Al Hansen
Well-known member
I sat on a small channel of water yesterday and could hear the beep-beep sounds of drake gadwalls on both sides as Chili and I waited there in the early morning darkness. As the light from the east increased I quickly found out that I was going to have a hunt that would be best described as "Gadwalls in Your Face".
Thank goodness I brought plenty of my favorite shells along which are 7 shot dove loads. I happen to like the Federal brand 1oz 2 3/4 inch shell the best. In my neck of the woods, most of the gadwall shooting I get happens to be first thing in the morning, much like woody hunting in the north.
Here is what my spread looked like in this small channel.
The channel isn't but 20 feet wide and in some places much narrower but I can tell you that gaddies, woodies, and F-16's love this place. If I had the time maybe sticking around until 11AM would have produced some mallards because late in the season, bonding pairs like the seclusion that this area gives them.
Here is my blind. Yup, I just put up my folding chair, with Chili at my left side and watched the northern sky. I don't know why because the winds, if any, are predominantly out of the north, the birds still work from north to south in this area. I have been practicing patiently how NOT TO MOVE in settings such as this. It works beautifully. I am a firm believer in "Inanimate Objects" while duck hunting. Ducks don't pay attention to them. If Chili moves much at all it might be her head just slightly. While she sits next to me her train of sight is the same as mine---looking north. Over the course of time she has learned which is the predominant direction of the movement of ducks and will use that pattern consistently.
During shooting time I'll bet that my farthest shot was 25 yards and my closest shot inside 15 yards. On one particular shot, I had about 20 birds coming straight down the channel at us. I pulled up at the last second on a particular gadwall and watched it fold instantly. I then watched the path of the bird and yelled at Chili, "Dead Bird". Had she not leaped out of the way doing the Texas 2-step, the hen gadwall would have nailed her. It missed Chili by no more than 4 or 5 inches. My pup didn't even have to retrieve this duck because I leaned over while on my chair and picked it off the ground. I ended up taking 5 beautiful gadwalls and much to my dismay knew I had to head home.
I decided to drop by my friend's farm and park my truck by his hay barn. Heck, I didn't even have a chance to get there when at least 30 ducks got up out of the ditch and flew away. Damn! Well things weren't all that bad because I continued on to where I park the truck and got out. As I loaded my shotgun, I noticed Chili watching something intently. After following her line of sight I found the ducks coming back to the same area as they had just left. This time much closer to the barn than they were before.
The two of us walked up the low flow channel and with the aid of my binoculars, I found out where the first bunch of ducks were sitting. After a short stalk about four or five gadwalls and widgeons exploded out of the area. I selected one and put it down. As Chili dashed down the embankment to get to the other side, I looked up and noticed that I could see our home up on the plateau which was less than a mile away. The thoughts of breakfast quickly filled my mind.
Al
On the way back to the truck I made sure that Chili carried her fair share.
Thank goodness I brought plenty of my favorite shells along which are 7 shot dove loads. I happen to like the Federal brand 1oz 2 3/4 inch shell the best. In my neck of the woods, most of the gadwall shooting I get happens to be first thing in the morning, much like woody hunting in the north.
Here is what my spread looked like in this small channel.
The channel isn't but 20 feet wide and in some places much narrower but I can tell you that gaddies, woodies, and F-16's love this place. If I had the time maybe sticking around until 11AM would have produced some mallards because late in the season, bonding pairs like the seclusion that this area gives them.
Here is my blind. Yup, I just put up my folding chair, with Chili at my left side and watched the northern sky. I don't know why because the winds, if any, are predominantly out of the north, the birds still work from north to south in this area. I have been practicing patiently how NOT TO MOVE in settings such as this. It works beautifully. I am a firm believer in "Inanimate Objects" while duck hunting. Ducks don't pay attention to them. If Chili moves much at all it might be her head just slightly. While she sits next to me her train of sight is the same as mine---looking north. Over the course of time she has learned which is the predominant direction of the movement of ducks and will use that pattern consistently.
During shooting time I'll bet that my farthest shot was 25 yards and my closest shot inside 15 yards. On one particular shot, I had about 20 birds coming straight down the channel at us. I pulled up at the last second on a particular gadwall and watched it fold instantly. I then watched the path of the bird and yelled at Chili, "Dead Bird". Had she not leaped out of the way doing the Texas 2-step, the hen gadwall would have nailed her. It missed Chili by no more than 4 or 5 inches. My pup didn't even have to retrieve this duck because I leaned over while on my chair and picked it off the ground. I ended up taking 5 beautiful gadwalls and much to my dismay knew I had to head home.
I decided to drop by my friend's farm and park my truck by his hay barn. Heck, I didn't even have a chance to get there when at least 30 ducks got up out of the ditch and flew away. Damn! Well things weren't all that bad because I continued on to where I park the truck and got out. As I loaded my shotgun, I noticed Chili watching something intently. After following her line of sight I found the ducks coming back to the same area as they had just left. This time much closer to the barn than they were before.
The two of us walked up the low flow channel and with the aid of my binoculars, I found out where the first bunch of ducks were sitting. After a short stalk about four or five gadwalls and widgeons exploded out of the area. I selected one and put it down. As Chili dashed down the embankment to get to the other side, I looked up and noticed that I could see our home up on the plateau which was less than a mile away. The thoughts of breakfast quickly filled my mind.
Al
On the way back to the truck I made sure that Chili carried her fair share.
Looks like a blast. Got to love a nice leasurely hunt likr that.
