A Son , A Lab , and a Father

anthony m coons sr

Well-known member
Early Merry Christmas to you all,

Well went out on the Hudson Saturday with my son and his six month old Yellow Lab. I can't remember ever enjoying myself so much hunting with out getting a duck The reason we went out was to take out my big boat blind before the ice hit the river. From all the rain and the wind we have been having it was full of water. So my son got out of the boat first to go start the pumps to bail the boat out. Up to that point the dog was like a champ. Soon as my son got out of the boat . All the dog did was bark and bark and bark some more. But like a good dad I didn't say anything. Its his dog and he is training it. After about a half hour the young pup on his own leaped into the mighty Hudson for the first time. My son was so happy and to tell you the truth . Dad was getting ready to jump in to get away from the dog. My ears hurt so bad like if a ten gauge was going off in them. Anyway! for the first time the dog was in the river moving around and following my son when he called him. As I got out of my outlaw 18 and into the blind there still was plenty of water in there. But the old girl hung on during some ruff and rainy weather, Nothing stolen nothing important damaged. It pasted the test. The anchors were twisted I think that how all the water got in. But nothing hurt the boat. As we were going to pull the anchors I told my son lets go jump a few bays while we were out there. He never fired a gun around his dog. He beat pots and stuff like that so he said I think he is read for gun fire. I told him that it is up to you. I'm not making that call ! Its your dog and only you should know when he is ready. So he fire one shot with the dog on the front of the boat. The dog never even moved. Then he fired again and again the dog just sat there waiting for my son to tell him what to do. I was so proud of him and his dog Ace. Then I really saw my son have the same love that I had for all the dogs that I had. After he came out of the water again. He was shaking my son took off his hunting parka and put it around his pup. And was hugging him to get the dog warm . We returned to the big boat blind undid the ropes and pulled the boat all the way home. The dog handled his first day better then most. Barking only because he wanted to be with my son. But other then that a new hunting dog was born. A 28 year old man turned into a real duck hunter. For the love of his dog . He now knows how hard I worked all those years with all the great dogs I had. I saw my son in a different light that I have in years past. It was just so great. I hope you all have a time in your life where seeing things is better then just killing things. Merry Christmas. May God Bless all of you. Thanks for reading.
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Remember the day I took my cousins to the blind. They had never shot a goose. They got their first goose and coco retrieved her first goose, proud day for my cousins and a proud day for me seeing my lab retrieve her first goose. Proud day for all, I never pulled the trigger.
 


anthony sr


Anthony,

How great that you all had a chance to get out there and spend the time together.

Seeing things is better than just killing things (of course)
The bird in the hand is an important aspect of the hunt,
but guys like you know that there is more than just that involved.

Perhaps the hunt is a metaphor of life

Seeing a new dog get started
and watching your son bond with the dog and find meaning and importance in his time
spent with you afield.

Merry Christmas

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AfrikaansAlbanianAmharicArabicArmenianAzerbaijaniBasqueBelarusianBengaliBosnianBulgarianCatalanCebuanoChichewaChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)CorsicanCroatianCzechDanishDutchEnglishEsperantoEstonianFilipinoFinnishFrenchFrisianGalicianGeorgianGermanGreekGujaratiHaitian CreoleHausaHawaiianHebrewHindiHmongHungarianIcelandicIgboIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseJavaneseKannadaKazakhKhmerKoreanKurdishKyrgyzLaoLatinLatvianLithuanianLuxembourgishMacedonianMalagasyMalayMalayalamMalteseMaoriMarathiMongolianMyanmar (Burmese)NepaliNorwegianPashtoPersianPolishPortuguesePunjabiRomanianRussianSamoanScots GaelicSerbianSesothoShonaSindhiSinhalaSlovakSlovenianSomaliSpanishSundaneseSwahiliSwedishTajikTamilTeluguThaiTurkishUkrainianUrduUzbekVietnameseWelshXhosaYiddishYorubaZulu





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Joseph

I'm sure when you were a young buck like me. Killing was the name of the game. As we age we learn to love the sport getting a limit is great. But the stores we make along the way are better. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas my friend. God Bless!!!
 
Capt.

I lived many days like yours. I have killed many ducks and geese in my life. Some back in the day I'm not very proud of the way I hunted them. But as I aged. I learned that limits and numbers don't mean anything. I promised to always give back to what I loved . The love of Duck Hunting has been a huge part of my life. I eat drink and think duck hunting all year round. I am not the best at it for sure. But ! there is not to many that love it as much as me. God , Family, Friends and Ducks is a good enough life for me. The Stories I have heard over the years keep getting bigger and better. A two bird day turned into the sky is black with ducks. But being out there seeing a dog get his first goose . Or your son training his first dog is only something a person that has been there and done that can relate to. Merry Christmas and may Santa bring you something you love. God Bless.

Anthony
 
Carl

Thank you my friend, I enjoy a lot of stuff you write to others post. You know what your talking about , and I respect that. I hope you have a Merry Christmas. God Bless
 
Al

Thank you very much for the kind words. It all come with age. I was a young buck, and I did dumb things like everyone else. But as I fell in love with the sport. I promised I would always give back. Teaching a kid to love hunting. Or showing people that hunters are not the scum of the earth. Teaching people that are not hunters. That hunters pay for a lot of nature they love to visit. Building and placing hundreds or even a thousand wood duck boxes over the years. Taking youngster out to show them how to plant water fowl food . Spirit is in all our blood. Many of the fine man and women on here have done some great things to give back. They all have the same spirit as me and you for that matter. Age makes us all better and wiser. Ducks that I took shots at when I was young . I would never shoot at them today. Range is everything, A bag limit doesn't mean you have to fill it. Stories means more then how many you killed. Being out there means more to you when you get older if its what you love. Know need to buy paintings when you live in one. Thanks very much. Merry Christmas and God Bless
 
Todd

The Story of life is what God gives us. I'm not rich in money. But I am rich with love. As most of the great people on here are. We love God, and we love Family. And we love Ducks. I have stories that I'm sure I could write a great book. People might not think they are true. Because they never duck hunted. I almost lost my life in mud, got knocked out going full speed in my boat when my roof blew off. so on and so fourth. But to my point. Seeing a dog get a duck, or see a kid set decoys for the first time. That was us at one point in life. Stories that old timers told me. I thought they were full of you know what. Until I saw for myself. Duck hunters are not born into the sport. The Sport finds you doesn't ever let you go. A 60 day season a good duck hunter might only have a few good days and maybe one great day. But he keeps coming back year after year. This year I had only one great day opening day with my son. limited out. But stayed an watch and loved every minute of that day. Put the guns down and just watched the show. If you ever really want to go back to the good old days. Be out duck hunting when they don't stop coming into your decoys all day. Merry Christmas and Thank You very much for the nice words. May Santa bring you happiness always. God Bless
 
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