The Waiting Game

By Ryan Cook
20 November 2009

As dawn broke, I was starting to question my sanity. The mosquitoes were coming by the thousands and my trusty thermacell was safe and secure at the house 30 miles away. I had scouted a small hay field the day before and knew the birds had been using it but the waiting game was starting to have some serious consequences. The clouds of savage mosquitoes had already driven my black Lab, Jammer, into her dog blind and I followed suit into the layout blind. Two different groups of hunters had set up within 300 yards on both sides of us and I knew this was going to be dicey. As the first two hours passed, the group of hunters to the east packed it in and hauled out their spread. I could understand their frustration and I felt their pain, but I wasn't going anywhere, I knew this was going to happen. The question wasn't if, but when. As the minutes crawled by I swatted the miserable bugs and scanned the horizon, I was just getting ready to pour another cup of coffee when I heard it. It was so subtle that my partner never reacted to it. I froze, and strained to listen. This time, they left no doubt and we both dove for the layout blinds. As the line of 5 birds cleared the tree line, the other group of hunters began calling loudly. The birds immediately picked up and flared off and started our way.

The soft clucks and moans of the SR1 was too much to resist and the lead bird locked up. At 50 yards, all five birds dropped to within 10 feet of the ground and sailed in, right on the X. As both guns emptied, all 5 birds hit the ground. I immediately sent Jammer for the retrieves and as she brought the first bird back, the usual question came from the other blind. "Any jewelry?" "Nope, slick legged" was my reply as I watched Jammer going for a cripple on the far side of the spread. When she caught the bird and started back, I could see the shine from 75 yards out. We were all smiles when the dog got back, we admired the band and talked about how nice is was to get a banded bird. The next three retrieves produced three more bands and we settled back in the blinds thankful that we had hung in and stayed patient. The other group of guys were pulling out of the field at about 10:00 a.m. when the next flight cleared the trees, locked and dropping. Again, all the birds wanted was soft, smooth stuff and the SR1 sealed the deal again, 5 shots-5 birds and we were done. Although none of the last 5 were banded, we left thankful to have had such a good hunt. All things considered, mosquitoes included, it was well worth the wait!