Trying it in the AM...

[Moosie]

Well... We're back, I don't I don't know how we did.. (My camcorder was Belly up

)

So I'll let Ovis or Gunner tell the story

 

[Ovis]

Elkgunner is the better story teller. I'll let him tell it how it is, unless of course it is a complete lie and only affords to embarass me, then I'll jump in.

On the other hand, Oscar was the only one to kill birds, so maybe he should.

I'll provide the pics though.

 

[Ovis]

I was thumbing through the previous waterfowl posts, and came across this. It made me wonder what was so different about the hunt pictured here and the hunt we had today. The only thing I could think of was if Moosie running back and forth to my pit for a donut kept the geese away.

I guess similar results may vary

 

[Moosie]

HUmmmm... the Story. Alright, I guess I'll post something before 'Gunner comes on with his lies.

It was Ovis's first Goose hunt. Never being out before he needed a few tips. Gunner pointed out that he needed a Waterfowl stamp. He went to Walmart late in the Eve. and fortunately they had one. That and some Steel shot he was set. We figured we were GOLDEN !!!

At this point, Lemme back up a bit....The day Prior I went on a duck hunt. Hunting ducks you have to leave a bit early. I like to be set up before Legal shooting. ElkTurd called me at 7AM as I left the door, The normal call so I can meet him at the same time at the location. I hadn''t gotten to bed untill 12:30 and the 6:15 Alarm was going to be too early. Around 4:55AM the Fire alarm went off !! I was out of my bed and in the Boys room before 5 seconds I think. I grabbed them and realized there was no fire. I went through the house like a Mad man trying to figure out wheat the Deal was. I had Extra Batteries and Yanking alarms down I went through about 3-4 of them. Nothing was Working. I started Yanking them off the Walls untill I found the Bummer one, About 10-15 Mins Later. Of course It wasn't the High one I had to Get the Ladder to get, It was the One in our Bedroom, It had a Bad Circuit and Set allthe other ones off.. Terrible way to Start the morning !!

The reson I prefaced this is Today I left later, Larry (My boss) was to meet me at my place at 7:30 AM I was looking foward to Sleeping in and a Relaxing wake up. 6:55 the Phone rang and I jumped out of Bed. CHIT !!! I need to be ready in 5 mins I thought. I chased down the Phone as I couldn't find it. It stopped Ringing. I grabbed the Home phone and Called my number. It rang Again. HAving Baby Monitors all over the House It sounded like It was in Several Rooms. After 3 calls I found it at the Bottom of the Toy Box in the Kids room. NOW, NEED to get ready. Running around.. SO much for a Restfull wake up !!

7:00 (Alarm goes off) I realize I'm early and as I was Running around getting dressed I still had 1/2 a hour.

I called Ovis Back and he was Calling me to tell me he was Running late. He was At Albersons getting Donuts and Wouldn't be here untill 7:40. I had time to Jump into the Shower and Get dressed.

So We meet him on the Freeway And he follows us to Gunners "SHACK". We met up and Headed to the Field. We get there and I sprint the first set of cloths, guns, Etc accross the field as Gunner drives around to Get the Decoys. He parks back at our Truck and I sprint back to help him unload. Little did I know He was going to Drive the Stufff out so I had to Chase him down like a Guy trying to Hitchhike

We get all set up and Gunner takes the Rig back. We;re building the blinds and Ovis HAs some Gun Problems !! I grabbed his Gun, Gave him mine. Geese would Be Airborn in about 9 mins !!! I sprint Accross the Field to Ditch the gun and get a new one. I meet Gunner at the truck and he takes the gun and Tells me to get Larrys keys. I sprint back accross the Field and Get Larrys keys and Sprint back to Gunner. He takes the Gun and Brings it home and Gets his Backup gun. We'll all be set soon !!!

When He leaves I sprint back across the field and jump into my blind. I didn'
t count how many time I sprinted accross tyhat field but All I know is I got more of a workout dragging that mud then I did Elk hunting this year .. HEHE

Geese come in and Larry makes the Call, "TAKE UM" Jim Pops up and KABANG ! LARRY KABANG .. Me... HUHHHH ? they're still 100 yards out ? Anyways ,Larry has A depth perception problem so He doesn't make the Call any more

We go through alot of Calling and Most times I don't pick up the Gun as those 2 are Blazing away

(If you haven't figured out, this story is About ME .. HEHE !!)

Gunner gets back and Wonders why there is no Dead Geese, We make up some Storys about then never coming in and he buys it

We go through the CALLING, NOT CALLING, then Calling again. Shoot when they are far, Let them come close and Not shoot.. A standard day of.. "MAN, I SHOULD HAVE....."

Gunner is sitting 85 Yards behind us in a Field ditch laughing I think, But never shooting once. There is a group of 40 that go over us and Land almost in his LAp... RING RING, the cell goes off as I loook at the Caller ID and It's gunner.. Do I answer it or not ? OK, I will.. ALL I hear is Giggling at the other end, him with ONLY 6 geese decoys called in 40 while We're sitting with non.

They land outside his Shooting range and More flock over. After about 2-3 HUNDRED geese are there he Spooks them off. It's hard to Compete with the Real thing.

We had a Group come in and several others merging, Geese were Everywere !! I saw Jim Sit up to Take um and I Figured Now was it. I blasted one and Turned on the 2nd, As I tried to Blast it, I had a Shell get Stuck.. CRAP !! Fortunately Larry and Jim were shooting at these 70-80 Geese. there would surely be some Dead ones. I jacked that Sheel out and Flipped the Gun up and Shot one that Larry shot at with his Last shell. I'm sure it was Going to Fall eventually after he shot it.... But Maybe not for another 6-7 Hours So I blasted it and it dropped.

The rest of the LAte morning was some shooting by a Few, Hell, Even Gunner tried shooting Geese in front of us with him sitting Behind us...He said his Gun was Dirty and He was Cleaning out the Barrel.. So I ca't fault him for that I guess.

All in all it was A good day, I'm done lieing now so It's Gunners turn to Tell the REAL Story !!

 

[JoseCuervo]

Ovis,

Those are awesome pictures. The one in the Middle (other than the person in it

) is a great picture.

Moosie, if that was me, I would be getting an 8x10 ordered on that one....

 

[Ovis]

Thanks gunner! I'm saving your 8x10 for the fall

 

[Moosie]

YAH, It was Truely a Great day. Fun was had by ALL. And, We never had to break a Sweat doing it

I guess My story is going to stick because n one Refuted it within 3 hours of posting it

Tomorrow.. Same time, Same place ?

 

[JoseCuervo]

I am replying... It is just taking me 3 hours to write it....

 

[JoseCuervo]

Since Moosie feels like Sunday's Hunt report should start with Saturday Morning.....

The wind and the rain blew against the outside of the Double Wide all night long, with Saturday morning bringing even more rain to the Valley. I woke up to a great day to go Goose hunting, but knew I had to pass, as this was the last day of the Girls Youth Basketball Season for our Schools. Other than one day of Elk hunting, there had been no Saturday Hunts for the Gunner since October.

For some reason (probably because I love my daughters), I had a greed to coach two basketball teams this fall. One for the 5th-6th graders that has the GirlGunner playing, and then another for 3rd-4th graders that has the LittlestGunner playing. Of all the sports I have coached or helped coach, basketball at these ages is the best, as we have twice as many practices as games, so we get to do plenty of teaching.

We didn't have a 5th-6th game last week, so it resulted in me having 4 practices to prepare the girls for our final game of the year, against the Teal team, starring the best player in the league. I had seen Teal play parts of several games, including one game where the star scored 22 points in the first half, to lead another team 22-2. I was determined my Green team would not suffer that embarrasment, as the girl assigned to guard her was about in tears in the previously mentioned game.

Our league rules state we must play man-to-man, and the star for the Teal team could break any 6th grade girl down with a quick drive to the right for a lay-up, or a cross-over move back to the left for a stroll down the key to the hoop for a lay-up. I never saw her pass, nor did they even bother to screen for her.

So, for 4 practices, I coached my girls to play the "saggiest" man-to-man ever seen. This was a big change to my girls, as I had previously taught them to play the tightest man-up defense possible, and then foul from behind, before the shot, if beaten and no help was coming. I then taught my defender on the Star to slide under all the other defenders and traffic, and just stay home around the key.

Well, the plan worked to perfection. The Teal team, that had only lost one game all year had never seen a defense like Green's. The Star was frustrated, and kept jacking up 12 foot shots, going O-fer the first half. The other parents were screaming at the referee, complaining about the defense. The head ref finally had to tell the other parents to shut up, or leave the gym. We went to half-time with a 12-8 lead.

Note: My Green team only won a single game all year, primarily due to my coaching. I refuse to isolate or run screens for my best players, at the expense of the other 9 girls on my team. I expect every girl on my team to get a shot, every game, and every one of them is told to shoot the ball, if they can get it close to the rim. It is a whole team of Gunners.

I have reservations about other coaches at this age, that run isolations for their best players.

Well, the second half started, and the other team came out in their version of a 4-Corners offense, the likes of which I had not seens since the early 80's in College ball. My girls, being coached to "stay home", and "remain 1/2 way between your player and the ball" were now exposed for not being anywhere near the player they were guarding. We were now being called for Illegal Defense. I pleaded my case, but it was falling on deaf ears, as the Ref had too much headache in this game, and he still had 3 more games to do.

The ref then told my girls, during the game, to move out on the player they were guarding, and I would tell them not to, during breaks. Well, the Star then took over, and our 4 point lead soon turned into a 5 point deficit by the final buzzer. My girls may have lost the game, but I honestly believe they each felt important to the team, and each had fun. I always measure my success coaching the next year, when I see how many continue on playing. The other team won, but the looks on the 4 kids who were told to stand in the corners just seemed a bit hollow to me.

So, after Game 1, I had 40 minutes until the 3rd-4th grader's game (Team Orange), so I jumped into the SuperDuty, and went to check on the Corn field for geese. I drove past the field at 10:30, and 200-300 geese were in the field, with more landing. Sunday would be awesome!!!

Game 2 was a bit more relaxing, as the girls played hard, they had fun, and we ended up blowing a lead, and losing by a single point. Our Orange team was better than .500 for the year, and the girls seemed to have fun. I have coached a couple of girls for 2 years, and some for 3, and it is fun to watch them grow up as hoopsters.

Our End of Season pizza party was interrupted when my Cell phone rang. But luckily the Caller ID showed it was Moosie, so I hit the "No" button, rejecting him to voice mail.

That night, I went to the High School boy's basketball game to watch, and was sitting up near the Ref from Game 1. After one extremely effective defensive stop by the home team, using a 1-1-3 Zone, I commented that they play a Zone as good as my girls. Unfortunately, my comment came just as the Ref was drinking soda, and he sprayed his mouthful all over.

And then called me a SOB...

Sunday morning came, and the rain had finally stopped, but the streets were still wet, and I was sure it would be muddy out in the Corn field. It is kind of difficult to not get up early to go waterfowl hunting. It just doesn't seem right. But, the geese have not been flying until 9am, and I am now an advocate of using fewer decoys, so the set-up time is not as great. We agreed to meet at 8am, and I was even ready early, so it was just kind of hanging around, daylight already upon us.

Ovis and I went to get the Decoy Trailer, while Moosie and Larry started running gear across the field, for some reason. I tried to pull down the ditch road, between Larry's rig and a ditch, but as greasy as the Mud was, I dropped the front tire into the ditch. Our careful schedule to the 9am geese was now in doubt. We jumped out, and pushed the trailer off the ball of the pick-up, and I crossed my fingers and said a prayer to the V-10, and thankfully, the Ford popped out of the ditch, once again reminding me why Fords are superior to Dodges.

We hooked back onto the trailer, Larry scooted his lil' rig out of the way, and off we went, down a muddy, greasy road heading out to the back side of the field. There was no way I was going to stop, and risk not starting, as we had geese soon to arrive.

Now at this point, and I don't understand why, but Moosie ran from the pits in the middle of the field to the moving pick-up, and while I continued to pour fuel to the V-10. With Mud flying up from all 4 wheels, Moosie then vaulted into the back of the pick-up, in a move that would make any male gymnast proud.

We got to the closest point on the ditch road to the pits, and began carrying decoys. My guess is we only put up 5 dozen, but maybe a bit less. I am now of the opinion this late in the year that less is more with decoys. Additionally, I think we have one of the best fields in the County, as it is not getting overhunted, and 200-300 geese are using it daily. I am of the mind that a quality hunt each week is better than 4 poor hunts. My time is just to busy to have bad days Goose hunting, when if you leave a field alone, you will have awesome hunting.

Well, the Geese were due in about 5 minutes, so we got the rest of the crap out of the rig (Dozen doughnuts, Camcorder that doesn't work, 4 shotguns, 100 shells, thermos, tarps, extra clothes, cell phones, etc.. etc.. etc...

I threw my stuff over by a ditch that I would sit in, and got the pick-up moved. AS I get the pick-up parked, Moosie is running across the field toward me. I continue walking toward him and notice he is carrying a gun. I raise my arms over my head in surrender, as I am un-armed, and I now realize I am about to be relieved of the $12 I have in my wallet.

After I find out I am not going to be a victim of Armed Robbery, Moosie explains that Ovis' gun is not working right. So I take the offending gun, tell Moosie how to work my gun, and ask for Larry's keys so I can take his pick-up to the Double Wide, to get another gun. Well, it turns out that Larry doesn't want anyone stealing his pick-up, so he has the keys in his pocket, in the blind. Moosie then makes another sprint across the field to courier the keys. I meet him half way, as I can tell Moosie is running out of gas. The field we hunt has a soil with high clay content, and one's boots become very heavy after all the rain we had.

As I leave for the Double Wide, I can see that Geese are on the way, right on schedule. The only problem being, I am still in my pajamas (or so they called them..) and driving AWAY from the field. On my way back, I can see geese in the sky in all directions, heading out from the Lake, toward the field. When I am within a mile, I see one flight leaving the field and heading back to the Lake. Two of the geese were missing a single tail feather, so I knew Moosie must have shot.

I get back to the field and park Larry's pick-up. It is some little pick-up, maybe Toyota or something, and I comment to myself how fun it is to drive, but I didn't understand why it had all those gears, as I only used about 1/2 of them. I start walking down a ditch to get closer to the pits, without leaving the hiding cover of the ditch, as I am not wearing camo, and their are geese coming. As flights of geese would come, I would drop down in the ditch, and watch the geese fly over me. We had a 25mph wind this morning, and for I was downwind of the decoys, so the geese would come over me very low and very slow. I had one flight almost hovering over me as they fought the wind toward the decoys. It was with great self control that I allowed them to fly on toward the decoys. They locked their wings, and proceeded to approach the decoys. Hunting has lots of favorite images for me, and locked-up geese is one of them. I just sat and watched these geese locked into the decoys. Soon there was gunfire from the pits, and the geese flew away, un-harmed, much to my amazement.

I kept walking down the ditch, ducking down with each passing flight, and resuming my walk after each volley of missed shots. I then had a final 150 yard run to my camo and gun, and no geese in the air, so off I sprinted. Moosie ran to meet me, and we changed guns, and I got in my camo, and jumped in the ditch where I was to lay.

After laying down in ditch, I then realized how much it had rained the past 36 hours, as I was laying in standing water.

There are different kinds of days goose hunting. Somedays you see 6 geese all day long, kill 5, and call it good. Other days you see 300 geese, kill a couple, and call it great. Other days you see 1, kill it, and that is it. This day was to be one of the days where the numbers of Geese was as good as it gets. It is probably without exaggeration that we had 30+ flights of geese, maybe more. From singles to flights of 40, all the geese wanted into the field.

I was at a bit of a disadvantage for perspective, as I was about 75 yards from the decoys and the pits, so I was unable to figure out what exactly was going on. I do know that the Shotgun Shell retailers will be seeing a serious spike in business on Monday morning, as anybody that wants to collect empty shells would be in fat-city. I also know that when I walked over for a doughnut, the selection had been reduced by quite a bit. And all of their camo was covered by powdered sugar, sprinkles, and maple frosting.

Despite what Moosie has read on the Internet, there are no "Rules" about goose hunting, or at least none the Geese agree to follow. I seem to have to hunt Geese by "feel", and it is only through "feel" that I can decide to "take 'em" or let them circle for a closer pass. And even then, I am often kicking myself for the wrong choice. If I do err, it is usally on the side of not shooting, in hopes of a better pass. My favorite part of Goose hunting is actually watching the Geese land in the decoys, and even better, when the decoys are right near the pits.

Soon the geese were landing in the field next to me, about 75 yards away. And they kept coming.... and coming.... Soone I had 200 on the field behind me. Even shooting in front of me was not flushing the geese behind me. A certain amount of live geese in a field near a set of decoys can help, but this soon became to large a mass, and was not helping. Finally a set of three came by me, in almost close enough range, so I fired three shots at the closest goose. I could hear the bb's smacking the goose, but he never missed a flap. My shooting did flush the rest of the geese up, so we were back in business.

We had geese from the South, we had geese from the East, and we had Geese from the North, and it was these North geese that came in fast and low. More shooting, and we had two geese on the ground, finally. One of the geese landed wrong, out in the field, with wings spread un-naturally, so we had many flights flare off, until Moosie finally remembered the Gunner's Running Man decoy, and went and fixed the dead goose. It is always funny to watch Moosie approach a dead goose. A couple of weeks ago, he flung himself through the air, landing on the dead goose, resulting in a muffled "harrrrmmmmphhhh" from the goose. This time, while more geese were coming, he runs out, and turns the goose over, looking for metal bands. Finding none, he then brings the goose back in toward the decoys.

By not being "in the middle of the action", I had an interesting view point, and spend most of the time calling and watching. We had one flight come over about 1000 feet up, and lock their wings, and just spiral down for about 3 minutes, and still remained 500 feet in the air. I had a single work about 6 passes, talking back to me with each call. I was sure someone would shoot at him, but he finally left without any steel being sent his direction.

Well, finally the Dozen doughnuts and Diet Dr. Pepper were starting to wear off the other three out in the pits, and Moosie got a craving for the Sunday Fried Chicken dinner at the local greasy spoon. So, we picked up the decoys, and called it a day.

I always feel responsible for the success of others when I take people hunting. And I always worry if we won't see game, or not enough game. I have been blessed with some great days hunting and am fortunate enough right now to have one of the best Goose fields anyone could imagine. I think the Geese were abundant enough that there was plenty of opportunity, so hopefully everybody had fun flinging steel in the air.

 

[mtmiller]

Man that was a great story. I had some great visuals as I was reading your book.

Obvioulsy it was a great day to be in the field, too bad you had poor company.

I know what you mean about being nervous when I take others hunting and hoping that they are satisfied. I guess it is not something you need to worry about.

 

[Moosie]

Mine and Gunners posts always end up as books. I feel like I'm always Laughing so HArd at some of the Comments and realize I'm probably the only one besides him that is, But thats Ok. I had a few Comments though :

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> Now at this point, and I don't understand why, but Moosie ran from the pits in the middle of the field to the moving pick-up, and while I continued to pour fuel to the V-10. With Mud flying up from all 4 wheels, Moosie then vaulted into the back of the pick-up, in a move that would make any male gymnast proud.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I was told that Gunner wasn't going to drive into the Field. I started sprinting across the Field so to cut down on the Stress time we would have with someone

being a little late. As I start heading back to the truck, I see it going down a Dirt road. At this time I can run over and Leap into the back or go back to the blinds. I figure I'd share the Ride. I was Glad I made it in the BAck of the truck but Can't believe I leaped over the 5 strand Barbed wire fence AND cleared the truck bed.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> I meet him half way, as I can tell Moosie is running out of gas. The field we hunt has a soil with high clay content, and one's boots become very heavy after all the rain we had.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm used to wearing boots, Hell, with the Story's I head hunting with Gunner you need then, So you'd think I'd be used to the weight they carry, But after a McDonalds breakfast, some Chocolate milk (No SHAKES) and 5 donuts My belly was starting to slow me down. After all that running I needed to eat 2 more donuts and drink a Coke. I'm glad I had Extra !!!

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> Two of the geese were missing a single tail feather, so I knew Moosie must have shot.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think I'll leave this Comment alone, I wasn't the one with Empty Shells around my Blind (Or ditch) and no geese... (that one won't get me invited back !!!) Hehe

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> Hunting has lots of favorite images for me, and locked-up geese is one of them. I just sat and watched these geese locked into the decoys. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

ALL BS'ing Aside, I havve to Agree. I LOVE !! LOVE !! LOVE !!! to see them cupped up and The heads moving like a curious cat as they know something is Goofy below. You'd think with the Brain the Size of a pea, they'd come right in.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> It is probably without exaggeration that we had 30+ flights of geese, maybe more. From singles to flights of 40, all the geese wanted into the field.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have truely NEVER seen that many geese. Not only did the Flights come by, But they cupped up, Allthough MAny were WELL outside the Range, It is cool to see that many close by !!

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> I was at a bit of a disadvantage for perspective,<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Liek there is any Doubt that 'Gunner has a Wierd perspective...

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>despite what Moosie has read on the Internet, there are no "Rules" about goose hunting, or at least none the Geese agree to follow. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

One thing I do know is Faces looking up at geese while We're on our BAck's aren't cool. I'm guessing that scared more geese away then anything. Well.. that and the Pop cans and Donut Box's all around my blind probably.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> until Moosie finally remembered the Gunner's Running Man decoy, and went and fixed the dead goose. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'll have you know that LArry would NOT let me get the decoy. I learned that a Running Man Going after a Goose is Less of a Scare to them then an Upside down goose. I also learned that Decoys Blown over on their sides don't work well either.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> It is always funny to watch Moosie approach a dead goose. A couple of weeks ago, he flung himself through the air, landing on the dead goose, resulting in a muffled "harrrrmmmmphhhh" from the goose. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You forgot to Mention that I attacked the Dead goose first. I always try to sneak up on the Dead ones first, To get ready for the Real thing !!

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> and Moosie got a craving for the Sunday Fried Chicken dinner at the local greasy spoon. So, we picked up the decoys, and called it a day.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

When you hardly had anything to eat a Guy needs to eat some Chicken.. Got to love the ALL YOU CAN EAT Sunday Specials at MOMS cafe' !!!!

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> I always feel responsible for the success of others when I take people hunting. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I truely Blame you for the 4 missed shots I took. I'd send you a bill for the Shells, but since Larry took off with my wallet and You bought Lunch, I think We can jsut call it even

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> am fortunate enough right now to have one of the best Goose fields anyone could imagine. I think the Geese were abundant enough that there was plenty of opportunity, <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think they should call that field a SAFE Haven and let people hunt the Closed WildLife Refuge. You truely had more geese out there then they had on the refuge by far !!!

thanx for the Hunt Man !!!

 

[1_pointer]

Now that sounds like fun! Shotguns and donuts...sounds almost like rabbit hunting!