Carson with his first of many mallard drakes

Getting skunked on a hunt is never fun and when 3 guys go on a duck hunt and only get one duck it is pretty easy to brand that as a “Lousy Hunt” but in this case nothing could be further from the truth.
Having a young person along and seeing him get his first Mallard Drake made the whole thing worth it for me. We were sitting on a beaver swamp in Harnett County long before shooting light so we could hopefully not scare to many of the birds off. I’ve hunted with Carson and his Dad a number of times this morning Carson and I were in the easier to reach spot while his Dad (who was wearing waders) worked his way around to the other side of the swamp.
There was some open water in front of us and between the moon and the stars once our eyes adjusted we could see the beavers and the wood ducks swimming back and forth only a few feet from us. This was looking to be a great day’s hunt but like wood ducks will do they flew off before legal shooting light leaving us holding the bag so to speak.
Once daylight hit we had some wood ducks fly over us but our poor shooting didn’t help us bag any of them. Shortly after that the mallards started flying many out of our reach but finally some flew our way. Carson threw his gun to the shoulder and dropped one of them in the woods right behind us. He was excited especially when he discovered it was a Drake.
I swear there is no such thing as a “ lousy hunt” when you have young people along they bring you back to your early days of hunting and how exciting every little aspect was an adventure. Take a young person hunting it will a whole new perspective to your hunts and it will do away with the doldrums of a slow hunt.
As we sat in a small dinner eating breakfast and hearing Carson relive the morning hunt with his Dad I thought to myself what a lousy hunt this wasn’t .

Take a Kid Hunting!!!

Tundra Swans winter in the eastern part of North Carolina and one of the few places in the country where you can hunt them. One of the largest waterfowl you’ll ever see and a very beautiful bird. Hunting is an important management tool in managing these birds and by having a limited hunt for them allows a small number of them to be taken each year. To be able to hunt them you have to enter a lottery and draw a tag and unfortunately I wasn’t drawn this year.
NCWRC Tundra Swan Page
I did get the opportunity to take my camera and lay out in a muddy field ditch and photograph a hunt this year.

Young Swan lands in the decoy spread

Double Stack

Tundra Swans can be a challenge for the dogs because they are so large

Conman’s Guide Service is who I recommend to go with if you draw a tag and looking for a place to hunt.

Moose & Rick with a great haul of geese

The alarm went off at 3:15 am and as I walked down the hallway to the bathroom I began thinking I had to be crazy, we hadn’t had a decent goose hunt in a few years. A number of years ago residential goose season was pretty good for us with many days coming close to limiting out and a few we did limit out. The last few years more hunting pressure and a residential goose population that has gotten smart as to where and where not to hang out. Last year’s hunt was a bust so this year we hadn’t really made any plans to hunt them. Pre Season scouting confirmed they weren’t using the areas we had seen them before and we had permission to hunt. So when we got a tip on a place they were using and we could hunt we were pretty excited but I was having doubts this was going to pan out.

Laying in the pasture with our decoys out watching the sun break the horizon I realized what a beautiful day it was going to be no matter if the geese showed or not. There is something about the sunrise that is special to me and during hunting season I’m blessed with getting to see a lot of them.

We didn’t have to wait long for the first two geese to come on into our decoy spread and we dropped them. Then like a hunt scripted for a tv show small flock after flock came over. They responded to our calls I even broke out my flag on flocks that tried to scoot by us and they turned and returned. It was a textbook hunt and a bunch of fun. I was using the new ammo Blind Side (look for a review in near future) and my Cabela’s layout blind. Had we been better shots we’d of gotten a few more. I had 10 geese to clean which is plenty and now I have some to Apple Hickory BBQ Goose.

This was truly a hunt to remember and a great way to start of the 2011 season .

New Waterfowl load for ducks and geese from Winchester

Blind Side is a new water fowl ammunition from Winchester that is set to hit store shelves real soon. Technology continues to help improve the non lead shot options for waterfowl hunting and if the hype I’m hearing about Blind Side is true this will be a great addition to the blind bag this fall.

Key Features of Blind Side™ Ammunition

• High Packing Density
With the unique shape of HEX™ Shot, we can literally pack the shot into the wad shot cup more efficiently to give the hunter up to 15 percent more shot pellets per shell.

• Hex™ Steel Shot
Six-sided, multiple-edged shot provides increased trauma and wound channels, resulting in fast kills and 250 percent more trauma. The shot is designed to hit waterfowl like high-velocity tumbling bricks—preventing over penetration and maximizing energy deposit and knock-down shock within the bird.

• Diamond Cut Wad
The Blind Side Diamond Cut Wad is designed to maximize pattern performance of Hex Shot, resulting in consistent patterns that increase the kill zone up to 25 percent. Blind Side™ HEX™ Shot and the Diamond Cut Wad system is also choke responsive, providing consistent patterns through improved cylinder, modified or full choke systems.

• Drylok Super Steel® System
Important to duck hunters is keeping your powder dry. This system seals out water and moisture and is corrosion resistant for improved patterning and consistent velocities.

Blind Side Product Offerings (AVAILABILITY, FALL, 2011)

Winchester

I’ve got to admit the stacked feature of this shot has me intrigued and seems logical to me that one would get a more consistent shot with this feature. The shape of the shot…. cubed…. is suppose to deliver better killing results on birds.

Field & Stream Gun Nut has tested the Blind Side Ammo

I shot flighted ducks at ranges from 30-50 yards through a Modified choke and if I hit a duck squarely, it fell out of the sky. The difference between Blind Side and regular round pellets was this: we did not see ducks fly off as if unhit, only to bleed out and fall later as you sometimes see with regular steel. Solidly hit birds came down and most of them were dead in the air. Birds that weren’t solidly hit didn’t fall, but that happened with lead, too, a fact that steel-haters conveniently forget.

Read the Gun Nut’s full report on Winchester Blind Side

Well if I get the chance I’ll try this out on some resident geese in September.

The 2011 North Carolina Waterfowl Conservation Stamp and Print, "Canadas In Pasture" by Delaware artist Richard Clifton, goes on sale July 1.

The North Carolina waterfowl stamp features two Canada Geese on them and goes on sale July 1st monies raised from the sale of the stamp goes towards the Waterfowl Fund.

Signed and numbered regular edition prints with mint stamps will sell for $145. The collector’s mint stamp will sell for $10.

The acrylic portrait, depicting a pair of Canada geese standing in a pasture, was painted by Delaware artist Richard Clifton.

Proceeds from sales of the print and stamps will go to the Commission’s Waterfowl Fund, which generates revenue for the conservation of waterfowl habitat in North Carolina. The money is used to help North Carolina meet its financial obligations in implementing the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, the international agreement helping restore waterfowl populations throughout the continent. In addition, funds have been used to support waterfowl research and to buy equipment used to manage wetlands.

To purchase a print and mint stamp or for additional information, call the Wildlife Resources Commission toll-free at 866-945-3746, or visit the agency’s online N.C. Wild Store, www.ncwildstore.com.

NCWRC Store

My 5th Swan on the 6th Annual Hunt (didn't get a permit one year)

The Annual Swan hunt was a spectacular success with us filling our 8 tags in rather short order. This was our 6th time we have gathered at Conman’s to enjoy the hunt. While the group of hunters may change slightly from year to year depending on who drew a tundra swan tag or other commitments we are all friends who have for the most part met each other on the net. Many of these individuals have become like family to me so it is great the few times a year we gather together and visit.

Darlene on one of our annual swan hunts

This hunt has become known as the Darleen Memorial Hunt in honor of our good friend who was taken from us suddenly a few years back. I know I’m not the only one out there that takes a glimpse at the rising sun as we scramble to put the decoys out and thinks this would have been a day she would have loved to be in a muddy ditch with us.

Sun rise over decoys

The field near the road the wheat is thick and nice

wheat is sparse where we set up decoys the swans have been eating well

Tundra Swan winter in North Carolina and then migrates back to the Alaskan Tundra to raise their young in the spring and summer. North Carolina is one of the few places where there is a tundra swan season. People often ask me why we would want to hunt swans and do you actually eat them? Swan is excellent table fare similar to goose and a natural resource. Money raised off the sales of licenses, tags, and stamps help fund habitat protection and restoration which benefits many species not just waterfowl. Depredation of farmers’ crops by a number of species often times leads to the farmers culling many of those critters and they go to waste.

Birds flying over the blind they will circle a number of times before attempting to land

Hunting is the best way to control wildlife populations while making sure there are still animals around for everyone to enjoy. I know in the bygone days with market hunting many species were hunted completely out. The vast majorities of hunters these days do it for recreation as well as for the organic meat and would not want to do anything to damage the population. Many hunters are part of conservation groups that purchase critical habitat and make improvements to land to help wildlife.

I finally got a chance to shoot the Remington Hyper Sonic Steel after a few bad luck hunts for geese where I never even got a chance to shoot. On the swan I typically use either T or BBB but I had the Hyper Sonic Steel in BB so I used it. The shot I got was a 20 yard shot about 8ft off the ground moving from my right to left. The shot as you can see delivered a deadly load crushing the swan in flight. I was extremely please with its performance. I’m still anxious to get it out on some geese but with the season winding down it might have to wait till next year. This has been a miserable goose season for me but that’s another whole story for another day.

Remington HyperSonic Steel slammed this tundra swan. This is a great product

How to Go Tundra Swan Hunting

Every year NCWRC holds a lottery to award 5,000 Tundra Swan Permits look for the information on getting into next year’s lottery in the 2011 / 2012 Permit Hunting Booklet available at their website.
Once you get the permit I’d suggest you go with a guide service because land access as well as decoys could be rather expensive. I’d recommend Conman’s on Lake Phelps .

Other zoo’s and parks are sending volunteer crews to help rescue birds and rebuild the damaged cages. Sylvan Heights is requesting monetary donations as well as live Christmas trees ;

For the moment, birds have been relocated into unaffected aviaries and temporary pens have been built while repairs are being made. If you would like to help, the park could use live Christmas trees as cover and sight barriers to help these relocated birds adjust to their new surroundings and provide shelter. So rather than leave your trees by the curbside this year, please consider donating them to us. To donate your tree, please call 252-826-3186.

I’m sure any assistant you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Will update as the story develops.

A cold morning waterfowl hunt in Orange County

Waterfowl hunting is exciting but if you’ve never done it the thought of picking it up can be rather daunting. There is no need to feel intimidated and if you live in the triangle area this free class maybe just what you need to help you break the ice on waterfowl hunting.

Ducks Unlimited, in cooperation with the N.C. Wildlife Resource Commission’s Centennial Campus Center for Wildlife Education, will hold an introduction to waterfowl hunting clinic on Dec. 14 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the center, located at 1751 Varsity Drive, Raleigh.
Admission is free, but pre-registration is requested. Children are welcome, but must be accompanied by an adult.
“The clinic will be an opportunity for face-to-face, ‘here’s how it’s done’ sort of learning experience,” said Kelsey Obernuefemann, a wildlife education specialist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

I will say that a one evening class will probably just wet your whistle because North Carolina has a wide variety of waterfowl you can hunt from wood ducks to tundra swan and in a variety of situations whether over a field, mountain pond, to the sound.
So if you want to go make sure you get pre registered who knows maybe I’ll go and see if someone can teach me how to work a duck call. Quack Quack

Waterfowl hunters who have been very unhappy with North Carolina’s duck seasons for the past few years have placed their blame partly on the drought that our state has been having. Swamps and wetlands where we usually fine the major concentrations of puddle ducks like mallards and pintails were dry. If the ducks did in fact migrate through our area they passed through in a hurry as they tried to find wet areas where they could rest and feed.

Since October and November have a history of bringing stormy weather through our state, maybe the onset of these two months will replenish our wetlands in tome for a better waterfowl season.

Hopefully the higher water will hold ducks in the area for a better season. When it comes to deer hunting Mr. Bonner sees the glass more as half full rather then the half empty view I have. I will agree that if you know the terrain well and can focus on the higher ground it could give you an added advantage.

Three lessons that I learned about hunting on the flood was to, one, use the high water to your advantage and seek game on a high patch of land and, two, try to drop a deer as quickly as possible and avoid having to track a wounded animal through water that’s three feet deep. The third lesson learned is to be aware of whatever other animals might be on the move through the floodwaters. They might bite (or sting) back.

Garner News

Maybe I should see it more as half full glass and see the advantages high water can present. Do go check out the full article Mr. Bonner wrote and hear about the stuff he came across in the flooded area who knows maybe half empty is a better approach.

Billy and Gator waiting on Birds

Last Thursday evening I was heading across the state for a weekend of hunting when I hit some road debris destroying one of the tires on my F250. After some great assistance by the good folks at Tire Kingdom I was back on the road. I rolled into Avery Creek Retrievers and my buddy Billy’s house a little bit latter then I had plan but that’s alright.

It’d been a while since we hunted together so we caught up on stuff and then he told me about the plans for the morning. We were going to be hunting a cut cornfield in South Carolina he’d been watching it for a few days. That morning there had been 100+ geese in it so we were confident the next day would dawn and we be on the X.

4 am came early but there was no drag on our part as we got ready to head out to the field. We were set up in layout blinds with time to spare. I had the new Remington Hypersonic Steel that I loaded into my gun as daylight started cracking. I was anxious to see how it performed in hunting conditions. As it got lighter I started noticing lots of sign that geese had been using the field.

Shortly after 7 we heard the geese off in the distance but it was soon apparent they were headed our way. They broke the tree line at the far end of the field and it had to be 60 of them in the flock. You could just about feel the anticipation among us hunters most of us on our first goose hunt of the season. The flock past off to the back of us but we were confident the flock would make the swing and pitch into the decoys in front of us.

We were still thinking that after they cleared the tree line and continued on to where ever it was they planned to go that morning. It was pretty apparent that the X had been moved and no one told us. We stayed a couple more hours and not another goose was seen.

Checking the surrounding area showed us that there was virtually an unlimited supply of cut fields for the geese to choose to feed in. We couldn’t find them but that is very typical of the early season and food supplies for them are plentiful they can be very hard to pattern.

Saturday we arrived at a small pond we had permission to hunt to find another hunting party already there. To small for both groups to hunt so we backed out. This also a common occurrence especially if you know a farmer that hates these feathered goats. He wants them gone and often will give multiple groups permission to hunt.

The weekend was a bust as far as the hunting goes. Longtime since I got completely skunked on a goose hunt weekend like this. But I did get to catch up with some old friends so it wasn’t a complete bust.

I promise at some point things will come together and I’ll get to test the Remington Hypersonic Steel in hunting conditions. If you got some geese give me a call Pleeeease!!!!