CountryRN
Twelve Pointer
I don't go on many hunts that I would call fantastic due to the number of birds. Most of the hunts that I call fantastic would be due to the people I was hunting with, or the places we hunt and the events that occurred along the way; like the time a large bag of decoys got left in the impoundments at Pamlico Point until we were 30 min down the road. But that's a story for another time.
Everything has been locked up solid around here for a week, including some of the lake access points. I set out yesterday after church in search of a creek with open water and lucked out. I pushed 80 plus ducks out of this place as I was scouting. The bonus was there was no sign that the place had been hunted. No shells around, and no tracks in the snow. Now this place was a bear to get to. 15 minutes of dragging the creekboat through the woods and a solid 20 minute paddle up stream.
It was 13 degrees when we finished setting the decoys. One cup of coffee from the thermos and it was time to take positions. The first wad of ducks hit the water 1 minute past LST, just 15 yards out. I stood to shoot and might as well have been trying to pull a truck with my trigger finger. The trigger assembly was frozen solid. Of course when the ice broke, the ducks were well on their way out of there. Though I had to fight this trigger all morning, I was able to take one large mallard. He was the first I have shot in a few years, so still a fantastic hunt due to the number of birds I had in range. But it could have been epic (for me) had there not been so many missed opportunities due to the iced up gun.
Happy hunting guys and stay safe.
Everything has been locked up solid around here for a week, including some of the lake access points. I set out yesterday after church in search of a creek with open water and lucked out. I pushed 80 plus ducks out of this place as I was scouting. The bonus was there was no sign that the place had been hunted. No shells around, and no tracks in the snow. Now this place was a bear to get to. 15 minutes of dragging the creekboat through the woods and a solid 20 minute paddle up stream.
It was 13 degrees when we finished setting the decoys. One cup of coffee from the thermos and it was time to take positions. The first wad of ducks hit the water 1 minute past LST, just 15 yards out. I stood to shoot and might as well have been trying to pull a truck with my trigger finger. The trigger assembly was frozen solid. Of course when the ice broke, the ducks were well on their way out of there. Though I had to fight this trigger all morning, I was able to take one large mallard. He was the first I have shot in a few years, so still a fantastic hunt due to the number of birds I had in range. But it could have been epic (for me) had there not been so many missed opportunities due to the iced up gun.
Happy hunting guys and stay safe.
