When I was a kid, my dad was a big-time duck hunter, but I was too young to go.
However, on one occasion Dad took me down to his 40 acres of land along a Missouri slough known then as the Ten Mile Pond, just for me to see one thing.
We parked the 1949 GMC pickup near the main bridge over the slough, and Dad led the way up over a bit of natural levee alongside the water. At the crest of the hill, I realized even at that young age why and what Dad had brought me there to see.
It was late afternoon and the ducks — hundreds of thousands of ducks — were coming from the nearby Mississippi River to feed in the corn and soybean fields next to my dad’s 40-acre duck pothole.
The endless flocks of ducks went on and on, seemingly forever. As they passed in front of the dying western sun, the illumination of the day actually turned dim, bleak and nearly black.
Hence, I suppose was coined the term “black cloud of ducks.” To this day, I am thankful my dad took me to witness such as spectacular spectacle. Few have ever seen it.
Today, that area in Southeast Missouri near Dorena is one of the top public waterfowl-hunting reserves in the state. Dad even had his ashes spread there by an aerial crop duster after his passing.
Those duck hunting grounds meant that much to him.
The New Black Cloud
Federal Premium Ammunition has developed the latest waterfowling shotshell in the new Black Cloud FS Steel. This shell is loaded with their newly designed, uniquely shaped FS (Flitestopper) steel pellets inside the new Flitecontrol wad.
Together these elements offer increased downrange pellet energy, adding 10 to 15 yards of distance compared to typical waterfowl shots.
And the FS shot design facilitates cutting action on impact. The combination is deadly on all waterfowl.
Black Cloud shotshells are available both 3-inch and 3 1/2-inch shells in a variety of shot sizes from 2, 3, 4 to BB and BBB. Federal recommends using a steel shot choke that does not strip the wad or reduce muzzle pressure.
“When we started using Black Cloud, we noticed a big difference in the killing impact on ducks as compared to the more-standard steel loads we had at the first of the season,” Rat Pack duck hunter Jay Harper said. “Black Cloud shotshells performed so much better.”
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