2014-2015 Season Log...

[Rick]

Date: 12/7

Time: afternoon

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: moderate NE

Temperature: chilly

Barometer: falling

Moon phase:

Special Notes: broke marsh curfew because the split's over

Waterfowl Activity: Not a lot of movement but enough for a pretty hunt.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Big ducks came better than the tally showed and little ones just buzzed by but made a show on the strap.

Hunters: 2, buddies Booby and Roland

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): just one troublesome bird

Special Equipment: sos

Kudos: Just a fun, no pressure hunt with friends who were tickled just to be there.

Curses: none at all

Birds By Species: 1 gadwall, 6 mallards, 5 ringnecks and 1 speck

Photo Ops: Roland and Bobby:


their speck:


Upset greenhead:

[Bud]

Great way to end the split, Sir Rick; good birds, good friends, good dog, no pressure.

[Rick]

Couldn't agree more.

[Rick]

Date: 12/8

Time: morning

Location:

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: N light

Temperature: cold

Barometer: 30.23 rising slightly

Moon phase: full

Special Notes: ducks are closed but specks are still open this between splits week

Waterfowl Activity: little movement and most of that sky high, but I was in a spot specks like and don't see hunters. Unfortunately, a big bunch rolled off the roost and dropped into a place a couple hundred yards away making it impossible to kill a pair without educating the bunch.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: will never know.

Hunters: the coyote and I

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s):

Special Equipment: Charlie and Agnes.

Kudos: beautiful morning and got to listen to some interesting speck small talk

Curses: My little "Get in, kill a pair and get out without educating anything." plan fell apart, so I grabbed my two decoys and slipped out.

Birds By Species: zip

Photo Ops:

[Rick]

MISPLACED ENTRY...


Date: 12/7

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: cloudy

Wind Direction and Velocity: NE moderate

Temperature: chilly and getting colder

Barometer:

Moon phase:

Special Notes: last morning of first split

Waterfowl Activity: Much worse than expected on this wind, just a few little ducks moving.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: good

Hunters: 2, the Mikes again

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s):

Special Equipment:

Kudos: pleasant company

Curses: little to interrupt the fellowship portion of the hunt

Birds By Species: 2 bw teal, 3 gw teal and 3 spoons

Photo Ops:

[Rick]

12/9:
Went to the same farm as yesterday planning on setting up in a different direction from the roost in hopes of picking off a pair without disturbing anything else, but the birds were no longer roosting there. Made a miserable gumbo march and set up a little levee spider hole as planned, anyway - and sky watched for an hour before deciding my time would be more productively spent preparing a spot in another parish.

Didn't see much while doing that, either, but it will be different scenery and I won't have to look at it with my knees in cold mud.

[Ericdc]

Y'all still have a lot or geese down there?

[Rick]

They're around, just not where I can get near them.

[Rick]

Date: 12/10

Time: morning

Location:

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: moderate NE

Temperature: cold

Barometer: 30.29 flat

Moon phase: 3/4 waning

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Tolled the second group of specks I saw a half hour after shooting time but saw a few more with blues on the way out.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Was lucky enough to pull my birds from a distant pattern they seldom break and shoot them pretty.

Hunters: Just the coyote and I

Guns:

Malfunctions: Took three shots to down two close birds.

Dog(s): Both birds were bleeding from the head but went down flapping, and Peake tried to break and hit the end of his tie-down. Grrr...

Special Equipment: Really pleased with the Deceptions.

Kudos: Just a really sweet morning both the coyote and I were ready for - he apparently even more than me.

Curses: Thought we had his breaking behind us. Maybe how pretty the birds worked, maybe just excited to work after his little layoff. That, and I kind of broke, too, by calling and shooting into eight birds to kill two - educating the remaining six. Pretty much par for when I'm carrying pay parties, but not something I'm proud of doing when on my own. Guess I was just ready, too.

Birds By Species: 2 specks (1 banded. Perhaps oddly, I took a banded speck while hunting alone in the same field last year.)

Dear Rick Hall,
Thank you for reporting Band#: 1937-36382
A confirmation email has been sent to you.
See below the banding information for the reported bird:
Date 07/10/2011
Species Greater White-fronted Goose
Age HATCHED IN 2010
Sex FEMALE
Location MAINLAND 11 (MACKENZIE DELTA), TUKTOYAKTUK, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, CANADA

Photo Ops: For the first half hour there was little to do but enjoy the sunrise:


and growl at the reason why:


But the coyote got some work:




And I got a surprise I'd managed not to notice until these photos were downloaded:

[Ericdc]

Rick I wouldn't worry about shooting into a small group to get your birds, the goal is to kill some specks.

[Flightstopper]

Great hunt and write up

[Rick]

Rick I wouldn't worry about shooting into a small group to get your birds, the goal is to kill some specks.

I'm much to greedy to settle for "some" birds, I want to toll them all, and you can't do that by showing them where the guns are. One thing to do that on reasonable shots at groups of birds when folks who paid for the hunt are along, but another when it's just me shooting a few for the table. I stay pissed at our genius guides who say "Try 'em." any time something flies over one of our fields and need to use my own noggin, too.

[Ericdc]

Right, you decoyed them in right and got your limit. Agree with what you are saying about trying them. I know how low they need to be to try them. Especially if you are hunting a duck spread in a flooded field and they aren't going to finish, but I don't sky bust.

Just saying you seemed like you were beating yourself up for something I don't think anyone would look down on.

[Rick]

Just saying you seemed like you were beating yourself up for something I don't think anyone would look down on.

In the early '80s I hunted Maryland's Eastern shore with a guide named Matt Walsh who was a great influence on me: taught me to bundle grass (corn stalks in his case) for low profile pit blind cover, freshen poor standing spreads with what appear live geese and never to let anything leave the spread knowing what it is.

Matt said they'd tell the other birds about it, which I'd think an exaggeration, but it only takes one "nay" vote from a bird that's been there and had the near death experience to put a flight off a spot. Not only would he not call to more birds than he was confident we could kill, but if too many would land of their own accord, Matt would talk them into leaving without the trauma of gunfire. I don't have either the birds or the balls to do the same with my parties and won't hesitate to work and shoot into big groups unless we're seeing lots of potential working geese, but it's an ideal I try to stick pretty close to when hunting by myself or with friends who get to shoot a lot of specks.

[Ericdc]

I understand. We use low profile cover on our pit, and it seems to help.

[Darren]

Location MAINLAND 11 (MACKENZIE DELTA), TUKTOYAKTUK, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, CANADA
I mapped this out, whoaaaaaa that's a long way north. Congrats!

[Rick]

Made me check Google Earth, which put it over 3,100 miles. Now I feel like a heel for killing something that came so far. Well, I probably should...

(My last banded speck only traveled a measly 2,600 miles.)

[Rick]

Date: 12/11

Time: morning

Location:

Cloud Cover: cloudy

Wind Direction and Velocity: light NE

Temperature: cold

Barometer:

Moon phase:

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: next to none

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Had three specks toll beautifully but one new the spot and bugged out nearly taking the others with him. Got the other two back for what should have been an easy, easy head shot double.

Hunters: self and coyote

Guns:

Malfunctions: Owner and operator errors: somehow missed the "far" bird's head and had a dead trigger from a cruddy bolt face not locking when I tried to rectify that and finish the double. Don't know how long it's been since I'd last cleaned the old gun but know that was enough to get it cleaned this morning.

Dog(s): disappointed my guy.

Special Equipment:

Kudos: Birds couldn't have worked any sweeter.

Curses: There were three other parties I know in the surrounding fields, none of whom got any shooting and all of whom are anxious to let me know they saw my chance...

Birds By Species: Ha!

Photo Ops: Another pretty sunrise:


Sleeping beauty:


Ugly anatomy of a "Benelli click":

[Ericdc]

As much of a perfectionist as you are, figure you'd clean your guns more haha.

[DComeaux]

I wish I was doing what you're doing, except for the part of missing and malfunctions on a pair of beautifully worked specks.

[Rick]

As much of a perfectionist as you are, figure you'd clean your guns more haha.

I'm from the MAD school of gun care: maintenance after disaster. Turns out she was pretty icky:




And stuff was growing in there:


Could have been worse, I guess, as the magazine tube, recoil spring housing and its rear cap had all three worked loose. Probably won't shoot at all now that everything's squeaky clean, Loctited and freshly lubed.

[Rick]

I wish I was doing what you're doing, except for the part of missing and malfunctions on a pair of beautifully worked specks.

Any time I need to try to clip heads I've already had a blast, but I'll bet the folks in the next blind over, and maybe the next, heard me say a bad word.

Was going to sneak out to your place first of the week and see what I could do about that leak but never made it. Be best to leave it until you'll not be walking on the floor for a few days now, but I can meet you out there sometime Sunday, if you'd like me to take a stab at it. Need to Quick Steel it well enough to stop the leak entirely and let it dry, then I can run back out there and wire brush and 5200 over and around it. Would also be best to have some sort of floor over it to reduce scuffing and the metal floor buckling, but I've seen 5200 hold up without.

[DComeaux]

As much of a perfectionist as you are, figure you'd clean your guns more haha.

I'm from the MAD school of gun care: maintenance after disaster. Turns out she was pretty icky:




And stuff was growing in there:


Could have been worse, I guess, as the magazine tube, recoil spring housing and its rear cap had all three worked loose. Probably won't shoot at all now that everything's squeaky clean, Loctited and freshly lubed.

Good googly moogly!

[Flightstopper]

It's a damn good thing the top of the receiver comes off on those guns for you I'd hate to imagine what the 'feltro's guts look like

[Rick]

It's a damn good thing the top of the receiver comes off on those guns for you I'd hate to imagine what the 'feltro's guts look like

When it turned out to be boogered on the opener, I just broke out the new one. Might have to flush it with a gas pump one of these days...

[Flightstopper]

Haha

[blockmaker]

Benilli commercial for sure.

[Darren]

The infamous "Benelli Click" does it again; though, with a similar rotating bolt that must snap shut completely, many other guns including my Beretta and others are apt to do the exact same thing if either lack of force or piles of gunk prevent a complete slamming shut. Still sounds like neat morning. Back out in our marsh tomorrow to see what's about for Saturday.....looking forward to this weekend of no wind...ughhh

[Olly]

As much of a perfectionist as you are, figure you'd clean your guns more haha.

I'm from the MAD school of gun care: maintenance after disaster. Turns out she was pretty icky:




And stuff was growing in there:


Could have been worse, I guess, as the magazine tube, recoil spring housing and its rear cap had all three worked loose. Probably won't shoot at all now that everything's squeaky clean, Loctited and freshly lubed.

You need to send these photos to the manufacturer with the story. I'd bet you'd get some cool stuff for letting them use the photos.

[Duckdog]

I don't know...
I think I'd be starting an email chain with someone in their warranty department about "possible issues" and then start sending them pictures.
Would be a whole lot more fun!