Slowly, But Surely

Okay, so I won't be winning any races, but we're getting there.

So, Let's Review . . .

Having FINALLY decided to move on the compound, I selected a suitable location last December. After clearing the area, I called in the dirt guys and got the place somewhat leveled. In comes rough plumbing and the the concrete truck. and, of course, the metal building. . . . foam insulation. Acid stain for the floors . . . And the the fireplace, designed and constructed by none other than Gibby, himself. and finally, we're raising a few walls.

A New Career in Construction? Yeah, I Don't Think So.

Lets face it, some days are just frustrating. Today was one of those for me. I spent the day building something, only to tear it down before leaving for home. And nonetheless, we're making progress. Building's up, 1/3 of the walls are framed, the fireplace is coming along slowly, but nicely. Floors are stained, and I can see the distant flicker of what might be a light at the end of a very long tunnel. Would it make code? I sincerely doubt it. Do I care? Heck NO. it'll be solid as an oak, and I'll be able to say that I did it with my own two hands when it finally gets done.

The Legacy

Well, Hunter & I tried 'em hard on Saturday morning and again Sunday Morning.  While the birds were certainly there, my girl simply failed to connect.  To say she was demoralized would be an understatement, but then there's all the motivation we need to get better for next season.  It'll happen next time, and that's all-but guaranteed.  Either way, we saw lots of birds close-up and enjoyed two very pleasant mornings in the blind. 




Garrett and Franks ventured out onto the Lost 20, and had a successful shoot.  His bag included 2 Mallards and a Specklebelly.  Afterwards, they moved in behind us on the south line of Chuck's and bagged another Mallard and a GWT.



For the morning:  5 Birds.
3 Mallards
1 Speck
1 GWT

Lost 20:  3 Birds
Chuck's:  2 Birds.

On Sunday afternoon, Garrett, Olivia, Hunter, Franks, & I slipped in on the back side of the Lost 20, where a number of birds were rafted up.  Unfortunately, they flew out and never came back.  Garrett popped a Shoveler and, at 4 o'clock, Squid, Hunter and I decided that we'd go give Baser a try. 

Was a good choice.  We closed the season out with another 5 mallards.

Baser:  5 Mallards

Finale'

Well, we were hoping to get to 700.  Didn't happen.  Dave, John, Blake & I started out Saturday morning on Amy's, hoping to catch a raft of birds that were feeding there the morning before.  Didn't happen, but we did manage to bag a single specklebelly goose flying by.  As fate would have it, that would be the last bird of the season.  John & I went back to Chuck's Sunday morning and again with Dave & Blake on Sunday afternoon, but there just weren't any birds to be had.  It was, as depicted below, however, a beautiful sunset on an excellent season.  We simply couldn't have asked for anything more. 

Sunday:  Chuck's.  Skunk.  No love.

Saturday:  Amy's.  1 Specklebelly

THE END.



The Breakdown:

·  Season 702

·  Mallards 359

·  Gadwall 114

·  Green Wing 69

·  Pintail 56

·  Northern Shoveler50

·  Speck. 32

·  Snow Goose 11

·  Wigeon 7 

·  Ring Neck 3

·  Canada 2

Total Hunts:  44

BPD = 16

By Location:

Charles: 

537 Birds/31 hunts:  17.32 BPD

Mallards:  286 (53%)

Gadwall:  96 (18%)

Green-Winged Teal:  56 (10%)

Pintail:  41 (8%)

Northern Shoveler:  32  (6%)

Specklebelly Goose:  15  (3%)

Wigeon:  6  (1%)

Snow Goose:  4  (<1 p=""> Canada Goose:  2 (<1 span="">

Amy's:

66 Birds/5 hunts:  13 BPD

Mallards:              31

Shovelers:              15

Gadwalls:            08

GWT:              01

Speck:              06

Wigeon:            01

Pintail:            04

Jones':  

20 Birds/4 hunts:  5 BPD

Mallards:            6

Gadwalls:            8

Speck:            3

Pintail:            2

Shoveler:            1

Baser:

63 Ducks/4 Hunts:  16 BPD

34 Mallards

12 GWT

09 Pintail

03 Scaup

02 Gadwall

02 Specks

01 Shoveler

Marvins:  8 Birds

7 Snows

1 Speck

Lost 20:  7 Birds. 
4 Specks
2 Mallards
1 Shoveler

Going Out With A Whisper

Well, it's pretty slow around the Trigger Happy Hunting Club.  Blake and I slipped into Chuck's blind this morning to get a birds-eye observation of how the ducks were behaving.  What we found was that the few ducks that were on that side of the farm weren't interested in what we had to offer.  We left at 8:30 with 2 birds, and popped a snow on the way out.

Charles'
3 Birds
1 Mallard
1 Pintail
1 Snow Goose

Let's Face It: It Could Be Worse

Nick Pierce and his 10-man crew rolled into town on Friday, January 18, to take a crack at the frozen tundra that was formerly Charles' Field. They slipped into the blind well after 4:00 p.m. on Friday to set their blocks for the following morning, and managed to down a single mallard drake in the process. On Saturday, the 19th, they returned and scratched out a respectable bag, but on Sunday they left with only 4 birds.

3 day's hunting:
Charles: 25 Birds
14 GWT
5 Mallards
5 Gadwall
1 Pintail

In the meantime, I was honored to have none other than Ryan Dawson join me in the blind on Saturday and Sunday, and we, along with Gates, Johnny, and Meredith bagged 16 on Saturday in Amy's field and another 3 Sunday morning. The weather was rough, with lows in the lower 30's and heavy winds from the SSW. Bluebird skies made the scenery nice, but the conditions just weren't there for popping birds that were returning from a frozen flood.

3 days hunting:
Amy's: 19 Birds.
10 Mallards
4 Pintails
4 Specks
1 Gadwall

She's an Icebox

It's hard to win the game when you can't get on the field . . .

Noah Had an Ark . . .

. . . prolly gonna wish we did too.  I left the rain gauge out at home through the snow and ice, which broke the glass.  Ultimately, that means I don't know how much rain we got.  What I do know was that it was a lot.  The farm is an ocean, so when Johnny, Blake and I laid tracks for Chuck's it was more an effort to clear our gear from the blind than to hunt.  Nonetheless, we brought out 8 in the process.

8 Birds
4 grey ducks
2 mallards
1 GWT
1 juvie snow

Ladies and Gentlemen: Elvis Has Left the Building

Back to Baser, just to say we did.  Johnny & the Gipper.  Mid-60's, low clouds, fog, and eventually rain.  As anticipated, it sucked.

4 Birds
2 Specks
1 GWT
1 Spooner

I've had worse days . . .

Back to Baser.  Last night, by the grace of God, we were spared the misfortune of heavy downpours, lightning, thunder, and hail. The weatherman called for 2-4 inches of precip, and in actuality, we only got 1/2 an inch, which was a big win.  Our birds, however, still thinned dramatically over what we've been seeing.

I was honored to be joined by Cason Short, Matt Goodrich, Kyle, Eric Price, Meredith and Johnny for the second shoot on a field that's had a very, very long dry spell. Temps were in the 60's, but the skies were clear and 10 mph South winds helped us work weary birds. We left 8 shy, but only because the game warden held us up for a little while.

34 Birds
23 Mallards
6 Pintails
4 Green Wings
1 Gadwall

Baser . . . It's Been a While

Well, it's been we'll over 5 years since Gaylon built the 60 acre reservoir that borders the Baser Field, and its been every bit that long since the retards that hunt it every day left the birds alone long enough for us to get a few in there.  So today, joined by my buddies from the Northeast, I made a very reminiscent journey back to what was, at one time, my very favorite blind.  It was my favorite for a reason.

The venue is small.  Levees are tightly packed, one on top of another, and secluded from the fringes of the field.  The beauty of the setup is that working birds have only 2 choices:  pitch into the blocks or get the heck outta dodge.  Today, we saw a little of both.  Decent day, nonetheless.

Baser
20 Ducks
6 Mallards
7 GWT
3 scaup
3 pintails
1 Grey duck

East Coast Inda House

Johnny and I were fortunate enough to be joined by Mannon Harmon and a 3-man crew in the big blind on Chuck's today.  Temps around 30, mostly clear skies, and more pins than you could shake a stick at.  In and out.

Chuck's
37 Birds
15 Mallards
11 Green Wing's
11 Pintails


 
On-Farm Season Stats: Total Killed: 578
Charles' Field:  496
Amy's Field:  45
Jones' Field:  20
Marvin's Field:  8
Lost 20:  3

Off-Farm Season Stats (Cason's Place):  90

Back to Work

Chad Whitman and his 4 man crew rolled strait outta Louisiana and into the Trigger Happy Hunting Club for a morning on Charles' field.  It was a decent shoot.  ENE Winds and temps in the upper 20's kept it interesting.

36 Birds
18 Mallards
11 Teal
6 Pintails
1 Gadwall





Over the weekend, it was Byers Farm for an excellent weekend of DHC retardation.  Lots of dead animals.

Looking Up

Saturday, January 5, 2013:  Chuck's.  Johnny, Grant, Reece, and crew.  6 man limits.  Nice.

36 Birds.
19 Mallards
8 Pintail
4 Grey Ducks
4 Teal
1 Shoveler