Innehållsförteckning för September 2022 från Wildfowl

THE MORNING STARTED slowly for Cheryl Dowil and her husband on a mid-December duck hunt in southern Missouri. That soon changed, however, when the birds started to fly. “We had been hunting for about an hour and a half in the flooded corn when I shot and retrieved my first duck of the day,” she recalled. There was no time to admire or inspect what appeared to be just another greenhead. “I was in a hurry as the birds were really starting to work,” said Dowil. “I wanted to get settled back into the cover, so I handed the bird to my husband for help putting it on my duck carrier.” Though the birds kept working, the Dowils took a break when Cheryl’s husband announced, “Hey, this bird is banded.”…

THEY'RE BIG, BEAUTIFUL, and noisy as hell. What else can a waterfowler want? Truth be told, a lot of the WILDFOWL crew is duck crazy. Not me. I like waking up hours before dawn's first glow and setting a mixture of full-body, shell, and silhouette decoys — snuggling into a layout blind covered in corn husks and watching for the first flight to appear on the horizon. Damn, there's not much like it. The "here they come, boys" chatter that follows, and then the sound of calls breaking in unison as the black line draws closer—the feeling of your heart thumping in your chest when the wings cup and the birds start to commit. Yes, goose hunting is my passion, and if you're reading this issue cover-to-cover, it's likely yours.…

ON FEBRUARY 1, 2022 the temperature was 32 degrees and a cheek-stinging wind sliced an overcast sky at 15 mph, the perfect conditions for hunting waterfowl in Douglas County, Kansas. Watching in comfort inside a corrugated metal blind was 64-year-old Michael Pearce and his cousin's grandchildren, 17-year-old Isaac Hawkins and his brother, 14-year-old Caleb Hawkins. "Canada geese were flying in small flocks and they just kept coming," Pearce said. "In Kansas, the limit is six. We would knock down four or five at a time and my male Lab, Cade, and the boys would chase them down. Duckingham Palace has its own safety code. Caleb constantly checks guns, making sure they are on safe and pointed in a safe direction. It's an important job and he knows he's being trusted…

At some point, calling simply became moot. Which in some strange way, was ironic, considering that I was sitting next to one of America’s premier goose callers, Bill Saunders, in his roomy 15- man pit blind with 9 other hunters. But I guess 400 circling snows tends to drown out everything, including your thumping heart. And quicker than you know, the white chain reaction spins around you, tighter and tighter, turning into a smothering roar. No, this isn’t the March conservation snow goose season, with it’s blasting electronics, spinning decoys and extended magazine tubes—it’s December and regular waterfowl season in Washington’s famed Columbia Basin, where every year, hundreds of thousands of snow geese cover this area along with the hordes of other waterfowl (seven sub-species of Canadas, specks and ducks…

THE FRIGID, SINGLE-DIGIT temps and gusty winds had chilled me to the core. To add insult to injury, what we thought was going to be a slam-dunk goose hunt had severely backfired, leaving us frustrated and frozen. As the last few minutes of legal light waned, a single “honk” echoed down the frigid river valley. No more than a hundred yards out was the sight that we had been anxiously awaiting all day—a baker’s dozen of honkers cupped and committed. As the flock approached, their skepticism crept in. With only two minutes of legal light left, my buddy made the “kill ‘em” call as they fringed the spread 35 yards out. Once the chaos subdued, I was reminded of why we put ourselves through such physical and mental torture. All…

IT’S EASY TO outdrive your headlights when it comes to a new retriever. In my world, this often happens when people try to move their new duck dog through too much training, too fast. They want to skip the foundational work to move on to the double-blind retrieves, when the dogs are still in a stage where they need the basics, and only the basics. This too-much-too-fast mindset invades hunting, too. While it’s definitely most dangerous with young retrievers who are in their first or second season, pushing it too hard during hunts can be trouble for dogs of all ages. This is most evident during the hunts, or worse, stretches of hunts, where the birds just aren’t feeling it. I would bet almost anyone who reads this column is…

THE GEESE AROSE from their roost and headed our direction, just as my buddies and I predicted. But as quickly as our anticipation escalated, it waned. The flock flew by our decoy spread, landing 400 yards beyond us in a wide open field. Moments later another flock did the same, followed by a third. With each passing flock we quickly made adjustments to our spread, which consisted of 11 dozen life-size Canada goose decoys. First, we feathered out the ends of the spread, creating slight Js for geese to land in. Then we removed the Js and put a small flock on the edge of the big bunch of decoys to simulate a newly arriving and feeding family flock. Nothing helped. We were in for a long morning, as there’s…

Bill Saunders’ beard is turning a little gray around the edges these days. Understandable. He’s been in the field grinding it out for the last three decades as a full-time waterfowl guide, not to mention one of America’s top-shelf call makers. Signs of experience show. And by all indications, Bill is wearing them well. Quietly confident and gritty as ever, he’ll be the first to tell you why the Canadas didn’t finish for you today, why the true measure of a water-fowler isn’t about piles or likes. And why he’ll be the first one in the blind tomorrow morning. More important than all of that, Bill Saunders gets to say he’s made a living out there doing just what he dreamed about. Today, for us hunters of waterfowl, he gets…

GOOSE HUNTING. It captivates the hearts, minds, and souls of many waterfowlers across the nation every year, not to mention our bank accounts. And for good reason, as anyone who has ever smiled from a goose blind can readily understand. From big Canada honkers gliding over an early season September cornfield spread to the raucous cries of tens of thousands of snows and blues over a Saskatchewan pea field a few weeks later to a pair of white-fronted geese cupped and committed over a rag decoy spread sitting in a rice field on a foggy winter day along the Texas Gulf Coast, there’s no shortage of geese or goose hunting opportunities right now. While there are exceptions to this idea, these are the good old days of goose hunting. And…

❶ BAND #: 2097-57995 HUNTER: Jeff Freeman SPECIES: Lesser Snow Goose (M) BANDED: 7/31/2013 | Western Ikpikpuk River Delta, AK RECOVERED: 1/12/2022 | 8 mi N Colusa, CA 2,473 mIle LONG-DISTANCE-CHAMP- ❷ BAND #: 1867-08241 HUNTER: Jonathan Rice, Truro, MA SPECIES: Mallard (D) BANDED: 7/31/2014 | Near Amherst, NS RECOVERED: 1/15/20212 | Near Wellfleet, MA ❸ BAND #: 2227-07752 HUNTER: Ely H. Crawford, Osceola, IA SPECIES: Mallard (D) BANDED: 8/14/2019 | Tulita, NT RECOVERED: 11/26/2021 | Near Brookfield, MO ❹ BAND #: 2177-30762 HUNTER: William Held, Golden Eagle, IL SPECIES: Lesser Snow Goose (F) BANDED: 7/22/2018 | Near Coral Harbour, NU RECOVERED: 3/02/2022 | .5 mi S of Reddish, IL ❺ BAND #: 2167-41985 HUNTER: Randy Rayburn, Etowah, TN SPECIES: Mallard (D) BANDED: 8/08/2019 | Near Linesville, PA RECOVERED: 1/11/2022…

FORGET WHAT YOU THOUGHT in high school—quality jerky is the actual secret to instant popularity. A hunter who makes his or her own jerky, and makes it well, will never want for a friend. Jerky, not a case of Busch, is also the ultimate party favor—perfect for any get-together, whether in a duck blind or at you grandma’s 90th birthday celebration (assuming she still has her teeth or a reputable set of dentures). It’s loaded with both flavor and protein and, when cured, is semi non-perishable for a period of time. Did I mention it’s probably one of the easiest things to make? For some hunters, it’s also the only answer for “What do I make with this Canada goose I just shot?” Sadly, yes, there are some waterfowl hunters…

EARLIER THIS YEAR, my older Lab got sick. This was most evident to me when I returned home to a sheepish dog that didn’t greet me when I opened the door. Instead, she slipped past me, tucked her tail for a second, and then sprinted into the yard. I knew without checking that I’d have a mess to clean up downstairs, which brought on a familiar feeling. It was the same dread I get when my wife comes home with paint samples or casually says something like, “I’ve been thinking about what we could do with the gutters.” I know there is no “we” in that scenario, besides management coming up with an idea and the worker bee giving up a day of hunting and fishing to see the project…

As long as I've been huntingand obsessing over dry field Canada Goose hunting, one might think they've seen, or heard, dang near everything that can happen during a hunt. This tale takes the cake, for me and a close group of hunting pals, anyway. November 14, 2020 started off as you'd hope any day afield would. A mug full of coffee, the usual meet-up at the local gas station to stock up on the waterfowler's junk food buffet, and a short drive to a very well-established feed just outside of town. Now, many of you might think "just outside of town" would mean we're hunting the slough of banded Canadas that hop out of town for a quick bite before returning to lay waste to the golf course. Nope, not…

With the explosion In popularity of sub-gauge shotguns, many people are starting to use gauges such as 16, 20 and even 28 to hunt waterfowl. Not only is it a fun and exciting challenge, but the load specs of today’s modern shotshell technology are giving the shooter more consistent patterns and a further effective kill range. One of my main passions is hunting waterfowl, and this year I had a goal: To complete a “Gauge Slam” and harvest Canada Geese with shotguns from the .410 bore on up to the 10 gauge. My arsenal of Browning firearms included: a 725-field grade O/U in the 410 and 28 gauge, the ever-popular Browning Silver 20 gauge, a loveable Sweet 16 gauge, the new Maxus ll in 12 gauge, and the powerful Gold…