Andrew L.
Well-known member
Received a quite unexpected phone call Saturday morning after getting back in from the morning duck hunt. DU TV was scheduled to come in for a Monday-Wednesday hunt in central Wisconsin. Monday was to be a field goose hunt, Tuesday a horicon hunt and Wednesday a private island near Beaver Dam. However, the DU volunteers who were hosting the crew called and said their field had run dry and they needed help finding a goose field. Honkers have been the only thing consistent for us in the southern part of the state this year and ducks have been few and far between thus far. I was 6 hours away from home and had basically shot out all my goose fields the week before but said I would gladly come to their rescue. Having a long drive home we decided not hunt Sunday morning; instead we cleaned camp and headed home in hopes of finding a field Sunday night to hunt in the morning.
20 minutes before dark I was able to gain permission for a corn field that was holding around 100 birds and the call was made for the crew to come on down. I had high hopes for the morning but realized that with only one day of scouting this could be a bust. Myself and good friend and DU volunteer Brian got to the field around 4 am and had most blinds and decoys set before we met Mike, Huntley and the rest of the crew near-by. After setting the rest of the Avery prototype's they brought and the camera blinds we got tucked in.
This was my first hunt I had filmed for and my how frustrating it can be. We could not shoot at the 2 early birds because there was not enough light, pity.
The good news was the geese showed up. We worked flock after flock but just could not get them to come into that 20 yard fully committed good film spot. Instead most spent there time at 35-40 yards just not wanting to fully commit (easily killable birds but not quite good enough for film). Hard to get a group of 12+ to do it with 4 hunters and 2 tower camera blinds. We got 2 to do the business and that was all that the morning hunt yielded.
After a brunch and a quick break it was back to the field for a nap until the evening flight began. We moved some cameramen around and re-positioned some decoys to try and get birds to finish. Unfortunately only one perpetrator decided to break out of a bunch that was working the field. But he did it perfectly, another nice clean close kill for camera. That was all that worked for the evening as skies were clear and blue.
A great experience meeting Checkett and Huntley along with the rest of the crew and learning the perils of filming a hunt, sure glad I don't have to do that every time! Something that I will always remember and will be a highlight of my waterfowl days with my lab Austin being able to be on DU TV. The episode will air next August along with the other 2 hunts they will part take in in the next two days.
Back Cameraman
Prototype Cackler Decoys, not even the size of a standard football.
Huntley and Austin
On camera retrieve
Days End
20 minutes before dark I was able to gain permission for a corn field that was holding around 100 birds and the call was made for the crew to come on down. I had high hopes for the morning but realized that with only one day of scouting this could be a bust. Myself and good friend and DU volunteer Brian got to the field around 4 am and had most blinds and decoys set before we met Mike, Huntley and the rest of the crew near-by. After setting the rest of the Avery prototype's they brought and the camera blinds we got tucked in.
This was my first hunt I had filmed for and my how frustrating it can be. We could not shoot at the 2 early birds because there was not enough light, pity.
The good news was the geese showed up. We worked flock after flock but just could not get them to come into that 20 yard fully committed good film spot. Instead most spent there time at 35-40 yards just not wanting to fully commit (easily killable birds but not quite good enough for film). Hard to get a group of 12+ to do it with 4 hunters and 2 tower camera blinds. We got 2 to do the business and that was all that the morning hunt yielded.
After a brunch and a quick break it was back to the field for a nap until the evening flight began. We moved some cameramen around and re-positioned some decoys to try and get birds to finish. Unfortunately only one perpetrator decided to break out of a bunch that was working the field. But he did it perfectly, another nice clean close kill for camera. That was all that worked for the evening as skies were clear and blue.
A great experience meeting Checkett and Huntley along with the rest of the crew and learning the perils of filming a hunt, sure glad I don't have to do that every time! Something that I will always remember and will be a highlight of my waterfowl days with my lab Austin being able to be on DU TV. The episode will air next August along with the other 2 hunts they will part take in in the next two days.
Back Cameraman
Prototype Cackler Decoys, not even the size of a standard football.
Huntley and Austin
On camera retrieve
Days End
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