Kristan
Well-known member
You know the banter and laughter shared with friends during the hunt, after the hunt, and throughout the year...I can't sit here without a smile on my face reading through the various forum post of all us contributing and not think about the smiles you guys and gals share...Tonight I was running through some old photos and it made me think of a new terms that have been established in my hunting circle of close friends. The picture is of a layout hunt we shared in Manitoba a few years ago. Please take note of the background and notice how placid the lake is in the picture. At the time we were hunting with a guide service that decided to bring to his mix of tools, a new style of hunting to his service. We dragged the layout boat up a year before and the guide never set out the rig one time through the season. The one option we had at hunting the next year within our group was on one of the worst conditions you could hunt...Of the 5 of us only 3 chose to hunt that morning...
I can remember the day as if it was yesterday...We made the attempt by placing the layout close to shore in a shaded area from the hillside that rose on the south east end of the lake about 100 yards from the boat ramp with shade lasting for at least an hour from the blue bird sky morning. Maybe three dozen individual blues were thrown out with a few buffies...Well not to get into too many details a 40 minute hunt fell short of only 6 birds...But in not defacing a wonderful friend, one in the group ended with what he said was more like 6 birds but in reality was only two, possibly one...This is still debatable...And if I remember correctly when a birds feet hit the water I believe that is considered "skillet licking"...Shooting through his 25 shells he brought, Steve's 20 or so shells he brought and then my leftover 20 shells in less than 15 minutes..."Hey you guys got in more shells, I am out"...In fact at one point we laughed that if by some freak of nature a wave was to capsize us at that point, just grab spent shell hulls or walk on them to shore..
In two weeks heading north to Paducah out of Houston to spend a week hunting my favorite waters, my passion in ducking hunting out of layout and hopefully at least a get a few shots, but more important I laugh until my insides hurt...I honestly think I could write just a short story 10 or 15 pages long about that morning hunt from the start of the guide not being able to find the boat ramp through the end of the hunt..I am certain we all have these wondeful stories...But here is a picture worth a thousand words...I have never hunted that close with the tender in range to have normal conversation with the hunter in the boat (50 yards)...Or laughing, woo-haing, and clapping...And to finish the hunt we actually used a fish net to pick up all the spent shells...And to learn the fabled words that "A man's gun could be off, it's got to be this gun". Um, sir, you were shooting my 20 gauge the last 20 shells with skeet choke.
View attachment Manitoba 2012 Hancocked it_1.jpg
Regards,
Kristan
I put on quite the display that day. I am the neophyte in the group by a long shot as the other 3 have all been hunting since adolesence. McCullough introduced me to the addiction in 2006. McCullough often says that I am off to a fast start on the bucket list. My first duck was a scaup from a layout. I have shot canvasbacks and have them on the wall. I have been to Canada twice. I have seen the snow tornado that not many have seen. We leave for Rhode Island on Wednesday to pursue the scoter slam and eiders with Brian Rhodes.