Anyone else sleeping in a boat tonight to lock in their spot?

The family has been hunting the same stretch of water (in the metro area) for well over 50 years now, and it's a pretty popular spot to say the least,

Normally I'm not one to do stuff like this, but now that I'm retired from the army I'm once again the youngest (who can be in a boat with a gun alone) Hunter in the family, and you can't argue with tradition

For the early goose opener I had fuckwads trying to push their boats into me starting around 230 in the morning, apparently a guy wearing a multcam Live vest (plate carrier btw) covered with taco pouches full of saiga 12 mags, a helmet, nvgs, and rocking an 80billion lumen spot light works for getting assholes to go somewhere else,
Except for the guy who's buddy wanted to pick up a shotgun from the bench and suggest I move somewehere else,

This season ( tommorow) will see my families first new hunter in the duck boats since 1985, making for 3 generations on the water, and the beginning of the 5th generation of duck hunters on the same stretch of water.

I fucking love duck hunting

Haven't duck or goose hunted in a couple years in the Metro D area.  There's simply too many assholes out there.  Even on the west side at the game preserves your likely to get someone skybusting anything coming into your spread. I wish I had somewhere secluded to hunt, duck/goose hunting is a blast.

I agree.
I used to get out about 1am for the opener by Belle Maer. Get into the blind and try to sleep.

Report from the boat,
Its fucking cold, the wind is blowing

I'm starting to see other guys headed out.

Also, the fucking muskrats keep running into the side of my boat

Tha asnk God for this army sleep system, I forgot how warm these things are

I heard a few shotguns blast away around daybreak.
Only to be drowned out by the dogs barking

Any divers down yet?

I'd love to take the layout rig again!

The ruddys were out in force, but all flocked and headed further south,
We were extremely supersied to see them now, but the way they fly is pretty distinct (flock activity)

We may change up and switch decoys out, but in our experience you need a LOT of decoys to get them to decoy

We did however take a couple woodies, couple mallards, and couple geese,
And some fuckwad decided to not check where he was shooting, after he tried to sneak into my spot (coincidence?) and damn near gave me a back full of number 4

He said he was trying to shot a crip, apparently crips fly on fast, buzz your decoys, and than try to flay away
Cocksuckers were taking shots at birds at the hundred yard mark

After sharing my opinions of him, his shooting abilities, and a list of things he probably likes to put in his mouth he left

Day 2,

Of all the things we could have shot today we took 5 greenwing teal and some mallards
The geese seem to have gone into hiding, and apparently the great ruddy duck migration continues

I'm happy to report assholes were in short supply, and after elventybillion guys out yesterday, It was just us and one other guy this morning.


I fucking love duck season

 Good to hear.


Shoot any banded birds yet?

No jewelry yet this year,

Hell, with three generations sitting in the boat there's only like 6 bands on the lanyards

We just don't see a lot of them

Dafuq? How'd that go?

The visible laser on the lam mounted to the saiga convinced him putting the shotgun back down and going somewhere else himself might be his best bet

That fact I was wearing body armor and a helmet probably didn't hurt anything

If the DNR sees you with a laser on your hunting gun you're going to get loved tenderly.

You might not go to jail but there's a good chance you'll miss your hunt standing around explaining yourself for a long time.

I'm glad it went well.

Laser goes in the bag about half an hour before legal light,
I mainly use it for the ir illuminator, it throws much farther than the one on the nods


The saiga is turning out to be a great duck gun, throws em where I point them, patterns extremely well with the 5 inch Molot choke tube, and I don't feel bad at all when bottom much gets dropped of a main line anchor on it, it gets stepped on, or any of the other shit that happens to guns in boats.

The fact it takes mags is nice too, loaded for mallards up close in the decoys and some geese are going to do a low flyover? Change to the goose mag.

It gets some seriously strange looks though

Jealous looks. Jealous.