When Geese Fall From the Sky

The text rolled in during a long day at work, and instantly, I knew it was game on.

"Can you go goose hunting tomorrow?"

A quick peek at the mid week work schedule showcased that this opportunity couldn't be missed. An it was a client and he was asking me to go hunting.  It's business you know, business.  When it's business, you cant say no.

Spending the majority of my bird hunting life chasing ditch parrots and other upland quarry, I am near infantile about my knowledge of waterfowl.  Thankfully I have good friends who are helping me learn. 

My friend, my client is a hardcore waterfowler.  With what I saw during this day afield, that's the understatement of the year.  Trailers, ATV's, more decoys you could think of.  I considered myself very lucky to be invited.  It was if I had been handed the golden ticket.

After set up, we positioned ourselves in our layout blinds and waited for the show to begin.  4 guns laid in wait for the flight progression of the hundreds of birds that were known to work the area.  Within 5 minutes, the noise in the air signaled the presence of what we were looking for.  Game on.

If you've never sat and watched expert callers go to work on a flock of geese, I hope you have that opportunity someday.  My hosts hit their calls and I sat back and watched it happen.  From hundreds of yards out the first flock came into us on a string.  3 circles around the spread and we all early awaited the call to rise and report with our guns. 

2 flocks into the morning and 7 birds were down.  The action was amazing to say the least.  I had a feeling it wasnt going to last long.

Out of the west the black speck on the horizon materialized into a gigantic flock that was headed right for us.  This group of geese came at us, circled once and came down cupping right in the middle of the spread.  Up we sprang and 12 shots completed the round.  We had geese down and as many know who shoot waterfowl, steel is a wounder, not a killer. 

2 were quickly dispatch and as the new guy I volunteered to go after a bird that already was 200 yards out and getting away rapidly.  Trucking through the muddy field, I finally caught up and did my job by ending the suffering. 

On the way back, I see the guys lining up the geese.  Whiskey Tango Foxtrot......

The reason, out of that flock, 9 geese fell from the sky. 

Translation, 16 geese limit reached for 4 guys hunting.

I almost was bummed we were done so soon.  The time was 9am.

By Noon I was back at work in a suit. 

What a morning client "meeting" it was.