We decided on Wednesday to head up to Oklahoma for the closing weekend of season. We left at about 4 Thursday afternoon and drove through all that crappy weather in east Texas. We got to the final destination at about 1. The next morning we hunted a timber hole that they had been pumping well water into the keep it open. It didn't open it up as well as expected but there was still plenty of open water for the birds to work. We shot our 5 limits of mallards that morning and 4 kicker ducks which were wigeon drakes. We were taking turns shooting singles and if you missed it was free game for everyone else. Our friend who just got into duck hunting this year missed and I got up and killed the single greenhead and sure enough it was banded! Banded in Saskatchewan in 2005. The dogs had a real tough time in the ice but I think they'd do it all over again.
That afternoon the wind was blowing about 25 out of the west so we set up on a fence row and pass shot geese. It was perfect. Concentration 500 yards behind us, wind at our back, sun in their eyes. If everyone had been in the spot I was in we could have easily shot 70+ snow geese. I shot 17 of the 30 snows. Thousands of specks. Had I known that it was going to be 10 yard shots all afternoon we could have killed some beautiful birds. We still got a couple nice ones. My brother shot a banded speck. Banded in Dead Horse, Alaska in 2009. 2 bands in one day! It didn't help we were all shooting single shots due to the sand blowing up in the breach of all our guns.
Here is my pile from that afternoon
Saturday morning we hunted another little timber hole and shot 22/25 greenheads and a couple wigeon and a pintail. Three other people hunted a different hole and shot 3 limits very quick.
He picked up all of our coasters that landed on the thin ice
Here is just our birds
And here is the total from both groups that morning.
Sunday morning could have been any worse conditions but I couldn't have picked better company. My girlfriend and I hunted a flooded corn field with both of our dogs and finished out the season strong with 10 greenheads, a pintail, and a nice little greenwing. All the photo credit goes to her by the way. She has gotten pretty handy with a camera! I am very thankful for that because I am horrible when it comes to taking pictures of anything. We will have these memories forever now.
That afternoon the wind was blowing about 25 out of the west so we set up on a fence row and pass shot geese. It was perfect. Concentration 500 yards behind us, wind at our back, sun in their eyes. If everyone had been in the spot I was in we could have easily shot 70+ snow geese. I shot 17 of the 30 snows. Thousands of specks. Had I known that it was going to be 10 yard shots all afternoon we could have killed some beautiful birds. We still got a couple nice ones. My brother shot a banded speck. Banded in Dead Horse, Alaska in 2009. 2 bands in one day! It didn't help we were all shooting single shots due to the sand blowing up in the breach of all our guns.
Here is my pile from that afternoon
Saturday morning we hunted another little timber hole and shot 22/25 greenheads and a couple wigeon and a pintail. Three other people hunted a different hole and shot 3 limits very quick.
He picked up all of our coasters that landed on the thin ice
Here is just our birds
And here is the total from both groups that morning.
Sunday morning could have been any worse conditions but I couldn't have picked better company. My girlfriend and I hunted a flooded corn field with both of our dogs and finished out the season strong with 10 greenheads, a pintail, and a nice little greenwing. All the photo credit goes to her by the way. She has gotten pretty handy with a camera! I am very thankful for that because I am horrible when it comes to taking pictures of anything. We will have these memories forever now.
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