Dove Opener @ The Seager Ranch 01 SEP 2019

Well sadly not everyone could make it this year - we were down to only seven of us, but we seven (shall I even say, Magnificent Seven) made a time of it!

The day started off with rain, rain, and rain - not a lot, like 3/4", but all darn day...it stopped about 1:30 pm.  Perfect for our 4 pm hunt time.

We split up into three groups and spread out along the lane from N to S - 2 on the pond, 2 here at the house, and 3 at the curve.  We put out Mojo decoys and laid out some ground decoys for effect.

Man, did we see the doves!  We lost count after 150, but they were everywhere.  They cooperated a little, but did not make it too easy on us.

We hunted from 4 - 6 pm, then took a break.  I cooked deer brats (sliced into thin bits and then fried in oil) that we ate right off the grill.  I also had a tube of salami ready.  It's gone.  Mama made cookies and fresh zucchini bread for dessert.  Fantastic!

We hit the field again - this time without Kathy, but with Will (he didn't last too long - he wanted to chase the birds instead of letting them come to us).

Legal shooting hours end at sundown, which for us was 8:17 pm.  We loaded up at 8:05 and then cleaned up our mess in the field (birds, chairs, empty brass, empty beer cans & Gatorade bottles, decoys, dead birds, etc.).  Then we used the cleaning table Nick & Shelby got me for Christmas to clean the birds.  Then we dumped them into a new wash bucket I picked up at Pheasant Fest.  Finally, I vacuum sealed the birds - 31 in all.  Zach took six for himself as his bride will not eat them.  That left me with 25, which is under the legal possession limit.  Good deal!

All told it was a great evening with great friends.  Too bad the other boys had conflicting plans.  I will say this - you were not missed.  Probably would not have added to the larder anyways...

Walking the E-boundary CRP looking for birds
Spoiler Alert - there were none
Not a dove, pheasant, quail, coyote or deer.

Walking the N-boundary CRP - still no birds
Sure is purdy though.

Kathy & Alex on the pond.  There seems to be a discrepancy about who shot
all the birds up here.


The hunting party (L-R): Yours truly in cooking attire, Riley (Krueger's dog),
Krueger, Zach, Kathy, Pa Jerry, Alex, and Nick (he's sick & not feeling well).
WTH is Zach wearing - black?  No camo?  Took a page from RePhil's journal, eh?

Will and Papaw going on a hunt - safety first - protect those ears!

Will on pond wanting to go after birds.  He's gone shortly after this photo.

Daddy Alex with Will.  Took off ears for this photo shoot.

Looking N from the pond

Will, Alex, and Nick inspecting a bird that was shot.

Sitting at the house now, waiting for birds to fly by.

The sun going down on this hunt

Just a peep from ole red

As we collected decoys this evening, we found this - wings put on upside down.  
Only Kathy & Alex had this decoy.  Alex quickly threw Kathy under the bus.  Her fault!


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