LATE SEASON COMEDY.

[fishgutz77]

I love the late season goose hunting but today it got so bad I had to start laughing at myself.

After a great day yesterday we decided to hunt the same rye field even though it was raining and we knew birds would be feeding before the storm hit. So in the rain we set 10 dozen decs mixed full bodys, shells, full body motions and even 8 motorized head big foots that we like to use on wary geese.

The spread was set by 8:30 cause birds are usally moving by 9:30 and best shooting hours have been 10-12.

Now it's 12:30 and everyone is sopped and 2 guys decide to pick it up with out a single shot fired.

So I help pick up 7 dozen and decide to stay with 3 dozen in hopes of picking off a few more for the jerky operation.

Stay with me this is where it starts to get good.

At about 1:30 the temp starts to drop fast and the wind starts to pick up to about 20. With my whites over my bibs and coat and full face knit white that are soaked everything starts to freeze up solid.

the first flight of 8 birds is dropping down on the spread and are about 30yrds when I try to pull up. As I try to snap the safety off it's frozen stiff and the birds land about 40 out.

I finally get the safety off and can't get the gun to shoulder because of the ice armour that used to be my camo and up and off they go.

So I start flayling about trying to break the icy grip and get loosened up enough to get the gun up. Now the wind is up to about 20-25 and the rain is freezing sleet.

here come another 20 birds and short the spread about 80 yrds out so I walk out and get them up. the next hour was spent watching about 500 mallards work the field to my south.

After watching about another 400-500 geese fly west of me I decide to wrap it up and start the walk back to the truck.

No problem getting back to the truck the problem was getting into the truck. Yep iced up 1/4" thick and I'm pounding on the truck for 10 min trying to get in.

I'm finally in and now I'm so stiff again from the ice I have to slide myself up and into the seat and get'er started.

So I try to pull of my full face white camo knit hat and find that it's frozen in such a shape that I can't get the [PoorWordUsage] thing off my head. So I wait for the truck to warm up and the wind sheild to de-ice and finally pull the thing off.

As I get close to the spread I get to watch 15 birds fly out of the decoys and give me the finger as they leave.

I use big foot and greenhead gear flocked full bodies and one thing I was about to learn is that the big foots don't freeze down in the wet snow and dirt like the greenies do. so I spend about 30 min just breaking loose the bases trying not to crack or break them in the process and of course more birds are working past me and yes giving me the finger.

I get it all picked up and get to town and fill the truck up and drive home when I get home I relize I left my gun and my ammo box next to the irrigator pivet and have to drive another 30 min round trip only to see more birds working the field and giving me the finger.

I love this stuff, I just wish I didn't have to work tomorrow.

Yesterday I shot over half a box, today never fired a shot.

I can't wait until next saturday to see all those fingers again.

[Scott Stein]

sounds like you had a blast!!!!

[fishgutz77]

Time to go clean the gun.

[Scott Stein]

ah id leave er in the case til next wknd!!!!! haha

[Dean Schellinger]

Our hunt didn't seem quite as bad but I understand what its like. We only had a little rain but the wet snow soaked me and the dropping temps froze my clothes, gun, and dekes too. When I picked up to leave the field I couldn't get the shells out of my gun because of the snow and ice frozen in my chamber. Had to bring it home to thaw it out along with all my other stuff. Pretty wild out there today.

[mudslinger]

Wow, generally I am glad I work weekends but your story made me jealous. Wish I could have been out in this mess. Hope the birds stick around for ya

[mpester]

Well - at least you had some geese to see. We went out around noon when it was 40. When we finished it was 10. I still can't get the windows down in the truck - maybe in March they will thaw. We only saw a very few geese flying along the river. If duck season had been open, we would have had one heck of a mallard shoot. I was calling them in with a goose call. They were landing and giving me the finger from ten yard away. I had more mallards in the decoys yesterday than I had all season - combined! It was fun even if we did not fire a shot.

[Gordie]

man thats what so mush fun about waterfowl hunting and the thing is know matter how bad it seems to be we'd be doing it again as soon as we can.

as for all the mallards we should be able to have a late season mallard shoot this happens to us all the time and all you can do is smile and wish you were in arkansas

[ironman]

I've just been layed off and am free all week if someone's got a spot. I have access to a few doz fullbodies and doz ffd shells.

[MN Greenheads]

I seems one hunt a season is filled with breaking stuff, forgeting stuff and screwing up on birds that are working. You just got to laugh and chalk it up to the once a year cluster f hunt.

[fishgutz77]

The thing is about a hunt like that is, I'll never forget it as long as I live, and I will laugh for years.

[Joe15]

ouch...i guess that is why the call it hunting and not killing