Opener That Will Be Remembered

Eric Patterson

Eric Patterson

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Staff member
Thomas, Zac, and Patrick (Zacaroni & Cheese) were scouting heavily this week trying to come up with an opening day plan. Wednesday at work I get a text from Patrick who split off from Thomas and Zack to cover more ground and he ended up in an area that I hunted quite a bit in the past. I dropped a pin and sent a picture of "The Deep Hole" and told him to check there. When he got over there he said ducks were all around my old dog stand (built in 1992 for my Golden named Brook) and we needed to hunt there. Thursday the three of them went back to check on the ducks and saw two hunters heading to the spot so Patrick took off sprinting to beat them. Dead set on having it opening day he volunteered to spend Thanksgiving day holding it. The rest of the crew joined him after Thanksgiving dinner was over. Being the elder statesman I was afforded the option of showing up just before shooting time and to not worry they had the spot locked down. I took them up on the offer but said I'd bring them hot biscuits when I arrived. They were good with that.

When shooting time arrived it became completely obvious PATRICK WAS THE HERO OF THE DAY. His sprint to the spot and holding it all day paid off in a spectacular fashion. We filled 6 limits in just under an hour and nearly every bird taken was under 20 yards feet down. What an awesome start to the season. An incredible hunt with fantastic hunting partners in a location that produced many fond memories for me three decades ago. Couldn't dream of a better start to the season.



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Ben, Thomas, Patrick, and Mikey


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Brook's perch with the day's score.


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Zac picking up decoys in "The Deep Hole"
 
Must be the male equivalent of getting in line the day before for Black Friday shopping. [huh]

Did you offer to do all the cleaning?

BTW, nice hunt.
 
Dave

Hurry up an edit your post. For Pete's sake man don't give them any ideas :)

Around here people will camp out for one or more days to get "their" spot.
 
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Phil Nowack said:
WoW.. Congrats!

How did your shopping go today, Dave?
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I got 5 squirrels,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, so there! 3 bucks and 2 does. (that usually raises a few eyebrows before they realize I'm talking about squirrels)
 
A memorable hunt for sure. Most young guns wouldn?t sacrifice to hold a spot. Well done.
Flooded timber is on my bucket list........some day!
 
Or, with that many birds around, you could have simply offered to share the spot with two more hunters, avoid controversy, and make some new friends by keeping the spirit of Thanksgiving! Gadwalls are pretty accommodating birds!
 
RLLigman said:
Or, with that many birds around, you could have simply offered to share the spot with two more hunters, avoid controversy, and make some new friends by keeping the spirit of Thanksgiving! Gadwalls are pretty accommodating birds!
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Twice a pair of hunters came to claim the spot and Patrick talked to them. On both occasions they were just part of a much larger group. One fellow told Patrick they had 6 in their group. 12 guns is too much chaos for me and I would have stayed in bed. Patrick made the right call by not extending an offer to strangers who were part of a larger group.
 
I?m with you on this Eric. I had both good and bad experiences asking others to hunt with me. Unfortunately the bad hunts have outweighed to good hunts so I typically don?t ask unless I know the people coming to the swamp late.

I have hunted with guests who break every moral and ethical duck hunting rule - including some legal rules. Also got the chance to hunt with the Minneapolis Paper outdoor writer and a couple of buddies. Even hunted with the inventor of the tracer shotgun shell and the city quiet barrel (8? long).

Those were the good ones. As work is obnoxiously overbearing my time in the field this year has been limited. Maybe next year I can start asking others to join as each day won?t be so precious.

Looks like a fabulous hunt. Must be nice to have hit the ?old guy? status where the youngsters take care of you.

Mark
 
No way would I ever invite someone to hunt with me... simply because I was where they wanted to be (on public ground) but got there first.

12 guns!!!????? NO WAY EVER!!! I don't like hunting 3 guns... but that is where I draw the line.
 
Great day for a great crew. one for the books for sure.

Who pushed your wheel chair out there, they deserve an attaboy too.
 
Those are "good old days" photos. Not-so "old guys" posing, but great to see. (insert two thumbs up emoticon) [smile] We see a good number of grey ducks nowadays, until 20 years ago a full plumage drake gadwall was a trophy.
Having done the race to the spot thing a few times, I understand the enthusiasm and commitment. Good job Patrick, taking one for the team.
 
Quite frequently on this site I've read similar iterations of the same story when the "shoe is on the other foot", frequently by the same folks who howl so loudly now. I often wonder what the true back story is....

There is a teaching moment buried not too deep in the story and the scenario options....lost on all three of you. And, no, they do not result in twelve people standing over a decoy set with loaded shotguns simultaneously. Behaviors are not acquired by stochastic chance; they are learned and reinforced by people who would just as soon "stay in bed" when circumstances present that are "other" than optimal for their personal pleasure.
 
RLLigman said:
Quite frequently on this site I've read similar iterations of the same story when the "shoe is on the other foot", frequently by the same folks who howl so loudly now. I often wonder what the true back story is....

There is a teaching moment buried not too deep in the story and the scenario options....lost on all three of you. And, no, they do not result in twelve people standing over a decoy set with loaded shotguns simultaneously. Behaviors are not acquired by stochastic chance; they are learned and reinforced by people who would just as soon "stay in bed" when circumstances present that are "other" than optimal for their personal pleasure.
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What are you talking about? Seriously?!?!?! I chose to sleep in, and go out after sunrise often. Or go out an hour before shooting. In either case, I know I most likely will not get the "best" spots or my first couple of spots. I am not willing to go out between 12:00 and 2:00 in the morning. NEVER would I imagine them offering for to hunt with them... and I wouldn't want them to.. . Likewise. The opposite is true too.

There is no participation trophy in duck hunting. It is not like this was a matter of taking some 14 year kid under your wing.
 
Let?s take this train wreck elsewhere.
This is Erics thread about an amazing hunt with his son and friends.
Not a philosophy and ethics debate thread.
Don?t wreck their moment.
 
RL

Please share with us what you would have done in these circumstances and what you think is the "teaching moment".
 

Ya had a good shoot, and that is a pile of ducks.

20 yard shots...


Who did the cleaning, butchering and cooking?

A old duck hunter and camp cook would like to know.

Any photo's of the feast and celebration?

I'd say your off to a good start.


Best regards
VP
 
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