RefugeRat.com

Interesting trial of nerves but????!!! I wouldn't allow myself to take less than two shells per bird limit. Why, when the wind kicks or you slip in the mud or ice things happen. I don't have a dog for chasing the wounded bird so the second shot with me is automatic. I've broken wings in the air but can see the birds head is up! I will shoot them again on the way down. I watched a big pintail drake take five hits on the water after being knocked down solidly at 25 yards. I told my friend that he must have a hole in his pattern because the shot hit all around that bird (front and back) at 30 yards. That's how far he was out after being initially shot. I've had teal fly through my pattern at 35 -40 yards and be completely missed at 15-20 yards because the pattern hadn't spread at all. I was shooting slugs of pellets. I found out later when I hit one at twenty and blew the bird to pieces literally. I shoot any one of 4 twelve gauge shot guns with 2 3/4 shells first and then two 3" rounds. I respect the birds enough to not let my ego get in the way and have the additional shells as a reminder that anything can happen, including a clean miss. Once in a cornfield hunt on public ground I fired three rounds at 3 distinct green heads all at 15 to twenty yards. I'd been there for 30 minutes. The birds rose from the corn and never went above 5 feet when I fired. Their wings were so loud my shots seemed like nothing. It was during lead shot era but, I killed 18 mallards clean. I had concentrated on making my shots count and had tunnel vision and didn't take into account all the birds in the background. I gave all but my limit to the farmer who was gracious enough to let me hunt there for 15 years. When I drove up he looked puzzled and said, "You've only been here a half hour and I only heard 3 shots!" I told him to remember that as I threw the excess birds into his barn. He was still looking at me and back at that pile of birds as I drove home. Few have that kind of experience but I did. It is still fresh in my mind what it feels like to have 10,000 birds in shot gun range and the effect the gun can have when you are the master of it and pull the trigger. That was almost 30 years ago. I killed a lot more birds in that field but I moved to another state. I’ve loved hunting the late migrators the ones I learned from a friend to call birds like that Northerns. Only the worst weather or a deepening front brings them in to feed hard and move south. I've killed lots of birds beyond 50 yards and have done so consistently but only when the situation was right. I'm talking clean kills and watched those birds split open when they hit the water or the ground. Anything wounded I would spend most of the day retrieving. In 40 years I can still count on 1 hand the number of wounded birds I've lost for ducks and the same goes for geese. Knowing your ability and staying within your ability keeps birds from being lost. I don't advocate long shots. 95% of those that think they can ignore all the empty hulls and empty straps they've left and they do cause that problem for their neighbors. I love it when the birds are given a chance to work the dekes and drop the gear for in your face action. The videos that are being created by me and those I ask to assist are to educate the next generation of Rats by being a "Fowlmouth". We talk about water fowling incessantly because we have walked there and done it. We still love it! We've made the mistakes and learned from it and are willing to share the positive to keep the younger ones from making all the mistakes we've made. Some of those mistakes can cost us embarrassment, money and possibly our lives. No one mentored me but I did get help from some friends and we shared in the adventure. Walked out and home again on sore legs, withholes in our waders, no thought of bringing any food and sometimes so weak we could barely carry the 7 mallards that seemed like they weighed a ton as we walked back home again. But we had fun; we were addicted to the adrenalin that warmed us back up from freezing our hands and feet when birds worked our hand made decoys. How we made it I don't know, but most of us are still here. My last duck hunt on Jan 15 of 2011 was great; it was the day I had my second heart attack. I'm still here and I will go again as soon as the season opens in October. There is more to learn and more to share. We have to take it serious, but not take ourselves to serious. We need to truly enjoy who we are and what God has provided for us as an opportunity while we are here for a short time. Leaving a legacy of learning and adventure is what I see that water fowling is all about. The mud stinks, the foods better now and I can't walk near as far as I once did, but I'm still hunting until I'm done. I hope to see lots more of the Rats from this site and Fowlmouth Marketing will continue with my sons long after I'm gone. Enjoy the resource, give PETA heck and eat some duck. It's all good.