We ended the day with a total of 6 ducks: 3 Widgeon, 2 Gadwall, & 1 Mallard. Everything we shot was before 9am. We stayed until 11, but not much was flying & nothing else came within range.
We opened the morning by taking 1 Widgeon (out of a pair), then a single Drake Mallard while Moose was retrieving the 1st bird. As I was taking the duck from Moose, another pair of Widgeon came over and Dan got 1 of them.
About 40 min later, a group of 3 birds arrived and we shot all 3, but 1 was only wounded. It swam into the cattails on the other side of the pond and by the time Moose got to it, it had regained enough strength to take wobbly flight and escape. He then brought in the other 2 birds (1 at a time - though he did try to get them both together). It did take a couple thrown rocks for him to get the second of those 2 birds. It's a good thing that one of us is an expert at throwing things accurately!
At that point, the day was going great, but then the duck faucet turned off and not much else flew all morning. We’re grabbing lunch now, then heading out to scout a spot for tomorrow - maybe back to the half-circle pond (that we hunted on Sunday).
We did have a bit of drama and a great amount of good luck this morning. After walking into the pond (about 400yds), Dan realized that his gun was no longer in its case (strapped across his back), & he had no idea where or when it fell out. Needless to say, he was not happy! After about 30 min, he found it and it was no worse for wear. That delay caused us to spook some birds that landed with our decoys just before shooting time (we used a total of 3 decoys today: a Mallard pair, with the drake on a jerk string, & a Higdon feeder). We were set up & ready to hunt 2 min before legal shooting time, so not too bad - considering the potential alternative outcomes…
So glad you two are able to enjoy hunting together. Went to your place Dan the other day. No doe, but a great day together.
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