Waterfowl Hunt on the Potomac

Although I really wanted to get another shot at puttin' one last deer in the freezer, when Wade invited me on a guided waterfowl hunt in Maryland on Saturday, I couldn't turn it down. I've been hangin' out in a goose blind since I could walk, and I've killed a buncha geese in my huntin' career. I've never hunted with a guide service though, and I figgered I might learn somethin'.

Wade's buddy and co-worker, Justin, is a guide with K & D Guide Service. These guys are a great outfit... they have the right equipment, excellent on the calls, access to plenty of promising properties and they know how to scout. Not only that, but Kevin, Doug and Justin are all great guys to hang out with.

Apparently it wasn't my day to shoot. I was usin' my backup gun, since I left my good goose gun upstate. Couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. We had several groups of ducks and a few groups of geese go by, and near as I can tell, I didn't cut a feather. Wade managed to drop a pair of geese though, so we didn't get skunked. We saw a ton of birds. Unfortunately, we got caught with our britches down a few times, and the large groups of birds didn't even give us a second look. Late season geese are prolly the hardest huntin' you can get into, cuz by now they've just about seen and heard every decoy, setup and call out there. Our hunt abruptly ended in the late mornin', when a few large chunks of ice came floatin' down and just about took out all our decoys... there was a lot of guys in waders jumpin' in the drink real quick on that one!

Justin managed to pull a fast one on us. He took the boat out to grab the first goose that Wade knocked down, and on the way back he slipped a pair of fake bands on the bird's legs. Now, for those of you that don't waterfowl hunt, gettin' a banded bird is comparable to double-lungin' a big ol' 12-point... it's a pretty rare trophy. So naturally, a banded bird got me and Wade all worked up 'till we figgered out he was pullin' a fast one on us.

All that aside though, it was a great day of huntin' with some good guys. We got into a few birds and managed to drop a few, and I got a few more stories for the archives. And hell, that's what it's all about right there.

Wade, his cousin Tyler and me with our day's take.
Photo courtesy of K & D Guide Service

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Illegal Download of the Post

Wade had this one playin' on the way to hunt on Saturday mornin'. Good huntin' music for us redneck fellers. Walt Gabbard is not only a good musician, but a pro-staffer for Zink Calls, who make awesome products, by the way. He's got it rough, let me tell ya. You can listen to other tracks off his album here or on YouTube.

Song: Dogs and Duck Calls

Artist: Walt Gabbard
Album: Hillbilly Man (2010)



Y'all take care, now.