Don't forget your shells!

M. Lingo

M. Lingo

New member
So I was so excited to have my boat built, 1963 Evinrude Lightwin rebuilt, and my new dog halfway trained, that somehow I left home and made it all the way into the marsh on our maiden voyage before I realized that i had forgotten my ammo can, and most importantly all my shells! DOH! Rooting around in my belongings I found a single handloaded BB goose shell from 2 years ago. It's amazing how careful a shot you take when you've only got one chance. It's also amazing how dumb the birds get when they know you are out of shells... coulda had a easy limit! In any event it was an epic morning and much thanks to everyone on this website and the wealth of information you have provided. View attachment mudhen.jpg

Cheers,
Matt
 
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Matt, Welcome to the wacky world of waterfowling. I have heard of that happening to other guys, certainly not me. Almost everything else though. Looks like you got a real good start, especially the motor, love those ol OMCs.
 
I loved reading about this because I thought here I was the only one who would do something like that. Well, I'm sure that widgeon never knew what hit it when you used that goose load. Great shot of your pup, Matt.
Al
 
Nice looking dog!

I had one of those hunts yesterday. After my last hunt I forgot to clean my duck gun (the blunderbuss) after it spent an evening at the bottom of my canoe on a saltwater goose hunt...

Long story short, yesterday, was a single shot kind of day also only had one shot. Couldn't pump the gun, couldn't put shells in the magazine.
 
Matt, I had a similar day last year, but it wasn't the shells, it was the key to my trigger lock. We had a banner day. I concentrated on the calling and one of my partners loaned me his shotgun after he limited.
The evening prior to each hunt I now receive a text from 2 of "my friends" reminding me to bring my keys. Lol

Dog and boat look great.

Best - Paul
 
Fine looking dog and boat! Is your light twin one of the ones that can fold? I had one of those a few years ago and it was a fine little motor. Looks like you made your one shot count!
 
It's not a folding model, but I am impressed on all accounts. I basically rebuilt the whole thing with a 3/8-7/16 combo wrench and a flathead screwdriver. She's no speed demon but does great in the shallows.... and the best thing of all is the weight. +- 30 pounds.
 
Matt~

I have learned that leaving your shells home is not such a big problem IF you left your gun home.....

(I still had a good morning coaching a new hunter.)

What boat is that?

All the best,

SJS
 
Steve, In my longstanding tradition of doing things the hardest way possible, that boat is actually my own design. 10' long, 4' wide, slight v hull. In retrospect I probably should have just built one of the Devlin designs.... but I sure learned a lot along the way. Here is a better picture. View attachment mudhen1.jpg
 
Matt~

I vote for Design & Build! You did a fine job AND you had all of the challenges and satisfactions of working out every aspect of it - from concept to campaign. As my Dad would always say: "That's the fun of it."

I look forward to your next vessel.

SJS
 
Don,t second guess yourself that boat is way better looking than any [font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Devlin design love that cockpit
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Sorta like getting to the river and realizing the flyrod is still next to the back door???

This is why I always keep an "extra" box of shells in a ziplock in the boat, all season.
 
Made it back out today... with shells a plenty. I sure was excited. Spent the first hour after shoot time taking my gun apart to clear a jam and then solve a subsequent firing pin issue. By then the sun was up and I had missed most of my opportunities for the day.... flat calm day with blue skies. So I decided to do some exploring..... and shortly after getting packed up and back under way my little outboard that i was bragging about S%^t the bed and I spent the next 4 hours rowing back to the boat ramp. The duck gods must be angry at me for spending too much time at that fancy duck club last year and are making me really earn my birds! As tired and blistered as I am it still beats a day at work! The only good shot I took was this picture of my dog peeking up from between my legs wondering when something exciting is gonna happen View attachment bosun.jpg
 
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