This afternoon it rained green heads. The decoy spread stayed in the pea field after the morning shoot. Morning shoot had plenty of blues phase Arctic, giant Canada’s and few lesser. The coffin blinds worked wells but the 4 dozen big foot and light snow pulled them in. We would have duck and goose breast for supper in a Currituck sauce. Even the dogs where chomping their lips. The low clouds, impending snow where fast cutting across the flat prairies building in the south. It would be a good afternoon duck shoot. Who could have imagined what was to happen after lunch. The pea field comprised a half section near the Cree Res. The whites leased the land from the band and they were more than willing to let us hunt the fields for a piece of the action. They also enjoy ducks and geese feed on the grain fields but we stopped at giving away the whisky
Field peas, very high protein souce and soil nitrogen fixer, are a rotational crop as part of wheat cycle. After combining they are shipped to feed lots for cattle fattening and also to the Mid East for pulse, a staple in their diets. Migrating water fowl prefer these fields to barley and wheat.
One of my hunting friends was a southern man with an III as suffix to his name. He was fifth generation and could tell you which battle his ancestors fought in the “war of Northern aggression.” He was willing to take on the northern yankee flight of ducks with valor. By 4:30 a ight drizzle had begun and there were fifteen mallards down. By 5:30, a limit. The Winchester model 21 duck models handled the 3-inch bismuth with ease and birds fell from upwards of 50 yards. Most important was the dogs working to retrieve all the sailors’ birds. Belle found eight birds in the deep cover and her feet were almost bloody from the stubble in the next field where many ducks tried to escape to. She would come back with two ducks in her mouth
