we found it.