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I have taken two ducks out of the air with traditional archery tackle. Both times there were no witnesses except myself and the ducks. I'll admit it took several arrows…ok, several dozen arrows. One duck was a jump shot where I snuck up on it, and it came up off the creek. The other was pass shooting. I used to live in an area where I could stand by my practice target and shoot at ducks as they came by in the evening. Then I'd walk out and pick up the arrows in the neighbor's field. The arrows were easy to recover because most of my shots were overhead and that caused the arrow to stick up like sunflowers. Please use extreme caution when shooting into the air and make sure everyone is watching for falling arrows.
Both instances of taking the ducks with bow and arrow were strange in that the ducks crumpled in the air, but there was no bang that I usually associated with a dead duck. The thing about shooting at ducks with a bow is that they are usually there the next day to shoot at again! If you're fortunate enough to take a duck from the air, savor the experience, take a friend along so you have a witness, then honor the duck with a good meal.
Smoke-Cooked Duck
Make a brine using:
- 8 cups of water
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1/3 cup kosher or sea salt
- 2 Tblsp. Garlic salt
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Soak the ducks in this brine, breast down in a large bowl, for 48 hours. Rotate the ducks to their backs for about three total hours during this time. At this time of year I can keep them covered in my garage and they stay below 41 degrees. If you don't have this option, use the fridge or a cooler with ice.
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Rinse the ducks and pat them dry, then pop them into the smoke vault with apple chips, PRE HEATED to 350 degrees, for 20 minutes. Drop the heat to 200 degrees for two hours. There you have it, smoke-cooked duck. Eat it warm or refrigerate it for later.
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