Turkey Hunting Tricks And Tips

I’m a firm believer in getting knowledge and tips from many different people and sources, then turning that information into your own style of hunting. No two hunters do it all the same, or even use the same equipment the same way. That’s why it’s fun for all of us to talk about our experiences. And the same applies to the animals out in the wild. No two are the same. What one will respond to, another won’t. You might have to change it up to get them to come in or at all. That’s the challenge in our sport. If it was easy it wouldn’t be near as much fun.

Here are some of my tricks and tips.

First and for most be accurate with your gun or bow. No one wants to wound a bird and tracking a turkey is nearly impossible all those feathers soak up any blood you would need.

Go to your local hunting outfitter and get some turkey targets. Then go to a safe place that you can shoot. Make sure you have equipment you are going to hunt with. The gun your going to use and the ammo you have purchased for the hunt. Start out at 20 yards. Shoot the target, then go look at your spread. This will show you how accurate and tight the pattern is. Then set up another one at 30 yards and do the same thing. If you have never done this before you might be surprised how big the spread is and the changes in your pattern 10 yards. This will also tell you how far you can shoot and still have an accurate shot.

The same goes with shooting a bow Remember, A confident shot is a good shot.

Next tip is good cover. Either with a good blind, or with good camo clothing. Remember these birds have very good eye sight. If your going to use a ground blind get one that blends in to the surroundings that you will be hunting in. And get out there a few days earlier if you can. As long as you feel comfortable leaving it out there and set it up and secure it properly.

Now calling. Get a good call. One that’s easy to use. Just like shooting practice, practice, practice. There are calls that you can buy that come with a CD or a DVD that show you how to use and properly maintain the call. If you put your mind and your time in to it you can master it like a pro.

Getting the decoys, there are a million or so different decoys out there. Ranging in price from $15 to $100’s. It’s up to you, and the money you have in your budget to spend. You don’t have to spend a small fortune to get the decoys you need. You only need a couple I would start out with a hen and a Jake. It has worked for me and it should work for you too.

When it comes to setting them up, put them out at about the yardage your hoping to take the shoot at. Place them in a group with a good spacing between them so their not right on top of each other. Try to make them look like you would see them on the edges of the fields that you pass every day.

Scouting out the good spot. This is not a go out one day, drive around find a field, get permit ion and your set. You have to go out there a few more times. You have to study them and their routine. What days they go what way. And how many there are. Turkeys have big territories and they can cover a lot of ground in a small mount of time. You need to find out were they roost. And which way they go. Once you get that all down you know right were to go to make the hunt successful.

The last thing and most important, have fun, be safe and pass on the knowledge and the love for the sport to others. It’s the challenges in the outdoors that make our sports so interesting, and addicting. Share the experience with someone. You’ll be glad you did.

John Rotter JR

Duck Junkies pro staff member

Sandhill crane hunting season is in the works (MN)

Sandhill crane hunting season is in the works

By Chris Niskanen
cniskanen@pioneerpress.com

Updated: 02/20/2010 11:20:16 PM CST from www.twincities.com

Minnesota could hold its first sandhill crane hunting season this fall if the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gives regulatory approval.

The hunt would occur in far northwestern Minnesota, which is in the migratory route for the midcontinent population of sandhill cranes, considered one of the largest crane populations in the world.

The population, which breeds in the Arctic and winters in Texas, is estimated between 300,000 and 500,000 birds.

"Biologically, there is no concern over hunting this population," said Ed Boggess, deputy director of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' Fish and Wildlife Division.

Sandhill cranes are hunted each fall in nine of 10 states in the Central Flyway, which extends from North Dakota to Texas. Hunters typically use decoys and hunt in grain fields, similar to goose hunting. Crane is considered one of the best-tasting wild game meats.

Cranes are called "flying filet mignon" in the 2004 cookbook "Wild at the Table," which suggests grilling the breasts and serving them with a juniper and wine sauce.

"I personally know a few people from Minnesota who go to North Dakota just to hunt cranes," said Bill Penning, DNR farmland wildlife program leader. "There has always been some interest in crane hunting in Minnesota, and the commissioner (Mark Holsten) is interested in it."

The season likely would begin in early September and run through early October. It would be held in the Northwest Goose Zone, which covers the state's northwest corner in parts or all of five counties.

The DNR hasn't determined how many licenses would be available or whether they would be sold through a lottery or over the counter. A small-game license would be needed at a minimum.

Minnesota has a growing population of sandhill cranes, but those birds, considered by federal regulators as part of an eastern population, would not be hunted.

A few regulatory hurdles stand in the way.

Minnesota is part of the 13-state Mississippi Flyway, and no regulatory framework has been established for crane hunting, said Jim Kelley, the Fish and Wildlife Services flyway representative.

Minnesota's proposal would have to be approved by a flyway technical committee and the Mississippi Flyway Council, then forwarded to the Fish and Wildlife Service for approval.

Those steps could be accomplished this spring, and the Fish and Wildlife Service could review the proposal at a June meeting. Minnesota's proposal stands a good chance of approval, Kelley said.

"I don't see any major stumbling blocks," he said.

Nebraska is the only state in the Central Flyway that doesn't allow crane hunting. Most states allow hunting in specific zones, not statewide, and efforts are made to educate hunters so sandhill cranes are not mistaken for whooping cranes, a rare and endangered species.

An estimated 10,000 hunters harvested 19,000 cranes in the Central Flyway in 2009, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Sandhill cranes in central and eastern Minnesota are growing in number and have posed problems for some farm crops, but federal authorities consider them a separate population from the midcontinent birds, and hunting them isn't allowed.

But the Mississippi Flyway is expected to approve an eastern crane management plan this spring, said DNR waterfowl biologist Steve Cordts, and that plan allows states to propose hunting seasons.

That means future crane seasons, with sustainable harvest quotas, could be allowed elsewhere in Minnesota.

Competitions Calling

Hello Guys since the season is over other than chasing spring snows. It's time to maybe start thinking of getting into Competition calling it's a great way to break up the time in between the season, and a great way to meet new hunters from all over, and to sharpen up on our calling ability. Me and my son Logan are into Comp Calling it can be a very nerve racking sport but when everthing comes together and you get your named called for placeing all the hard work pays off. So in closing hope to see some of you guys on stage this year. Todd Wilebski

End of one season, Beginning of another

Well duck hunting is over in my area and it ended on a low note. The last month of duck hunting was very slow and there were very few birds around. On a high note late goose hunting started and i have been seeing a few flocks of honkers flying around. It will be a hard late goose hunt because all the lakes have at least 8 inches of ice on them and full size truck are already driving on some smaller lakes. Hopefully i can tie into a couple this season. Good luck to all with a season still in progress. Thanks

The Last Day For Duck Hunting

Well the story of November has been the freakish weather. Bitter cold October and a extremely warm November has keep the birds well into Canada. Went out Fri and Sat to a lake that was holding birds but sunny sky's kept them in the park basking in the sun. Got to do a little calling but nothing being pressured and nothing working at all.
When down to the river in Stillwater this morning hoping for some honkers and was suprised, and caught off guard by mallards. We only packed a dozen mallards and about 3 dozen geese and before the sun came up the mallards were circling. I would have pulled up a little early on 2 groups but someone showed up 10 minutes before shooting and tried to motor into where we were set up. By the time they made it down the shore there was 4 minutes to go and big drakes in the decoys. I played by the rules and waited until shooting started the whole time keeping the in a circle pattern around us. Right at shooting time a group od 12 set into the decoys and we hit 3 drakes but 2 dove. We had some landing behind us but we weren't paying attention back there because it is wooded. Turns out there was a huge pond back there they were roosting in. By the time we caught on to this and moved some decoys back there it was too late. We let hesitation kill us on a few I thought would "finish" but go away.
We did see alot of honkers flying out of the north. Lots of calling with little effort ( they were very high ) but then success! I pulled 2 of of a huge "V" and they came right over out into the bay and flew in 10ft feet off the water into the decoys. When they came down the shore line I could see that they were 2 of the biggest honkers I have seen in a long time. When they started to land short of the decoys I called out head shot right as they hit the water in their back stroke. All we saw was feathers flying and the spray of the shot on the water all around them, BUT THEY WERE NOT DIEING! All 3 of us unloaded on these 2 birds and they were flying away. I loaded 2 more shells into the gun and shot at the closer on again. It flew down the shoreline twards the 2 late arrivals and they unloaded 6 rounds into them fallowed by a boat chase and 2 more rounds. I thought they went home early but they stopped calling and let me do it for them. Must have realized their flute didn't sound good.
We sat and laughed at the "Iron Bird" and reflected on the season. Quite possibly on of the worst in a long time with the funky weather, but also filled with missed opportunities. The push will happen for sure this weekend as the temp on Thursday drop from 45deg to 10deg over night and day time highs are below freezing. According to the guide in Canada it is going to be a show because they say there are still record numbers of birds holding in their area but expect them to leave by Wed.
My only hope for another duck hunt is the possibilty of making it back to SW Wisconsin because their season ends on Dec 6, but otherwise all I have is a couple weeks of late season goose hunting coming up. Better get some scouting in because I still need to shoot some honkers! I have only 1 in the bag this year.

3 Days Left

Today the story was the wind. Got to the lake early and the wind was coming from the wrong direction according to the weather report on my phone. Too late to turn back and the wind was quite strong so we decide that a right to left wind would work. Set out dozen mallards and about 4-5 dozen divers expecting that more came down on the strong overnight north winds. Turns out the wind picked up and if you count how many times we had to move the decoys because they were blowing away we acually put out about 30 dozen this morning and picked up about a dozen in frustration.
Sunrise came and there was not a bird to be seen. Had a few other buddies in the area seeing the same thing we were, nothing. No frozen ponds yet almost every body of water is open north of here and we only have 3 days left.
Debating on hunting in the morning or putting on some miles scouting for the last 2 days. Hard to say but I did stop by a lake on the way home from dinner and saw a good size flock of mallards in the dark . Maybe give it a try at least and then scout. Hard to say but the temp is dropping into the low 20's to upper teens and the wind is going to change direction so maybe a few more stragglers will find their way down.

Couldn't ask for better weather....Could Ask For More Ducks

Went out this morning to the big dog leg. Got to the point and set up in no time. Herd a few Golden eyes in the dark and expected to have some shooting. 40deg low ceiling with haze and a light misty rain and a NW wind at 5. Doesn't get any better than that huh?
We sat all morning and saw only 3 ducks total! No shooting anywhere in the area especially on the lake. Packed up at 8:30 came home and started packing for the trip.
My brother and I are heading back down to the river bottoms in Onalaska for 3 days. Our prostaffer Matt, also my uncle, went out on Friday for his birthday by himself for the last 1 1/2 hours and shot his limit before sunset. He said he is seeing alot of Swans and ducks in the area and with the cold front hitting tonight we should do pretty good.

Catching Up On Tanning! 62deg and sunny in MN

Was excited to head out this past weekend. Spent time on Friday night building a new portable blind to try out and loaded 6 dozen decoys into the truck hoping for the best. The best I got was a tan.
On Saturday morning we were beat to the landing! Beat on the opener of deer? Got the spot we wanted and before sun up there was 3 other groups on the lake. Does nobody deer hunt anymore?
When shooting started My dad and I just sat and looked at nothing. Had 1 lone gadwall work around above us a few times but never came in close. Pretty cool to have it lock up the wings and be calling back. After that we just sat. Nobody on the lake was shooting and nothing was flying.
About on hour into the hunt we got burned by a couple of birds that caught us way off guard. My dad was taking a leek and I was on my phone. Right as we started cleaning up we had 1 bluebill dart in and my dad made a nice shot so at least we didn't get skunked but there is nothing around for birds right now.
Didn't hunt on Sunday because my wife's godchild was getting baptized so I had to play with the kids. Had more fun doing that than I would probably had watching decoys bob up and down. Still frustrating to not go out but the storm will come and I will be there.
Check the web site this week as we should be up and running with the forum page that all members can be apart of and the gear store should finally be complete.

Weekend Review (MN)

Woke up Saturday morning to a steady 20mph west north west wind. Way too strong to go hunt the point at the south end of the big dog leg left, so I decided to try the north end. There isn't much up there but the north shore doesn't have any homes on it, and its where we usually flush birds on the way back to the landing, so I thought it would be pick instead of a 2 mi boat ride in the wind.

We met one of the Duck Junkie members at the launch in the morning to weigh our options. They offered to haul some of our gear for us because they have a much bigger boat than we do. We both decided to stick to the north end of the lake after watching the waves slap against the shore something fierce. We put the boat in the water and before we even left the launch we were taking on water over the back! And I even have splash backs on my boat!

We made it to the north end and found a great spot to set up and right at shooting time I had a mallard fly in but it was right next to a heron so I could shoot. It landed outside the decoys and after a few attempts to make it jump it swam out of range then flew. I hate to whack birds on the water but that was frustrating for me and the dog to watch.

About a half mile down the lake Scott and Matt were shooting as fast as they could load there guns. We watched a few hundred birds work the south end of the lake where we usually hunt but they only made it as far up the lake as where they were hunting from there boat. When I got the call 35 minutes later I knew it was to rub it in. They had indeed limited out on golden eyes, bufflehead, red heads and canvasback.

As fast as the flurry started it ended and we were left with nothing. By the time they had made it to the north end of the lake they were fly a mile high in the wind.

On Sunday we launched at a resort in a bay by the spots we hunt on the south end. We called the day before after our miserable hunt just to see if they would let us use it. The owners were very nice and so we now cut out the wind factor on the boat ride and about 1.5 miles.

The shooting started slow. Not many birds at all for about 25 minutes. Then we herd the oh so great sound of the golden eyes. They swooped in out of nowhere and flared on my side of the blind. I stood up and hit the first one but by the time I pulled the trigger on the second one it was in the next county. Shortly after that we had one solo ring bill right out over the decoys that didn't stand a chance. We waited a short while and another small flock of goldies came in just on the border line of range and we crippled one that sailed out and crash landed. We looked from the blind but we did not see anything and figured that it dove. About 15 minutes later we saw something floating in the water across the lake. We had to use the binoculars to see it but it was the one we hit, so I got the boat out and picked it up.

We had some missed opportunities on a few birds and made a plan for when to pick up. We sat around and about 5 minutes before we picked up a flock of buffleheads came screaming down the lake and turned right into the decoys. After a flock shoot we had dropped 4 but 2 were crippled. One went down right away and one scooted away. I sent the dog on the dead ones and my dad in the boat after the cripple.

As soon as my dad started to uncover the boat I had a feeling that something was a miss in the situation. Not sure what but it was there. I watched him struggle with the boat and after finally getting in he started the motor and throttled it. Then the miss. My motor was locked in the down position to hold it in the mud where we had it stashed, and when he throttled it he ran it right into a stump. The motor kicked up the boat turned sideways and he let go of the motor. All I could do was turn to my brother and say, "He just broke the lock off the motor tilt". My brother asked me how I knew this and all I could tell him is that I could hear it and see it. The motor didn't kick the way it should when you hit something.

While we watched him drift around the lake a flock of buffleheads flew right across the front. My brother and I pulled up and shot. I got 2 shots off and then heard "I didn't know which one to shoot they were too close together." As I sent the dog on the 1 I hit I explained how a flock shoot works so next time he wouldn't be so confused.

After a bad Saturday hunt Sunday went pretty good. 3 Buffleheads, 2 Golden eyes, and 1 Ringbill. Off the lake by 10:00 with another broken part to fix and the hope of next weekend being good.

Shown below, at the far left of the picture, is the newest Duck Junkie member Scott. He can blow a goose call like nobody's business.

Dawn Till Dusk

Central Minnesota:
Well this is my first post and i hope you all enjoy what i am writing.
Well last night one of my hunting buddies gave me a call and asked if i wanted to do a little duck hunting in the morning and the obvious answer was a big "Yes". So 4:00 a.m. rolls around and i wake up have a few cups of coffee to wake up a little, check the weather and make sure its all the same as it was when i went to bed 5 hours earlier, and it was, got the truck loaded up and i was on my way. About 10 minutes into the drive I look into the rear view and what do i see? The red and blues of a local sheriffs car so i pull over and we go over the usual routine license and registration and all was in order. Turns out my speedometer is a few miles off of what its supposed to be and i had been speeding. The sheriff let me off with a written warning and i was on my way again.
I get to the meeting spot before the 30 minute drive and i see we are one man short. I asked where he was and it turns out he bailed on us the night before. So we were down to 3 of the original 4. We get out the the boat landing unload the canoes and we were on our journey in less then 15 minutes. After a 10 minute canoe ride we get to the "Hot Spot". We set out the decoys and wait for shooting time. The lighter it got the more hunters we end up seeing, there were 5 different groups on the side of the lake we were on alone. So we decide to try it out since we set out about 8 dozen decoys. We were spread out by quite a bit so there was no chance of people getting mad about anything.
There was quite a bit of birds flying around so we figured it would be a good day. About 45 minutes after we get set up the first bird of the day drops right into the decoys, no calling was needed, this bird was committed and i thought "Yes I'm gonna get the first bird of the day". Wrong, i stood up took aim and shot. I missed! I also missed with my second shot and that lucky duck got to live another day. There was a ton of shooting around us and we got a good deal of shooting in also. At about 11:00 we had 10 birds on the ground and things were looking pretty good, until we saw the conservation officer coming over to us. We all unloaded our guns and got out our licenses before they got there to get things rolling quicker. We were all legal and everything checked out. A bit of small talk and we were informed that we were the only ones with any birds on the ground out of all the people he checked. That made us feel pretty good. We kept hunting until about 12:30 and all decided to pack up for the day and head home. We ended up with 16 ducks in total, 2 short of our three man limit.
We get back home and clean the ducks they take their limits and i take the remaining four. I start heading home and get a phone call to go do some more hunting on another lake. I decided i might as well try to get my limit filled and back onto the water i went. When we were setting up decoys we had a hen Mallard locked up into our decoys until she saw us sitting in the middle of the spread, flared, and flew away. We sat around for about and hour and all of a sudden a big Drake Mallard was heading straight for us flew about 15 yards from us and then we folded him. That was the only bird of the afternoon. We loaded up and went back to the landing, loaded the boat on the trailer, and we were done for the day.
One of the most "eventful" days of hunting for me by far. Just goes to show you even if the day starts off bad it can always turn out to be a great day. And to me, every day i can hunt is a great day.

Turkeys in My Yard Again!

Urgh! Too bad the bow wasn't ready to go today!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Another new spot

Second day trying a new spot in central Minnesota.
After spending last night working on the motor I was able to get a temporary fix made so that it would work. Being on the road is hard when stuff breaks and you don't have your tools and your shop to get things working again, but you make do with what you have.
With the wind forecast being strong my brother and I thought it better to not go back to yesterday's spot. We talked to my father in-law and he said that people had done well on the lake just down the road from him so we thought we would try it.
We got to the landing and set out. From the maps there should have been a nice spot across the lake. After a short boat ride we were there but not impressed. 30yrds out from shore it was 10 feet deep! The total lake depth was only 12! We motored to a back bay to find more of the same. We talked about heading back and baggin' the hunt but we didn't leave enough time to go anywhere else.

Being extremely tired we went back to the first spot threw out 4 goose decoys and 7 mallard decoys. I had a feeling that if the lake was 6 feet deep 10yrds out from shore, it wasn't going to have many birds. When the sun came up I was right. We herd a few shots in the distance but didn't see a thing. After 1 hour we decide to pick up.
Looks like there is another cold front moving down this week so hopefully it brings a few new birds. Only have a two-day turn around before we leave for SW Wisconsin. Hopefully someone has the part I need or I will have to make a more permanent fix for the week.

You know your a Junkie when...

We tried out a new location this morning. Any duck hunter that loves the sport has tried this and sometimes it works well, and other times not so well.
On Sat morning my brother and I went to a lake east of Alexandria that is known for bird, but also its depth. After doing some research and looking at maps, I fired up the GPS and we were off. We got to the landing early, really early, so that we would have enough time to explore in the dark and find a spot where we could get of the boat.
After about a 3/4 mile boat ride we stopped at the first location. We checked the depth only to find it was deep. We followed a channel through the rice and found another location. Also too deep. After talking another look at the GPS I found another channel that was heading in the direction I wanted to go. By now the dog is restless and watching coot everywhere. He decided he needed to come to the back of the boat while we were moving. In the process of doing so I herd a splash. I thought that he fell out. I turned my light to him to see he was still in the boat. He must have just slipped climbing over the gear.

We followed the channel to what looked like a sweet spot. I reached down to get the depth checker only to find it was not there. Remember the splash? I tried to convince my brother to just jump in, HAHAHA, but he wouldn't. I grabbed an ore and found a hard shallow bottom. Great! I marked it on the GPS and said lets see if we might find something better. I turned around and saw in the light that the motor was not pumping water to cool it anymore! I shut it down and tried to figure out what to do. 3/4 of a mile out on a lake I had never been before, in the dark, and broken down. "You know your a junkie when your motor breaking down is how you determine where to hunt."

Turned out to be the best spot on the lake considering how few birds we saw. Someone on the lake starting shooting 12 minutes early! That prompted a few ducks to fly right in to us but we waited until the legal shooting time. Right on the nose a GWT darted in and landed 10 yrds out. I walked out and jumped it and knocked it down.
Five minutes later we had another one land in the decoys but we could not see it in the shadows, but King did so I sent him to flush it. I told my brother to not shoot if it meant hitting the dog. He swam 2 feet from it when I saw the splash but could not see the bird fly away.
About 20 minutes later we had a GWT swim right into the decoys. I told my brother to walk out and jump it up. He did, and when it landed belly up with one foot kicking he thought he should tenderize the meat.
We heard a little shooting but not much and after 2 hrs and a thick fog rolled over the lake we decide to pick up. Not being able to see 20yrds in front of you and a hardly functioning motor makes for a great ride back. Never would have made it without using our trail out on the GPS to get back.
We made it to the landing and saw that there were a lot of people out that morning. One other guy came in and he only got 1 Bluebill on the other side of the lake for us. After trying to trade him motors, HAHAHA, (he had a really nice 35hp mud buddy surface drive motor) we headed out pheasant hunting. Too much corn still up. Dog flushed a few really nice roosters but the corn was too high to get a shot of in time.
Oh well. Looks like a long night of motor work.

What A Sleeper

Did not do well at all this morning. Went back to the same spot as yesterday thinking that we would still do decent. Half moon and strong wind over night must have kept them moving. We had a lot more hunting pressure on the lake this morning but nothing to shoot at. Sat for 2 hours and only saw about 15 ducks total. There were a few groups getting very little shooting but we watched as they all chased crippled ducks for a long ways. Had one "pro duck caller" down the lake from us, that I would have loved nothing more than to tell him to shove the call where the sun doesn't shine, but I think that is where he already had it based on the calling. I do not understand why some people think that continuously blowing the call will bring ducks. Overall we should have gone to "plan B" lake. We only hunt this lake once a year but we didn't even fire a shot his morning. Talked with a buddy that just got back from Canada yesterday who said that there are "a ton of birds" up there still. Just have to wait for the next wave!

A Far Cry From Yesterday

In past years the second day has yielded more birds than the first. After all the birds we saw on Saturday, but didn't necessarily get to shoot at, we went back to the same spot thinking that a sunrise shoot would be great.
On the lake behind us they started shooting 5 minutes early and once again you could tell that many were not hitting much. Two groups were so close together that you could almost count 4 seconds between when the birds would fly past one than the other. We listened as one guy chased a cripple around the marsh.
As for us we didn't see a flock, or any birds, for about 20 minutes than a small flock riding the water line popped out. I pulled up to shoot hitting one on the first shot but tried to hit it again with the second as it sailed out. We watched it hit the water and immediately dive never to return to the surface. Nothing worse than having to tell the dog "no bird buddy". About 20 minutes after that we had another flock of wood ducks get up and fly by but they turned out of range for me. My dad got off 2 good shots folding up one nice drake. Then the thing I hate worse than sky busters showed up. A fisherman. With the whole lake available, he choose to fish 100yrds outside our decoys. After not seeing many birds, almost none at all, we decided to call it a day before 10am.
Hopefully next weekend we hit on a good spot. Sounds like wigeons and gadwals are on the move in the area. Had a buddy get a few in Mora today along with a greenie, teal and a hooded. It is hard to do some good scouting with 2 kids under the age of 2, but I'm sure we'll eventually find the "X". I just hope sooner than later.

Early Goose Opener

If you are reading this, you know this past weekend was the opener for early goose, and although the excitement was high, results were low. I went out on Saturday morning with high hopes of a great opener but was forced to settle with sun burn. I took my father in-law and brother to a family farm about 25mi south east of Alexandria MN. The field had been cut and picked but cover was good. At sun up we heard one round of shooting in the distance, and that was it for the day. I brought some training dummies and ran drills with the dog so that he wouldn't be so bored. At 11:00 I called around to some buddies in various parts of the state to find that their hunts were as dismal as mine.
On Sunday we went to another relative's farm by Melrose MN. The week before I scouted this field and it had been cut and picked and the winter wheat had just started growing. After hearing of geese being on the Sauk River the day before I thought it would be perfect. When we got there and started carrying the gear in I noticed in my headlamp that the wheat looked like it had grown. Too close to shooting time I carried on. We set up and my brother took a cart to cut some cover grass while my father in-law and I set up decoys. In the dark the Shells seemed to deep in the grass but in the dark I thought that it would be ok. When the sun broke we started seeing birds. My brother and I drew in some geese from way out but we where just to far outside of the flight path. Several other flocks were in the area but none were very aggressive in pursuing a feeding spot. Then the jack pot! Or so I thought. The was a pond about 1 mile due north, where we were facing, that was holding geese. When they got up they started flying straight at us. I started into a short "domestic dispute" routine and they broke apart and started dumping air. Here we go! 30 geese are looking like they are locked on about 150 yards out. When they stared to fly again, I hit them with another short routine and they started to turn. When I looked to my right I saw that my father in-law had fallen asleep with the hood of his power hunter open! I yelled for him to wake up and was unable to recover the birds. They had made a hard left and were out. Another day without a bird.
On Monday morning I could not get my father in-law out of bed, so it was just my brother and I. We went to the same field but set up in the fresh cut part of the field and at sun up we discovered that someone was hunting the farm next to us. Not because we could see them, because we couldn't, but because the flutes they were blowing were soooo bad!. Any little bird movement and the flutes were going a hundred miles an hour. Sad part is that there were about 200 geese that roosted with the cattle all night in that field and all they did was scare them away!
Hopefully the weather is not so nice and the birds are moving this weekend. Just need to remember that less calling at this time of the year is better. Let the decoys do the work when they are young and dumb.....As long as they are not buried in the tall, freshly sprayed with fertilizer, field.