Got off mri call

[Johnc]

F4E22D2F-0A74-4EEB-95F7-36C4E9488C75.jpeg

Went to fix and rearrange decoys. Put more grass on blind. Fix water level

Looked up and found a speck in some blues and it’s now pictured

The spoon appeared from space and received a load of BB’s

[Rick]

"Mri call" is a new one on me.

[Johnc]

Working on weekend for mri Job at hospital

[Darren]

What he's saying is he found the MRI call to no longer be effective, and apparently now is running a spoon call that also called in a speck out of blues.

nice little blind brushing visit!

[Johnc]

lol Darren

To be truthful—-I was shocked to even see a duck——so much so I almost missed the opportunity in excitement

[Darren]

lol Darren

To be truthful—-I was shocked to even see a duck——so much so I almost missed the opportunity in excitement

They DO exist on occasion. Wish I knew where our Bunkie ducks went......killed 24 opening day, 2 since. I hear the specks are still on us so we're planning to try them Friday.

[Johnc]

Friday should be very good. Pre Front/good wind

[Johnc]

If hunting Friday I would go BB’s for geese and stay with improved cylinder or tighten to modified if staying with 2’s

Stuff close is dead regardless of constriction—-it’s that 25 to 45 yard 2 nd and 3 rd shot where you need wing breaking energy

BB’s or bigger pattern better out of more open chokes

2’s respond better to constriction

Although this all varies gun to gun but through the years some of this is consistent

I have shot nothing but mainly BB’s for probably 30 years now,Dad had luck with 2’s for a good run too but he now shoots BB’s too

[Darren]

Yep good ideas! Think I have a box or two of 1's laying around I can bring. Also have a box of 3.5" BB I used to keep on hand for such hunts but then sold my Beretta A400 that handled the 3.5's as I would rarely use them. The little M2 does just fine with 3"

[Johnc]

1’s are very good alternative

I personally get good results with 3” 1 1/4 oz loads. But that’s me

Not saying 3.5” bad. The 1 9/16 is lot of shot.

The muzzle jump from 3.5 for follow up shots was my vice. Not so much felt recoil but waiting for barrel to settle to get on another bird my issue

My 10 is heavy enough that I don’t notice this and recoil is like a slow push

[Rick]

When I was in the rice and guiding folks for mixed bags, 3" 1 1/4oz 1s became so much my "confidence load" that I'd also use them guiding blues and specks after ducks closed. (Not so fussy when only play hunting that I wouldn't shoot my geese with left-over 4s.)

[DComeaux]

When we were south of gooey-dan we had a conundrum. We had specks and ducks to deal with in the same hunt and short of having two guns, one loaded for geese, we used 3" #4 and got the specks right or we didn't shoot. We didn't seem to have an issue folding those. We shot for the face. However, I can understand late season hail Mary desperation, though that's not my style.....

[Johnc]

The last time I shot a goose with 4’s was back in 1988 I think. 2 3/4 20 gauge

I witnessed close geese being crippled with insufficient energy in Arkansas

I am the poster child for getting birds close,but specks these days are not the same

[Rick]

Find myself thinking of Mervis "I shoots dem where dey is" Saltzman. 'Least that's what he'd tell me when I'd tease him about his 10ga.

For those who might not know the name, Mervis marketed the Chien Caille speck call that a friend of his by that ("spotted dog," ie: bird dog/woman chaser) nick name developed by combining a homemade cowchew reed with an olt predator call body. Mervis opularized the loo-loo-loo-loo... school of speck calling that once rang throughout SWLA rice country and the standing white spreads with ghostly "fliers" that then dotted it. And he won the LA State speck calling contest before what he considered having "the good sense to quit competing while still the champ".

We disagreed on a good many things, but I always enjoyed taking folks wanting Chien Cailles to his place for the cultural experience of being fitted with one. Miss that.

[Darren]

Find myself thinking of Mervis "I shoots dem where dey is" Saltzman. 'Least that's what he'd tell me when I'd tease him about his 10ga.

For those who might not know the name, Mervis marketed the Chien Caille speck call that a friend of his by that ("spotted dog," ie: bird dog/woman chaser) nick name developed by combining a homemade cowchew reed with an olt predator call body. Mervis opularized the loo-loo-loo-loo... school of speck calling that once rang throughout SWLA rice country and the standing white spreads with ghostly "fliers" that then dotted it. And he won the LA State speck calling contest before what he considered having "the good sense to quit competing while still the champ".

We disagreed on a good many things, but I always enjoyed taking folks wanting Chien Cailles to his place for the cultural experience of being fitted with one. Miss that.

Never visited him myself, but family friend Mark L. who you've hunted with me gave me one of their cane duck calls many years ago with my name on it.....it once was on the every day lanyard but has long been retired to the shelf, guarded closely.

[Johnc]

I went to his house a few times waaaayyy back when.

He actually said I had some power. I could llooo looo llaaa la with the best of them. And cluck

Loo loo llaaa la became ineffective for us in about 2000 ish

So I wandered around for a few years trying a drawer full of calls searching for that magic bullet,it wasn’t until 2007 that I learned that there is no magic bullet,you make your magic bullet with an instrument that is capable

[Rick]

I went to his house a few times waaaayyy back when.

When I first met him in '83, he held court in an old shack he hauled in from somewhere to just down the road from his house and new camp in its yard. Had a cast iron stove and fridge with beer taps on its side and was always loaded with disciples and hanger-ons. He strongly advocated single-hand calling and slapped the off-hand I still use for back-pressure away from the call twice before I payed him for the call and got out without losing my temper and having to fight the whole gang. After getting to know him better, I doubt he thought anything of it, much less how close he'd come to catching a punch from my then young and hotter-headed self.

Ended up using a Thomas predator call for my first 18 speck seasons before retiring it while still functional:

IMG_0598a.jpg

[Johnc]

317FF9A4-6E3B-45FA-BA3F-1E121F37CA25.jpeg

8DEFC857-12E6-4A00-9373-010F4BD6F3AA.jpeg

Got decoys fixed

Got a speck limit while at it