Your Toughest Shot -- Bird and Setting

[mobirdhunter]

Originally Posted by Joseph Sheerin

Shot at a Goldeneye on Truman Lake back in the 80's.... I still remember it like yesterday.

I was shooting south of the blind coming towards us with a nice tail wind. I lined up pulled away for the lead, and just as I squeezed the trigger, it made a hard left, as only a goldeneye with a tailwind can do... Because the bird was out my end of the blind, my dad had not even pulled up his gun, and was just watching me for the shot... He just started laughing and said, I think you missed that bird by two counties....

Pat, Dad's can be blunt, but I wish I could hear mine again.

I'm glad that there is not another shooter around when my bird "zigs" when my shot "zags."

[Joe from MO]

Originally Posted by Garry L Gordon

Pat, Dad's can be blunt, but I wish I could hear mine again.

I'm glad that there is not another shooter around when my bird "zigs" when my shot "zags."

Ya dad passed in 95, and my uncle and I dumped out his ashes on a point of Thomas Hill lake 2 weeks later as sun was rising, and we prepared for one of the best days of duck hunting I had ever had. I'd had years of frustration trying to kill a sprig pintail, well guess what I did that day, and many more since. Uncle and I both limited out with very colorful bag of birds ranging from wood ducks, red heads, pintails, Mallards and blue bills. What a great day of wingshooting that was, and I couldn't help but feel my dad sitting there in the blind with us.

[Ed Norman]

I was treasurer of our local ducks unlimited chapter back in the 70's, one of the guys that was heavily involved with d.u. asked me to go duck hunting with him. I told him I would make a blind at skeegmog lake near where I lived. It was quite a nice blind, easy to find during the day not very easy to find pre dawn I put the blind on the south side of a small island of mostly cattails. As dawn came, I said oops as I was squinting into the early sunrise to my left. I remember just seeing a bird coming right at me from my left, I pulled up my 20 gauge, literally shot from the hip, the greenwing teal dropped at my feet splashing both of us. My new buddy had the strangest look on his face later we took turn poling each other around the backwater, he was poling, I was sitting up front when a mallard took off about 30 yards ahead, I thought it was to far away, he yelled shoot it, I remember giving a little extra lead, the duck was probably 40 yards by then, I think one pellet must of hit it in the head, it just dropped out of the sky and never moved. At every d.u. banquet I attended after that, I got a nice introduction from him, the two luckiest shots I probably ever took.

[Stan Hillis]

Tough question to answer.

SRH

[Hammer Gun]

Well I was in Arkansas hunting ducks , we had come out of the sink box tom leave and one of the guys said look at that it was a drake Pintail flying high overhead the boys with the benellies, shook there head I raised up my 32" PHE shot and the duck came down they all looked at me and shook their heads in disbelief, duck is mounted in my upstairs bedroom, guess I was just lucky that day to show off what a good Parker will do, gary

[Hammer Gun]

BY the way it was a 10 gauge PHE Steel barrel gun, gary

[Joe from MO]

Gary's story reminds me of a duck hunt I had at Marais Temps Claire in St Charles Mo many years ago. We were wade and shoot hunting, and the birds really were not working to well that day. The other three guys in our group decided to go back behind the willows and take lunch... Being a hard headed Irishman, I stayed out by the spread.....

Finally two Gaddies decided to come with in range, and I got nervous because I knew at that point I was on stage...... The were just off to my right, and I emptied both barrels of the Browning Citori I was using at the time, and both birds fell stone dead right in front of me.... I hear in the background some light applause from the lunch crowd in the background.... I think that was most nervous I've ever been taking a shot at any flying game, as I knew if I missed both shots.... It'd be a long way home that day.

[charlie cleveland]

these stories are great...charlie

[mobirdhunter]

Hitting the tough ones, and missing the easy ones -- something very universal in all of this.

[Double Lab]

The toughest shot for me is sitting on a dove stool without standing up to shoot when a dove is in range.