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Member Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 781

My youngest got home from college last night around midnight. I woke him up at 4:30, handed him a cup of coffee and told him to dig out his waders. By 5:15 we had 3 dozen ducks and 8 geese spread out and we had our second cup of coffee sitting in the blind listening to Luke TWD's tail thumping on plywood each time he heard a goose honk in the distance.

I really wanted ducks but this spot is more dependable for goose than ducks and this early in the season I don't need to lug out 2 boatloads of decoys, 8 was enough.

We had ducks in the decoys before legal shooting, but every time ducks worked the rig the something stupid happened....we only shot once and we went 0'fer on ducks. But the geese kept us busy.

Corey shot a mod choked A5 Light Twelve, shooting 1 1/8 oz of #5 Bizmuth, my home brewed duck load. We had some 2's with us but we kept duck loads in the gun......I shot 1 oz loads out of my '51 A5 Sweet Sixteen we picked our shots carefully.

Only one bird hit the water swimming. He got to the adjacent field and we got to watch Luke swim across the pond and chase down this bird. But it was hit hard and dead by the time he got it back to the blind.

We started picking up dekes about 9:30 with 2 limits of geese, that's 10 geese in my home zone. Cleaning the birds reminded me that the only thing better than shooting 10 geese is shooting 9 geese.....

The brids are going to get more difficult in a hurry and at some point I'll pick up a 12, but for now I'm in 16 gauge heaven.

Jeff

Member Joined: 08 Nov 2005 Posts: 3438 Location: Illinois

The only thing better than the end of a hunting day is remembering what happened during the entire day and who it was spent with Wink

Congrats on a fine hunt. Nearly all the hunting I do is with my father. Great memories even when we don't get birds.

Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 124 Location: Kansas City

I wish I could get my son to go hunting tomorrow but the Chiefs are playing, I have come to hate sports. If he isn't playing sports he is watching it, I haven't taken him hunting or fishing in 2 years, good thing I got a dog

Joined: 19 Jun 2004 Posts: 1480 Location: Mpls, MN.

I'll bet he comes back. There were a few years between 18 and 23 or so, after I discovered girls and beer that Dad went alone. But, we make it out a few times every seson since then.
Best,
Ted

Member Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 781

I missed a bunch of seasons while single parenting.

After the first couple of years it only stung on Sept 1st, when the first frost fell, when I saw or heard geese high up moving south, when I saw orange vests in a field from a distance, when I walked through crisp autumn leaves and heard the sound they make, when a real bitter front came out of the north spitting snow....and when it stung I pulled out my guns to oil them but it didn't help.