2014-2015 Season Log...

[Rick]

Skeerd they'll send bad men after me.

[Bud]

I watched someone a long time ago beat his shotgun on his steel duck blind to work it loose, then hunted with it.

[Rick]

Me or some other meathead?

[Flightstopper]

Couldn't be your guns. They look way too pristine

[Ericdc]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1418348723.170645.jpg

My gun gets pretty muddy each time I go to the pit blind, try to avoid it but it just happens. This 2000 model (bought new in 2004) Browning gold 3 1/2 has served me very well for the last 10 seasons going through its 11th this year.

[Rick]

A working 3 1/2" Gold, who woulda thunk it?

[DeadEye_Dan]

I would have a whole lotta parts left over after reassembly.

[Rick]

Date: 12/12

Time: morning

Location:

Cloud Cover: clear to cloudy

Wind Direction and Velocity: none to light easterly

Temperature: comfortably cool

Barometer: 30.32 rising

Moon phase: about half

Special Notes: decided to give it until 10 this morning to see what was moving late

Waterfowl Activity: next to none again, despite staying late, which I pretty well expected when it became apparent that none of the three parties surrounding me yesterday were there this morning.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Three geese came by about the same time as yesterday, and one locked for the call, while the other two said, "Oh, hell no." and pulled it away with them. Perhaps my buddies from yesterday. Later three came from the direction they'd gone, and this time all three locked swung to the call pretty as a picture - before bugging out giggling to themselves.

Hunters: just self and the coyote, thank goodness

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s):

Special Equipment:

Kudos: May just try sleeping in tomorrow. (But may not be that smart.)

Curses: Past few days have been the deadest I can recall this time of year.

Birds By Species: Ha!

Photo Ops: We watched another sunrise:


then we watched it rise some more:


before watching the sunrise some more:


After that, we were out of things to do:


except wake the coyote to go home:

[DComeaux]

Coyote getting some much deserved rest. I'm so glad we have this split.

[Rick]

11/12 correction: third watching sunrise pic should have been:

[Rick]

I'm so glad we have this split.

No fooling. Would be entirely too much like death out there with paying guns along.

[Ericdc]

Can't say I'm thrilled about east zone opener tomorrow. Not because of timing but just because of the weather we've had for about a week now, no fronts, no wind. A little needed rain but that's it. Hope the weather gets active soon. Low expectations tomorrow.

[Rick]

Date: 12/13

Time: morning

Location:

Cloud Cover: partly

Wind Direction and Velocity: light SE

Temperature: pleasantly cool

Barometer: 30.27 rising slightly

Moon phase: half

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: same as it's been - nearly nonexistent

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Worked one little group that came pretty but after yesterday's goose no-show, I got nervous when it got to me.

Hunters: coyote and I

Guns:

Malfunctions: coyote and I

Dog(s): grrr...not only tried to break but gave a dead bird a hard shake. Last time we killed a pair, one was cripped and bit him on the face and got shook like a rat for it, which I didn't fuss him over. This time we held a "come to Jesus" meeting. Well, two such, as I'd just read him the riot act for trying to break.

Special Equipment:

Kudos: pretty morning, and we did at least get one goose.

Curses: Ugly hunt on both our parts, I should have gotten another pass into "gimme" range from the geese, instead of shooting when they were close enough, and it went downhill from there.

Birds By Species: 1 speck

Photo Ops: Yet another sunrise photo:


Pretty clouds going nowhere above a low shear:


Bad dog at sunrise:

[DeadEye_Dan]

Better than my hunt today

[Rick]

Sorry to hear that. Nobody was doing pecans within hearing of me, but hope Comeaux was banging them well out of earshot to my SE.

[DeadEye_Dan]

Came across this spot almost by accident this afternoon. Maybe tomorrow will be better...

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1418506116.222544.jpg

[Rick]

Has promise, and that in itself is fun.

[DComeaux]

hope Comeaux was banging them well out of earshot to my SE.

We didn't hunt this morning but Blake and I did go out to the blind to work on the leak. We flushed at least a hundred or so specks from the ponds and the water is covered with feathers. Every exposed ridge of mud is covered with tracks. We had specks trickling back all morning with some landing while we were working. It was neat to watch. I got to listen to several types of vocalizations at close range, some I haven't heard before and doubt they're recreation with the the calls available.

The leak seems to have stopped, at least while we were out there, and we'll find out next Saturday morning if our efforts were successful. I hope the specks hang around, cause we saw only ONE duck and it left with the specks when we got there....no, wait!.....I forgot, we did have a teal land while we were working..... The duck situation is pitiful.

[Rick]

Sounds like you did one of my favorite things on earth, eavesdropping on specks on the ground. Have spent many an hour laying on the back side of a levee just watching and listening. But if ducks had been moving there, it would be the only place. Wonderful time for a split, but can't help worry for next weekend and beyond.

Buddy and I are going to sit in a dead zone and hope this morning. Told him it will suck but wouldn't mind being made a liar.

[Rick]

Date: 12/14

Time: morning

Location:

Cloud Cover: partly

Wind Direction and Velocity: light to moderate SE

Temperature: cool

Barometer:

Moon phase: half

Special Notes: "Pays to hunt with seasoned proffessionals."

Waterfowl Activity: Few more geese moving than we've been seeing and, more importantly perhaps, saw some high flights of new ducks.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Had a few bunches that wanted to work but suffered aircraft interference and a lot of call operator error with what was for 18 seasons my favorite speck call, which I've plainly lost the touch for in the years since.

Hunters: Friend, Bobby, the coyote and I

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Not a good day for the coyote, AKA: Bozo, though he seemed to enjoy it - to include shaking another dead bird and taking a detour on his way in with it. On the plus side, he did take a lone line to put up some birds that lit on the wrong end of our piece after I'd butchered trying to finish them.

Special Equipment:

Kudos: Got to see a few more birds, had a nice visit and didn't scratch.

Curses: Found my calls weren't in my day pack and used a small-gutted backup that gave me fits after being accustomed to my large gutted ones. Made so many bad blips that cost us birds that we drove out the back way, so friends in the next piece couldn't see that it was me. Also found that my good calls were in the truck and not on the office desk, as I'd assumed. That and the coyote went on a tear.

Birds By Species: 1 speck

Photo Ops: Coyote gone wild:

[Ericdc]

Man, Peake on a bit of a tear right now.

[bill herian]

He can haul specks back to me any way he pleases.

[Ericdc]

I understand rick not wanting him damaging the birds by shaking them of puncturing them with his teeth.

[Rick]

The camera shake when he got to the bird was me grabbing for the whistle on the lanyard I didn't have, as a quick "come" whistle may have short circuited the bad behavior - assuming he could hear it, which is no longer a safe assumption even at that distance.

We didn't even hear a speck this last afternoon of the first speck season, so I'll just have to hope he's over his little mad at them by next weekend, when our second split opens.

[Flightstopper]

He can haul specks back to me any way he pleases.

This I fully agree just hope the next person in the pot thinks the same.

[Rick]

Fellow who was with me today also hunted with us last Sunday and made the point that he was glad to see him feeling up to acting a fool after how rundown he was then, and I'm with him on that. But I can't have him tearing up game.

[DComeaux]

Photo Ops: Coyote gone wild:

Ellie started getting a little aggressive with the birds just over midway of the first split. Not the shaking, but a nibbling on the breast and squeezing. I've seen this before in her and it always happens when we're slow. Is it boredom turning to aggression? When we have a busy morning with multiple retrieves per volley, this never happens.

[Bud]

Almost looked like the bird flapped its wings for a second, even though it looked dead. IF he actually shook the bird, which was hard to tell because of the camera moving, maybe he's suffering from post goose bite. Looked like he almost couldn't see coming back. Was he staked before the retrieve? Peake is a good dog and has been a good dog for a long time. I would like to think he'll be fine when there are more things to do. A blind retrieve on one speck per field using freshly killed specks might do him good: one bird per field. Wish I knew what to do. Hard to work with friction at the office....and boredom.

[Rick]

Bud, the reason I tried filming was that the speck was up and walking after it went down, and I hoped to catch a chase. And, yes, Peake had been staked and will probably continue to be for a while, but didn't try to break - that time. And, no, he couldn't see coming in, which may also have been the case when he took off in the wrong direction initially, though I thought it a show of exuberance or fit of puppy.

Will piss off, but hopefully not kill, some of my homers this week to refresh his manners, but I'm not too concerned. From my 2011 log:

Dog(s) and Dog Work: Peake did something new when a wounded blue goose bit him, ran across the marsh, away from me, shaking it like a rat repeatedly until he was convinced it would come peaceably. Will be watching that it doesn't become habit - but having been bitten by them, sure don't blame him.

Photo Ops: The coyote takes a belligerent blue to the woodshed:

Didn't become habit then.

[Deltaman]

And that.........is how Benelli made their name famous!!!! The older versions are much more durable and less problematic than the newer models. I bought a new M2 about 5 years ago and love it, but it has to be cleaned fairly regularly to be consistent in the shucking department.