Eric Dellamater
Well-known member
My son Andrew went out with my this past weekend and for the Youth Hunt. He has been on several hunts in the past to get him geared up for the day he would finally be able to pull the trigger himself. Well, that day finally came for him on Sept. 18. He had a class assignment to free write about something that meant something to him. He chose to write about this hunt. Below is his story in his own words.
It was September 18, 2010 at 4:02 A.M. Opening day for the youth hunt for kids 10-14. I woke up at to my dad trying desperately to awaken me since I was deeply asleep. I was so tired I didn’t want to go hunting anymore, but I forged on with my dad’s encouragement. We put our camouflage clothes on and heated up the coffee and my favorite, cappuccino double mocha, then put it in our thermos. We packed our guns, decoys, and our other miscellaneous items in the truck. My dad turned the key to our black Explorer and we were off. It was early, on the way, we only saw six cars total. Once we made it to my grandma’s cottage where she has a private launch, we realized we had to go back to the public launch since grandma’s was blocked by my uncle. Once we got to the public boat ramp, we launched the duck boat into the green, glossy channel and out into the bay. We made it to our “honey-hole” and set the decoys, including my ace in the hole, my handmade cinnamon teal my dad made for me. After setting the decoys, my dad and I waited in the boat for ten minutes feeling the fifteen mile per hour wind heading into the southeast and watching the overcast clouds. A few minutes prior to the legal shooting time, ducks were bombarding me. It was a long 10 minutes to wait. Then the magic time arrived, 6:04, and suddenly a blue-winged teal came out of nowhere and landed with a plop as my gun roared. It was my first duck! My dad sent our dog, Buck, to retrieve my duck. It was truly magic. No time to celebrate, ducks still kept coming, a mallard was next up, and there it was lying in the water. Out went Buck again. At that moment, a blue-winged teal went down as I shot it in midair. A mallard came and I missed. A green-winged teal came rocketing through but it tumbled through the air and crashed into the water after a shot of my slick black Mossberg. A mallard surprised me by landing in the water. After flushing it, another on went down. The last duck in the bag taken was a blue-winged teal. It came from the right side ripping through the wind but I stopped it suddenly and it descended into the water. I could not believe it. Not only did I shoot my first duck, but I got a full limit of 6 ducks in only 15 minutes. My dad was beaming and proud. My dog Buck was tired and wet. It must have been my special decoy that brought me such luck. We packed up and arrived home by 7:30. I even had time to catch a nap for an hour before it was time to ride the bus to my football game. To top off my day, my team, the Wolverines, shut out the Manitowoc Chiefs 38-0. Not a bad day after all, maybe it was worth waking up at 4:02 after all.
Oh, by the way, to top off his weekend even further, we went out on Sunday and he and his buddy Jonathan limited out. Andrew also scored his first double on blue wing teal. All I can say is I am darn proud of him and he is a great kid. No clue where he learned to shoot though, because I can tell you I don't shoot like that!!! Have you ever had a hunt only last 15 minutes????
It was September 18, 2010 at 4:02 A.M. Opening day for the youth hunt for kids 10-14. I woke up at to my dad trying desperately to awaken me since I was deeply asleep. I was so tired I didn’t want to go hunting anymore, but I forged on with my dad’s encouragement. We put our camouflage clothes on and heated up the coffee and my favorite, cappuccino double mocha, then put it in our thermos. We packed our guns, decoys, and our other miscellaneous items in the truck. My dad turned the key to our black Explorer and we were off. It was early, on the way, we only saw six cars total. Once we made it to my grandma’s cottage where she has a private launch, we realized we had to go back to the public launch since grandma’s was blocked by my uncle. Once we got to the public boat ramp, we launched the duck boat into the green, glossy channel and out into the bay. We made it to our “honey-hole” and set the decoys, including my ace in the hole, my handmade cinnamon teal my dad made for me. After setting the decoys, my dad and I waited in the boat for ten minutes feeling the fifteen mile per hour wind heading into the southeast and watching the overcast clouds. A few minutes prior to the legal shooting time, ducks were bombarding me. It was a long 10 minutes to wait. Then the magic time arrived, 6:04, and suddenly a blue-winged teal came out of nowhere and landed with a plop as my gun roared. It was my first duck! My dad sent our dog, Buck, to retrieve my duck. It was truly magic. No time to celebrate, ducks still kept coming, a mallard was next up, and there it was lying in the water. Out went Buck again. At that moment, a blue-winged teal went down as I shot it in midair. A mallard came and I missed. A green-winged teal came rocketing through but it tumbled through the air and crashed into the water after a shot of my slick black Mossberg. A mallard surprised me by landing in the water. After flushing it, another on went down. The last duck in the bag taken was a blue-winged teal. It came from the right side ripping through the wind but I stopped it suddenly and it descended into the water. I could not believe it. Not only did I shoot my first duck, but I got a full limit of 6 ducks in only 15 minutes. My dad was beaming and proud. My dog Buck was tired and wet. It must have been my special decoy that brought me such luck. We packed up and arrived home by 7:30. I even had time to catch a nap for an hour before it was time to ride the bus to my football game. To top off my day, my team, the Wolverines, shut out the Manitowoc Chiefs 38-0. Not a bad day after all, maybe it was worth waking up at 4:02 after all.
Oh, by the way, to top off his weekend even further, we went out on Sunday and he and his buddy Jonathan limited out. Andrew also scored his first double on blue wing teal. All I can say is I am darn proud of him and he is a great kid. No clue where he learned to shoot though, because I can tell you I don't shoot like that!!! Have you ever had a hunt only last 15 minutes????
