Last duck hunt of the season
We went out on our last duck hunt of the season this weekend. Started the trip out with a gorgeous sunrise from our hill and a snowy drive over Ptarmigan Pass on the way to Minto Village. The drive back on Sunday was even snowier. We managed a few birds - 6 for me: 4 pintails hens + 2 buffleheads, but the marsh was pretty silent for the most part. We managed a mixed bag of pintails, mallards and buffleheads(anything is game on the last day of the last hunt!). I shot my 32" 1883 hammer gun and Classic Doubles ammo to good effect. That gun will really reach out there and seems most effective at 50+ yds. I had the help of a friends black lab - too bad that by the time she gets a duck to hand it looks like it's been through a wood chipper! A bit more training is in order, I think... It was a wonderful weekend despite the slow shooting. I'd sit there and stare out over the sunny marsh thinking about where I was, what I was doing and with whom and could have cared less if ducks flew by or not or whether I hit them or not - it's such a small part of the experience..... Saturday morning was absolutely still with flat mirror water and we could hear swans take off from a long long ways out, their wings slapping the water until they got enough airspeed to lift off. What a morning. Those male buffleheads are sure pretty little things!
I almost forgot! I got a good honest double on passing pintails on Saturday - MOST unusual for me. I'm not sure who was more surprised, me or the ducks... They came in from left to right and were making a low fast pass to have a look at our decoys.
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