Well this story starts about one month ago just before my wife and I packed up all our belongings and moved across the country to Oregon. We've always thought it be neat to live out west but never thought it would be this far west. Either way we decided to give it a go before we have kids and get all settled down.
Anyway I had to make a trip back to Greenville to drop some stuff off before we left. It also provided the perfect opportunity to get in one more quick hunt before we left. I got to hunt with one of my best friends in a small beaver slough just outside of town. Hopes were high as some black ducks had been killed near this location last year. Water was low and only a few woodies visited us that morning. Still a great time and good to get in one last hunt.
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We ended up leaving Georgia a few days ealry because our POD got picked up and so we figured we might as well start the road trip. It also just so happens that some good friends were in Arkansas at their duck camp and so we left Georgia and arrived in Arkansas just after midnight. The wife was a trooper and put up with all the dudes snoring at the camp and we woke up early to get in the river while the wife slept in. It was POURING rain on the boat ride down river and I got absolutely soaked. Not the best conditions for timber hunting- mild, no wind, and a low ceiling with other hunters close by. We only got one group in that morning, but it was a good one. 30 mallards, feet down just over the decoys before the shot was called. It was one of the prettiest groups I'd seen all year and made the pit stop well worth it.
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Back to the camp for a quick shower and off to Dallas we went. Stayed for the night and headed to El Paso Texas the next morning to stay with a good friend who is an apache pilot stationed there. Not to much water down that way but that wouldn't stop the duck hunting quest- he had been hunting in the rio grande and we headed out there the next morning. We stopped and chatted with border patrol when we arrived and just let them know we would be hunting. As we set up decoys we saw several more border patrol trucks driving up and down the levy just 100 yards behind us. The rio grande in this area is not so grande. Only 20 yards wide and knee deep at the deepest point- Mexico just across the bank... Killed a pair of gadwall early on and took advantage of a few spoonies in the decoys. While I was rearranging he decoys I looked down river and noticed 4 big birds flying low heading towards us. As they neared i realized they were canvasbacks and when I raised up to shoot I picked up a drake and missed. I got back on the bird just overhead And winged him on the second shot but the 25 mph north wind sailed him over the far bank...into old Mexico. I was tempted to go chase him down but figured a run in with the Federales wouldn't be worth it.
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