Opening morning.

Cass

So the first morning has come and gone. How did ye all get on? Was it duck or deer. Any good or bad stories?

meathstevie

Very good start to the season; just before half six, 150 paces into a 350 acre tillage farm this lad was out for a feed accompanied by a doe and a calf.

Grizzly 45

waidmannsheil!:) Good to taking out a damaged head as well.One lopsided head on that fellah.

meathstevie

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

waidmannsheil!:) Good to taking out a damaged head as well.One lopsided head on that fellah.

Waidmannsdank Grizzly. That antler was actually fractured and somehow stayed attached. Otherwise he was in prime condition with a good layer of fat on him. While I drove home to get the wheelbarrow and press ganged some muscle my mate couldn't resist his curiosity and opened the stomach, near bursting full of wheat so he said.

ezra_

I swear the ducks know its opening day.

All have vanished, despite having been around for the past few days!

Ah well - plenty of time left

German pointer

Myself and a friend of mine had these 2 down by 7.30 with plenty about.

zlezlius

First of the season. 50m 7am.

Irish Springer 12G

Well lads, I headed off on my own with Cassie the 1st at first light. Went to my local river where it's always good for duck, it's about 7km walk. Lovely fog at the start hid me fairly well. First corner where I normally meet duck there was a pair that were gone as quick as I saw them. Then a field later maybe the same two spotted me from a good distance and rose again in another hot corner. Thinking there would hardly be more duck there I didn't check it and crossed the river down stream, As I slid off the bank and in to the water Cassie pulled to my left and up got 4 mallard and I tried to clip them on my tippy toes as there was a bank in my way, but they flew on. I thought to myself "this is not going to be my day". But I went on. 2 more fields later a pair broke from right to left no more then 20 yards ahead, I pulled on to the furthest one and was so confident as I pulled the trigger I had being looking at the second mallard, pulled onto him but missed him clean with my remaining 2 shots. And because I had taken my eye off the first duck pulling the trigger I barely clipped him and Cassie had a good 20 mins looking for him as he was diving and flapping down along the shallows. As we finally got him on the bank another 7 mallard got up with all my roaring and giving out, they flew directly over me and I was caught on the hop again. We went on....
Another few mins later I met a loner and pulled a nice shot as he went behind the tree but I pulled where I thought he was going and down he came. Cassie made a bit of a meal out of the retrieve but we got him in the end. 2 Duck I was beaming considering I should have had a few more. Another short time later as I approached a passage with a bridge on my left, Cassie was hunting the river and up got 4/5 mallard a good distance from me. I picked one and it was a hit and hope shot but down he came, pulled on to a second mallard and down he came too. A nice double at a long way out.... Cassie had two handy retrieves out on the green field. 4 Mallard and I was near the end of the normal walk and had only one shell left I said I might as well check the last corner. Just as I got about 30 yards from the corner up got another lone duck and down she came. A nice retrieve from Cassie and back to the van we went.

1st


2nd


3rd & 4th


Final bag for the morning


Proud Cassie


Went out with Oddie for a run after 7 as I was needed at home all day over stupid broadband company. Went to another river and had a run in with a bull which resulted in me flying head first into bramble. Got ourselves up and headed on when we could. Met 2 lads from the gun club further down the river so we headed up to a pond close enough to the river and the 3 of us walked in on it spread out, up got 3 mallard and we shot 2 out of the 3. Oddie pulled off 2 great retrieves as she hadn't marked them because she was in the reeds as the shots were pulled but she didn't leave us down. Had a good chat and I hit for a pond I had been feeding over the summer. Nearly dusk and I shot 1 out of 2 mallard which broke. A handy retrieve for Oddie. I went to the last pond of the evening and sat with my nephew and Oddie till dark with no birds coming in.
What a 1st of September I had. 8 Mallard shot and all retrieved. You can't ask for much more.

Oddie


Final bag minus 1

ezra_

nice haul

Cass

Good write up, thanks for that and well done.

Grizzly 45

zlezlius wrote: »

First of the season. 50m 7am.

Waidmannsheil..And congrats on showing the German hunters tradition of the "last bite" for the fallen game in the picture.In case anyone thought you shot the deer while he was eating a pine tree,.Its not the case.This is a tradition that you give the animal its last bite on Earth so that its spirit travels freely and not hungry to the next world.
Legend has it that in the next world when we all arrive at the final judgement, all the animals we have ever hunted or owned, may speak in favour of us as honourable hunters and owners or damn us to Hell.So no point in taking chances..:)
The twig covering the entrance shot is a new one to me on a stag/buck.That's usually reserved for cows& calves?
All part of your German hunting test folks.And we haven't even discussed on how the last bite is presented to the hunter and what noble trees are to be used for it as well..:D