Congratulations Shawn, savor the moment, I was about your age when I shot my one and only Can. Thats 39 years ago. I should be due again pretty soon. I say that every year.
I got three memories of Cans.
One where being in a marsh in the evening in early November. They buzzed by me,when I was looking the other way. They made four or five passes just out of range. I will never forget the sound of the wings. The size of the birds. The color in the evening light.
At a later time about you age and hearing stories from my uncle about shooting Cans on a unnamed lake in Northern wis. I bought some Can decoys which I still have today. After season sale $1.20 a piece. I strung them out on two long lines. I am use to counting my decoys a habit from the days when I couldn't afford many and used old spark plugs and nuts for anchors. The decoys lines were in a large V with Blue Bills on single lines closer to me. The decoys on the long lines were all facing the same way and as I counted them I came up with two extra. As I recounted them a Can swum from one line to the other and lined himself with the decoys. I rose to shoot but not wishing to blast my decoys... I shouted an as they flew I got my one and only Can.
Ten years later I was hunting with my uncle in a blind on a point of land. My uncle had to go to the bathroom about 10
o in the morning. We had place set up about 75 feet behind the blind. His words before he left were to the effect take care of them while I'm gone. Which was kind of funny because not much was flying. About five minutes later a lone duck buzzed the decoys made a large circle and decided to drop in. I realized it was a large drake Can. Just before it hit the water about 20 ft away I fired. Shot right over him. Next shot was too quick missed. The Can decided to leave Dodge I had him in my sights, Click gun jammed. The next I know I heard the voice ten feet behind me say " Do you know what that was!, do you know what that was! That was a Can! How the hell could you missed! You don't see those every day!" It was a stinging rebuke from the president of our duck club. Delivered by a man who rarely missed. My mentor. The man who gave me some cast off decoys when I was an young aspiring duck hunter. What could I say? Like a dog with his tail between his legs- silence prevailed. The next weekend with a gleam in his eyes after the early morning flight. He said " you know that Can you scared the hell out of, he tastes pretty good. Then the stories began of how and where and when. In the early morning light before the sun comes up, I miss that President.
