In Minnesota, many family traditions revolve around a hunting season. For my family, our tradiations revolve around preparing for duck hunting season and then actually participating in the season. 

Rules for hunting

Minnesota has some strict duck hunting regulations. You must have a hunting license and stamps. If you don’t, you will get a fine and could possibly get jail time. You can also lose hunting privileges for up to two years. You must have only three shotgun shells in capacity. That means you can carry more, but only three can be in the gun. You have to follow the shooting hours which is that you can’t shoot a until a half hour before sunrise. If you don’t follow the rules, there is a chance you can get your gear taken or get fined. If you want to hunt on private land you need permission.  You can hunt on public land. 

Gear

There is a lot of gear to have when hunting. To duck hunt, you’ll need 12 or 20 gauge shotgun with non toxic steel shot and decoys duck calls. You’ll want blind bag which is a waterproof back back, a pair of camo waders, chest wanders, and a waterproof jacket. Sometimes it can be pretty cold so you’ll want gloves, a face mask or face paint. I recommend you bring a first aid kit, a duck strap to help you carry the hunted ducks, a knife, ear and eye protection, a gun sling, choke tubes, hand warmers, and a portable charger to keep your phone on full battery. For the best hunting you’ll want a boat or kayak. It’s also really helpful to have a dog to retrieve the ducks too. And most of all, don’t forget to get that hunting license. 

Places to Hunt in Minnesota 

There are 10.6 millon acres of wetlands and about 51 millon acres of land for people to hunt on. There are many good places to hunt. You can hunt on state land, friend or family land.  

Types of Birds

Different birds you can hunt and limits, different season early goose, regular goose. For each person its 5-6 birds. Wood duck, mallard, red head, black duck, pintail, canvasback and a couple others. 

Family Traditions

 Me and my dad would always go hunting when I was a kid. He would bring me and we would stop at my grandpa’s grave before we would go. My grandpa taught me a lot of stuff about hunting. I got most of his hunting stuff after he passed. I started hunting when I was 11 years old. I haven’t done a lot since I was 14 because that’s when my dad passed. It’s hard to do all  that alone, so I stopped going. I want to try to start going again and get back into it. 

Other family traditions 

Some people’s families have been hunting for a while so when they pass they get handed down the hunting spots and land and strategies. They also get gear handed down from generation to generation. Usually you start at a young age between 8-12 people. Most kids go with their dad for the first time but plenty of moms hunt and fish too.  What’s cool is that a lot of times, the parents went with their parents, so you end up having the traditions passed down from generation to generation and they teach you how to hunt.