TimBarton

AnnieStefani
HonorsEnglish10
1May2015

TheStorm
Itwasthelastweekbeforeduckseasonin2014.Thisyearhadthebestbreedingrecords,
itisup43%fromthe19552013longtermaverage.ImGunner,andImhomeschooledwhichis
great.AsahardcorewaterfowlhunterIfollowthebreedingsurveys,weather,drought
conditions,andanyotherthingthatyoucanthinkofthatmightaffectwaterfowlbehavior.This
yearhasbeenespeciallydry,andImveryinterestedinthebreedingpopulationtoseeifthereis
enoughbirdsthattheywillbeconcentrated,orifthebreedingwasdownandthebirdswillbe
extremelyspreadout.IliveinAlberta,Canadaandtherehasbeenadroughthereforthepastfew
years.Thathasintervenedwithmywaterfowlhuntingwithmydad.Ivebeenwatchingthe
weatherlatelyandIsawthatthereisastormcominginabout3weeks,anditissupposedtobe
massive.Typicallywaterfowlhuntingisbetterinsomeweatherthanonabluebirdday.Iwasjust
talkingtomydadtofindoutthedatesthatwehaveopenforhuntingwhenthestormcomesin.I
alsohavetowatchtheregulationsforduckseasonbecauseweareapproachingthebeginning,
andIwanttobeouttheretheopeningday.Thisyearitlooksliketheopeningdaywillbeon
November29that6:14inthemorning.NowIhavetotalktomydadaboutthemorningofthe
stormandopener.Ohheydad,Iwasjustthinkingabouthowtheconditionswillbeonthe

openerofduckseason.Wouldyoubeokgoingoutrightontheopenerjustasthishugestorm
comesin?
Yasure,nowwhat?
Wehavetoplanallofthethingsthatwewilltake,wheretogo,andhowlongwewillbe
going.Um....WecouldgotoSaskatchewaninafieldthatwehaveaccessto.Ifwegotothat
fieldthenwewillwanttobringabout3dozenmallards,12dozensnowsillosocks,andmaybe
somewigeon.
Ok,yougetstartedontheplanningaboutthat,andIwillgotellAliwhereweregoing.
Wewillgotoscoutthefield,toseeifitwillworkforthenextweekonwednesdayrightatthe
beginningofthathugestorm.
Imbacktoplanningagain.Iwillsetallthestuffoutnowsothatwecanbereadyonthe
morningofthehunt.
Aweeklatermydadwokemeup.Gunnerarewegoingtogoscoutingtodayornot.
Yaholdondad,Iwillbedowninaminute.Weheadedontheroadtoscoutoutthe
fieldjustnorthof

J.ClarkSalyerNationalWildlifeRefuge.Allofthebirdsthatwillbemoving
aroundontheopeningdaywouldwanttocomeandrestinafield,justliketheonethatweare
goingtobesettingin.Justaswegetthereforthescoutingwesawexactlywhatwewantedto
see,lotsandlotsofducksandgeesesittingonthefieldthatwehaveaccessto.Itseemsthatthe
scoutingwasasuccess.Weheadedbackhometowaitforthedayitopens.
Theopeningofduckseasonistomorrowandwereontheroadtoheadtoourprivate
field.WellbestayingattheBestWesternhotelabout15minutesfromthefield.Aswearrived
attheBestWesternwesawthattheweatherisgoingtobeevenbetterthanplannedfor.Its

callingfor25mphwindsand1.5inchesofprecipitationinaday.Thatslookingreallygoodfor
us.Birdstypicallyaremoreactivewhenthereisalittlerainandagoodamountwind.Asa
hardcorewaterfowlerIthinkofagooddayofweatheraswhatwearecurrentlyapproaching.
ThisisoneofthebesthuntdaysthatIpersonallyhavehadinmylife.Afterwefinished
watchingtheweather,Iwasn'ttiredsoIstayeduptowatchoutdoorchannel.Itscurrently
showingahuntonwhitetailintexas.Themainhunterhasnevertaggedadeerandisjusthoping
forabuck,howevertheguidesaysthattheyhaveahugebuckontheranchandthatheshould
holdoutonabucktilltheyseehim.Theygooutonthesearchforthismassivebuckforafew
dayswithabsolutelynoluckinevenseeinghim.Finallyonthelastdaythehunterspotsthe
buckoutinthemiddleofacornfieldgettingsomegrubandusestherangefinderonhim.214
yards,perfectrange.Sohegetsthegunuptohisshoulderandrightasheisabouttopullthe
triggerthebuckstartstowalkaway,andthenitstopsturnsaroundanditcomesback.Second
time'sagoandhesqueezedthetriggerniceandsmooth,andBANGthebuckwentdownabout
30yardsfromwherethehegotshot.Hegoesuptoviewtheanimalandseesevenmorepoints
ontheantlersthenhehadseeninthespottingscope.Itisanontypicalbuckwith4droptines.
Thatisabsolutelyludicrous.Hehasneverseenabuckthatbiginhislifeandforhisfirstbuckit
wasjustunreasonable.Heneverwould'vedreamedofthathappening.Atabout11:47Igotobed
sothatIhavealittlesleepbeforethebighunttomorrow,becausewearegettingupa3:00.Idont
wanttobecompletelywipedouttomorrow.WhenwewakeupweeatbreakfastatDennys
Theallamericandinerasmydadwouldcallit.
WearearrivingatthefieldandallIseeisabunchofdirtandnotawholelotoffeed.
ThisisnotwhatIliketoseewhenIamwalkinguptoaprivatefield.Itlookslikeithasalready

beenharvestedinthepastfewdays,andallthewaterfowlhasleftthisarea.Thisiswhatwewill
havetomakedowith.Wewillhavetostarttosetupourlayoutblindbecausethereisbasically
nocovertoputthemin.
Heydadwhatarewegoingtodoasfarasdecoys,becauseIhaveneverbeeninthis
openofcover?Imnotreallysureonwhattodo,thisisabsolutelyterriblecover.Wewillhave
toworkwithwhatwehave.Oksoundsgood,Iwillgoaheadandgetstartedonthedecoy
spreadforthetimebeing.Sowhatwehavehereisterriblecoverforourblindsandpossiblythe
worstfieldinthemiddleofallofthishabitat.Imgoingtogoaheadandgetstartedonthesetup.

Todayw
earegoingtohuntingmainlyducksandgeesebutwewillhaveafew
confidencedecoysinourspread.Currentlywehave3herondecoys,justsowecanhavea
confidencefortheducksandgeesetomakeitseemasrealisticaspossible.Thatiswhywehave
these3herondecoys.Nextwehaveourduckdecoys,wehave2dozenmallards,1dozenpintail,
1dozenshoveler,and1dozenteal.Wearegoingtobekeepingtheduckdecoysonthesideof
ourspreadsothatwecanhavethemainhullofgoosedecoysoutinthemiddleofthefield.We
willprobablyputthemallardstowardthecenterofthefieldaswellbecausethatisprobably
goingtobethemostcommonduckinthefield.Theteal,shoveler,andpintailwillbegoingon
thesideofthespread.Theherondecoyswillbespreadoutamongstthemallardandgoose
decoys.Nowontoourgoosedecoys.Wehave4dozenhonkers,8dozensnowgeese,3dozen
bluegeese,and2dozenrossgeese.Thatwillallbespreadoutamongthemiddleofthefield.All
ofthedecoyswillbemakingapocketfortheducksandgeesetolandin,becauseifyouleave

themnoroominyourspreadthentheywilljustlandoutsideofthespreadandbeoutofrange.
Thepocketwillbeabout20yardsfromourblind.Thatistheperfectrangeforacleankill.
As
shoottimeapproacheswewerehearinglotsofspeciesflyingaboveus.Theonlyissue
isthereisalowfogandwecannotseeanythingenablingustojusthearthebirds.Thisannoys
mosthuntersincludingme.AsayounghunterIamhavingissueswiththenewconceptof
hearingthemandnotseeingthem.Thebirdaveragesonthenearbyrefugeshavebeenarounda
1.72.1perhunter.Wearehopingtoseeflocksofgeesetodaywithinthetenthousands.Ifwe
canactuallyseethebirdscomethroughthefog.
The
fogisalwaysahugeissuewhenhuntingbutcanimprovethehuntquality.Asshoot
timeisarrivingthefogisstartingtoclear.Thishasthepotentialtobeanextremelygoodhunt,
butcanalsobeaterribleone.Shoottimeisat6:19,anditiscurrently6:17soweareloadingour
gunsgettingreadyforthedayahead.Wearenothearingasmuchasweusuallyhearbefore
shoottime,butthatisnotalwaysthewaytotellhowtherestofthedaywillgo.Betweenallof
uswewereonlyhearingwigeonandthetealwingsastheyscreamoveryourhead.Thisis
usuallysomethingthatyouhearafterthetealisabout40yardspastyou.Soshoottimehas
startedandwehavesomewigeoninthedecoysatabout60yardswhichisoutofrange.Here
comessomemallards,shouldwetakeemdad?Nowaituntiltheygetalittleclosersowecan
haveacleankill.Theyendedupcomingintoabout25yardsandmydadtoldmetotakethem.
Ishotandgotoneandmydadgotanother,onlytofindoutthatthesearetheonlybirdsthatwe
wouldshootatallmorning.
10:3
0camealongandwehadnotseenasingleducksinceabout8:15meaningthatmost
oftheactionforthebirdsflyingherewasdone.
Th
ishuntturnedouttobeanabsolutebust.We

aregoingtopackupallofourdecoys,andheadoutofthisplacetotryandgetbackhomeina
littletogetreadyforthenexthunt.WearriveathomeandweseethatAliwasnotreadyforusto
gethomethisearlybecausewehadnotcalledhertoletherknowwhatishappening.Wego
onlinetochecktheweatherforthenextfewweektoseeifthere'sanynewweathersystem
cominginsoon.Ititsunnyinsaskatchewanforthenext2weeksandthenitstartstocloudupfor
anotherstorm.Thatwillbethetimetogobackouttoafieldaroundtheareathatwewereinand
hopeforabetterhuntthisnexttime.
Allwehavetodoknowishangoutatthehouse,dochores,andplanforthenexthunt.I
havemynormalchoresofcleaningaroundthehouse,cleaningthebathroom,vacuuming,dusting
myroom,anddustingpartoftherestofthehouse.Iusuallyonlydothesethingsonweekends
becauseImouthunting,butifIhavenothingelsetodothenIcoulddotheminthemiddleof
theweek.Ialsoshootarcheryinmybackyardwhichisagoodtimefiller.Ijustboughta527
dollarbowandthenwentoutinmybackyardandpracticedforalongtime.Archeryisavery
challengingsporttodo.Youhavetobeabletocontrolyourheartbeatandreleasethearrowvery
smoothlybetweenthebeatsofyourheartforminimummovementinthearrow.Youalsohaveto
havesteadyhandstobeabletoberelativelyaccurate.Iheadbackintothehousefordinner.This
ismyusualroutinewhenIhavenothingtodo.ThatiswhatIwilldoforthenextweekorso.
ThatwillkeepmyarcheryskillsupsoIdon'tlosethemfortheupcomingdeerseason.
Itisaweekbeforethenextbighunt,andwehavetostartplanningthefoodandgearall
againlikewedidabout3weeksago.Soweheadtothegaragetostartpackingforthehunt.We
willhavetomaybeplansomethingdifferentbecauselasttimewehadaterriblehunt.Ifwedo
thesameithasthepotentialtobeabadhuntagain.Wedonotwanttohaveaterriblehuntagain.

Iwouldliketohavethehuntofmylife.Thatwouldbecool.Aswestarttopackallofthedecoys
Irealizethatweputthemallawayinordersoitmakesiteasiertogetthemout.Wewillendup
bringingthefullbodymallards,pintail,wigeon,andshovelerdecoys.Wewillalsobringabout8
dozensnowgoosedecoys.
Wemighthavetoendupinadifferentfieldbecausethelastfieldthatwewereinwasa
wasteoftime.MydadandIwillendupleavingalittleearlyforthehuntsothatwecanscoutout
thesurroundingfields.Iwanttobeabletogetthebestchanceofhavingagreathunt.Wecallour
buddyuptotellhimthatwegotthebestfieldintheareaandwehavethepermissiontohuntit.
Hewillbecominginthemorningtohelpwiththesetupofdecoys.
Aswegotobedinthelocalmotel,wesetouralarmsfor2:30inthemorningsothatwe
haveplentyoftimetosetup.Ourbuddywillmeetusatthefieldat4:00forsetuptobereadyfor
shoottimeat6:27.Thiswillallowustimetoletthebirdssitinthedecoysbeforeshoottimeso
thattheycanfeelcomfortable.Thisislookinglikeoneofthebesthuntsever.Aswearriveatthe
fieldweseethatitiscoveredingrasswhichmeansgoodcoverforourlayoutblinds.Westartto
setoutourdecoys.Weenduphavingsomemallardscomeinaboveourheadsaswearesetting
upthefullbodymallarddecoys.Thatissomewhatironic.Wearehearingalotmoreactivity
aboveourheadthismorningcomparedtolastmorning.Thisisagoodsign.
Asshoottimearrivesalltheactivityofthebirdsslowsdown.Thislookslikeitmaybe
anotherfailofahunt.Wewaituntil7:00andhavenotfiredashot.Wearestartingtothinkthat
goingtothelakethatwehavepermissionforwouldnotbethatbadofanidea.Allofuspackup
andheadtotheprivatepondthatwecanhunt.Thereisbirdseverywhere.Wedecidetoputa
stalkonthem,thenwewouldsetupourdecoys.Wegetoutofthecarandheadtothespotwhere

theducksandgeeseareclosesttothelevy.Thiswillpromoteustohaveafewshotsbeforewe
evensetup.Westartthestalk.Aswegetclosertothelevywestarttoseesomeoftheducksstart
toflyoffinthedirectionthatweweregoingtosetupin.Wepopupoverthelevyonlytofind
outthattherewasmanymoreducksandgeesethanwethoughttherewouldbe.Weeachgetone,
andthenweheadbacktothetrucktograbhalfourdecoystogetsetupfortherestofthehunt.
Aswearefinishingsettingupthebirdsarestartingtocomeback.
Wedecidedtojustthrowoutafewdecoysandgetourlayoutblindsinthegroundsothat
wedon'tdisturballtheducksthatarecominginwhilewearesettingup.Evenbeforewegetthe
layoutblindssetupthemallardsandstuffjuststarttoflowin.Thisisturningouttobealot
betterthanweexpected.Wejustthoughtthatthishuntwasjustgoingtobealatemorninghunt
thatwassupposedtohelpgetthehuntgoingsowedidnotwasteanothersaturday.Allofa
suddenmydadisyellinggetin,thereisahugeflockouttothesouthabout500yards.Wegot
ourlayoutblindssetinthegroundandgotinatehrighttimeinthehunt.Mydadwas100%
right,therewasahugeflockacouplehundredyardsout.Thiscouldbethebestflocktoday.As
theycomeintorange,thethreeofussitup,gunsablazinandthehuntbegins.Itwasflockafter
flockforthenextcouplehours.Thismadeitsowecouldbepickywithourshots.Wewere
limitedoutongreenheadsinacouplehours,nowitwasthewaitforthegeese.Thegeeseusually
startedflyingabout2oclock,andwewantedtogetfulllimitstoday.Thismeans21mallards
and24snowgeese.Rightnowwehave21mallardsand4snows.Itisabout3hourslaterwhen
wehearTheStormofgeesethatiscomingatus.Thisisturningouttobeaonceinalifetime
hunt.Mydadsaysitsabout4500snowgeeseat70yards.Theycomealittlecloser,andwejust
letemhaveit.8birdsdropforthethreeofus.Theflightiscomingfast,sowehavetoruntoget

thembackbytheblindsintime.Igoouttogetthreeofthemonlytoseethatoneoftheonesthat
Ihadshothadaband.ThisisthefirstbandIhadevergotinmylife.ThisisthehuntthatIhave
beenwaitingfor4moreflockscomeandwearelimitedoutby3:45intheafternoon.
Therestofthedaywasspentcleaningupthefieldandgettingallthebirdspackedupfor
thetripbackhome.WefinishpackingupandIcannotstoptalkingabouthowgreatthathunt
was,andhowIgotmyfirsteverband.Mydadfinallyhadtotellmetoshutmymouthsohe
couldfocusondriving.Itwasgettinglateandhewastiredafteralonghunt.Itwasvery
importanttohimtogethomesafely.Whenwearrivehomemymomissoexcitedthatwehada
wonderfulhunt,howeverweweresotiredIsaid,yaitwasfunandthencontinuedwalkingto
mybed.ThewholenextdaywasspentcleaningallthebirdsthatmydadandIhadendedup
with.
Aswewerefinishingdealingwiththehuntandeverythingwasdoneputaway,Icould
notstopthinkaboutnextyear,andthepotentialthatwehave.Thehuntwasthebestmomentof
mylife,andthegeesecominginwasanexperiencethatIwillneverforget.Ithankedmydadso
muchforputtingalltheeffortintogetthethingsthatwehave.Withouthim,Iwouldhavea
terriblelife.
ThisisonethinginmylifethatIwillneverforget.