| Texas Goose Hunt, Part Two | |
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Page One > My First Day Hunting Geese
Sunday, we repeated our 1 AM ritual, got out there, and set up on field seventy-eight. This field was muddier than seventy-seven had been, and Gonzo and I spent some time pushing the trailer and four-wheeler through the mire as Beno drove. Finally we declared ourselves to be there, and started setting up. We had all the decoys; Coach was going to be late again, and had left his with us. Gonzo and I timed it -- it took two solid hours of mud-slogging work to get them set up.
This time we had Timmy along also, Beno's brother-in-law. Timmy doesn't have the use of his legs, due to a fall from a deer stand about twenty-five years ago. He doesn't let that stop him, though. Beno brought him out on the field with his four-wheeler, then carried him to his sled. What a guy! Timmy used my Mossberg auto, and finally got a shot at a bird (his first!), though he missed. I nailed one Canada goose, Beno got another, and everyone else got to miss at least once.
This
is the view from my spot in the spread Sunday.
In
the foreground is Timmy, then Beno lying down,
then you can see Gonzo sitting up. Dad and Coach
are beyond Gonzo. Note the bright sun on this bluebird
day - my shadow is clearly visible there on Timmy.
We watched all morning on this bluebird day (clear, calm "bluebird" days are the bane of waterfowl hunters), as flight after flight of geese landed in field seventy-seven, until it was paved with white. We were in field seventy-eight. Sound familiar? Finally some clouds rolled in, but no geese would fly past that large concentration in seventy-seven, so we rarely got any of them to even look at us.
This
is my view Sunday, looking partially into the wind,
which is the direction geese always land. Some decoys
are visible in the foreground, but more notable is the
line of
clouds approaching over the horizon.
One thing that I hope I never forget is watching a flight of speckle-belly geese come in that morning. As they came in with their wings locked, our hearts all pounding as Beno softly urged us not to move, they were slipping Earthward by small degrees... one would turn sideways, drop a foot or two, and level out again, all the while gliding towards the decoys and us. With several of them doing this as they came in, it was just an incredible sight.
Needless to say, those birds spotted something they didn't like, and turned away before they ever came into range. I'd have been better armed with a camera than a shotgun, and I wish I had been.
Another
view of our decoy spread. Note the cloud
line tapering off to nothing in the distance.
Gonzo and I broke down the decoy spread while the others headed back to the trucks. We strongly suspect the other guys were eyeballing us through binoculars, because just as soon as we got the decoys together, here they came back on the four-wheelers. We enjoyed a hearty breakfast at Waffle House on the way home (thanks Gonzo!), then plucked the geese and packed them for the freezer. At times like that, I was forever grateful that we didn't have more geese to clean!
This
is our haul from Sunday's hunt, two
beautiful Canada honkers! Note the mud.
Sunday afternoon, Gonzo took us to his neighborhood chemical plant, where we watched the whitetail deer cavort. One incredible view was a group of seven bucks all together in a group on the employee golf course... and the smallest was a healthy six-point (eastern count). If only my camera had a good zoom feature, I'd have some great pics to share.
We stared through binoculars, puddles of saliva forming, as they grazed and sparred -- we got to watch them lock antlers and have a pushing match, and more than once. We spotted other deer and other bucks, but no groups more impressive than that one. Drool.
Monday morning, we noted the low clouds and cool blustery weather that meant Beno and company were probably knocking down geese left and right. They did manage to bag nine geese Monday, the first day of the Texas "conservation order season," which allows unplugged guns and electronic calling. Timmy finally nailed one too, I was tickled to hear! I wish I'd been there, but we just couldn't pull that routine again. Well okay, we probably could have, but we sure didn't want to!
It was definitely an interesting trip, and I'm glad I made it. I'm certainly not anxious to head back into those fields, though -- slimy, clingy mud, greatly riddled with deep cattle tracks. Getting out of bed at midnight? Heck, I'm used to staying up later than that!
It was a new experience, one that I'll remember for a long time. I met some mighty good people in Texas... Gonzo, his wife Sandie, Beno, Timmy, Coach -- all friendly and with a great sense of humor. Great folks, and every one of them went out of their way to make sure our trip was a good one. I'm indebted to them, and if they ever want to come get run over by bears they can't hunt, they're welcome to come visit me here in Florida!
- Russ Chastain
