about small game

[Sokurah]

I'm in new england right now and i really start to enjoy hunting small game. Ducks, Rabbits, but also Pheasant, Turkey or Quail.

I never bothered much with those. I mean who shoots a duck if you can shoot stag with giant antlers. But today i got a Melanistic Mallard and that felt great. :3

Its a bit more difficult to spot them and to get the right one, so i guess that makes it fun too.

But there is another reason. I can only enjoy it because i finally unlocked the scope for the shotgun after 250 hours, so no i can finally use it propperly.

Why does that take so damn long? The red dot is okay but the ability to actually aim propperly at 50 or 75 meters makes it so much more effective and fun.

But getting there is a pain, because you wont get so many chances to even get the shotgun XP. Its kinda weird tbh.

And finally. Why do Duck land right on your head sometimes when you use the caller. Thats a bit annoying. Any way to make them land somewhat away?

[Uneazy]

i'm just at 250 hours and I have most of the guns/attachments besides bows, just gotta grind some easy animals with whatever you're trying to get xp for.

As for the ducks, you can buy a bunch of the decoys and set up somewhere they fly over and most of the time they'll land around the decoys, just set up far enough away from them that it's unlikely they'll land on you. You can use the new electronic caller too and set it up further away from you so they go to the sound.

[Sokurah]

Originally posted by Uneazy:

i'm just at 250 hours and I have most of the guns/attachments besides bows, just gotta grind some easy animals with whatever you're trying to get xp for.

As for the ducks, you can buy a bunch of the decoys and set up somewhere they fly over and most of the time they'll land around the decoys, just set up far enough away from them that it's unlikely they'll land on you. You can use the new electronic caller too and set it up further away from you so they go to the sound.

Thx. I might try the new caller. Sure i know about the decons. But i usually just like to roam around and i dont have that much space left in my inventory.

[dbond1]

Right on. Mix it up. One of Call of the Wild's biggest strengths is the scope, having so many reserves, animals, weapons and types of kit to use. It has enduring appeal due to how many ways there are to mix up what you are doing. Keep on keepin' on.

For me, shotguns are the least-used. My shotgun score is way behind the others. But I use them from time to time, mixing it up! However I just go with a front bead sight, no optics on my shotguns.

[DopaTrain]

Originally posted by dbond1:

Right on. Mix it up. One of Call of the Wild's biggest strengths is the scope, having so many reserves, animals, weapons and types of kit to use. It has enduring appeal due to how many ways there are to mix up what you are doing. Keep on keepin' on.

For me, shotguns are the least-used. My shotgun score is way behind the others. But I use them from time to time, mixing it up! However I just go with a front bead sight, no optics on my shotguns.

This is a good way to play. For a while I played only with ww2 or older rifles and only using iron sight

[Sokurah]

Yes i know. It still feels somewhat unreasonable.

For rifles of course there are many scopes, because they are the main weapon you will use. You get more and better ones but you never feel that restricted even in the beginning.

Same for handgun. They have the same range 25, 50, 75 as the shotgun. But you usually will take on a bit bigger game with them. The red dot sight is enough for almost all cases. I actually forgot the better handgun scope exists and didnt noticed i unlocked it for a long time.

But bird shot on 75 meter with no scope is almost impossible to aim. So you run and gun basically ambushing deer and turkey like a madman. The 5300 score is way too high.

The 100 pen. ammon for the 454 is just as high but you have a lot of alternativ options at your disposal.

I only now can hunt small game the way its intended and pass the harvest test after so long a time.

[dbond1]

Yeah, I use scopes on my rifles as I suspect most do. But a few days ago I went for the Old Fashioned achievement (Blacktail buck, iron sights, 150+ yards) and got it with one attempt. Some of that is good to mix in there now and then too. Mix it up, think of new ways to hunt, use all your weapons on a rotating basis. Focusing on any one thing leads to burn out.

[dbond1]

About handguns.... I have most or maybe all, but rarely carry them, aside from the Cuomo. This weapon is a great one to raise handgun score. It's rather like a rifle really, a sawed off .243 in effect. Not really interested in hunting with a Glock or revolver, so the Cuomo is a neat weapon that sort of bridges the gap.

[Sokurah]

Well you can hunt roe deer very good with shotgun without scope. But you need to get closer and you usually would just use the Ranger or not hunt them at all. It feels tiresome at some point.

I usually like to use the handguns. If i can get as close as 75 m and now with the new scope and hard cast bullet i will always use 454.

[thelamaknows]

Small game AI could use an update. I suspect small game uses the same AI as big game- being that their various behavior states (calm, alert, alarmed, fleeing) have the same responses.
What COTW should do is have small game/upland birds freeze in place when they enter either 'alert' or 'alarmed' states. Reduce their visibility to the hunter (make you need to zoom in father with binos or be physically closer to get the 'spot animal' prompt).
This would let hunters get much closer before the animal breaks cover and runs away- allowing the player a reasonable shot with shotguns.
A pointer/flusher dog would also make small game hunting much more realistic.

COTW is great for spot and stalk type hunting, but small game hunting isn't so much about stalking and more about flushing.

[Sokurah]

Originally posted by thelamaknows:

Small game AI could use an update. I suspect small game uses the same AI as big game- being that their various behavior states (calm, alert, alarmed, fleeing) have the same responses.
What COTW should do is have small game/upland birds freeze in place when they enter either 'alert' or 'alarmed' states. Reduce their visibility to the hunter (make you need to zoom in father with binos or be physically closer to get the 'spot animal' prompt).
This would let hunters get much closer before the animal breaks cover and runs away- allowing the player a reasonable shot with shotguns.
A pointer/flusher dog would also make small game hunting much more realistic.

COTW is great for spot and stalk type hunting, but small game hunting isn't so much about stalking and more about flushing.

Well with the scope its okay the way it is, kinda. But different mechanics sound nice.

What keeps annoying me is that they land on your head with pinpoint accuracy. I'm no rl hunter but i dont think ducks can tell that accurate where a call is coming from when they are up in the sky.

I tried to move along the waters edge a bit further after calling and seeing them start to circle. Or move away from the water.

But way too often one lands on your head and scares away the others. So you can't check them and pick a good trophy. It does not always happen but very often.

[thelamaknows]

Where waterfowl lands is a bit random. Ducks landing in a field behind me and not in the water at the decoys....

But here is a true story about a funny RL hunting incident. A buddy of mine went coyote hunting in CO and was sitting on a hillside using a mouth call. He said he was just about to give up and move to a new spot when a bobcat jumped over his shoulder from behind and landed in his lap. The movement of him putting away his call was the trigger for the bobcat to pounce- but it had been creeping up on him for who knows how long?
He said he screamed and went one way, the bobcat made a noise and went the other way. And that was it....surprised the heck out of both of them.

Also one time while I was coyote hunting I had a mule deer keep coming within a few feet of where I was set up. He couldn't figure out what I was but wouldn't leave. I even turned on the electronic call thinking a dying rabbit would spook him. Nope.
He eventually wandered off, and I never did call a coyote into that spot so I eventually wandered off too. Two passing souls in the Rockies.

[Sokurah]

Nice story. I never went hunting irl. Dont really live where thats a usual thing to do.

Well it almost seems better to not use a caller and just wait for ducks to land on their own. It seems to take longer but if you get bad luck and the little duckies land right in your face again it will actually be no good either, and you waste even more time.

[Sokurah]

Just another thing i noticed. If a flock of ducks will fly away and some individuals are left behind, they actually despawn or teleport.

Had that happen before my very eyes and it was kinda annoying. Thx god it was a usual lvl 1 or 2 not a lvl 3.

[James]

The raccoon is fun to hunt in Mississippi Acres! 🐺

[Sokurah]

Originally posted by James:

The raccoon is fun to hunt in Mississippi Acres! 🐺

I always need to think of "the ♥♥♥♥" from south park, when i see the icon pop up XD