Kent Co. Goose hunt

[10ga Hammer]

With the warm weather we had for the last week, my son and I, and his friend Matt, did not have high expectations as we crawled into a pit blind in Kent county Maryland Saturday morning.

Thousands of Snow Geese passed high in the clouds as the darkness faded into morning. A few small groups of ducks skirted our decoys, ignoring our calls. A pair of Bald Eagles appeared performing an aerial dance above a small woodlot in the distance.

About 7:15 a group of about 20 Geese are spotted coming over the top of the woodlot 800 yards in front of the blind. A black flag goes into motion a few moments to catch their attention. At 300 yards they begin to descend, " Here they come !". At a little over 100 yards wings are set to join the decoys, NO!! The lead birds sound a warning and the whole flock claws for altitude swinging wide of the blind. Dang! what was it, what caused them to flare?
Did the low morning sun cause a glint or glare off of something? Too many possibilities to guess.

About 45 minutes, later another group of five geese clear the woodlot but stay high and circle the setup for a look see. Another time around and they give in, sinking fast for the center of the decoys. The hatch slides open, bright sunlight blasts into the dark blind as gun barrels stab into the sky. A short volley of gunfire and four birds fall into the corn stubble. A lone bird beats it wings franticly to escape, a single shot is fired to collect the fleeing bird, but the effort is wasted as the lone goose fades into the distance.

High fives all around in the blind to our success and then out goes the 11 month old Chesapeake Retriever, Ace, to gather up the fallen birds. Spirits are higher now that the ice is broken and game is in the bag. The waiting and scanning of the distant sky begins anew. Time is passed watching deer cross the field , Turkey Buzzards souring in the blue sky above, trading hunting stories, talking about favorite guns, sipping coffee, munching snacks.

Distracted with conversation, two birds have cleared the woodlot unnoticed until the last seconds! Calls are put into quick action and the lone stragglers immediately commit to join the decoys. Two quick shots fired and our bag limit is complete. A Winchester over/under, a Remington 870 pump, and an 1883 Parker 12g hammergun grade two, have proved up to the task today.

The rest of the day is spent hoping to collect a few ducks, and even thought several groups are sighted, they all skirted our setup following a creek leading to the nearby river.

As the sun faded the wind picked up and temperature began to fall quickly.
Stiff with cold, everyone grabs gear and game to sprint across the open field to the warmth in the waiting vehicles. With the heater on full blast, the days events are replayed over and over on the ride home, to be recalled in future days as another favorite hunting story.