- Details
- Category: Waterfowl
- Published: Sunday, 24 September 2023 19:22
- Written by Greg
Ducks, Doves and Pigeons
After what seemed like a long dry spell, the wait was finally over as the migratory bird hunting season was upon us. The dove hunt opener was on a Friday which made it so my grandson couldn't go on his first dove hunt since school was his priority. But my other two sons were able to go and we made the most of the two days we did hunt.
Nice bunch of doves and pigeons
One of the keys to our success seemed to be the decoys that we recently purchased. The combination of the decoys and the flickers really seemed to do the trick. We got creative with the decoy placement and it worked to bring the birds close. The pigeons were especially interested in the flickers, it was picture perfect as they decoyed right into our spread!
Landowner suggested we use the pivot for decoys Smiling lab had as much fun as we did
On Sunday my son and grandson were able to head out to the west desert, but couldn't find the doves. They did however find an abandoned mine shaft and scored on several pigeons that called the hole in the ground home.
Boys with a couple birds, sitting next to mine shaft Pigeons like the flicker decoys
Next came the one-day-only youth duck hunt. Since I was out of town for the weekend, my son again took charge and ventured into the marsh with my grandson in tow. The excitement of opening day got the best of them, so they awoke way early and were up and out of the house by 2:45 a.m. They arrived at the wetlands area way early and beat most of the crowd but then sat cold and shivering in the dark as they anxiously awaited legal shooting time. But once the shooting did start, Daxton had non-stop action for the first 20 minutes! He went through an entire box of shells as he attempted to connect on the fast and furious onslaught of ducks that blackened the sky. Occasionally a duck would decoy into the spread, but most opportunities consisted of pass shooting which was a new experience for him.
20 gauge saw lots of action on the youth duck hunt
After two hours of pure excitement the birds quit flying as the blue-bird day warmed quickly. At that point the boys had had enough. They were both totally exhausted from the lack of sleep so they called it a day. While they should have come home with a limit of ducks, they didn't. However, Daxton was more than satisfied with the 4 ducks he did get!
What more can I say - they were tuckered out