A good day...but somewhat frustrating

Dani

Dani

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Well, the blueyed teal struck again! My buddy and i went hunting at a local lake/now a huge mudflat. I came close to limiting out on ducks...but I lost two in the grasses grrrrrrrr if only I had a trained mutt (not gun shy either).

So we're first to the boat ramp! Great...we get to set up where I want to set up...and it certainly pays off. If I had been shooting great then I wouldn't have had any problems.

To get to where we set up, we have to go over a dyke and pull the canoe up and over. The ground on each side of the dyke however is sludge. I get out of the canoe, telling my buddy to watch his step and not to get out until he's closer to the bank. hmmmmmm the best of intentions and all. he doesn't listen and ends up in knee to thigh high sludge. ok...no biggie just walk the three feet to the dyke. NOPE not that either :) crawl back into the canoe and crawl over everything (naturally my stuff) and get mud in and on everything. ugh...coat is soaked...not a big deal after the sun comes up but kinda chilly...duck purse/ditty bag is sludgified...not a big deal b/c everything in it is sealed in. Gun has mud jammed into the action and all around the pump. We clean it up as well as we can, and I oil it to help keep the grinding down (a lot of sand in our mud). I should have had my gun in a case, I know so it is partly my fault.

All is good until about the tenth shot...blam! the 3 shot pump gun has become a single shot b/c now the gun is refusing to pump. grrrrrrrrrr. no biggy....just try to make your shots count :) so a few shots later, a group of teal come through and I shoot and hit two with one shot! now the gun won't eject at all. Eventually I get it to pump down...no shell comes out. The shell (already fired and so empty) is jammed into the barrell. I'm about ready to beat myself over the head. So I take the barrell off the gun and go searching for my two birds, taking the barrell with me. There was a lot of hog sign and man o man could you smell them. I figure that taking a barrel with me is better than nothing...plus it's easier to swing than an entire shotgun in case you had to protect yourself. Having no ramrod to get the shell out, my shooting day is done. Not a horrible day....2 mergs, 5 ducks 3 gwt came home with me (1 gwt and 1 woodrow lost to the gators/grass). My buddy got four teal, a shoveler and a mottled (that was not able to be recovered either grrrrrr). Just a slightly frustrating day. Good though b/c we both came home with birds and the skunk was lifted off of my buddy.

Moral of the story: find the damn gun case and USE it, carry cleaning solvent and rags with you, and a break down ramrod/cleaning rod just in case something else like that happens.



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we all have those days...but the one thing i dont like to go hunting w/out is my dog...she was 95% on retreaving but that was until end of season last year tore her acl and now im with out a dog.. ive lost more ducks in grass/thickets than ever i cant stand it. u do any hunting up in GA?? im in school at GSU ive been trying to do some shoots on the coast but no time. hope ur season finishes great
 
Nice birds, sorry bout the luck with the pump and shells jamming...I know it sure it is frustrating...That's why switched to an over and under...But the shell problem would have changed...Sounds to me like the shells or at least the powder in the shells were damp or old...Glad you didn't throw that next round in the chamber...At least your safe from the disaster...
 
Good to see that little soldier doing it's duty. You might take a jug of fresh water along to rinse your action..
 
Yup, everyday in the field is aanother lesson learned. Most all of us have had that happen at one time or another. I generally carry an old break down wooded cleaning rod in the gun case with the gun and a small can of gun oil or solvent.

Dave
 
use your knife to cut a stick or hard reed and jamm the shell out ive used old rusted shells new ones only a week old more or less but i hunt salt water and even tho i oil me shells they will jam in the breach once in a while and off i go to get a switch to ram it out ..like they say clean water will do the trick ive dropped my ithaca semi 12 in mucky flat sand stuff trying to hold on to two geese who are beating me senseless ,i would of been quite hilarious if there was anyone around to watch minuss 20 c that day i simply kept swishing the warm seawater in and out of the gun until the crap was out only then did i cycle it and remove the drowned shells.but my day was over it froze solid there after .

at least your getting some burds way to go .

shermie
 
Hey Dani. A pocket knife comes in damn handy. I don't leave home to fish or hunt(or work on my Jeep)without my Leatherman. I prefer the Wave. Ask for one for Christmas and put it on your belt.

I'm not sure what kind of gun you're using. I'll assume an 870. Usually a knife blade will pull the shell out...BE CAREFUL! Another thing I've always done when the gun gets loaded with crap is to put it in water and run the action gently at first and then power...better not say that. Okay, I run the action faster in the water. This will usually clean most of the sand and grit out of the gun and dislodge anything that may be behind the slide bars. If you don't have any cleanish water handy then I'd opt to use my bottled water to rinse it as Lee mentioned. A Coke or coffee would work also. I used coffee a couple weeks ago. Be sure to check your barrel with an empty/open action to make sure nothing is packed in the tube. Also be sure to tell everyone around you what you're doing so they don't think you're offing yourself.
 
PS...obviously after doing what I mentioned above you still need to tear the gun down and clean everything. I usually use a can of brake parts cleaner and blast everything off of it. Wear gloves if you use that stuff...OOWWWWEEEEE! Dry everything real good, then oil etc.
 
Every day is an adventure isn't it? You did well and have a great attitude.

You know, I've been thinking that the bag I carry my stuff in needs a new name. I never liked "Blind Bag" or "Boat Bag" but I can sure wrap my mind around DUCK PURSE!! Hahaha I like it!!

Have a great season

Pete
 
Christian-

Depending on where I go will depend on how many mottled ducks I see. Sometimes one or two....sometimes, like yesterday, several handfulls, and then other times, flocks of them.The further south I go though, the more mottled ducks are usually seen
 
Dwight-

those sawbills have been cleaned and skinned. Now they are frozen. I usually cook them up in the oven, eat a bit but then generally stick the carcasses/what's left of the meat into the stock pot with my stock and then just make a duck soup. Since most of my stocks are teal, woodduck and mottled ducks, a bit of saw bill is strange but few people in the house actually notice. My brother won't eat duck, but he'll down some duck soup....so the saw bill won't go to waste :)

Pete-

my buddy had a small blind bag that he takes everywhere hunting...one of the smaller ones ya know. well it was often slung over his shoulder so I would tease him about his duck purse....and then b/c it got him riled up everytime, it stuck and that's what I've continued to call pretty much all duck bags :)
 
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hey guys thanks.....i'll certainly be remembering to bring a jug of fresh water with me from now on too :) I guess there's a first time for everything....now it's happened, now I know :)
 
I've noticed that this is not the first picture that you have posted of ducks sans heads. You doing the Ozzy Ozborne thing out there in the swamp? What's up with that?

Mark W
 
Yeah I guess it's a bit grusome...but I never did like to munch down on their heads. They are a bit too crunchy for my taste. :)
 
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