Hunting Escapades

I apologize for the time it has taken me to update a post.  I have been very busy trying to get all of my projects completed before winter hits, and cutting firewood in between rain showers.  All of this hasn't left me much time to pursue our feathered friends, but I can say I have at last shot my first grouse of the season.  Last week on a perfect "bird morning", with a heavy frost, and the sun coming over the tops of the trees, I was driving down a logging road.  As I drove through a spot where an alder patch grew close to road, my peripheral vision picked up a head moving among the leaves.  Instantly I perked up, but made no change in my driving until I was well past its location.  After 100 yards, I stopped and got out.  After loading the shotgun, I eased back towards where I had last seen the grouse.  As I got close, I saw the bird jump onto an alder limb and begin its distinctive chirping that indicated its uneasiness of my presence.  The year that had past since I last shot a grouse did not seem to hurt my shooting as the gun swung instinctively to my shoulder and the bead came to rest on the top of his head.  A gentle squeeze of the trigger and it was grouse for supper!
     I work with a serious waterfowler, Peter Gagne, and finally this Friday night, our schedules lined up, and I got to go waterfowling with him.  As we drove into the field we were going to set up in, we spotted around 50 geese feeding complacently.  We quickly got ready for a stalk, but hadn't gained more than 30 yards on them when they decided that we were closer than they wanted and flew.  At this point we decided to go and get our blinds setup with the decoys.  We were hunting a waterhole in the middle of an agricultural field, that was bordered by the St. John River.  This was my first time hunting out of a layout blind, and let me recommend that you try one if you never have.  They are a great tool to have, and I am hooked on them now.  We hadn't been setup long when the first flock appeared.  They showed no inclination of decoying, but the next ducks that came were a pair of black ducks coming in low and fast.  A quick blat on the call and they looped around and committed.  As soon as they flared into the committed position, Pete called "take em", and we both popped up and each fired at the duck on our respective sides.  Both folded perfectly and thudded to the ground.  As Pete got up to retrieve our ducks, another flock appeared over the far tree line.  We quickly scrambled into our blinds and started calling.  These ones showed no signs of coming anywhere near us, and after they passed Pete retrieved our birds.  We had two other ducks land on the puddle right under our nose, and when I popped up to shoot, I shoot three rounds and had nary a feather for it.  I guess I will have to stick to the harder shots, because I really messed up the easy ones!  Those were the last ducks we were able to decoy, but we had a lot of fun, and saw lots of birds flying.  If you have never tried waterfowl, I would strongly recommend it, but remember that you need both a state permit and a federal stamp.  See the picture of our ducks below.

A pair of Black Ducks - One of Pete's and One of Mine