Bill McAdam
Active member
Had a good three-day opening hunt near DeWitt AR.
On the way to AR on Friday, I called Jeff King and offered to let him get his season started a week early. He was on the road on no time and got in before 11:00. Saturday day was slow, and we only collected two birds.
Sunday and Monday saw much better takes of 16 (5 hunters) and 9 (2 hunters).
We collected a single bird with a band. Both Jeff and I know we hit it, but of course you can't tell who killed it. So we flipped for it. Problem was, the guide asked for the bird and I passed it over to him (Duncan had retrieved it). One of the guys sitting between me and the guide swiped the band. He left for home from the blind and we never were asked if we'd shot the bird. Next day (Monday), I told the guide that we both felt that we at least had partial claim on the band and he said that "Fred did shoot last". I asked him how he knew that Fred hadn't just shot a dead bird and he just shrugged. I guaranteed him another band would NEVER come in through my side of the blind. I also told them that I should withhold the cost of a band from eBay as the cost of giving Fred my band (I'd won the coin toss with Jeff).
But, Duncan did pretty well. The birds flew as they should. Many fell as they should. All's right with the world, in spite of the buttheads.
On the way to AR on Friday, I called Jeff King and offered to let him get his season started a week early. He was on the road on no time and got in before 11:00. Saturday day was slow, and we only collected two birds.
Sunday and Monday saw much better takes of 16 (5 hunters) and 9 (2 hunters).
We collected a single bird with a band. Both Jeff and I know we hit it, but of course you can't tell who killed it. So we flipped for it. Problem was, the guide asked for the bird and I passed it over to him (Duncan had retrieved it). One of the guys sitting between me and the guide swiped the band. He left for home from the blind and we never were asked if we'd shot the bird. Next day (Monday), I told the guide that we both felt that we at least had partial claim on the band and he said that "Fred did shoot last". I asked him how he knew that Fred hadn't just shot a dead bird and he just shrugged. I guaranteed him another band would NEVER come in through my side of the blind. I also told them that I should withhold the cost of a band from eBay as the cost of giving Fred my band (I'd won the coin toss with Jeff).
But, Duncan did pretty well. The birds flew as they should. Many fell as they should. All's right with the world, in spite of the buttheads.