Been packed up ready to deploy for several days without doing so due to various flaky reasons. Decided last night that I would march northward this morning, a whole 1.6 miles from home, just outside of city limits to a known Townie hangout, at a summer RV park owned by a friend. Forecast said cloudy. However, when I saw nothing but stars on the way out, I grabbed the sun ball at the last moment. Good move, as the sunrise was directly in my face. Did cloud over later.
Was looking forward to a fine initial burst of activity and was not disappointed. BUT, but, the old Model 12 has a quirk that prevents its firing, unless the magazine’s last round is just so, in the proper position in front of the shell carrier—which was not in its proper position, but hung up on the next shell. I looked, thinking I was ready (it was dark—I didn’t look hard enough), but didn’t make a 100% certain check. A newbie error that cost me at least a couple of easy shots on the initial “morning rush;” you all know, when they first come in all angry and fired up, and me with a “dead trigger” until I figured out what I had missed a couple of seconds later. $#()^*&)$(*%&. Too late.
Well, I got over it and sat around for about another hour plus and dropped two that wanted to take a closer look at the decoy setup with whirly and two Buffy Bats. My main partner who was absent today—a BIG waterfowler—would have gone crazy with all the low-level goose and duck traffic directly overhead going to land in the pond only a few feet away.
So, I’ll probably visit these guys again next year. Still a good day.
Good report. And a very nice blind. The pictures and labeling were stellar. Only one question about the sun.
Instead of the sun ball, could you have oriented your blind do that the sun was at your back? Can’t tell how far the houses were from the blind, if that is the reason.
When I’m in the sun, those bandits can see everything, so I’m always trying to stay in the shade.
Just wondering.
Demi
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The man who thinks he can, and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.
The reason Dick & I call it a sun stick is because in the early stages we used camo netting on dried out tree limbs. As the sun would start to go down we would have to keep breaking the stick to get the right height. Once we went to a painters pole that telescoped and put a 3 prong on the end to set in the ground we only had to move it as the sun moved, no more breaking sticks to get the correct height.
The "Sun Stick" evolved over several seasons until we perfected it.
Good report. And a very nice blind. The pictures and labeling were stellar. Only one question about the sun.
Instead of the sun ball, could you have oriented your blind do that the sun was at your back? Can’t tell how far the houses were from the blind, if that is the reason.
When I’m in the sun, those bandits can see everything, so I’m always trying to stay in the shade.
Just wondering.
Demi
Demi: I was stuck with the eastward orientation due to all those aluminum vacation homes to the south and west. Though it's entirely possible that some #6s might have sprinkled their way down upon those southern roofs on a couple of occasions. So, my "safety fan" was a 90 deg. arc from north, 0 degrees, to about 95 degrees. I knew there would be limited crows there; locals. The hemlock I set up beneath had branches about seven feet up, so I edged beneath, making a good hide, with a "U-shaped" camo setup, open to the rear/hemlock. Worked well. My first loading operation, as reported, did not.
Bottom line, there was no other direction to shoot. So, the "sunball/stick/contraptiontokeepfromgoingblind," is an essential item under these conditions and I always take it along if my recon tells me the sun might be a factor. Plus, though it's small, it's a good place to hide.
Bob: I moved up to a painter pole this trip to provide adjustment. It works perfectly in that regard (is it now a sun pole?). Actually, the one photo you have of Dick(?) there behind what appears to be a painted burlap sack is more what I'll be moving toward, as it requires less space to pack and is more flat. Next upgrade will look more like yours, in that I will probably try a 20" X 20" piece of cardboard or light plywood; round off the corners and blend it in using camo paint and scrap camo. Also make the head detachable for convenience. I am grateful for the idea.
Randy: Sat photos are free via Google Earth. You save the photo you want to a file, then (I) use MS Paint to do the editing and captions. Just fun to do. When you don't have the crows for a 3-digit TBC, and a 2-digit TBC is a banner day, you have to have fun somehow.
Thanks all!
Craig
-- Edited by Old Artilleryman on Friday 16th of March 2018 12:28:40 PM
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"Arms are the only true badges of liberty. The possession of arms is the distinction of a free man from a slave." -- Andrew Fletcher 1698
Randy: Sat photos are free via Google Earth. You save the photo you want to a file, then (I) use MS Paint to do the editing and captions. Just fun to do. When you don't have the crows for a 3-digit TBC, and a 2-digit TBC is a banner day, you have to have fun somehow.
Thanks all!
Craig
O.A.,
I'll have to look into it further. I've tried to save satellite photos to a file, but when I try to open it I get a blank page. Who knows if I'll figure it out? I'm what my daughters call technologically challenged. Maybe I can get one of them to show me the ropes. I'm certain I'll catch some grief about being old and stubborn.
If I could only have fun with triple digit shoots I wouldn't have fun very often! A guy has to work with what he has and there's not a darned thing wrong with hard earned crows, no matter the number. Every day is a good day, some are just better than others. Thanks again for your reports.
