It’s flight day, and now, duck hunters across the United States begin to embark on their waterfowling extravaganza. The middle of October marked the official commencement of the 2018-2019 duck hunting season, as many birds have migrated to local hotspots, hoping to avoid the winter season in the Canadian tundra.

  Seniors Austin Arrington and Austin Berger have been going to Marysville, California every weekend since the season started. The demanding schedule often calls for a 4:00 am departure from Sonoma with a full day of hunting often lasting more than five hours.

  Hunters are restricted to shooting a certain amount of ducks per day, with this number varying year to year depending on the duck population in the area. This season, hunters are limited to seven ducks, twelve dark geese, and around twenty light geese per day.

  The avid senior duck hunters also mentioned that they “camp out in a pit blind, a metal box submerged in the ground.” The surroundings consist of a rice field the size of a football field with roughly six inches of water on top.

  Arrington claims that “while 12 gauge shotguns are the prefered hunting guns, our club has us use 20 gauge shotguns, which are much quieter.”

  As the day of hunting winds to a close, the Austins ensure to take a picture of their kill before they turn the duck’s breast meat into a delicious homemade jerky.  

  The sport of duck hunting remains a unique part of the sports world, and friends Austin Arrington and Austin Berger are  spearheading the world of waterfowling into SVHS.