Conference vmsnet::hunting$note:hunting

    Sounds like some good shootin'.
    
    
    I'm heading out tomorrow...got the canoe loaded up.  The decoys
    have all had their strings mended...the Savage autoloader is clean
    and oiled...Now if the duck's cooperate.
    
    Seeing about 7 fly-overs this morning won't help my productivity
    today....
    
    Mark.

    Thanks alot guys, I have to wait till Tuesday till we can get out
    and you have to add salt to the wounds.  Went out last night scouting
    and saw lots of ducks and some geese.  Can't wait, I'm driving my
    wife nuts.  I've been reloading for the last three nights in a row.
    I checked all the decoys again.  The dogs ready, the guns ready,
    the shells are ready, the decoys are ready, I'm ready, so what are
    we waiting for??????  Saturday we'll try and get some patricge and
    woodcock, but the real fun begins on Tuesday.  Good luck to all
    and remember to save some birds for the rest of us. 8*).
    Jeff

	Agree with Jeff..."you have to add salt to the wounds."

	Like Jeff I've to wait until Tuesday as well, and yeah I 
	ready.  First time in 12 years I've taken opening day off
	as vacation.  My partner and I went out to the blind last 
	Sat. morning to do a little fishing, and wound up spending 
	more time sit'n	in the blind than fishing.  We're going out 
	again tomorrow morning EARLY.  Can't wait to feel the early 
	morning chill, have a cup of coffee, and watch'em fly.  Ohhh 
	it's getting hard,  just like it was on my wedding night.

	Bryan
    

    Duck season opened here last Saturday. Got our limits (3) before
    noon every got around.
    
    Went to a public hunting area first thing, has a real small mud
    hole. There must have been 50 ducks on the water. There was also
    about 5-10 other hunters there. I did not even shoot there, my son
    pulled a mallard out of there. We headed futher south after that
    and shot 4 more.

    Going out again this Staurday. Can't wait.
    
    Mark
    
    ps. don't shoot the hen mallards !! Do you all have a 100 points
        on hens too ? Shoot one of those babys and it over for the day
        here.

    Re:0
    	Didn't do as good as the author in .0 but did manage to get
    a black, a teal, and � a woody. My friend got a black, a ringneck,
    and the other � of the woody. What the � of a woody means is we're
    not sure who shot it so we split it.
    	I got real lucky in one respect. I found two ducks downed in
    the grass (and one was still alive) without a dog. One (the black)
    dropped into the grass dead. The teal was shot from 40-45 yards
    away and I didn't realize it was that far over the grass until it
    dropped. It was still very much alive when I almost stepped on it.

    	Did you ever notice how many ducks fly into your decoys while
    your out trying to recover your downed duck/s ? Some other key phrases
    that seem to attract ducks:
    
    	Pass me a sandwich...munch,munch...bang
    
    	Wanna cup o'coffee....gurgle,gurgle...splash..ow that's hot...bang
    
    	I gotta take a whiz....pissssssssss...oh s%#t..bang
    
    	Lets pick up the decoys and get out'a here....splash..splash..bang
    
    	It's like Murphy's law of duck hunting. Maybe there's a market
    	for the salami and swiss on white duck call ?

    	RAYJ    

    Went out again this weekend, what a blast.
    
    Me and old note 52 there got 1 hen mallard a piece, and I was the
    one saying don't shot the Hens too... Spent the rest of the day
    sighting in the deer rifles on Parrie Dogs.

    I went back out Sunday with my boy and we got 4 teal and 3 American
    widgeons and 1 Mallard Drake.

    This seems to be a good year so far
    Mark

    re:4
    	What state are you duck hunting ? I didn't understand what you
    meant by the 100 points or that your day is over if you get a hen
    mallard. In N.H. your allowed 1 hen mallard and 1 black. If you
    get one or the other first you have to look real close at what your
    shooting at after that as they look very similar looking up at them
    in flight.
    
    RAYJ

    I'm in Colorado.
     
    Here Hen Mallard are worth 100 points. If you shoot one of those
    that's it, no more. You are allowed to shoot 100 points worth of
    ducks a day. 
    
    Mallard Hens, Black ducks and mottled ducks - 100 - points
    Wood Ducks, redheads and hooded mergansers  - 70 - points
    Teal, Wigeon, scaup, shoveler, mergansers   - 20 - points
    All other species not listed above          - 35 - points
            (ie... Drake Mallards, pintails...)
    (there are a few others not listed above)

    Oh yea, plus the bag limit above, you can shoot 15 Coots. 
    
    While I'm at it Colorado Central Flyway seasons are:
    
    First season:  OCT 3 - OCT 17
    Second season: OCT 31 - NOV 29
    Third season:  DEC 12 - JAN 2, 1988

    Goose Season: OCT 31 - JAN 16, 1988

    
    I don't know what's going on, but moving West is sounding more and
    more interesting.  Are we getting screwed or is the Federal framework
    for Waterfowl seasons different for the flyways?  I live in Vermont
    and am a very active duck hunter, I go to the Fish and Wildlife
    boards meetings etc.  I know that depending on what state you hunt,
    that state presents its reccomendations to the Fed's on setting
    the limits and season.  I thought some things were standard, i.e.
    the length or number of days a season runs.  Information from my
    last meeting led me to believe that a 40 day duck season was max.,
    for the country.  Is this just for the Atlantic Flyway?  
    
    Re. -1 (sorry didn't get your name before I wrote this) The Colorado
    duck season is a 3 split, 64 day season (if my arith. is right),
    and the goose is 84 day-continuous.  We are only allowed 40 day
    duck, split season if you wish; 60 day goose.  We do have a special
    scaup/goldeneye season that runs 15 days.  However I like our limit
    schedule better, we are on the 4 ducks/day limit.  We can shoot
    3 mallards (only 1 can be a hen), 1 black,  2 woodies, etc. in any
    combination of 4.  The point system is neat, but one hen mallard
    and you're packing.
    
    Oh, back to the original subject...opening day...well it wasn't
    too hot up here.  We had a major cold spell move in the weekend
    before, sent most of the locals (that I knew of) Margarita hunting
    down south.  We had snow and sleet and all that great stuff, but
    a weekend early.  I ended up getting 1 greenhead and 2 woodies.
    The greenhead being of the large Canadien Red leg variety.   The
    second day was much better (Thurs. Oct. 8) my partner and I shot
    our limits plus bonus ducks...worked my yellow and his black lab
    together for the first time.  That made it more interesting, the
    dogs have come a long way along the patience line....well the Lake
    Champlain zone is closed for 2 weeks...open for 5 days closed for
    12, open for 35.  Back to the woods with the bow.
    
    Kevin
    

    
    
      re .9
    
    
       ">Plus bonus ducks??????<"
    
    
       I didn't know there was a "bonus" on ducks??? :-) :-) Maybe
    I'll try VT next year.. Hmmmmm..  I wonder if there's "bonus"
    deer also ?? :-)
    
    
                        Maybe you can straighten out the "comment"..
                                                        
                                                          
    
                                     ~Mike~
    

    
    
    Bonus ducks...got myself into trouble on that one...
    
    Actually, as long as I've been duck hunting (11 years since 13 yrs.
    old), we have had a Teal Bonus: Oct. 7 -Oct. 11: 2 blue-winged teal
    or 2 green-winged teal or 1 of each (4 in possesion) in addition
    to regular limits.  The dates above are for the Lake Champlain zone,
    but the teal bonus also applies to the "interior zone".  The interior
    zone (which freezes earlier, hence less time to hunt), in addition
    to regular limits and the teal bonus has a special Scaup bonus:
    Oct. 7 - Nov. 15: 2 scaup daily (4 in possesion) in addition to
    regular limits.
    
    So it's possible to shoot 8 ducks in one day in the interior zone,
    or 6 ducks in the Lake Champlain zone.  The interior zone does not
    have the special Scaup/Goldeneye season as mentioned in my previous
    reply.  Hope this doesn't confuse anyone.  I believe Dave Rivers
    entered the Vermont Migratory hunting regulations in a previous
    note.
    
    Hope this clears up the "bonus duck" issue.
    
    Kevin
    

	Best part of the day was the early morning conversation,
	the coffee, the anticipation of the first shot, and then
	the fishing.

	Spent yesterday (opening day in Mass) on the river.  Not
	a lot of action at our end of the river.  My partner picked
	one up and that was it as far as ducks go.  In fact the party
	(4) up river from us got only one as well.  Nothing, for all
	intensive purposes, was flying our way.  Down river there were 
	either a lot of ducks, or a bunch of hunters that liked 
	listening to their guns.  Haven't talked to anyone yet down river 
	about the activity.

	The evening wasn't any better	Couldn't get back into the 
	marsh far enough to get to the ducks.

	Tomorrow's another day.	

	The action:

	We left the blind about 10:30 for some fishing, broke @noon 
	for lunch for about 40 min.  Between 10:30 and 2:30 we caught
	between a dozen and 18 bass (lost track) and two pickerel.  
	Most bass were a scrappy 1 1/2lbs to 2lbs with a few between 2 
	and 3lbs.  We caught 3 that probably would have tipped the scales 
	close to 4lbs, one may have been a bit better than 4.
	
    	Bryan

	Well, I'm sure many have had more productive duck hunts than I have 
	this year, but hey, got a few more days left, and it's nice to be out 
	in the morning.  In fact, I'm beginning to feel I enjoy just waking up 
	with the morning more than why I'm out there.  But then, that's part 
	of why I'm out there in the first place.

	However, I want to share this with ya'll.  The past several hunting 
	ventures on the river, my partner and I have put up geese out of the 
	cove we hunt.  Over the past three years, we've never been able to 
	sneak up on them.  The way I've looked at it is that, I'm duck 
	hunting, if I get a goose, then yippee.  

	This morning we decided that we would (first attempt), approach the 
	cove from it's "blind side" (i.e.from up river, about a 30 min paddle 
	flat out vs a 10 min stoll from where we usually put in).  This is 
	probably only the third time in 12 years I've specifically set out 
	with the hopes of shooting a goose.  Our plan was to drift down to 
	our cove and sit in the reeds just above the cove, then wait for them 
	to fly out, hopefully over our heads.  At 5:50 we put in.  At 6:35 we 
	were approx 300yds above our cove sitting along side the river across 
	and up from the mouth of another cove having a cup of coffee.  We heard 
	the drumming of wings from inside the cove just across the river from 
	us, and behind the reeds that separated us.  My partner said, "ducks!"
	I said, "Sounds more like a pheasant to me." Anyway, we changed our 
	plan of attack.  We quietly drifted across river toward the mouth of 
	this cove.  I expected nothing, as we've never put anything out of 
	this cove before, (last two years anyway).  Well, as we approached the 
	mouth, five geese met us.  Through the reeds, I could see a few more 
	swimming behind them.  I was ready when they took off, but d**n near 
	didn't shoot.  Why?  I've never shot a goose before.  I use a 16ga.  
	Everyone one else I know, except for my father-in-law who also uses a 
	16ga, uses 12's or a 10ga gun for geese with #2's.  I had 4's.  Plus 
	they are flying at an angle away, and I hate going-away shots. All 
	these things are running through my head as one big flash as I tell 
	my partner to shoot.  He promptly informs me, "Can't! Bad angle, 
	(sitting in back of the canoe).  Take 'em."  So, I let loose, one 
	falls.  A second shot, and another one falls.  By now I'm having the 
	big O, and I didn't bring a change of shorts.  My first two shots at 
	geese and I walk away with two.  I think we're going out again tomorrow 
	morning, this time my partner in front. 

	Oh, BTW, didn't see any ducks this morning, but had a great hour in a 
	half on the river.

	Bryan
    

    CONGRATULATIONS BRYAN!!!
    
    Good shooting, with a 16 ga. no less.   Hope your future goose hunts
    are as productive.
    
    BTW, myself and 2 friends went out in November.  None of us had
    ever gotten a goose before.  We had a flock of five come in and
    we dropped 4 out of the 5.  2 of them were 10 lbs.  Kinda made
    duck hunting seem rather trivial for a second there.
    
    Dave