Good News.....

[Destry L. Hoffard]

Heard from Nathan yesterday that this early cold weather has brought the bluebills and redheads down a bit early. I've got to work tonight but am meeting him at the shack at noon tomorrow for an afternoon hunt then shooting again on Sunday.

I'm crossing my fingers that the Swamp Angel will get her first chance out on the divers!!!

So much to do, gotta hit the grocery and liquor stores for supplies, make sure my wader patching job held, pack the truck, sort my cartridge bag out......


Destry

[Richard Flanders]

Save me some Destry! You should see all the geese ducks and swans here in northern Canada!! Some grain and pea fields have hundreds in them. A few have had thousands... snows, Canadians, and more mallards than you can imagine.

[Derrick Stewart]

Destry,

Good luck there ole friend. Shoot one for me!! So how's Nathan doing? Good I hope. Take a shot of that irish whisky for me too.

Derrick

[Destry L. Hoffard]

More redheads than I've ever seen in my life, just clouds of them all over the lake. We weren't quite on the X for Saturday afternoon but still had a decent shoot. Sunday was an absolute bang up, redhead limits all around and a few bluebills. Actually we finally gave up trying to finish limits Sunday because we weren't seeing anything but red and we all already had our four.

The Swamp Angel proved to be just as good a diver gun as it is a puddle duck piece. Killed two bluebill in one shot which is always something to be remembered.


Destry

[Don Kaas]

Wouldn't that qualify you for the Parker Double pin???:rotf:

[Destry L. Hoffard]

If I'd have killed another one with my second barrel maybe, unfortunately I was so rattled when two fell that I missed with the left.

DLH

[Eric Eis]

Destry what Don really wanted to ask was how many bands did you get..:duck:

[Destry L. Hoffard]

Eric,

I'm beginning to hate you too.

DLH

[Eric Eis]

Destry, sorry that one was just too... easy....:rotf:

[Don Kaas]

We few. We happy few. We Brothers of Bands...

[Destry L. Hoffard]

Remind me to accidentally shoot you next time we're out on the lake.

DLH

[Don Kaas]

You have nasty streak, DeHo, a nasty streak:p BTW, I have never shot a banded diver...perhaps in a couple of weeks:rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Andrew Thompson]

Save me some Destry! You should see all the geese ducks and swans here in northern Canada!! Some grain and pea fields have hundreds in them. A few have had thousands... snows, Canadians, and more mallards than you can imagine.

Looking forward to my trip next week. Thanks for the report

[charlie cleveland]

you fellas send some of those ducks down my way. charlie

[Destry L. Hoffard]

This past Saturday was another good one. Big wind predicted so we were hot to get out on the lake. Was already somebody on the point we wanted so we had to make a last minute change and race for a secondary position. Limits of bluebill, redhead, and mallard down by about 1pm. The wind built all day and made for a mighty sporty decoy pickup and run back to the marina. One of those blows that, if it howled about another 5 miles an hour faster, you wouldn't want to get out in.

Kaas arrives for a three day shoot on Friday, I'm praying for weather. Wind is supposed to shift out of the NW this week and we've got a full moon so there's a chance for flight ducks. Still no canvasbacks but we saw our first buffleheads and whistlers on Sat so the wedgeheads can't be far behind.

Destry

[Don Kaas]

Most importantly, I've settled on the gats for the trip, Making their debuts in anger, Parker 34" 2 7/8" chambered A4 CHE 12 on its rather petite #2 frame, the Parker 36" D2 GH 10 #3 frame and "for avoidance of doubt" as we lawyers say, my new best friend, the Ithaca 32" NID 10g 3 1/2" Magnum with factory Miller trigger and ejectors. I have hand loaded some 3" 10g with Mr. Bell's loads for 1 3/8oz #5 Bismuth (I had to use IMR 4756 because I was out of E.C.:eek:) and I have plenty of #4 Federal 1 3/4oz T-P for the Big Ten. The CHE will be fed by factory Bismaxx 2 3/4" 1 3/8oz of #5...I am ready for the big water...ready...

[Destry L. Hoffard]

The weather is supposed to be cold and sour around here all week but then (of course) warm up again on Saturday and Sunday. If it's clear with a breeze we might try some sneak shooting, that is if this north wind and full moon bring down what I think they might.

DLH

[David Hamilton]

The original "Swamp Angel" was a a large cannon used in the Siege of Charleston, SC during the late unpleasantness-- the bad news is that it burst! David

[Rich Anderson]

I have gotten out only twice for Canadas with the hammer gun I got from Don but no success....yet. That gun needs to kill a bird:rolleyes:

I remember well the days of Redheads and Bluebills comeing in fast and low to the decoys. One day three of us limited out soley on drake Bluebills. Back then in northern Manitoba the limit was 6 ducks each but I'm sure it's less these days.

[Don Kaas]

3 days on Lake St. Clair resulted in limits each day, lots of bluebills, redheads, a few cans, mallards, dippers and blackies. I managed to miss a single whistler today with Destry's Parker 34" 12g DHE among others missed. My 32" VHE 16g did not prove man enough for the big ducks on big water...Warm temps and mild winds didn't seem to affect the gunning

[Destry L. Hoffard]

Don't cut yourself too short Kaas, you killed your ducks. Was great having you over, we'll do it again before the season is out I hope. And maybe there will be a few more canvasbacks the next time. Bluebills and redheads will fill the bill but there's nothing like those big wedgeheads to really make for some gunning.

And of course, as you know, I always hope for the occasional merganser.......


Destry

[Don Kaas]

The shot of the trip was a tie with Nathan taking a big bull Canvasback high over the stern at about 45 yards in the bright sunshine. He folded it like a dishrag with his Beretta Extrema. Destry made a very nice shot with his big DHE over the bow on a crossing hen red breasted merganser out about 50 yards heading left to right. It crumpled smartly and fell behind the little grass island we were positoned in front of. Stone, the Lab was just as happy to bring back the saw toothed bird as a real duck. Destry was even more pleased than the dog was...

[Richard Flanders]

Destry is still shooting at mergansers??? Slow day was it?

[Dean Romig]

Rich, it is written "the guy in the stern always has the luck" which goes for fishing as well as hunting.

[Destry L. Hoffard]

I figure every one of those sawbills I shoot saves the lives of hundreds of innocent perch and baby walleye.

DLH

[David Hamilton]

Maybe if you cooked them like a fish with lots of lemon juice you could come up with an award winning dish? David

[Dave Suponski]

You just keep killin'em Destry. A few years ago I was on Lake Champlain in Vermont fishin for landlocked salmon and lake trout and the owner of the boat was tellin me that those damn birds had just about decimated the perch and pan fish populations. He also said that ten years earlier a 12gauge and a few boxes of shells would have solved the problem but the tree huggers would have none of it.....:banghead:

I have heard similar storys from guys on lake Ontario....

[Destry L. Hoffard]

It's not really the sawbills that are the problem, it's the commorants that really tear up the gamefish populations. They've been trying to get a season on them here in Michigan for several years but the bunny huggers won't let it go through. A different governor might solve the problem, but our current girl is a friend of those types of folks. I think they're called Democrats if memory serves......

Destry

[Dave Suponski]

Sorry Destry..My bad..I was talking about cormmorants not saw bills..:banghead:

[Dean Romig]

There's a great recipe for cormorants and mergansers. First you put a brick in the body cavity . . .

[Dave Suponski]

:rolleyes:...:)