Got out with Brandon from Duks R Us this morning. This was only my third duck hunt and Kimber's first, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The birds have been slowing down the last couple days too, so I was nervous that we wouldn't see much.
It started off pretty good. Had some groups come in just after daybreak and they kept on for a good while. Had some Canada geese that were roosting on the other side of the pond take off and fly away after the first couple of shots were fired and never did get to shoot at them.
It's been a while since Kimber has really been training hard, so I wasn't sure how she'd do. We both have a lot more work to do. She's steady until the shots start and then she wants to go, especially when she sees ducks fall. Her delivery leaves a lot to be desired too. She's been through a hold conditioning, but not full on force fetch. I'm still trying to avoid that.
Brandon did a great job of callin in the birds and calling the shots. His daughter made a couple of really long retrieves for us to the far bank of the pond where the water took some of the ducks that Kimber didn't get.
Sometime after about 8:30, the birds just stopped. We ended up with I think 10 or 12 birds. We did lose one merganser that dove when it hit the water and we never saw it again.
I brought home 2 GWT, 3 gadwalls and a spoony hen for eatin and a drake and hen ringneck that Brandon shot to train Kimber with.
Thanks again Brandon and Andrew! I had a great time and Kimber's been sleeping hard ever since we hit the road home, so she had fun too.
