Eric's log book

[Duck Engr]

Sweet! What a way to end it!

[Ericdc]

Nice.
There has to me more details on the gun misfire.
Binelli click?
Sorry... mean question but I'm curious.
I tend to forget to reload sometimes.

It's a beretta a400 Xtreme plus.

I'm going to blame the shell, because I swapped shells and it banged all 3 times the next and final time I needed it.

I took it apart and oiled it after rain today.


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[Rick]

"Had to give them about 5 passes to get them bunched up over the decoys. Shot 3 times and killed 5 drakes. "

The kind of tight wad it's easy to appreciate.

[Deltaman]

And all five were drakes

[Ericdc]

Date: 12/20/22

Time: left at 11:30

Location: pit blind

Cloud Cover: heavy with light rain ending around 9 then mostly cloudy

Wind Direction and Velocity: NE 8-10 mph

Temperature: upper 30's

Barometer:

Moon phase:

Special Notes: I'm going deer hunting tomorrow

Waterfowl Activity: same old locals doing same stuff

Waterfowl Responsiveness: none

Hunters: me Tommy and his friend Kevin

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s):

Special Equipment:

Kudos: going to hunt all day Thursday if I have to...

curses: first scratch of the year, didn't see 1 teal. Just same old local gadwall, spoons, mallards and pintail. Most of which won't even try to circle.

Birds By Species: didn't pick up a gun

Photo Ops:


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[Anotherone]

The deer are stale too, but wishing you luck.

[Ericdc]

Sat until 10:15 and didn't see a deer. Planning to go back around 4:00 for the evening.

Will be riding the hole tomorrow to see what happens.


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[Ericdc]

Date: 12/22/2022

Time: the other 3 left at 9:30. I foolishly stayed the rest of the day hoping to see a push

Location: put blind

Cloud Cover: heavy with heavy mist at times

Wind Direction and Velocity: SW 8-10 turning to W 10-15 in last hour or 2

Temperature: 40's while hunting but dropping really fast on way home

Barometer:

Moon phase:

Special Notes: I've killed them before when afternoon fronts pass, but today wasn't one of those.

Waterfowl Activity: same ole locals plus 2 bunches of teal early.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: 1st bunch of teal came pretty... 2nd bunch tried to

Hunters: me Bob Tom and Martin

Guns:

Malfunctions: Martin shot at 2nd bunch of teal on first overhead pass after 1st bunch decoyed.

Dog(s):

Special Equipment:

Kudos: I dunno, I'm tired.

curses: I hope birds are coming tonight or in the morning. I didn't shoot at first bunch of teal hoping for big ducks later in the day, I don't regret that, just bummed about no flight birds all day.

Birds By Species:
3 green winged teal

Photo Ops:
my post for the day.



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[Duck Engr]

I suspect the thaw will treat you much better

[Ericdc]

Date: 12/23/2022

Time: left at 10:30

Location: dakota's cypress brake off west side of ouachita river south of west Monroe

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: gusting NW occasionally with 10 mph sustained

Temperature: 12-15

Barometer:

Moon phase:

Special Notes: beautiful place with open water

Waterfowl Activity: nothing except wood ducks

Waterfowl Responsiveness: nothing to call

Hunters: me, dakota, jason, and 2 others

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s):

Special Equipment:

Kudos: beats hunting a frozen bean field

curses: where are the ducks? My buddy had a really good mallard shoot on Corney lake this morning.

Birds By Species:
1 wood duck

Photo Ops:






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[Ricky Spanish]

Yeah I'd be running them heaters on "high" setting with extra bottles of gas.

[Ericdc]

Date: 12/26/22

Time: left at 10:15

Location: Bundick lake cousins blind

Cloud Cover: clear with clouds moving in from west around 10

Wind Direction and Velocity: calm to maybe 2 mph SE

Temperature: 20's to 30's

Barometer:

Moon phase:

Special Notes: easy hunt close to my parents house.

Waterfowl Activity: early wood duck flight then a few groups of mallards then nothing

Waterfowl Responsiveness: mallards came pretty

Hunters: me, Ryan, Simon, and david

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Ryan's dog goose

Special Equipment: jerk string

Kudos: mallards work pretty on the lake

curses: not as many birds moving as friday and Saturday david said, to be expected with no wind

Birds By Species:
2 mallards

Photo Ops:

Simon with our birds



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[Duck Engr]

Oh man, you were in a serious blind!

[DComeaux]

Date: 12/28/22

Time: left at 11:00

Location: pit blind

Cloud Cover: cloud bank spoiled our hopes of sun until about 8:30 then clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: light ESE become 10-15 SSE

Temperature: upper 20's to 60's

Barometer:

Moon phase:

Special Notes: give me sun and wind and I'll almost always get specks

Waterfowl Activity: it's dead other than the local shoveler and gadwall mob we've had since split opened.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: ducks very poor, all were pass shot. Specks did right

Hunters: me Tom Bob and his nephew Tyler

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): me

Special Equipment:

Kudos: Tyler's first speck

curses: the usual highway in the sky going both directions along the boeuf river at state line is closed.

Birds By Species:
2 specks
1 wood duck
4 shovelers (1 was breakfast for a hawk)

Photo Ops:
I'm about an hour south of the hot spot



Durn clouds

[Ericdc]

Thanks! Sorry about that


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[DComeaux]

Thanks! Sorry about that


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No problem...I laughed

[Deltaman]

Dave as the author of your post had me scratching my head

[Ericdc]

I'm looking at Thursday before I go again. This is going to be the least hunted season for me in a long time probably.

I'd like to think some birds will move into our area at some point, but with all the rain we are getting I doubt they will. Lack of rice in area isn't going to help either.


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[Ericdc]

Date: 1/5/23

Time: Tom and Kevin left at 10:40, I stayed until 1:30 hunting and piddling

Location: pit blind

Cloud Cover: as Rick would say "gloriously clear"

Wind Direction and Velocity: 5 SW to 10-12 W

Temperature: upper 30's to 50's

Barometer:

Moon phase: big and bright

Special Notes: I was going just to go but the birds gave me a boost to finish the season.

Waterfowl Activity: real good duck traffic (although really high) and best goose flight out of north all year

Waterfowl Responsiveness: first 2 groups of ducks worked then sun came up and didn't shoot at another duck. Specks would respond to call no matter how high.

Hunters: me Tom and Kevin

Guns:

Malfunctions: tom shot a merganser I had called a merganser before it landed.

Dog(s):

Special Equipment:

Kudos: we shot when we should have and I shot well, but we should have killed a few more ducks

curses: just that the usual later morning ducks on days like these aren't coming

Birds By Species:
4 green winged teal
2 gadwall
2 specks

Photo Ops:









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[Darren]

Perty ! Glad you got a couple nice specks

Whats your weekend outlook? We are hoping to do Sunday, pending storm timing. Models are showing morning at the moment.....

[Ericdc]

Hunting tomorrow for sun to partly cloudy and good south wind.

Church Sunday

Then I'll look at next good sunny wind day to go again. I've hunted enough rainy cloudy days this year to not want to do any more.


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[DComeaux]

Good hunt. I really miss the opportunity for specks.

[Ericdc]

Date: 1/7/23

Time: packed up at 11:30

Location: pit blind

Cloud Cover: mostly to partly to clear to mostly

Wind Direction and Velocity: SW 8-12. South wind blew all night and continued into morning

Temperature: 50's

Barometer:

Moon phase: full

Special Notes: 3 more weeks....

Waterfowl Activity: dead early. Big ducks started moving later in morning, mostly from north and mostly nice groups of mallards who couldn't be bothered with our calling or spot.

Very poor goose flight, after such a good flight Thursday

Saddest thing: did not see 1 green winged teal.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: we called hard to high bunches of ducks all day and at around 11 we had a single gadwall drake brake out of a mixed bunch and never flap again as he came straight to the decoys as pretty as you could draw it up.

Specks were responsive and a pair we had coming were bumped by neighbors to the north leaving blind in their sxs.

Hunters: Dakota and I

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s):

Special Equipment: watched ducks work our neighbors mojos to only land wide or leave, so I'm convinced us not using them is not hurting us at all.

Kudos: had a big duck decoy

curses: lost the speck who took 6 shots and fell in the next field over, we never could find it.

I'm pretty frustrated by the lack of response the ducks are giving and the overall inconsistency of the year. I won't be sad on January 29th.

Birds By Species:
1 gadwall

Photo Ops:

Plenty of time for sunrise pics this year.



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[Ricky Spanish]

The sun's always at my back so I can hide in the shadows and actually see what I'm shooting.
No sunrises. I watch the trees slowly light up.

[Ericdc]

Our pit faces north so it's at our back, but we shoot a lot of birds on the south side.


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[Ricky Spanish]

Our pit faces north so it's at our back, but we shoot a lot of birds on the south side.


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pit...
Uh. I'm 5'7" and every pit I've used is too tall.
Need a shooting step.
Looks like a good spot to me.

Put the step in?

[Ericdc]

I'm 5'10 and easily shoot out both sides, I think you'd be fine. Can you bring fowl with you?


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[Ricky Spanish]

I'm 5'10 and easily shoot out both sides, I think you'd be fine. Can you bring fowl with you?


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Yep. Three pickled eggs and it will be fowl

[Ericdc]

Date: 1/13/23

Time: I left at 9:30 mad at the world

Location: pit blind

Cloud Cover: forecasted clear, was solid clouds from legal to when I left with no signs of clearing. Didn't have to drive very far west to hit clear skies. Cloud bank backed in from northeast as they do occasionally in extreme northeast Louisiana.

Wind Direction and Velocity: 10-12 WNW

Temperature: 40's

Barometer:

Moon phase:

Special Notes: I try not to get frustrated but I got really frustrated today at the botched weather forecast, burning a vacation day and neighbors to the north constant speck calling at snows.

Waterfowl Activity: local gadwall and spoons have found their way back to our farm and avoid duck decoys like the plague.

Did see a large body of ducks, with a nice ratio of mallards in some flooded rice about 5 miles east of us. These birds showed up after the big freeze, but appear to have homesteaded there too.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: nothing on ducks. Didn't see a teal until I was at 4 wheeler and 3 massive bunches came from the south, but neither my guys nor blind north of us got them to work. Had enough of a low speck flight that we should have had some, especially in sunny weather, but they were skittish and neighbors mojos didn't help.

Hunters: Tommy Kevin and I

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s):

Special Equipment:

Kudos: saw several groups of specks in plowed ground to our west on way home, and the big body of ducks... so they are close.

curses: I've pretty much given up on having a good hunt at the lease with 2 full weeks left in the season.

Birds By Species:
1 ringneck
1 shoveler

Photo Ops:

"Mostly sunny"



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[Ericdc]

Date: 1/14/23

Time: left at 11:30

Location: pit

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: calm to light west then light NNE then calm

Temperature: 26 with ice in shallows

Barometer:

Moon phase:

Special Notes: tried a bushwhack until I saw the 2nd group of teal go to pit and decided to go back.

Waterfowl Activity: local ducks doing local duck things. Minimal goose flight

Waterfowl Responsiveness: specks responded ok. Going to set up in thick cover in SW corner of field Monday and break up the duck party then get back to pit if geese start moving. Supposed to be cloudy with a big south wind

Hunters: me

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s):

Special Equipment:

Kudos: any time I can finish a speck inside 20 yards feet down over water I've had a good day.

curses: couldn't keep the 3 together and only got the 1.
Lost my shoveler I winged down.

Birds By Species:
1 speck
1 shoveler (lost)

Photo Ops:
Attempted bushwhack on south end of field




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