Traditional goose hunting is in snow-covered cornfields, but to be consistently successful, you have to go where the geese are, even if that is a pond in a side yard. We hunted just such a place last week. About an hour into legal shooting time, the geese started coming to the pond they had been loafing on over the last week. One flock came in and we dropped 7, including a lively cripple that landed well outside of gun range on the far side of the pond, swimming to the edge, and apparently expiring on the far shore. Once we had collected the other birds, Roux and I went after the bird on the far shore. As he got within 20 or so yards, the bird made an amazing recovery and took off, as we emptied out, with no effect at such long range. One of my partners told me he saw the bird fly up the road and disappear. Roux and I went for a hike, but to no avail.
An hour later, I was standing in the blind and heard a vehicle come down the road from the opposite direction. A UPS delivery truck passed us, with the driver giving a friendly wave as he went by. A few minutes later, I hear him coming back, and he turns into the driveway of our location. Now, I was certain it was just a Christmas package delivery for the landowner, but he stopped even with us. Imagine our surprise when he produced a dead goose from the truck and delivered it to us in the blind! Seems our escapee had made it a little farther than we thought, crash-landing in the roadside ditch about a half mile up the road!
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| What can Brown Do for You? (ID hidden to protect the Helpful) |
While it didn't make it into Roux's numbers for the season, Brown still gets the credit for the retrieve! Merry Christmas to all and remember...Brown is Beautiful!
