Another Challenge

[skipper]

Let's see pictures of your birds this season. Dove, teal, ducks, geese, you name it. I have my sights set on a mountable cinnamon teal this year. I have an empty space on my study wall. He can keep all the other ducks company this winter.



This is my son's best friends cinnamon teal. I'm so jealous. Oh well, this is the year. Justin, if your lurking around out there, I'm gunnin' for ya' this year.

[skipper]

I got to go out for the Teal Season Opener last weekend. Me and my son hired a guide to take us to some teal rich fields west of Houston. There were ten of us and we ALL limited out in less than an hour and a half. The teal were so thick right before LST that groups of 50 or more would land in our spread just teasing us. Within minutes of shooting time the first wave of ducks came swooping in with that old familiar sound that teal wings make. Fast little devils, they are. To no avail though, Winchester makes some Blindside ammo that's traveling at over 1600 FPS. I was using my Browning Cynergy over under with an improved cylinder choke for the first shot and a modified for the second. My experience over the years is that a third shot is generally wasted anyhow. My time spent shooting skeet this summer paid off nicely. I was satisfied with my shooting.

My son is left handed so I made sure I was stationed on his right side and we both had plenty of room to shoulder our shotguns. When you're in a blind with nine other guns it can get a little crowded. After about 45 minutes some of the guys started complaining that they had run out of shells. I only brought two boxes of shells I carry in a pair of leather shell belts. My son carried his blind bag and had an extra (third) box of shells that he shared with the group. I thought that was pretty nice of him.

Check out the picture of a discovery we made when we got home. Yes, that's right, jewelry. One of the blue wings had a band. Now my son usually checks the ducks as he gets them so this one must have been from one of the guys that gave us his birds. We didn't use a dog. We simply left the birds where they fell and walked out to retrieve them once we counted to 50 or so. We got back in the blind and popped the remainder within 10 minutes. The teal were strafing the spread while we were gathering birds. There were ten of us and 66 birds when the guide called a cease fire. We each walked away with 6 birds and some really big smiles.

Later that evening my son and I fried up six of the birds. We cut the breasts into 1/4 in strips, marinated them and battered them in Zatarains fish fry. We used a horseradish sauce for dipping and the birds disappeared within minutes of clearing the fryer. What a way to start the 2015 bird season. Going dove hunting next weekend. Hope I get a limit of them as well. My freezer needs to be restocked.

[oldfox]

That brings back a lot of fond memories of duck hunting on Merrymeeting Bay up here in Maine in the early 1960's. We had some good times and back then some great hunting! Nice job skipper!

[RAMOS]

Goodness, ten people in one blind! No offense but, if I wanted that much company, I'd just go to work. However, if you had a good time, you did it right!

[skipper]

I went dove hunting last weekend near El Campo. I took my daughter's boyfriend along for the fun. Sorry, I didn't take any pictures so I guess I didn't shoot any birds. As Rick always says "If there ain't any pictures, it didn't happen". Well it was an all day struggle, I tell ya'. The dove were flying high and we only walked away with 6 dove. Even though we shot more they were almost impossible to locate in such tall grass. You really had to focus on where the bird went down and NOT take your eye off the spot until you got there. We will probably go somewhere else if we get out dove hunting again. There were a lot of birds, but I would have to load up some No. 3 shot 3 inch magnums to be able to reach them. I hope your opener was more successful than mine. Going back to finish teal season right this Saturday. Hopefully, I can limit out again. I already ate all the teal and dove I've shot this season. My freezer has a lot of empty space I need to fill. Need some fish too!

Here's wishing you full straps of birds.

[skipper]

Closing weekend ended with another limit thanks to the guide we were using. This has been the most productive teal season I can remember in many years. Most of the time teal are scarce in September so being able to take home limits both the very first day and the very last is unusual. If you are in search of a reputable guide send me a PM. I can give you his contact information. He tells it like it is and is a no nonsense type guide. If there aren't any birds, he'll call you and cancel the hunt rather than taking your money. You don't find that kind of person too often any more.

We also got stopped and checked by the game warden around 8:30 on Saturday morning. He actually put on his waders and came out to where we were sitting in the blind. He issued a citation for one of the younger hunters that had not taken Hunter's Education. So a word to the wise, it's not worth $200 to hunt without the proper credentials. If you fall into the category that is required to take hunters education, you can now do so online. That makes it so much easier than having to register and attend a classroom type session. The game warden will issue you a ticket without it. I can hardly wait for the regular duck season to start. This may be one of the best duck seasons ever!

[Glen]

I'm hoping to top this day!! 19 of the better crows I've seen in a long time & a couple dekes.

Oh yeah,,, do crows count??

[skipper]

Opening day 2015 I got to go hunting with my son John, my daughter Ashlin and her boyfriend Darren. We bought Ashlin a brand new Stoeger M3500 that she loved after getting acquainted in the mud and muck. We brought home a 4 person daily bag mixed with teal, red heads, and gadwalls. We were hoping to get a limit of pin tails but they just wouldn't come close enough to our spread for us to get a shot at them. Oh well, maybe this weekend will be different.

If you are looking for a very reliable 12 gauge automatic for about $600 I would recommend the Stoeger M3500. It uses an inertia system build by Benelli at half the price of a Super Black Eagle or Browning Maxus. Ashlin liked it because it has a recoil reduction system that you can install, which we did and it performed flawlessly. She was shooting Winchester Blindsides 3 inch magnums with No. 3 shot at 1650 FPS. My Browning Cynergy over under could use some recoil reduction with the same load. Maybe I'm just getting old.

[TEXAS222]

Hi skipper,
Nice posts & pictures. I'm 63 now with ALS but wing shooting used to be my passion, especially geese & ducks before the cold wet marshes & fields got too much for me. I hunted the Anahuac & east bay area & my buddy's & I kept 5000 acres leased about a mile from the wildlife refuge. In the 70's, when the birds got up off the roost the sky would actually darken with birds. That was when we had a great flyway. I'll try to get pictures of my grandson's mounted birds & post them. Good luck with that cinnamon, it will come when you least expect it.
Jim D
Baytown, TX