The field hunt at Hoster's was intended to be a highly mobile, minimalist effort. We placed a half dozen field geese decoys and a half dozen field mallard decoys, complimented by two mojos, one on a pole and one on the ground, at the North end of an island of woods. The wind was strong out of the west. Shortly after first light, we shot our first pair of mallards, on of which had a band. The birds flew relatively well, and despite my bad gun karma, we ended up with 5 ducks.
The New Year's Eve Hunt was a bit more exceptional. Eric and I had scouted hard the day before and prepared the Goose Rig in anticipation of a high-expectation reunion of Grousers [footnote, Chief Grouser Tantillo was in the neighborhood but with the Dozer Death Boys (Beer Camp) hunting party]. Because there are stories to be told about this hunt from the perspectives of the hunters (which I hope will be forthcoming) I will simply report that we shot 15 Canada geese and 2 mallards. More mercury for all. A picture and short film taken by Pete can serve as a trailer for the other reporters. Thanks for the camera work Pete!
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4 comments:
Great photo (gang signs and all), fun video (we need more video on the site) and good concise write-up. Not that I don't enjoy good bla-bla-bla-ing as much as the next guy (heh), but sometimes it's good to get just the facts, ma'am.
Been enjoying a few snowy, beautiful days here in WV. Not the same as spooning with you all in the middle of a goose spread, but a very acceptable alternative nonetheless.
-Joshua
nice picture, Cagey.
Kinda thought Pete's video would have some shooting in it . . . but then when I calculated what the probability was of Pete continuing to shoot film while others around him began to shoot real bullets . . . well, it doesn't take a mathematician to calculate THOSE odds.
and numbers ain't even my metier.
;-)
Wish I could have been there.
Mr. Bill
Nice. You should appreciate the fact that you guys can ground-hunt without layout blinds! Out here in the Atlantic flyway wintering grounds, the geese key in on any movement, anything that looks like a person or a field blind, and sometimes, they even figure out where the goose pits are (even though they're covered with brush). Too much pressure!
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We had a 5-year closure due to over-hunting and I remember the first year back in season (2002?), we hunted in the cut corn with burlap laid over our legs. It was awesome!
Yeah...that worked for one whole season before the geese figured it out.
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