This afternoon was spent in a spot that had never been in. Eric picked up Riley and I to head over the river, into Finley. This had been a productive spot for Eric on Thanksgiving day, yielding canvasbacks and redheads. I was hoping to score a canvasback for myself. That's a bird on my hit list.
We got to the waters edge about 12:30 and were tormented by the usual ducks flying all around us while we tried to set the decoys in place. We ignored them as best we could while we finished our task at hand. Again, right on cue, the birds left once we were set and ready to go. Eric, Riley and I sat down and waited for something to pass within shooting range. There was a slow, but fairly steady, waft of birds in the area, but still remained out of range. At 2:30, first blood was drawn. I managed to put a wigeon into the water while Eric went to his truck for his calls. I snagged Eric's marsh rat boat and went out to retrieve the wounded bird. After another shot, the duck quit swimming. I grabbed it, threw it in the boat and paddled back to shore. Riley met me at the parking spot and I hopped out, wigeon in hand. However, the bird was still somewhat alive which cause Riley great concern. She asked "Are you going to snap it's neck?" After my response she smiled, covered her ears turned around. After the deed was done she smirked at me, as only Riley can, and said "I don't like the sound that makes." I have to agree with her on that, but it was necessary.
A little before 3:00, Riley went for a walk in the woods behind the blind. Meanwhile, Eric and I worked a pair of wigeons into shooting range. We fired and both fell into the water. Eric's fell to the left and mine to the right. As I followed mine to its final resting spot, I saw it splash down at Riley's feet as she came back from her walk. She looked at me and asked "You want me to get that?" I laughed to myself and said "Sure, if you want to." So...she picked up the dead bird with two fingers, as if she was holding something gross and vile, and made her way back to the blind. A few minutes later, Eric shot a bluebill that zipped from the left to right.
Soon after the bluebill was down, we shot a canvas back and a redhead, neither of which could be successfully retrieved. Both were wounded and went down but eventually either swam to their safety or took flight.
For me, the next event was a stark reminder to stick with my own hunting practices; hunt until the very end. The time was 4:07. The time to quit hunting was 4:10. I unloaded my gun to start retrieving the decoys. While my back was turned to the water, another pair of wigeons worked their way into the decoys. I hurried to try and load my gun again. It was useless. Eric shot both ducks before I had the chance to chamber the one round I loaded.
What an end to the day.
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