Opening Day II -- Teal

[mobirdhunter]

After ringing in the season with Dove on the 1st, my friend, Tyler, and I watched the sun rise over the marsh for yesterday's teal opener. There was just enough water in the marsh to draw these little rockets and we were buzzed constantly during our short, morning hunt.

I used my Fishtail levered PH. This 1892 gun was shipped on Sept. 1st of that year, so I was helping it celebrate 130 years of good service. It's built on the #1 frame, weighs in at 7 lbs. 5 oz. and has lots of drop...but for some odd reason, I shoot it well. Need I say that it has beautiful 30 inch twist barrels? I went 3 for 3 including two long, left barrel shots at far crossers.

What a beautiful morning! The marsh wrens kept me company throughout our short hunt, my young friend retrieved our birds while I sat and watched (he thinks I'm infirm, and I don't do anything to dissuade him from the notion), and I got a "trophy" greenwing that I dropped in the sled on a long crossing shot. (And...we were dive-bombed by snipe constantly during the hunt. I will "look them up" later, as Gordon MacQuarrrie's Mr. President used to say.)

Ya don't get many mornings like this. Enjoy them while you can.

[charlie cleveland]

what a day to spend in the swamp and with a parker....charlie

[Aaron Beck]

No loaner for Tyler? Seems like a ready recruit, the next generation so to speak. Looks like a nice morning, great photos as ever.

[Keith Doty]

Opened Teal here in Texas yesterday morning with 2 old friends, my 28" VH 12 ga, and Capt. Hooker, my male lab. It's flooded rice fields for us on the Garwood prairie. A below average opener, we didn't appear to have a lot of birds yet AND it was dead still with "bluebird" skies, the kiss of death on the prairie. We managed 9 birds between us and enjoyed a pleasantly cool morning, not the typical sweat drenched opening Teal hunt. Going to miss Teal next weekend as South Zone doves opens and I'm helping a friend host a hunt in South Texas. I'm hoping for the final weekend to give us one of the "melt down, can't keep shells in the gun" Teal hunts we often have.

[mobirdhunter]

Originally Posted by Aaron Beck

No loaner for Tyler? Seems like a ready recruit, the next generation so to speak. Looks like a nice morning, great photos as ever.

Tyler’s been gifted a small bore double, but I don’t have enough RST bismuth loads to “meet his shooting needs.” He follows the dictum, “apply liberal doses of shot.” He kills more birds.

[mobirdhunter]

Originally Posted by Keith Doty

Opened Teal here in Texas yesterday morning with 2 old friends, my 28" VH 12 ga, and Capt. Hooker, my male lab. It's flooded rice fields for us on the Garwood prairie. A below average opener, we didn't appear to have a lot of birds yet AND it was dead still with "bluebird" skies, the kiss of death on the prairie. We managed 9 birds between us and enjoyed a pleasantly cool morning, not the typical sweat drenched opening Teal hunt. Going to miss Teal next weekend as South Zone doves opens and I'm helping a friend host a hunt in South Texas. I'm hoping for the final weekend to give us one of the "melt down, can't keep shells in the gun" Teal hunts we often have.

No pictures!? Good luck with your dove opener.

[Keith Doty]

Originally Posted by Garry L Gordon

No pictures!? Good luck with your dove opener.

OOOOPs! Garry, I left the cell phone in the truck. It was dark, first pre-dawn outing of the year, does this flashlight work?, excited dog under foot , 'WHERE'S THE DEEP WOODS OFF?", tangled decoys............................ You know! All the good stuff of the first hunt of the year. Some things just don't change much even after 50+ opening mornings. I hadn't looked in my blind bag since January, pulled it off the shelf about 10 PM, grabbed a shotgun outta the safe and stuffed some correct shells in it, just DID take time to make sure no sub gauge shells were hiding in the bag. I'll have some dove hunt pics next week.

[John Marscher]

Nice! Went on a solo hunt down here for the opener. Damn the mosquitos and rain but still a great morning.

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[mobirdhunter]

Originally Posted by Keith Doty

OOOOPs! Garry, I left the cell phone in the truck. It was dark, first pre-dawn outing of the year, does this flashlight work?, excited dog under foot , 'WHERE'S THE DEEP WOODS OFF?", tangled decoys............................ You know! All the good stuff of the first hunt of the year. Some things just don't change much even after 50+ opening mornings. I hadn't looked in my blind bag since January, pulled it off the shelf about 10 PM, grabbed a shotgun outta the safe and stuffed some correct shells in it, just DID take time to make sure no sub gauge shells were hiding in the bag. I'll have some dove hunt pics next week.

Keith, this sounds very familiar…

[Keith Doty]

And now it's time for the bacon and jalapeno!