[OH Osthaus]

one of the best jump shooting stories I know to be a fact

the friend who gave me my golden retrieverpup lived on a lake which was great for divers, not far from his house was the river outlet of the lake- which was always good for a few puddle ducks.

One day - just after turning 16 and able to legally hunt on his own, my friend's son decided to surprise Mom and Dad with a duck dinner for some occasion.

So - he hurried home from school and geared up- now- my friend had two canoes- the one we hunted from and early Old Town wood and canvas 18 footer ( I have one now- weighs a tad into triple digits) aa well as one of the OT 12 Kevlar models - that scales between 25 and 30 pounds.

Unable to handle the big one on his own- young son took the light weight to the dock, returned to the house to get his Dad's pride and joy Model 12 heavy duck ( bought with paper route money in his teens) whistled up a dog ( my pup's mother) and headed into the outlet, most likely beaming with pride in the surprise he was staging for the family

it is worth mentioning that this river has the deepest soft bottom of any place I have ever seen- I made the mistake ONCE of getting out of a canoe in there- luckily I had kept a hand on the canoe because I started to sink at once- I hauled myself back into the canoe by shedding my water belt and undoing the suspenders - pulling my self into the canoe and digging my waders out with the paddle

so- the happy hunter arrives at his chosen spot- tosses out some decoys - and in a few minutes a mallard set its wings to join the party.

the son swings up his Dad's 12 and cancels the flight, at which point the retriever (oh- by the way - Dad did not use the dog float hunting because he never steadied her)

the duck comes down, the dog launches from the gunnels and the canoe spins sending the hunter AND the model 12 in the drink.

son and dog (with duck) make it back to the canoe, but remember the muck bottom) the gun was no where to be found.

my son's friend hurries home and calls his uncle- who calls a scuba diver he knows and this team return to the scene - fortunately - the decoys marked the spot and the diver had a small area to explore the muck and found the gun.

fast forward, Mom and Dad arrive home to find a muddy canoe and wet dog in the yard and upon entering the kitchen find a fat mallard waiting for the oven and a harried son on the floor drying and oiling the parts of a completely disassembled model 12 spread out on the floor.