Four of us decided to blow some cash and set up a guided hunt for some ducks on Saturday. First light brought the first wave and Rick and Scott dropped one each with their first shots. The hit to miss ratio would change drastically as the morning progressed. In the end we took 25 birds between us, mostly widgeon, one shy of out pintail limit, and four mallard drakes.
Now, I'm new to waterfowl and I have to say I respect anyone that can do well from a layout blind. I'm an old hand at grouse hunting having spent nearly 30 years chasing and bagging them. But that's on your feet. Laying down and busting out of the blind, shouldering the gun, picking your bird, and punching the button is not an easy task. My shot to kill ratio was somewhere around 5 to 1. Not all the birds would commit close in to the dekes. Shots were 25 to 30 yards on average. Nothing like a grouse flushing at 10 or 15 yards straight away...
But in the end, we got to see lots of birds, enjoy each others company, share a few laughs, (including me practicing my flinch when I forgot the safety) had some great food at the Empire Ale House, and put plenty of duck in the fridge.
This waterfowl thing could get habit forming...
