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One Gaggle of Geese Our hunting party of eight started out to hunt some resident geese on the morning of September 9. We set up near a local retirement community and hotel that was holding a little over 120 geese. We set our layout blinds in the rows of fresh cut corn and methodically place four dozen full bodies and three dozen motion stackable decoys around our near invisible layout blinds and settled in for the hunt. The wind was perfect out of the east with only a few clouds in the sky. The first birds came over and didn't even take a look at us. I instantly got the feeling that it was going to be one of those mornings. A second flock lifted off soon after the first with similar results. They veered toward us just enough to give hope before sailing off out of sight and soon the deep gander honks were a memory of the morning. Once again, the phrase formed in my mind - "all we need is one gaggle of geese and I'll be happy." The third flock rose up and I mustered up some optimism and gave my super mag all I could. A few birds turned toward us, then a few more, and then the whole flock. I let up on the call just long enough to tell everyone to get ready. With the geese coming in behind us and me down in my layout blind looking out the back, we needed all the other faces looking the other way. As they got closer, I noticed the birds' wings slowing and realized that the wind was almost nonexistent. These birds were obviously going to drop in behind us and not where we had hoped. Once again, I let up on the call and told everyone to be prepared to shoot behind us. A few feet were close to touching down and "take 'em" was called. A few birds dropped then a few more. The remaining birds banked out of the field and in line with some apartments so we had to stop shooting. I started back on the goose call, pleading and come-back calling every way I knew how. One bird slowly made a loop and eventually led the others back in for another dose of steel shot. Here was the gaggle of geese that I wished for and we get to shoot them twice! The birds were a little more leery this time. However, they strung out in front of us and offered some good pass shooting attempts. "Take 'em" was yelled again and a few more geese fell. The skies cleared out and dogs were sent for the long ones and we picked up the close ones. One of the hunters yelled out, "I got a band". Much to our surprise, we had a total of six bands out of that one gaggle of geese. It was the first band for several guys in the group and there were plenty of smiling faces. A few more birds came our way that morning and the day was ended with 22 birds and the six bands. We began to gather up all the birds get ready for a few pictures for the scrap book. As I was placing the camera on the back of one of the full bodies and setting the timer, I stood up and took notice to where I was standing. I moved to the left about one foot and looked back to make sure I was out of line of the gun barrel just six feet away - and suddenly the gun went off. I focused on the wad coming out of the end of the barrel and it felt like time stood still. The sudden burning sensation went past my shoulder and time came back to normal speed. Everyone looked to see what had just happened and if everyone was OK. I looked around noticed that everyone was looking at me. I still had a burning sensation in my right shoulder and was afraid to look and see if I was shot or not. I slowly looked down to realize I had been missed, but not by much. That shot had been set off by one of the dogs who jumped in his blind and hit the safety and trigger just right to fire the gun. The shot ended up going past my shoulder by inches, as well past one of the women who were hunting with us by no more than a foot or so. Once composure was gained all guns were emptied and the picture was taken. Clean-up began at a slow and somber pace. Soon after, my thoughts turned to my two sons not having a father and my wife almost becoming a single mom. I got back on track and the feeling of shock was gone, but I began to have different thoughts again about "just one gaggle of geese." Suddenly you realize that you don't always need just one gaggle of geese. What you really need is to be happy you are in that field waiting for your one gaggle of geese that will come just give it time and eventually they will show up. Stay focused on the important rules of safety and the fundamentals of hunting and the rest will fall into place. A note from Drake Waterfowl - We've talked about safety quite a bit in recent weeks on our website. It is a subject that all hunters know well, but often ignore the simple rules of safety that we have learned since childhood. Our company is driven by helping hunters build a lifetime of memories in the field that we all share with our friends and loved ones. Please take the utmost care in the field and treat every gun as if it is loaded so you will be around to help pass on those memories to the next generation of hunters. |
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