Man, am I glad I didn't go with you. :shock: They would have had to send the chopper for me. You left a very, very important piece of info. out. What about buddy??? Did he go? How did he do?
Leaky and Sparky
Leaky and Sparky
Footsoldier Death March
Well, went out jumpshooting Monday. Its way early for most of my jumpshooting spots but I figured I'd go anyway and then do something else if that didn't work out. As it turned out, I walked probably three miles through purple waist high sage and spongy marshgrass and got my first GW Teal and Pintail that I've ever jumpshot. I'd never even seen these birds in the area before so that was really cool to me. I thought about going home because three ducks is plenty for me to eat but thought well, I could use a couple more teal. So... off to the Salt Lake I went. I did kind of an ingenious thing, if I do say so myself. I bought bungee cords, took apart my lightweight backpacking frame, bungee'd my deke bag to the frame and VOILA!! I had a new and improved decoy bag that I could pack for miles.... and I did. :shock: I started walking out in this one area and met up with a nice guy who politely informed me that I was walking through a "no hunting" area.... Ooops. 
He suggested I walk back to my truck and drive down the road and I asked him instead, since I was halfway to the lake, if I could just walk out to the shoreline and then down a ways to get off the private ground. He said he didn't have a problem with that... Thank God, or I'd have just gone home. So, I get out to the lake, walking the whole way through either shifting footing, soft sand or just slimy clay. Let me tell ya... you want to improve your balance?? I've got just the ticket for you. :lol: A topheavy pack and sliding mud... great times.... I found out today that it works out your hips and knees too.... Anyway, got out to the lake and holy hell..... it was amazing. I do remember why I hate shooting from a sitting position though. I shot eight times, hit two birds, dropped none and finally had had enough. I was short on time too so thankfully, I didn't throw my whole setup out. However, I did have the same walk back to my truck, only I took a more direct route. In all, I figure I walked probably 5 miles or so, with two of that being loaded up with a 100 lb decoy bag.... my shoulders aren't all torn up today so that was a nice bonus as opposed to just packing the bag with canvas straps. Now that I know where to go though, it'd be a trip I'd do again to the Salt.... it was a fun, kick your butt kinda day and I was groovin on it. Lots of smilin Mallards and teal out on the lake and I'm pretty sure I saw a few divers go whizzing by. Lots of gulls too though... had to make sure I had a decent shot before I cut loose because I didn't want to get in trouble for smoking a gull in the background or something. :lol: No pics.... but the Pintail and Teal I killed jumpshooting were either really immature or hadn't even begun to get fall plumage. The Pinner looked like a hen except for the really long neck and the sprig..... kinda weird. The teal was a little more changed with the dots on the breast but the only red on his head was a strip of light maroon right under his chin. Crazy..... but a good day I thought I'd share.
He suggested I walk back to my truck and drive down the road and I asked him instead, since I was halfway to the lake, if I could just walk out to the shoreline and then down a ways to get off the private ground. He said he didn't have a problem with that... Thank God, or I'd have just gone home. So, I get out to the lake, walking the whole way through either shifting footing, soft sand or just slimy clay. Let me tell ya... you want to improve your balance?? I've got just the ticket for you. :lol: A topheavy pack and sliding mud... great times.... I found out today that it works out your hips and knees too.... Anyway, got out to the lake and holy hell..... it was amazing. I do remember why I hate shooting from a sitting position though. I shot eight times, hit two birds, dropped none and finally had had enough. I was short on time too so thankfully, I didn't throw my whole setup out. However, I did have the same walk back to my truck, only I took a more direct route. In all, I figure I walked probably 5 miles or so, with two of that being loaded up with a 100 lb decoy bag.... my shoulders aren't all torn up today so that was a nice bonus as opposed to just packing the bag with canvas straps. Now that I know where to go though, it'd be a trip I'd do again to the Salt.... it was a fun, kick your butt kinda day and I was groovin on it. Lots of smilin Mallards and teal out on the lake and I'm pretty sure I saw a few divers go whizzing by. Lots of gulls too though... had to make sure I had a decent shot before I cut loose because I didn't want to get in trouble for smoking a gull in the background or something. :lol: No pics.... but the Pintail and Teal I killed jumpshooting were either really immature or hadn't even begun to get fall plumage. The Pinner looked like a hen except for the really long neck and the sprig..... kinda weird. The teal was a little more changed with the dots on the breast but the only red on his head was a strip of light maroon right under his chin. Crazy..... but a good day I thought I'd share.
