January is a big, chaotic month in our industry. With the ATA, SHOT, SCI and the distributor shows, I am on the road for the better part of the month. By the end of January, I am in serious need of recharging my batteries. One thing I look forward to is my annual “de-briefing” duck hunt.
I love living in the pacific flyway, not to mention, living 15 minutes away from a prime waterfowl hunting honey-hole. Sunday was the last day of the season. I met up with the usual suspects before sunup. We motored out to a modest blind and set up for the day. In the distance, you could hear the birds start to stir. About 10 minutes from shooting light, I could hear the teals starting to whiz by.
I was excited for the day’s potential, but more importantly, I felt myself relaxing from the month-long trade show tour. My heart would race as we called in birds. At this point, these birds have seen decoy spreads, heard every call in the book and shot at all season. Many circled high, leery to come in.
When birds finally committed, we let them have it. A friend, Randy Hynes, describes it best:
“The whistling of wings at the first light, the landing gear down when they come into sight. The smell of the powder and getting your limit, you wouldn't understand...unless you just did it.”
