Boys' First Duck Hunts

[Mills Morrison]

This weekend was a big weekend for my boys, as both went on their first duck hunts. Saturday, I took the oldest to Altamaha WMA, Butler Island, in Darien, Georgia. It was a beautiful hunt and a lot of fun, but we did not get any ducks. Sunday (today) was at my Dad's place in Yemassee, SC, with my youngest. I got two Wood Ducks but we were only able to find one. For both hunts, I took my Parker Grade 2 10 ga. lifter which I bought from Ed Good.

[Rick Losey]

need to get those boys a retriever to train :rotf:

thanks for the post- always a good day when the kids are out, they can entertain you more than the ducks anyway

may I ask what the wrapping on the wrist is for. It doesn't look tight enough to be a repair

[charlie cleveland]

really nice phitures of everthing...by the time that boy is 10 he will be ready to start shooting that ole 10...you can never start them to young....i see a old blazer in the pictures those were good trucks..i bet i ve pulled and replaced whole rearends and raingears and pinions in 200 of them old trucks..most of them not tore up just people wanting higher or lower gears...your dads place is a paradise.... way to go with the old 10 ga 2 shells and two birds did i get that rite... charlie

[Mills Morrison]

It is a repair while I save up for a new stock, most likely. It looks loose, but is really about 5 layers of camo duct tape. We have a retriever - our faithful black lab Gator. He is a good retriever, but the second wood duck fell in some really bad stuff.

[Mills Morrison]

Charlie, the photo on top is the Altamaha River. One of my favorite places. Someone said it has the largest flood plain of any river on the East coast. Butler Island is one giant old rice plantation with marsh as far as the eye can see. Dad has about a 10 acre pond along a hardwood swamp. Very different experiences.

[Rick Losey]

It is a repair while I save up for a new stock, most likely. It looks loose, but is really about 5 layers of camo duct tape. We have a retriever - our faithful black lab Gator. He is a good retriever, but the second wood duck fell in some really bad stuff.


thanks - the only thing better than kids hunting is kids hunting with dogs,

even the best will lose a few - the really thick cattails were the worse thing to drop one in where I used to duck hunt, the dog can't even move in them

[Mills Morrison]

We have a thicket of young shrubs and vines and stickers that even a water moccasin could not get in. The one we found landed in the ditch next to the dike, so Gator just swam over and got it.

[Brian Dudley]

Great photos. Thanks for sharing!

[Mills Morrison]

Here is a photo of Gator, so he is not left out.

http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s577/Mills_Morrison/0012_zps99aee3e3.jpg (http://s1306.photobucket.com/user/Mills_Morrison/media/0012_zps99aee3e3.jpg.html)

[Destry L. Hoffard]

Nice

[Rick Losey]

Mills

i certainly don't know how bad the wrist break is, but have you checked with any of the stock experts to see if it can be repaired?

it would be a shame to lose that nice looking rounded grip stock

[Dean Romig]

Mills

i certainly don't know how bad the wrist break is, but have you checked with any of the stock experts to see if it can be repaired?

it would be a shame to lose that nice looking rounded grip stock



I agree - that is a classic Parker ball grip with the deeply fluted 'nose of the comb' that should not be lost. Most broken wrists can be repaired to a finish that will be undetectable and will easily withstand continued shooting. I have seen some amazing work done by David Trevallion. There are a few others as well.

[Mills Morrison]

Darlington Gun Works had it for 2 years and they determined it needed a new stock. It is broken into several pieces. I really would like to save it and may get a second opinion. In the meantime, it had been two years and I wanted to shoot it some.

[Dean Romig]

Understood, and I think you should get a second opinion too. Bear in mind though, any craftsman who takes on such a project as yours will command a high price and that decision is certainly yours to make... you'll probably not get your money back but if you love to shoot it and look at it... it may be worth it. There are experts who can work magic on such breaks.

[Mills Morrison]

That is understood and I would do it to give this old Parker another 100 years of shooting. Any new stock would duplicate the current stock, with maybe some allowance for modern dimensions.

[Mills Morrison]

I will try to bring this Parker up to Deep River this spring so you all can see it.