The barrels, the huts, the calls, the game, the sounds of nature upon its awakening, the cold dark of the morning, and then the light that reflects on the mirrors of water and gets lost in the sky. A few brush strokes that already paint waterfowl hunting as one of the richest and most suggestive types of hunting that exist.
A demanding hunt for true hunters that don’t fear the cold and the most difficult environmental hunting conditions. It’s often practiced with a smooth-barrel semi-automatic shotgun.
Waterfowl hunting calls for techniques that are different among them, specific equipment and gear, but above all great dedication.
It can be carried as a stalking hunt, in a shooting hut or barrel blind, or walk up hunt, on foot or with a pointer or hunting dog. In stalking waterfowl hunting it’s opportune to not move until the hunt is done, when you’re see to the recovery of the wild animals.
Tireless and passionate, the Labrador is surely one of the best breeds for this job, used above all in the United States.
The various types of fixed stalking depend much on the local customs. The traditional shooting hut, which may also float, often is found in lakes or along rivers, and hunters, hidden by scrupulous mimicry, await the passing of ducks lured with decoys and calls.
Many, instead, consider hunting in barrel hunting blinds the true form of waterfowl hunting. Called this because it’s reminiscent of the form of a barrel of wine, it’s immersed in water and blends perfectly with the environment. It’s fixed to the depth with special supports and must be reached by boat.
The walk up hunt is surely the most emotional waterfowl hunting technique… “surprise” is the keyword.
Waterfowls are suspicious wild animals and gifted with a range of sight that’s wider than those of man, and for this, attention to detail is a fundamental aspect of this type of hunt.
Mimicry must be complete; mud often becomes a second skin. In the succession of tricks and devices to attract the wild animals, nothing is left to chance.
The game of decoys must be meticulously prepared: always in optimum condition, they must be positioned with the beak towards the wind, because this is how they would behave if they were real… and wild animals in flight notice even this!
The number and arrangement of the decoys can vary, even according to the different species you’re hunting.
The mallard and dabbling ducks in general believe a group of decoys distributed across the surface of water more easily, while diving ducks, like the tufted duck, are mostly attracted to more compact arrangements.
A more convincing game is one that uses live calls, mainly ducks that come from farms.
The shot in waterfowl hunting is always a demanding, challenging shot that puts to a grueling test the ballistic capabilities of the hunter.
Among the smooth-barrel shotguns, the semi-automatic is among the most used in this hunting practice, which usually requires long-distance shots.
The Franchi Affinity family enriches its range and offers two brand new configurations among its supermagnums. Created for the hunter that favors the power of an 89 chamber but doesn’t want to renounce the typical manageability of a Franchi, the smooth-barrel shotguns Affinity 3.5 Elite Cobalt and Bronze are two are the semi-automatics perfect for hunting waterfowl.
Camo polymer stock and forend in the respective patterns Optifade Timber and Marsh, they present a combination of micro and macro designs that hide the shape of the gun and guarantee total concealment.
Furthermore, the Cerakote finish on the barrel and frame, which increases the resistance of the metallic parts, makes this semi-automatic shotgun particularly suitable for use in extreme environmental conditions.
Available in 12 gauge with 71 cm steel shot barrels and three supplied 5 cm chokes (*,***,****), they have like any other Franchi product a 7-year warranty on the mechanical parts.
When the sky colors with the first rays of morning, in the pungent cold of daw, the waterfowl hunters look around themselves, beyond the mist that rises on the water’s surface, listening attentively, and they hope to see from one moment to the next the outline of a flight of teal that bend towards the game, attracted by the calls. Everything in this hunting practice has a particular taste.
Waterfowl hunting is not simply a hunt, it’s a way of life… and the members of the Franchi Water Element Tribe know it well!
Like a close-knit and in-tune trio of musicians, everyone in WET has his role: Simone, Kil to friends, is an experienced boat pilot, Dario, alias Mud, is always ready to get himself dirty… in mud, and Mattia, otherwise known as Ice, is the meteorologist of the tribe, with his icy eyes always turned to the sky.
They have lagoon life in their blood! And also when hunting season is closed, their agenda is full: maintenance of boats and barrels, cleaning the embankments of the waterways and fishing for sea bream, crab, and bass to eat in company are their main activities.
And then… once you’ve seen the magical places where WET live, the vivid colors of the sunset that reflect on the water and make their way through the reeds enter inside you, and you can do nothing but return to observe that breathtaking view reserved for few.
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