Avery® Hunting Journal Entries Missouri 2003
 GRAND FINALE!Missouri, January 18, 2004 By Tom Cannon, Outdoor Writer and Photographer DATE: January 18, 2004 LOCATION: Nevada, Missouri SUNRISE/SUNSET: about 737 AM but wasn't critical for the geese WEATHER: Sunny, very few clouds, with a cold front passing through TEMPERATURE: 38 degrees WIND: Northeast 15 mph EQUIPMENT USED: Avery® Blind Bags, Greenhead Gear® Full Body Goose Decoys, Avery® Floating Gun Cases, Mossy Oak camo, Winglock Short Reed Goose call, and Fiocchi Steel Shot shells. HUNTERS: Chadd Duncan, his son Jacob Duncan, Jacob's friend Quinton Wright, Dustin Gannaway, and Tom Cannon JOURNAL NOTES: In my neck of the woods,(northern Missouri) today was the last day of the goose season. I hunted last night and thought it was to be my last hunt but received a call from my pal Chadd who guides in the "middle" zone of Missouri. He had been having a time with some local geese and invited me down for the Sunday hunt at his marsh. Since I figured this would for sure be my last hunt due to heavy work schedule I reluctantly (yeah right ) agreed to join him.  Arriving in Nevada early in the morning I realized they had gotten a lot of rain recently. Everything was muddy and the creeks were swollen. Amazingly though the weather had been warm and most of the ponds and marshes were free of ice. Thus birds were very active and receptive to land in these locations. We planned to hunt Chadd's private marsh which is a flooded bean field right in the flyway. I had hunted with Chadd and his son Jacob several times previously as well as Jacob's buddy Quinton but this was my first time sharing a blind with Dustin Gannaway. Once introductions were made we headed to the blind.Did I mention they had had a lot of rain? Chadd is always playing pranks and goofing around yet told me to leave my waders in the truck at his house! No problem right! Except every little wash had two feet or more of water running through it and I had to try and cross them by balancing on logs and such, hoping I didn't fall in and soak my cameras. Once at the blind we set out fifteen dozen decoys including silhouettes, water decoys, and Green Head Gear Full Body Goose Decoys. Since duck season was closed we were over run with early morning flyers. Man I kid you not, Mallards dropped in without the slightest doubt and Pintails buzzed by our heads. It wouldn't have been tough to bag our limits of ducks today even without one single duck decoy. We even witnessed an Eagle that swooped down to try and nab a duck for his breakfast but wasn't successful on this flight. Around eight o'clock the geese began to filter through the area in small groups. First a pair happened by and closed in for a look which turned out to be deadly for them. Then a single popped in and also met his maker. Next flock after flock of Snows flew overhead but not quite low enough for shots to be fired. Another single Canada swung by the decoys and was welcomed with some Fiocchi steel shot. Now we had four birds in the pot and only needed six to complete our two bird per person limit. Then we hit a slow spell without hearing a honk or seeing any birds on the horizon. Around nine o'clock we began to hear birds again and got ready. Small flocks of mixed geese cruised by. Typically we shoot "greaters" in this area but there were some "short necks" mixed in for a nice variety. Somehow a single "short neck" got separated from his family and felt they might be loafing on our marsh. Boy did he make a fatal mistake! With our limit half way done we decided to let the boys have first crack at the next few birds. Chadd, Dustin and I chimed in on calls and led a small group into the spread like a puppet on a string. Then the teenagers took over rising up from the blind and filling the sky with steel. Add a couple more birds to the bag... Chadd went out to retrieve those birds when another flock dropped in for a look. After several minutes of coaxing they finally flew into range yet the best we could do was drop one "greater" out of the four or five birds! Again this group had mixed species in it, so when the big bird hit the water, the "dinks" circled back around. Chadd hit them with some short reed magic and we plucked another "short neck" from the bunch. Now with one remaining bird to finish out the limit we decided to allow the boys first crack. It wasn't long before a family group dropped in and lit on the water. Jacob and Quinton picked out a nice big goose then we dropped the flaps and they both smoked him. Ten minutes after ten and we had ten birds on the deck. Not bad for a days work! A few photos and it was time to pack up. Again I felt blessed to enjoy another great hunt with some of my buddies. This season has really been my best waterfowl season yet. Of course if Missouri would change its duck hunting dates we could have had a cool duck and goose hunt. I'll tell you what though, anytime five guys can fill their limits that's a good day! I must say I think the GHG full body decoys have accounted for fooling many a goose and allowed us close range shots. Also I switched entirely over to Fiocchi Speed Steel 3 1/2 inch BB's for geese and it seemed to work wonders with awesome knock-down power. I know next year I will not be found afield without either of those two components!!! Thanks to everyone I hunted with this season and all who followed the journal entries. Lets not forget we live in the GREATEST NATION ON EARTH where we are able to pursue our passions like waterfowl hunting!! Good Hunting!!!  Canadas and a Snow!Missouri, January 17, 2004 By Tom Cannon, Outdoor Writer and Photographer DATE: January 17, 2004 LOCATION: Smithville, Missouri SUNRISE/SUNSET: 5:20 p.m. WEATHER: It had been warm all week and just finished raining for 24 hrs TEMPERATURE: 38 degrees WIND: North 5-8 mph EQUIPMENT USED: Avery® Blind Bags, Greenhead Gear® Full Body Goose Decoys, Avery® Finisher® Blinds, Avery® Floating Gun Cases, Mossy Oak camo, Benelli shotguns, and Fiocchi Steel Shot shells. HUNTERS: Larry Weimhold and Tom Cannon JOURNAL NOTES: We had received some unusually warm temperatures this week with highs in the mid fifties nearly every day. Then it rained for about a day finally quitting today about 2PM. Larry and I hoped to get out today since the season in Northern Missouri closed on Sunday (18Th) . Today was to be the last day Larry could hunt since he had to work on Sunday.  Fortunately we were able to get into the field near a large pond and got our spread of Green Head dekes and Finisher blinds set up a bit after three o'clock. We couldn't get into the crop fields due to the mud and figured this place was better than nothing! Of course as we set out dekes a flock of five or six wanted to work and we had yet to load up the Benelli's!! Ain't that always the case!Minutes later we completed the task at hand and brushed the blinds. Man did they blend into the marsh grass on the pond bank. I continue to be impressed by the GHG goose decoys. I had yet to use them in a mud type situation. We set them in the water which was ankle deep, since the ice was melted. The circular bases really acted like a suction cup and pulled the dekes down into the muck. No way were they flipping over! Cool! Sure enough when the duck season is closed we have drakes buzz our goose decoys. Today was no different. Several times we had Mallards drop into for a close look and could have downed a few "green heads" if the season weren't closed here in Missouri! I wish they would allow us to duck hunt in January.  Twenty minutes later, we noticed a pair of Canada's flying our way from the north. Some decent calling from Larry brought into the decoys. Since we were totally concealed these birds we fooled and we allowed them to just about get their feet wet when we busted blind and opened up on them. Obviously that was it for those two birds! Larry offered to retrieve them and gracefully took a tumble in the knee deep water. Wow, I gave him a 8.5 rating! His entry was fine but the style left a little to be desired. Of course he got wet and muddy, but I was thankful for the retrieve and patted him on the back!! Nothing like a day in the field for some laughs.At four fifteen another pair of Canada's flew our way from the south. Again we hailed them our direction and some how things worked. These birds didn't seem to want to land and we knew better than to pass them up. Unfortunately they crossed over (like an X) as we sprang from the blinds and I messed up and shot the same bird as Larry did. It dropped hard but then the second bird was pumping hard to get out of there. A second shot hit him but didn't drop it since I "body" shot him as he was turning away from us. Oh well, we should have been done and I apologized to my buddy for the mishap. Still it was turning out to be a great hunt.  Next we had flock after flock of snow geese fly by us but just a little high. Luckily a single came back for a closer inspection and we opened up on him. Lets just say two simulatious shots of Fiocchi Steel did him in.Not bad- five birds came into our set up and four dropped. Should have had a perfect day but what the heck, it was still a fitting final hunt for my buddy Larry and I.
This year sure had it's ups and downs for us. We were fortunate to kill birds on all but two of our hunts together and had a bunch of fun. Of course his graceful water retrieve will be remembered for a long time. Hey I am thankful for all the opportunities to get into the field whether we "get 'em" or not. This was the best waterfowl season I have yet to have and I'll sure remember it forever. Hope you all had a great time also.
Better Luck next Time!Missouri, January 10, 2004 By Tom Cannon, Outdoor Writer and Photographer DATE: January 10, 2004 LOCATION: Smithville, Missouri SUNRISE/SUNSET: 5:14 p.m. WEATHER: balmy and sunny TEMPERATURE: 45 degrees WIND: barely a breeze from the south- southwest at 5 mph EQUIPMENT USED: Avery® Blind Bags, Greenhead Gear® Full Body Goose Decoys, Avery® Finisher® Blinds, Avery® Floating Gun Cases, Mossy Oak camo, Benelli shotguns, and Fiocchi Steel Shot shells. HUNTERS: Larry Weimhold, Bob Mueller, and Tom Cannon JOURNAL NOTES: We decided to hit Larry spot today for an afternoon hunt. He felt like the geese would light into this big frozen pond and it seemed like a good plan. We arranged our nice spread of full body decoys onto the thick ice and then "brushed up" the blinds. Of course as we were doing this a few geese tried to drop in on us prior to loading up guns. Oh well. It wasn't long before we had our first visitor. A Bald Eagle ! Yep, I noticed him soaring over the dam and apparently he liked the spread so he decided to settle into an observation post of a nearby tall tree. Apparently none of the decoys looked sick to him and he cruised on to another local after a few moments. It was nice to see an eagle this winter, but I was also glad to see him leave since they will spook any waterfowl interested in decoying! Later we spotted a pair of Canada's headed our way and with some luck they dropped in. Bob killed one and the other got away clean. Larry and I were unable to shoot. Nothing is funnier than watching a dog retrieve birds from an ice covered pond. I had a laugh or two while Larry's dog, Gunnar, sped out to pick up the mature "greater". Reminds me of the Road Runner cartoons from my youth! Anyway, more and more birds began to fly but that's exactly what happened- they flew by us! Apparently these birds were more interested in food than loafing on the ice with their buddies and us. Periodically we would have a group drop in and act like they wanted in only to flare and fly out to crops. Of course once that happens a few times you know its going to be tough. Finally about a half hour before shooting time we had a flock of three swing by the spread for a look. Bob decided they were close enough and opened up. Larry and I each fired a shot and I was pleasantly surprised when both our birds dropped right after Bob's hit the ground. Sometimes you can get lucky- plus it doesn't hurt to shoot Fiocchi's!!! Then things dried up. Suddenly there were no birds to be seen which is rare right at the end. Typically that's when the action picks up. Oh well, we did have a successful hunt which is a great way to start out the year. We hope to pick up some more action prior to the season ending on January 18th. Good Hunting! Adapt and Overcome!Missouri, December 30, 2003 By Tom Cannon, Outdoor Writer and Photographer DATE: December 30, 2003 LOCATION: Platte County, Missouri SUNRISE/SUNSET: 5:07 p.m. WEATHER: clear TEMPERATURE: 50 degrees WIND: Strong winds from the southeast at 20-30 MPH and gusts up to 40MPH EQUIPMENT USED: Avery® Blind Bags, Greenhead Gear® Full Body Goose Decoys, Avery® Finisher® Blinds, Avery® neck gaiters, Mossy Oak Shadowgrass camo, Fiocchi Speed Steel shotshells. HUNTERS: Tyler Shaw, Larry Weimhold and Tom Cannon  JOURNAL NOTES:
Well I'll tell you what, I am tired of fighting the wind. It has been warm too long and the south winds have been fierce. They have playing havoc with us getting the geese into the decoys properly. Oh well as we said in the Army, adapt and overcome!Tonight we decided to try and redeem ourselves with an evening hunt at the same location. We got there early since I had seen birds flying around 3PM lately. Of course they didn't fly into late tonight! Myself, Larry and new comer Tyler Shaw put out the five dozen or so full bodies and camoed the blinds on the back slope of the hill in a cut corn field. We knew there were a lot of birds loafing on some nearby ponds, so we had a lot of confidence. I have really been watching feeding geese to try and imitate the set ups, and sometimes it works other times not. Finally about 5 PM the birds began to get up off the local ponds. We called and flagged excitedly but of course they wanted in on a neighbors corn field! Figures, right? Since we had nothing to loose and times was rapidly passing we kept flagging hoping for another chance. Suddenly I noticed some birds appeared to be coming our way. Ducking into the Avery ground blinds, I tried to hold onto the flag in the wind while Larry did some good calling pulling them closer. The first flock was low enough but drifted up behind us, making for a tricky shooting situation. Rather than risk it, we waited since their was another flock coming in from behind them. This flock of about seven or eight birds was working perfectly, low and right straight in from the north (south wind). Amazingly they drifted out away from the front of the spread but it was now or never!! Shots ran out and three "honkers" bit the dust. I glanced at the time, right at shooting time! Wow, the old Fiocchi steel worked it's charm again. I'll tell you what, I like the Greenhead Gear dekes more and more. Here's why... Those elastic straps come in handy on windy days. I pull a big corn stem from the ground hopefully with a couple pounds of dirt clinging to the roots. This stubble is slid under the strap and helps keep the decoy upright in any wind condition. I hate chasing decoys as they blow down field!! Anyway, we had another great hunt! Only half our limit, but we could have easily "skunked". I am really having a blast hunting geese this year. It helps to have the right gear too! Good Hunting and Happy New Year! What Caused the Hex?Missouri, December 27, 2003 By Tom Cannon, Outdoor Writer and Photographer DATE: December 27, 2003 LOCATION: Platte County, Missouri SUNRISE/SUNSET: around 5:00 p.m. WEATHER: warm and cloudy TEMPERATURE: 50 degrees WIND: Gail force breeze of 20 plus mph wind from the southwest EQUIPMENT USED: Avery® Blind Bags, Greenhead Gear® Full Body Goose Decoys, Avery® Finisher® Blinds, Avery® neck gaiters, Mossy Oak Shadowgrass camo, Fiocchi Speed Steel shotshells and Winglock short reed goose call. HUNTERS: Larry Weimhold Sr., Larry Weimhold Jr. and Tom Cannon JOURNAL NOTES: Back in the same field where we had limits two days in a row last week. I don't know who put the hex on us, Larry Jr., or myself. Larry brought his dog to a field hunt, (bad omen) and I told him to bring his dad since I figured it was a sure thing to get a limit or close to that of geese. I also jinxed us my planning on being out of there by a certain time. Well last Sunday it was really windy just like it was today with the wind from the southwest, same as today. I made some adjustments that we did on the last hunt and they really helped us finish our limit. We got the blinds and dekes set out and got in the blinds, we were ready to go. I said nobody shoot ducks since the season closed on December 23rd. Jinx number three. Right away something was up. Normally the birds fly early, but not today. I knew there were still thousands of birds using this general area (see archery report below 12-26-03). Yet not one was up in the air. Bad news....By 8:00 a.m. we had seen maybe a hundred birds and none up close. Then what happens, but funny bad luck. Anyone who hunts or fishes with me will verify that. We see a flock of birds to the east. Flagging gets them close, but still no go, yet there are a few ducks with them. The ducks peel off and head our way. They make a wide circle of the corn field and zip right down the wind tunnel (20 mph breeze) right into the spread. Larry is blowing a goose call, I'm flagging and those Mallard Drakes were just mesmerized by the whole deal. They kinds of hovered about six feet off the ground right in front of Larry and I when I yelled, "bang". Quietly they eased out of there again offering potential shots. I hate the season dates we have here! There should be some kind of waterfowl rule (let's call it rule number lucky 13) that says something like this... On days when nothing is working right, and a species that is typically out of season drops into your spread and works picture perfect, you are allowed to cherish the moment for posterity and shoot that sucker! Especially right around Christmas... Anyway, we didn't shoot the ducks if you need to know. Then we began to see sporadic flocks way out in the distance. It's getting late in the morning now. Finally we have two separate flocks come right toward us from the east. They work perfect, but just are a bit high. I do not sky bust, I subscribe to the in the decoys mentality. We let the birds circle us so they'd get a bit lower when they flew off to the west. The next bunch did the same thing. Unknown reason why. Nothing was messed up, just extremely windy conditions paired with warm weather I think made the birds not want corn. Oh well, time for a zero. Lesson learned, don't get cocky! I thought I could do the deal again without prime conditions. We didn't even fire a shot and stayed until 11:30 A.M. Oh well, that's what makes it hunting! It sure is a challenge sometimes! Oh, I am really liking the new short reed call I picked up from Winglock Calls. I am new to short reeds and heard this was a simple call to master. Really sounds good now I just need to practice up with it. Bow Hunt Outing turns into Goose and Turkey ObservationMissouri, December 26, 2003 By Tom Cannon, Outdoor Writer and Photographer DATE: December 26, 2003 LOCATION: Platte County, Missouri SUNRISE/SUNSET: around 5:00 p.m. WEATHER: warm and mostly sunny TEMPERATURE: 45 degrees WIND: South at 10 mph EQUIPMENT USED: Avery® Fleece neck gaiter, Mossy Oak camo, and archery gear HUNTERS: Tom Cannon JOURNAL NOTES: I took the day off from goose hunting (nobody wanted to go with me) but those darn geese followed me anyway and tempted me! I arrived at my bowhunting farm at 2:30 p.m. Set up my climbing stand and made like a squirrel up the tree. I was hoping for a doe or maybe with some luck a shooter buck. This is also a great place to observe turkeys and I have had lots of Canada geese fly right over my stand in days past. At 3:00 p.m. I noticed lots of geese flying right through the immediate area. Of course I thought "man I should have gone after them by myself" as they began to descend upon the very field I was set up in for deer. This is a bowhunt only property, the farmer doesn't want any guns fired there and apparently the geese figured that out too. I kid you not, about 600-800 Canada's dropped into the field about four hundred yards away. I watched closely with binos hoping to learn something that might help out on a future hunt. Well they broke several rules. First they landed within fifty yards of a grove of trees where my truck was parked. (They never land near trees in hunting situations!) Then they didn't circle at all, but dove right into the spot, often colliding with each other on the way down! Man, its rare for "hunted" birds to be so carefree over decoys if you know what I mean. Okay, you have seen a big bunch of birds in fields before, so big deal. Well what happened next was pretty cool in my opinion. A flock of turkeys began their nightly feeding ritual into the cut corn field. They worked within fifty or so yards of the geese then wandered back to the timber. Before too long here came the turkeys again. I guess they wanted to see what was up with the "new birds on the block" because the steadily walked up to the geese. Now I am talking about a flock of twenty or so Eastern Turkeys moving in on about 600-800 Greater Canadas. Well, I guess those turkeys are thugs,(they do live close to the city!) since they ran those mighty geese right out of that field. Yep, the turkeys made the geese nervous enough they took to flight and left the field! Now, I thought the huge numbers of geese would prevail but I guess those gobblers were some bad dudes! Makes you re-think the old saying, "there's safety in numbers". I don't know about you guys but I want those turkeys on my team! Oh, yeah I didn't get a deer that night either! Canada Goose Hunting in MissouriMissouri, December 21, 2003 By Tom Cannon, Outdoor Writer and Photographer DATE: December 21, 2003 LOCATION: Platte County, Missouri SUNRISE/SUNSET: 7:50 a.m. WEATHER: mostly sunny TEMPERATURE: 38 degrees at dawn warming to 45 degrees WIND: Strong wind from southwest at 20-25 mph EQUIPMENT USED: Avery® Finisher® blinds, Greenhead Gear® Full Body Goose decoys, Mossy Oak Shadow Grass camo, Avery® Blind Bags, Mossy Oak Shadowgrass camo, and Fiocchi 3 1/2 inch "BB" steel shot HUNTERS: Chris Stephens, Brent Chapman, and Tom Cannon JOURNAL NOTES: Well it was tough today but very satisfying. The wind picked up quite a bit during the night and was blowing hard at 20+ mph. Nothing would stay where it was put down. "You know its windy," Brent stated,"when an Avery decoy blows over." The GHG full body decoys have been more stable than any of the other brands of full body dekes I have used in the past. I figured out that if you hook the elastic StubbleCord (on the footbase) to a piece of corn stubble on the ground they will stay put. You can't do that with the other brands. I dropped my flag once and it blew nearly all the way to Nebraska! That's windy! We had another "first" today! When I say how realistic the Avery full body dekes are you probably just roll your eyes. Well, they totally fooled a coyote this morning. We were in our Finisher blinds at 7:00 a.m. waiting on the first flights. The blinds were covered in stubble and I was on the far west edge of the spread. Even with the wind I heard a sudden rustling of corn and looked over my left shoulder. There just twelve feet away was a coyote putting the stealth stalk on one of my Greenhead Gear birds. Well, since I didn't have a decoy to spare, I lifted the Benelli and dusted her right there. No thief is going to touch my one of my prized Greenhead Gear full body decoys and get away with it!!!  The birds flew a bit later today. None really wanted into our spread since we were in the open and getting the full bore of the wind. Same deal as yesterday they wanted into a pond just north of us. Dozens of flocks teased us then skirted the edge of our shooting range. Chris knocked down a bird on one flock then it was time for "bird watching". That lasted about forty minutes. Luckily we suckered in a flock that dropped low, nearly landing into the dekes, but the wind gust blew them upward at the last second. Too late, we opened up and let the Fiocchi's fly. Brent and I each dropped a bird, tying us all at one. Missouri allows just two Canada geese per day.About an hour later at 9:50 a.m. or so, we had another flock slide in from the west. Flagging helped and some luck prevailed as they got within range moving from left to right through the spread. Fortunately we each downed a honker putting us at the limit for the day. Persistence paid off once again. Good camo like the Mossy Oak clothing and our Avery Finisher Blinds helped us out on this tough day. Now we'll let this spot rest for a few days and hope for some more action later in the week. Not too bad, two limits in the first two days of Missouri's late season! I am still laughing about that coyote but I bet he isn't!  Chris Stephens and Brent Chapman showing off their limit of geese after this late season Missouri goose hunt. Late Season Opener for Geese in MissouriMissouri, December 20, 2003 By Tom Cannon, Outdoor Writer and Photographer DATE: December 20, 2003 LOCATION: Platte County, Missouri (cornfield) SUNRISE/SUNSET: 7:50 a.m. WEATHER: partly cloudy conditions with a light frost TEMPERATURE: 28 degrees at dawn WIND: South wind 10 MPH. EQUIPMENT USED: Avery® Finisher® blinds, Avery® Fleece Yukon Hoods, Greenhead Gear® Full Body Goose decoys, Mossy Oak Shadow Grass camo, Avery® Blind Bags, Avery® floating gun cases, Mossy Oak Shadowgrass camo on all gear, and Fiocchi 3 1/2 inch "BB" steel shot HUNTERS: Tom Cannon and Brent Chapman JOURNAL NOTES: I had been keeping an eye on this cut cornfield for several weeks. The Missouri dark goose season had been closed for a month and the geese were stacked like cordwood in this area. Luckily they held in the region until the opening of the late session of the goose season which opened today! We got into the field and set up all our gear by 6:45 a.m. and not a minute too soon. Immediately we had Canada geese flying about. That is quite unusual for this area. Unfortunately they just flew over and around our field. I am guessing maybe around a thousand birds! Ironically they wanted into the pasture across the highway and poured in there by the dozens. Birds flew every which way, but our seven dozen full bodies were no match for the real deal. We had one bunch kind of work us and probably should have let them circle one more time but with that pother spot drawing every bird I didn't want to risk it. We opened up on a flock of six and nary a feather was ruffled. Oh well...  Moments later a single dropped into the spread from the back of our blinds. Since he was on my partner's side, Brent rolled out of the Finisher and dusted the Canada as he departed the decoys. It was a day of firsts for Brent, since he discovered that bird was wearing jewelry. I was happy to see him collect his first goose band while hunting with me. Then I had to explain the ground rules of bands belonging to the host in the future!For another thirty minutes we had several close calls as birds both "greaters" and "short necks" flew over us but then dropped into the neighbors. Man, that is tough to watch! Then, different birds seemed to be working the area and began to look at our spread. In no time at all we had a flock of about eight drop into see what was up with the corn and we shocked the heck out of them. Our Avery ground blinds were so well disguised it wasn't fair! The blasts of Fiocchi BB loads did the job and three more "Greaters" tumbled to the earth. I glanced at my watch to see it was 8:53 a.m. and we were done. Cool!! A few photos and it was time to load the trailer and depart our honey hole. Another satisfying hunt. It's always cool to see a hunter get a band let alone his first band. Hopefully he'll remember it as I do my first goose band from nearly twenty years ago. I can't say enough about how well the new Greenhead Gear full body goose decoys look. Man they are realistic as heck and really suck in the birds. Maybe next time we'll get a few "short neckers" to visit our spread. Til next time, good hunting.  The author, Tom Cannon, after this late season Missouri goose hunt. Goose Hunting in KansasKansas, December 15, 2003 By Tom Cannon, Outdoor Writer and Photographer DATE: December 15, 2003 LOCATION: outside of Topeka, Kansas SUNRISE/SUNSET: 7:50 a.m. WEATHER: Partly Cloudy and Cold with 3-4" of snow on the ground TEMPERATURE: 38 degrees but wind chill was much colder. WIND: South wind 15-25 MPH. EQUIPMENT USED: Avery® Finisher® blinds, Avery® Fleece Yukon Hoods, Greenhead Gear® Full Body Goose decoys, Mossy Oak Shadow Grass camo, Avery® Blind Bags, and Fiocchi Speed Steel shot shells HUNTERS: Brent Chapman, Larry Weimhold, and Tom Cannon JOURNAL NOTES: A fresh blanket of snow came in on Saturday the 13th. We were unable to get back to the same farm due to conditions until today. We were pumped up and confident we would "bust 'em" today. Typically a south wind helps at this farm but maybe this was too much? We got our spread out and the Finisher blinds situated, but no ducks today at daybreak. This time I was ready with Fiocchi number 2's in the pump but they didn't show early. Suddenly a bunch of Gadwalls dropped in from who knows where, and I lucked out dropping one drake gray duck. Then nothing… That is unless you consider the wind picking up additional speed. Anyone who has ever been to Kansas knows it can really gust and it did on this trip. Our Finisher blinds were covered with white sheets as makeshift snow covers for snow camo, but the wind tunnel effect was causing them to flap. There was little we could do since we had no cans of Avery snow spray with us. Today the birds flew earlier than normal. About 8:30a.m. we saw our first group and they were on a beeline to our spread. Of course there was another flock right behind them as well. The birds were low and on the outside edge of thirty yards when they suddenly flared up high and flew directly over our blinds. You guessed it. We passed them up thinking they would come around and also that we didn't want to educate the second flock. I got too greedy thinking it was going to be as easy as the last hunt two days prior. Well to make a long story short, neither flock worked us right and no shots were fired. "Oh Boy," I thought we screwed up. Sometimes you just know things aren't going to work right. Of course we didn't have much time before another flock was on the move. This one contained three or four snows among the dark geese. As they approached they began to flare but we rose and fired. Larry and I spotted the snows and did our best to greet them with some steel to no avail. Brent was lucky and dropped a "blue" which we didn't realize was in the flock. Nothing else dropped. Immediately we knew something was flaring the birds. We tried to spread out the blinds among the decoys but that didn't seem to help. It had to be the wind which was causing the sheets to flap about and probably catching the eyes of incoming geese. Several additional flocks approached with the same results. Birds dropped right in like they wanted to land then suddenly caught air and headed for the sky at the last minute. Good shooting from Larry allowed him to get his three birds. Brent also dropped a couple Canada's but I wasn't so fortunate. I couldn't say I definitely dropped a bird all by myself, but we all know that I can shoot! All of those birds Brent and Larry shot had some of my Fiocchi pellets in them I am sure. Again the flurry lasted about thirty minutes. During a lull the farmer drove up on a four-wheeler. He gave us a pleasant surprise. One additional goose that had flown several hundred yards only to crash into his steel shed, denting it. Well that galvanized barn steel is surely legal with the US Fish and Wildlife but it sure is a pain to pack into your Avery Blind Bag. By now it was sunny and warming although the wind was still blowing. We hoped that the birds would continue to fly and Brent and I could finish our limits. A little tip here for you guys… When there is about 4-5 inches of snow and you are hunting in a dry pond bed and it warms up get out! We didn't. Another hour passed with nary a bird in the sky. Hey maybe we should get things packed up since it's starting to thaw. (Did I mention Brent and I had been stuck here last year?) Nope, we were too obsessed with trying for more geese. Finally about 11:00a.m. we decided to send Brent "bury the truck" Chapman for the truck and trailer. Sure enough he lived up to his nickname and stuck a four-wheel drive in two inches of the greasiest muck you have ever seen. Since we had been down this road before, we knew it was senseless to push the truck. Now we had to call the farmer back with his tractor. When he nearly buried the tractor we knew things were not going our way. Finally we got everything out of the mud and headed to the car wash. Here are some of my friendly tips. 1. Use Avery RealSnow Spray or Snow Covers whenever possible in a white environment, not sheets. 2. Always let your calling take credit for the downed birds when your shooting doesn't 3. Do not and I repeat! DO NOT ALLOW a guy named Brent to go get the truck when it's getting muddy. 4. When rule three is violated, make sure you have lots of quarters for the car wash! All in all it was a good trip. Five Canada's a blue goose and a Gadwall along with five hundred pounds of mud. We learned a lot and won't make the white sheet blowing in the wind mistake again. Farmers please gravel the approach through your ponds prior to our arrival please!  Brent Chapman in Kansas after a great goose hunt! Goose Hunting in Kansas Part IIKansas, December 12, 2003 By Tom Cannon, Outdoor Writer and Photographer DATE: December 12, 2003 LOCATION: outside of Topeka, Kansas SUNRISE/SUNSET: 7:50 a.m. WEATHER: Cloudy and Cold with 2" of snow on the ground TEMPERATURE: 20 degrees WIND: North wind 5-10 MPH. EQUIPMENT USED: Avery® Finisher® blinds, Avery Fleece Yukon Hoods, Greenhead Gear® Full Body Goose decoys, Mossy Oak Shadow Grass camo, and Fiocchi Speed Steel shot shells HUNTERS: Tom Cannon and Brent Chapman JOURNAL NOTES: This was to be the first serious goose hunt of the year in Kansas for myself and buddy Brent Chapman. After loading up all the gear into my trailer we made the one-hour trip through Topeka to this farm. Unfortunately there are tons of Canada's near my home in Missouri but the wise folks who set the season had appropriately closed the Missouri goose season for a month in prime time! Thus we migrated to Kansas for this trip. The first snow of the year really made things work for us. We located fresh tracks and set up our spread amongst this sign. Of course as we were putting the finishing touches on things the ducks began to drop in. Just like always my gun wasn't loaded and they literally buzzed right by my head. Quickly we grabbed some Fiocchi Speed Steel and loaded up. The next few ducks weren't so lucky. We were fortunate to bust three Gadwalls and my first Goldeneye. Then nothing… It was dead as far as waterfowl was concerned until about 930 AM when Brent decided to "go check things out" and as usual that got the birds flying! He had gone no more than a hundred and fifty yards when I yelled "GET DOWN!" First flock was rolling in from the North. As they circled down wind I made the decision to shoot (too bad Brent) and dropped two Honkers. Immediately I loaded more Fiocchi ammo into my pump and there were birds closing in again. Brent was still out on the ice!! Too bad! Jumping back into the Finisher Blind, I gave out a few clucks and in rolled the birds. A couple shots and I was done, having collected my third goose. By now Brent was running back to the spread and diving into his Avery blind. "Hey thanks for getting things going," I said laughingly. Again black wings approached our set up. With both of us on calls, and the awesome seven dozen decoy spread, it was like offering a bone to a hungry dog; simple. Since I had my limit, I held back and let my buddy shoot. One bird dropped immediately with the other coasting across the frozen pond. After collecting those two, we decided I would go for the truck and let my partner finish out his limit. By the time I arrived at the truck I heard geese approaching and watched as his third bird tumbled from the sky. In a period of thirty minutes we had collected those six Greater Canada geese. AWESOME! We wanted to quickly pick up and get the heck out of there. Doing our best Road Runner act we drug the blinds and dozens of full bodies to the trailer as geese flocked to the area. Apparently a white Chevy truck makes a perfect "greater goose" decoy. Alas we hauled it out of the farm and watched from a nearby road as hundreds or maybe a thousand geese flew within a quarter mile of this frozen pond. Man were we excited to go back. (The bad thing about hunting with just two guys is its tough to get a photo with both of you in it!)  The author, Tom Cannon after a great hunt with Brent Chapman in Kansas! Duck Hunting in MissouriKansas, December 7, 2003 By Tom Cannon, Outdoor Writer and Photographer DATE: December 7, 2003 LOCATION: Nevada, Missouri (near Four Rivers Wildlife Refuge) SUNRISE/SUNSET: 7:50 a.m. WEATHER: Partly Cloudy TEMPERATURE: 40 degrees WIND: South wind 18-25 MPH. EQUIPMENT USED: Greenhead Gear® decoys, Avery Blind Bags, Avery Floating gun cases, Avery Floating Duck Strap and Fiocchi Speed Steel #2's. HUNTERS: Tom Cannon and Chadd Duncan JOURNAL NOTES: Classic tale of "you should have been here yesterday!" My buddy Chadd called a day ago and reported that he and his clients had been taking limits of Mallards daily in his marsh outside of Four Rivers refuge. Of course when I get there the wind changes to the south and things fowl up. As I opened up the blind, a motion caught my eye in the pre-dawn darkness. That was a duck inside the blind!!! We later found our own "Susie" or should I say "Sammy" a Green Wing Teal that decided the blind made nice living quarters. I guess that could have been a curse. Just prior to shooting time we were covered up with ducks. Then when the magic time came they vanished! We managed one mallard in the first ten minutes and sat in for the wait. Of course Chadd related the stories of the last several hunts and the close range shooting with quick limits as we whittled away the time. Later in the morning my partner began laying out the tunes and low and behold here comes a few Gadwalls. A couple Fiocchi sent their way and we had a couple gray ducks to add to the bag. Later another single Gad came in and met his match of Fiocchi Speed Steel. Hey, its not always easy right? We packed up and headed in for the day. Just for information there seem to be a lot of mallards holding in Missouri right now. Of course the geese are here as well and flew the marsh today but the season is closed throughout most of Missouri until December 20th. Hunters interested in booking a hunt with Chadd Duncan can reach him at 417-448-7616. |
Links of Interest
for Hunters:
Copyright 1997-2003 Avery® Outdoors, Inc. Memphis TN
Comments? Questions? Contact Avery® Outdoors, Inc.
Comments? Questions? Contact Avery® Outdoors, Inc.