I'm sending in for my "doubles pin"--

[Old and Reliable]

When I received my membership certificate with the great poem on Parkers, I also received my pin (now on my shooting bag) and it came through A-OK- sorry to hear that both you and friend Dean had received a doubles pin with some damage- I am sure that Jennifer will do her best to pack them, our friends at the USPS aren't always as careful as we would like them to be- that's why whenever I ship a set of shotgun barrels anywhere, they are cased in heavy wall PVC tubing and sealed like Fort Knox. We might remember that some mail moves via commercial airlines, and their "baggage handlers" belong to the BF&I school of handling--

In a 20-20 hindsight anlysis of the double on greenheads I made this morning, I did a few things that may have helped: (1) I always shoot better when standing- and my years of layout boat shooting for divers are way behind me now, my back won't take that strain- and in rising up from the crouch with the Parker's muzzles pointing skyward, the mallards that had dropped their feet to kiss the pond with "stalled" a bit at that motion of mine (they were maybe 12 yards out in front) so the first one was the above the nose shot, the left sided second bird was getting into that vertical climb mode mallards (and pheasants usually) use for escape- and again, I blotted out his head as I hit the rear trigger and he dropped like a cheap cardboard suitcase in a hailstorm-- But it may well be years before that ever happens again-just as well, if it happened all the time, it wouldn't be so memorable!!::

[Labowner]

I went out this morning in the scull boat ended up with one goose one green head and a black. Thought it was going to be a good day as I dropped the goose first thing at 45 yrds. in poor light, then my shooting headed down hill missed a easy chance on double green heads.

[Old and Reliable]

One advantage of hunting solo (other than your four legged pal) is- no one to see your misses on the 'sucker shots"- but then, no one to verify that sweet double you made either. I am way past "shoting for a limit" on waterfowls- here are two MI Mississsippi Flyway examples: Our early (September 1-15th) goose season was designed to trim local flocks (golf course fertilizers, Foot-Joy spike filler-uppers if you get my drift) but I don't want to shoot the 5/day limit, one or two clean shots suffice- ditto the late Winter bonus season here- Jan to early Feb- usually five birds/day- a lot to lug out of a deep snowy cornfield, plus the decoys (a sled is useful here)-

I would rather, I suppose for personal reasons, kill one goose stone dead with one shot, than "limit out" in the five/day seasons with 25 shells (I've seen that happen)-so the first bird is the "special" after that, the rest are just extra candles on the cake for me.

On ducks we can take 6 per day, but only four can be mallards, and if so, three must be drakes, only one hen (or black- many hunters can't tell the difference- a black of either sex will NOT have the white bar above the purple wing speculum as does the hen mallard)-- so I may take two or three greenheads-then quit and sit and watch the birds, the colors of the leaves left on the trees, the cloud patterns- etc. Part of what the late Idaho based F&S writer Ted Trueblood called "Other Values"--

It is very easy to miss a "sweet shot" after you have dropped a bigger bird like a Canada- their flight speeds, evasion tactics are all different- puddlers will climb like a F-14, divers will move to Mach 2 and outfly your pattern nine times out of ten- all part of the game.

I don't use my retriever on the dairy farms I duck hunt on in the Fall- for several reasons: he's young, I don't want him bothering the farmer's livestock, he hates cats and most of my farmer friends like their barn cats, and also- wet ground and low electrified cattle fences-He gets his "innings" on the rivers we hunt- mainly pass shooting their, although I will set out a few decoys when the flight birds are down.

What non-toxic loads do you use in your Parker(s) and possibly other side-bys in your gunning arsenal? I have had very good results with the Hevi-Shot for Classic Doubles- I just use the std 2.75" 1 & 1/8th ouncers-

If I had a gunning secret to pass along (A Tap's Tip?) it would be-"Let them get as close as you can-when you can see their bootlaces-shoot"> My duck gunning Mentor- Al Woodhurst- a former market hunter who shot a Model 97 sans plug-- once said this to me: "If you want your ducks to drop dead in the drink, shoot 'em where they think, and not where they stink"_ No Longfellow or Whitman of course, but words of gunning wisdom indeed!