Our last day out for geese / pic's

[R.J.]

Hooked up with Jon C. ( aka Kendo kid ) , and John N. It was John N's first chance at some Southern Ontario Geese ... he had tried to get out with us on a previous hunt but got held-up with a priority job at work ...

John N. has had three seasons after long necks , but things haven't panned out .... he was hoping to change that with us Wednesday afternoon ...

We met Jon C. and headed to the property ... On the way Jon C. spotted some deer .... I pulled over and started into the field with the camera .... got a few frames before they decided to bug out !






I also walked over to the river and snapped a shot of our target prey ... I looked at them and said " hope to see some of you later " ...



We got to the property and headed into the field with our gear loaded on sleds and Magnum decoy bags .... a veeeeery loooong walk in .... 2 deer cross the field at the area we are intending to set up ...



Here is a shot that I took about half way in to the hike ... we could drive the truck to the end of the lane ....the rest was a long haul !



Later Jon C. makes the long walk back to retrieve a piece of forgotten gear ! ( it would turn out to be the 1st of many long walks for Jon C. that afternoon / evening ! )



We had the standard small family group set up , with 3 shooting stations approx 65 yards apart ...




This was John N's shooting station ...



We were set up by approx 2:00 pm .... sat back and enjoyed the bright sunny afternoon ... I actually caught some ZZZZZ 's ! .... the birds made us wait until after 5:00 pm until they showed up over the horizon .... there were ducks and geese .... problem was they were locked in on a field next to us , and made a bee line straight to it ... our goose calls fell on deaf ears ! and they didn't even give our decoys a second look ! ?





That is when Jon C. decides .... I'm going to get John N. some shooting .... it is too late to relocate , so he heads out to walk the property and keep the birds moving ....

John N. and myself walk over to the fenceline to get some pass shooting ....

Jon C's walkabout had the " desired effect " and the birds would swing our way occationally ....

That is when John N. starts to connect ! In the next 35 mins he knocks down 7 birds ! .... not bad for his first successfull goose hunt ! .... I tried to get some pictures but was juggeling the camera and the gun ... here is the 1st series of shots I did get of some geese flying over John N's position ... If you look at the one at the back of the flock you will see " he aint flying so good " and he drops out of the formation by the 3rd frame " good shot John ! "



Going ...


Going ... gone !


Up till now .... " I aint doing so well " my decicion to bring my Beretta 20 gauge with 3 inch mag # 2 shot 1oz loads is starting to wear on me ( hey it worked great Tuesday afternoon )

Picture from Tuesday ... but then again , I wasn't juggling a camera then !




As birds pass " just out of range " .... I miss many shots that I would have made with my Remington 870 SP 3 inch BBB's !

I have to be picky and target birds at 30-35 yards max !

Here are some that came in close enough .... I eventually pick up 6 singles out of many passers by !






Jon C. is still on his walkabout .... also chasing down a cripple .... John N. heads back to his chair for " more shells "



I turn and take a picture of the Moon in the East and the Sun setting in the West ...




We start picking up gear ... I pull the white electrical tape off my Beretta ( the boys have been ribbing me all night about it , and start calling me Red Green ! ) .... I put 5 of my birds out for an " end of the day shot " ... while John N. picks up my last bird ..



Everything packed on the sleds .. I tie 2 together to pack out my gear and start the long walk back to the truck ! Jon and John do the same with their gear ...



John N. takes awhile to catch his breath ( he was carrying the 50 lb backpack and a sled of 7 geese ) Then I snap a picture for him as a reminder of his first " successfull goose hunt " ! Congrat's John !



Where are the pictures of Jon C. ? Well lets just say , he didn't stand still long enough for me to get a focus on him ! He must have walked 10 km tonight ! .... For a guy that is 60 + years old ... he can still " hustle in the field " .... hats off to a guy that goes the extra mile to make sure his guests get " some shooting " !!

Great day out , great weather .... great way to end the season

[kendo kid]

John N. summed it up best at Montana's (the only place where folks don't look twice at our camo costumes) "I too tired to eat. But I am too hungry not to." I think we were all beat by the time this hunt was over. I came home drew a bath, soaked, relaxed and sacked out for a few hours. Feel great now.

Funniest part of the hunt: John and I are both out of shell chasing this damn cripple, who can run faster than a horse. The cripple is finally dispatched in combat style with me using my empty shotgun like a baseball bat. Hey, it counts.

Worst part of the hunt - yours and my shooting. Thank goodness you brought John along. For general information to other goose hunters on the forum: If you think T loads are better than BBB loads; you and I are wrong. I thought I’d give them a try as bigger can be better. Well the T's are terrible. They do not have the hitting power of a BBB or BB. Speed kills and boy that axiom is correct when it comes to shot size. I am glad I will not have to lug T's in and out of the field again. The dowager empress said upon my dragging ass return home, “ They can name you Big Bear. You do Bear’s job and you are born in the year of dog. So you can now have dog name.” This dog needs to curl up by the fire tonight.

Great Hunt signed
Big Bear

[Doe Master]

Good job on the pic`s and story again RJ .

[maple]

Well boys, you did a great job hooking up together like that. Everybody got some shooting in and by the looks of it, it was a hunt to remember.

Thanks for the awesome pics and the story. Make me wanna get some magnum decs.

PS RJ. Is that a Brittany?

[Hoss]

That looks like a great time huntin there......great pics guys...I stole the sunset for my desktop..

Hey you know around these parts in Oklahoma you see camo all the time even in the off season..do you fellas in other places really get that much flack from folks about camo?

[R.J.]

Yep ... a great way to end the season for sure ! ... the Weather was triple AAA ! .... we managed to pick two great days over the last two weeks to hunt those longnecks ! .... Yesterday was bright and sunny ..... today it is blowing snow , and looks like this across the road from my house right now ...



Hoss wrote :

Hey you know around these parts in Oklahoma you see camo all the time even in the off season..do you fellas in other places really get that much flack from folks about camo?

Not really flack ... it's just the exception , not the rule in some areas to see guys heading to a resturant in field attire !

maple wrote :

PS RJ. Is that a Brittany?

Nope ... she is 100 % English Springer Spaniel ..

[Kenton]

awesome.

[Big John]

I will say one very Important statement about the Last Day Goose hunt.
I would do it again in a Heartbeat!
Even if I'd have to haul "all" the gear out and in, it was a "Blast"!

To Jon c.: Thank you very much for the perfect Ending to the Season. Any time I can return the favour, just say the word. Anyone who goes out of their way to do what you did for Us, mostly me I'm sure, say's alot for your Integrity!

To RJ: Thank you for inviting me out, and making a wish I've had for some time, become a reality. After Upland bird, and Big Game hunting for so long, Waterfowling really had me itching. Now after having so much fun, I'm hooked for sure.

One thing I could remind you of though is: Never bring a knife to a gun fight. That little "Twenty Ga." of your's didn't stand a chance.

I didn't get home until 11:00 pm , then cleaned Geese, and got to bed at 12:30, up for work at 5:30 am. Still tired! And still "Very Happy"!

[R.J.]

John : Glad it worked out ... you got lots of shooting and had a blast ! ... that's what it's all about ! We certainly lucked out with the weather !!

John wrote :

One thing I could remind you of though is: Never bring a knife to a gun fight. That little "Twenty Ga." of your's didn't stand a chance.

Hey now .... dont be pokin fun at my sweeeeet 20 gauge ... I know 10 geese over 2 days that can't argue about it ! .... I did some autopsy on the birds last night while cleaning = penetration was good , but the density of the spread left much to be desired ! Anyway ... it is a real smooth gun to shoot , I think I will have a blast with it for the grouse on your property !

John wrote :

I didn't get home until 11:00 pm , then cleaned Geese, and got to bed at 12:30, up for work at 5:30 am. Still tired! And still "Very Happy"!

I hear ya ! .... by the time I cleaned birds , downloaded the camera and posted it was 1:45 am ... glad I didn't have to work today !

PS : Did you clean the bird that Jon C. shot with the " T's " ? It wasn't in my pile ? ... he wanted a shot report ...

Anyway ... good to have you along ... glad I snapped a picture of you back at the truck ... the smile says it all !!

[VixChix]

As usual R.J., looking at your photos and reading the play-by-play is the next best thing to being out there!

With you sharing your experiences so vividly, I very much enjoy being the armchair hunter!

[Big John]

Yes it is one Sweet 20 ga.! You done well for the circumstances with it!

Just say "when" and we go, Grouse are always there! And I'll use my 20 ga. as well.

Thank you Again.

[Big John]

I had the bird hit with the TTT shot. I could tell by the broken legs.
The ony difference was the pellets were complete pass through's, like little 22 cal's. had hit it in a couple spots on the breast. Clean through the bird. I breasted it out and could find no pellets. just bigger holes.
I think that bird just didn't want to let go. It looked like it stepped on a land mine.

[R.J.]

John wrote :

Just say "when" and we go, Grouse are always there!

Looking forward to it !

Vixchix wrote :

Looking at your photos and reading the play-by-play is the next best thing to being out there!

With you sharing your experiences so vividly, I very much enjoy being the armchair hunter!

Thanks ... glad you liked them ... now the season is over , will have to get some winter wildlife shots ... looks like most game animals are doing well so far this winter ... how do thing look in your area ?

BTW : You have PM

[Big John]

Well I know I'm Hooked!
I've viewed these pictures now probably, 50 times. The Wife is getting annoyed at me calling her to come see! I can't stop myself.
Tomorrow is Geese on the Bar-B-Q.

Thank's for taking the pic's RJ.
And tell Jon C. that he can come as well for Grouse. And that he is the only one who can bring a "knife to a gun fight". And probably get away with it!

[R.J.]

John wrote :

Thank's for taking the pic's RJ.

I always take lots ....great way to preserve the moment in time ! ...

A shot of two of the older gents from our Pelee crew , they are no longer with us .... ( I remember that day like it was yesterday ! ) ... this was the last time I spent time in the field with them .... they had stopped for a rest when I walked up on them .... we had busted some cover driving birds to them .... birds that flew overhead unscathed !



Or the day ... when our goose hunt got interupted by an old couple that parked , walked into the field to try to " feed the geese and turkeys " ! They got a surprise when I popped out of my goose chair ... we chatted , they apolagized for the " error in vision " I said " no sweat " .... I managed to snap one shot of them as they walked back to the truck ...