Andrew L.
Well-known member
Jarhead the Scaup is my first traveling decoy that I have ever hunted over and what a great and memorable piece by Mr. Desilets for my first go around at this. Thank you for the opportunity.
With the Wisconsin split last week I was not able to get him on the water until this weekend.
Saturday 10/13
For some time now my uncle, young cousin and I have had this weekend picked out to head to our camp in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan to try and find some divers; some good friends who have a camp near-by would be joining us, they have never duck hunted before but the youngest is apparently quite the stud on the local trap team. Saturday the 6 of us headed to the flowage that according to my notes was chalk full of birds at this time last year. Amazing what a year will do. The weather was pretty awful. Off and on down pours, temps in the low 40's and when the rain stopped there was still a constant mist. Needless to say very few birds were flying. We did get 3 small groups to take a look but the shooting was sub-par by all of us. The boys were able to tag team on the most unlucky of Ringnecks that decided to take a peak. However, by the end of the day the boys said they had fun and I was impressed with the two young boys; at their age (11 and 12) I am not sure I would have had the patience that they had. Despite being cold and wet the only time we heard a peep from them was when they asked for some hot chocolate to warm up. To top it off young Johnny had shot a deer the night before with his bow but they were unable to find it after an hour of tracking they backed out of the woods and waited for our assistance in the morning, I am sure he was up all night and even thinking about it during our hunt.
Austin brining back the Ringneck with Jarhead in the foreground
Some cold and wet youngsters, yet big smiles. They really liked the decoy and asked a number of questions about it. I told them I would keep them updated on its whereabouts and stories.
After the duck hunt we all took to the woods to start the search back up for Johnny's deer. Making single file line from the last point of blood we did not even have to walk another 100 yards and there lay a 7 pointer, Johnny's first deer with the bow!! A great lesson for the boys in tracking. They made the right call by backing out of the woods the night before and letting the deer sit rather than to keep pushing him. The shot was just a hair far back, the liver was completely destroyed by the broadhead.
A duck, a buck
Everyone gathered at our camp that night for a great game feed. We had goose jerky, bacon wrapped goose, ringneck fillets, whitetail backstraps and a turkey casserole. Great times in camp like this are what make the trips 100% worth the effort.
10/14
The Sunday forecast called for more rain so we decided to sleep in, get a few things done around camp and maybe try for some grouse in the afternoon.
We got lucky and one presented itself to Collin in the wide open, his first grouse, not to mention with grandpa's 20 gauge!
On the way home Collin got to go behind the wheel for the first time, I bet we all remember our first drive. He had a great time going forward but reverse was a bit troublesome
10/15
A good hunting friend of mine is an Air Force Operation Desert Storm vet and I made sure I had a day on the calendar this week to hunt with him over the decoy. The winds were just a bit to strong today for the original plan of hunting Lake Michigan so we headed to a private pothole that we both have permission on. Jarhead may seem out of place but we have taken divers off of this pond before. The gunning started early with pairs of teal bombing the decoys. The second pair were about land right on top of Jarhead but we made sure that they were belly up before that happened. I really enjoyed todays hunt. I typically do not get on many teal at all here in Wisconsin, due to my goose obsession, and I have a blast everytime they do decide to come in. The birds were not plentiful but what was there decoyed great.
Al, I even took some of your advice and was shooting 2 3/4 #7's today, worked beautifully.
We were able to get 5 teal, 3 green and 2 blue. The drake gwt we got is by far the best looking one I have shot in Wisconsin, usually dont see any color on them up here.
As you can see my duck season beard is coming in quite beautifully, been working on her since September 1st
Rob, he doesn't like to show his face much
Austin made quick work of the birds today, doing his usual 2 teal per trip out retrieves
So far the bird count over Jarhead is not spectacular but the hunts have been special. I plan on getting him out at least once more this week before he is off to Brad.
Time for a nap then some school work and I supposed I should go see the girlfriend at some point...
With the Wisconsin split last week I was not able to get him on the water until this weekend.
Saturday 10/13
For some time now my uncle, young cousin and I have had this weekend picked out to head to our camp in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan to try and find some divers; some good friends who have a camp near-by would be joining us, they have never duck hunted before but the youngest is apparently quite the stud on the local trap team. Saturday the 6 of us headed to the flowage that according to my notes was chalk full of birds at this time last year. Amazing what a year will do. The weather was pretty awful. Off and on down pours, temps in the low 40's and when the rain stopped there was still a constant mist. Needless to say very few birds were flying. We did get 3 small groups to take a look but the shooting was sub-par by all of us. The boys were able to tag team on the most unlucky of Ringnecks that decided to take a peak. However, by the end of the day the boys said they had fun and I was impressed with the two young boys; at their age (11 and 12) I am not sure I would have had the patience that they had. Despite being cold and wet the only time we heard a peep from them was when they asked for some hot chocolate to warm up. To top it off young Johnny had shot a deer the night before with his bow but they were unable to find it after an hour of tracking they backed out of the woods and waited for our assistance in the morning, I am sure he was up all night and even thinking about it during our hunt.
Austin brining back the Ringneck with Jarhead in the foreground
Some cold and wet youngsters, yet big smiles. They really liked the decoy and asked a number of questions about it. I told them I would keep them updated on its whereabouts and stories.
After the duck hunt we all took to the woods to start the search back up for Johnny's deer. Making single file line from the last point of blood we did not even have to walk another 100 yards and there lay a 7 pointer, Johnny's first deer with the bow!! A great lesson for the boys in tracking. They made the right call by backing out of the woods the night before and letting the deer sit rather than to keep pushing him. The shot was just a hair far back, the liver was completely destroyed by the broadhead.
A duck, a buck
Everyone gathered at our camp that night for a great game feed. We had goose jerky, bacon wrapped goose, ringneck fillets, whitetail backstraps and a turkey casserole. Great times in camp like this are what make the trips 100% worth the effort.
10/14
The Sunday forecast called for more rain so we decided to sleep in, get a few things done around camp and maybe try for some grouse in the afternoon.
We got lucky and one presented itself to Collin in the wide open, his first grouse, not to mention with grandpa's 20 gauge!
On the way home Collin got to go behind the wheel for the first time, I bet we all remember our first drive. He had a great time going forward but reverse was a bit troublesome
10/15
A good hunting friend of mine is an Air Force Operation Desert Storm vet and I made sure I had a day on the calendar this week to hunt with him over the decoy. The winds were just a bit to strong today for the original plan of hunting Lake Michigan so we headed to a private pothole that we both have permission on. Jarhead may seem out of place but we have taken divers off of this pond before. The gunning started early with pairs of teal bombing the decoys. The second pair were about land right on top of Jarhead but we made sure that they were belly up before that happened. I really enjoyed todays hunt. I typically do not get on many teal at all here in Wisconsin, due to my goose obsession, and I have a blast everytime they do decide to come in. The birds were not plentiful but what was there decoyed great.
Al, I even took some of your advice and was shooting 2 3/4 #7's today, worked beautifully.
We were able to get 5 teal, 3 green and 2 blue. The drake gwt we got is by far the best looking one I have shot in Wisconsin, usually dont see any color on them up here.
As you can see my duck season beard is coming in quite beautifully, been working on her since September 1st
Rob, he doesn't like to show his face much
Austin made quick work of the birds today, doing his usual 2 teal per trip out retrieves
So far the bird count over Jarhead is not spectacular but the hunts have been special. I plan on getting him out at least once more this week before he is off to Brad.
Time for a nap then some school work and I supposed I should go see the girlfriend at some point...
.
