Duck opener for us couldn’t come soon enough. With much anticipation for my new lab,Puppy Gus. It would be the test for his work in progress training.This hunt for me was more about the dog than shooting ducks.I spent much time worrying about not doing something right on his first day.
I did it !
Our day one hunt was on an out of the way location that would have very little if any hunting pressure and would be a great first time spot for Gus to not get to distracted by other hunters and or dogs.Our location held a nice bunch of woodies that made day 1 a great outing for Gus.As it is finally shooting time,I really hoped to not miss the first bird for Gus’s sake.The shot gun gods blessed me with a one shot kill on the first bird,as Gus got to see the bird come in,and fold immediately in the middle of the decoys for an easy first retrieve.He was uncertain though when he brought back the bird if he brought back the right thing and appeared to be uncertain of the taste,spitting out feathers for a bit.
You did good.
Any uncertainty of his interest in duck hunting quickly dissipated,as he started whining when he saw a duck coming our way. My shooting was a bit off at times so Gus quickly learned the look of disgust when I didn’t come through for him.We were fortunate to have success with some blind retrieves and hunt-ups and he got to retrieve every duck and no birds lost.
Proud of Gus
All in all for us anyway,we did not have as many birds as in past years hunts,but that was secondary to Gus getting actual real time hunting experience.Last year the teal were dominant,and very few woodies.This year was just the opposite.Perhaps a few more mallard sightings than normal and the geese never came close enough to think about it.
Regardless of numbers of ducks seen ,shot at,or killed, the 2009 opener is one I will never forget,being able to watch my first lab do what they are bred to do.My only regret is that I didnt do it sooner in life,but grateful I was able to finally experience it first hand! Hopefully,the season will continue to be as enjoyable as the opener.Gus & I wish everyone a safe & fun hunt this fall!