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New beginnings and a Nine-Year Dream Fulfilled
Posted by Junior Shooters
By Tim Tucker (17)
An aspect of hunting that will never get old for me… calling.
Ever since I can remember, the opening day of duck season has been a holiday to me. A time that I longed anxiously for throughout the long summer months. Something that fills my mind with anticipation every single day of the off-season. This year’s opening day was even more special though. It was the first duck hunt that my friend, Carly, had the opportunity to experience. The scouting and preparation was done well before the hunt, and it was finally time to get out and hunt waterfowl.
Different angles uncover unique and beautiful images in the duck blind.
As the two of us drove out to the pond early that morning, I could hardly contain my excitement. Once we arrived at the pond, I quickly began setting up the decoys. Mimicking the amount and location of the birds that I had seen when I scouted the pond, I set out 3 dozen decoys. Our breath could be seen coming from our mouths in the light of our headlamps. The work was done, and now waiting for shooting light was all that we could do.
Carly working a group of mallards with her eyes to the sky.
Beautiful orange hues began to become visible on the horizon as the sun began to rise. As I was pouring my last cup of coffee from my thermos, I heard the first distant call of a hen mallard, and just like that the show began. Mallards began to fall into our decoy spread. It was a beautiful sight to behold, as dozens of birds splashed down into the water against a magnificent orange sunrise background. I couldn’t help but watch Carly as she watched the birds put on a show right before our eyes. The pre-dawn show those mallards put on is the reason I duck hunt, and to be able to share that with someone else was very special for me.
I checked the clock on my cellphone just as it hit 7:25…. shooting time. The birds that had splashed into our spread had left about three minutes before legal shooting time, but I knew that there would be more on the way. Almost immediately after shooting time came, I noticed a group of about twenty mallards in the distance. To my surprise, they turned right towards us on the first quack I threw at them through my duck call. As they approached our spread, they did exactly what I was hoping for. With wings cupped, they sailed right into to our decoys. With my two-year-old yellow lab, Hank shaking violently with excitement, I called the shot for Carly. She stood up, put her shotgun to her shoulder, and downed the big drake mallard that was leading the flock. The rest of the flock flared at the sound of the gunshot, and Carly’s second shot was off the mark. I sent Hank out to retrieve the downed bird. Carly and I high fived as Hank came bounding back with the beautiful drake mallard in his mouth. This was the first duck that Carly had harvested. It was a special moment to watch her as she looked at the bird with amazement and stroked each feather of the beautiful bird in awe.
Hank doing what he was born and trained to do.
As soon as we all got settled back in the blind, we almost immediately had more birds working the spread. This time it was my turn to pull the trigger. My calling tricked a group of 3 mallards into setting their wings and sailing right into the decoy spread. I shouldered my shotgun and picked out the only drake mallard that was in the group. My finger hit the trigger and the bird folded instantly. Excited to get my hands on my first bird of the year, I waded out into the water with Hank. As I approached the bird floating in the water, I couldn’t believe what I saw. I waded through that pond water to that bird quicker than I ever had before. I finally got to the bird and picked him up. Sure enough, his leg was heavy! The beautiful drake mallard was banded! So many emotions filled my head. After a long and relentless pursuit of almost nine years, I had fulfilled my dream of harvesting a banded duck.
The bird that made my nine year dream finally a reality.
The first person that I had to call was my dad. He was at work and unable to join us on the hunt that morning. As soon as he answered the phone, all I could get out was “I finally got my band”. As a duck hunter in his 20th season of waterfowl hunting, and someone that has been with me in every step of my relentless pursuit, my dad knew just how monumental that moment was for me. Still in shock, I hung up the phone, and Carly and I continued hunting. Birds continued to trickle in throughout the morning. At about 10:30, the flights of birds slowed down, and we decided to pick up the decoys and take some photos. We were blessed to finish the morning with seven birds. The next hour was spent taking photos. With so many memories that were made during this hunt, I wanted to have good photos that we could look back on and remember that special morning.
Its the little details that make waterfowl hunting so special.
I can honestly say that this hunt was one of the most special hunts that I have been apart of in my nine years of waterfowl hunting. Having the opportunity to share my love for waterfowl hunting and the tradition that comes along with it is something that was very special for me. To be able to watch Carly as she watched all those birds come in and decoy is something that I will never forget. That hunt was the start of new beginnings for Carly. The beginning of a new passion. A passion for the art and tradition of Duck hunting. Having the opportunity to harvest a banded duck was also one of the most special moments that I have been blessed to experience in the duck blind. That band was more than a piece of metal around a duck’s leg. It was a reminder of the memories and pursuit I experienced in order to harvest that bird. That band now sits on a shelf in my room, and everyday I get to look at that band, and remember just how special that hunt on opening morning with a great friend was.
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