Thursday, December 25, 2008

MVP


Well, well, what a week it has been. Sorry to keep you all waiting for this posting but what with the holidays and all, arctic Blast 2008, chain requirements and even a minor emergency it's been a long time coming. So here goes.

Day 12.
We decided on the old new spot and set out early in order to beat the hordes that now crowd our style. We also needed to get out of town before the "Arctic Blast! 2008!" all the weather agency's were forecasting shut down the entire city. After a brisk walk out, the wind was ripping, we settled into our normal blind. The morning fly contained some mallards that managed to get by us but we did manage to fold the nice pintail and teal you see here. Shortly after it started to precipitate with some freezing rain and light snow. The hunt was called about 12:00 and we walked back to Lisa who somehow managed to get us back home even though all the news people predicted certain death to anyone cought out in the impending doom of "Arctic Blast! 2008!". That evening it started to snow lightly.

Day 13.
By now "Artic Blast! 2008!" was in full effect. The City of Portland was basically shut down. 24 hour news coverage from every highway and intersection in town included the words treacherous and dangerous with every sucessive media person. The TV weather men all looked frazzled. A record 8" had fallen and all residents were advised not to leave their homes, certain death if you did. Supermarkets were selling out of supplies, people were panicked. All for 8" of snow. And here's the capper: Chains required for all vehicles on any road, what a joke. Perfect for hunting.

So the night before I bought some chains for Ole' Black Betty. I picked up Fred at 4am because neithor of the citys 4 snowplows was able to clear any of the roads in town. 35mph top speed and of course the fore mentioned CERTAIN DEATH made our trip out to Sauvies Island a slow one. Even with only 2 wheel drive Ole' Black Betty was able to navigate the scetchball roads of the island and deliver us to the wait in line section of Sauvies. Interestingly enough there were other people there too. Perhaps they were also not afraid of the massive accumilations and treacherous road conditions the all news outlets had warned us about. Sick bastards.

So off we went to Mud hen #7 for some folding action. Snowshoes and heavy packs made the walk out less than super-fun but we made it alive. Fred broke up all the ice in front of our spot and did his best to clear a landing area for the ducks to come in. In the process I nearly had to amputate his hand at the wrist because of the massive frostbite he sustained. Many many ducks were flying that day but alas, none for the HOY7 hunting team. The only naturally open water in the area was about 150 yards to our right and 150 yards out. All the ducks would turn in to land in that stretch of water just out of gunning range. We called and worked the roto but few ducks wanted anything to do with us. Normally this would be the worst part but not today. The worst part was watching the guys in the blind 150 yards in the right direction spend the morning shooting our ducks. Damnit! I hate those guys. I called it at 12:00. Light snow continued to fall.

Day 14.
At this point the National Guard had been called in to assist police and fire officals due to the ongoing effects of "Arctic Blast! 2008!". Recently the highway had been reopened after a 3 day closure, another casualty of what I will now call 'AB08'. This also happens to be the highway we use to get to both the Old New spot and the Old Old spot. We had chosen the Old Old spot for the days hunt for a few reasons. The last walk on Sauvies with the packs and snow was just a pain in the ass. This time I got us bigger snowshoes and a pulk sled to bring the gear out in, good thinkin' eh? It sure would have been if it wasn't overloaded from the start and needed to be stabilized the entire way. Oh well, another thing learned-another thing earned.

After getting our gear to the river we were met with much frozen water and a stout eastern wind. Fred again cleared a small area of ice for ducks to land and severely aggravated his 'frostbite'. The snow was now driving so hard we set ourselves low to the ground and did our best to work the few birds that were able to find us in the foggy snow. With little success Fred decided to take a walk and I continued to call and look for some birds that weren't frozen over like our decoys were. At this point Fred returned with a disturbing story. While walking back to the site of the real Old Old spot he saw a massive shape in a small clearing. Thinking it was a lost Magnum size decoy he went in for a closer look and to his horror watched, what for all Heston's sake we believe to be, that bastard Greenie fly away. (We will find you, you French Canadian bitch.)

So after another bit of foul weather and 'AB08' we called it quits for the day again without a kill. The walk back to Betty was slow and my frozen over decoys and bag full of snow helped me to fall over 3 times on the way back which was no fun for anyone except the guy with a camera. I'm sure the photos will surface soon. Even with the low kill count we had a great time hunting the unusual conditions the Arctic Blast handed us. Stay tuned for more adventures and what will surely be the best X-mas eve fiasco since the B-surf incident. That story is for another time, so until then,
GBCH
(Christmas Day 2008, 3:34pm, Mix of snow and rain falling, Heston help us.)

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Sing out loud. Part 1

I'm dreaming of a H7HT Christmas
Just like the ones we used to write.
Where the ducks get folded,
and Pintails know that,
They are about to fall from flight.

I'm dreaming of a H7HT Christmas
With every Greenie that we down.
May your days be full of the sound,
Of your Benelli emptying a round.

I'm dreaming of a H7HT Christmas
With every Teal that we slay.
May your mornings be full of bets to pay,
And may you bag your limit, today.



Who's It Gonna Be?

We want YOU!..... to hunt with the HOY7 hunting Team.
So who will step up to the challenge?
Will it be:
Ned "Hocker Lock" Flemke?
"Jiggitty" Jeff DiPaolo?
Bubba "Bubstien" Quehl?
Steve "Arino" Lakatos?
Or some other brave soul who takes the duck by the horns and is man enough to pull the trigger.
The hunting is as good now as it's ever been.
Colder weather and many kills make this THE time.
Don't incur the wrath of Lord Heston, call today.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Congratulations H7HT readers on 4000 views!

'The Money Shot' (again)


That's right, I have once again taken home the elusive $10 prize for shooting the first Greenie of the year! My only regret is that this particular Greenie was not that French Canadian bastard 'Greenie' that keeps hacking into our Blog and belittling us with his particular version of scorn and ridicule. How do I know? For openers, he did not once "Quack in my general direction". I'm sure we will again hear him bad mouth all things H7Ht but for now I can take some pride in the fact that he will have to attend the funeral of yet another one of his kin.

Day 11 sure was a good one. We took ole' Black Betty to the 'wait in line' part of Sauvies Island and were the very last in line. (Feel better soon Lisa) Apparently a 4:45am start is not good enough to get first choice. We did however get a good selection of blinds and chose MudHen 13. Even though that bastard dog Skip, AKA "goddamnit" (see Fred's photo from day 7) was across from us he had no impact on our slaying abilities. In fact the biggest problem was that no hunters were next to us at all on the left side. The ducks seemed to have a party going on over there and every duck wanted in on that gig. We did have several good fly-bys and took advantage of our chances. The reward? Two more ducks to the H7HT totals.

Stay tuned folks as the season is starting to heat up. The forecast for the next week calls for much colder weather and we all know what that means don't we? Ducks will be pushed down from Canada and Washington state to the mighty Columbia river. And of course you know who will be waiting for them, the members of the HOY7 hunting team.
GBCH.

Day Eleven Appetizer

I'm sure there is going to be a lot said about today's outing,
here's a little something to wet the whistle
while you wait. I'll call it this:
"Sometimes it takes two, sometimes not"

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Sunday, December 07, 2008

History Lesson.


Sometime in the 1920s my Great Grandfather built this home. Notice the Ice truck in the picture, it may be a Neal ice truck. (also a family business).

This old time pic is from Hamden Connecticut. Not a great place to hunt ducks today. Good thing the H7HT is now located in the great Pacific Flyway.






Today the family house looks like this:
Still not a great place to hunt.
Thank God for a good history though!

More to come.

Guest Editor.




Ha! It is I Greenie.
I quack in your general direction.

Now that you have gotten some of your season into the books you think that you have beaten me? Not so fast you lame hunters. I am still outwitting your efforts to slay me. I see your badly constructed blinds, your inconclusive looking decoy spreads and your badly placed camouflage jackets. Don't get me started on the impotent Benelli guns you use to murder my brothers in flight.
I will make it my reason to live this year to outwit you. I will dispose your efforts to kill me. I will be happy to end your season of hunting with my ultimate instinct for survival, Good luck losers!

I Quack in your general directional direction

Day Nine.

Day 9.
We went to the Old Old Spot.
It was merely less than not.

We set the blocks out.
The ducks had a bad route.

People swarmed our blind.
We tired to be somewhat kind.

No shots were had.
It could have been better, but it was bad.

Next time we'll have more luck.
Bet your ass we'll kill more ducks.

GBCH

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Getting to know Jiggitty Jeff

Align Center"Luch, I can own, modify & sell anything short of nuclear weapons!"

Jiggitty Jeff on his new weapons manufacturing licence granted to him by the good ole US of A.

GBCH

Day Eight.


Well of course day eight was, what else? Great!
Great if you were hunting with a 'Youth Hunter' that is. We were not.

We had decided that day to go to 'Poker Chip' out on Sauvies Island because we liked the more open hunting spaces and the better chances of calling a duck all the way into our spread. When we arrived we were surprised to find the line of trucks extending way far away from the check in shack but we were undeterred. As you know we are the BEST and because of that fact fully expected to pick a number like say, 7 or so. In fact I picked 126 and I think Fred G picked 160 something. Being the quick thinkers we are we quickly pulled a U-ie (Thanks to the BroncoII turning radius) and rumbled off to the 'Wait in line' side of Sauvies.

"Holy Crap" we thought as we pulled up to the window, almost all the mud hen units were left on the board, some of the best hunting on the island. "We"ll take Mud 7 please". Well, this is where the Youth part comes in. Ranger Man asked us if we were hunting with a Youth, we were not. He asked us if we could borrow a Youth, we could not. He then told us about Youth hunting day here on the East side, and in one quick sentance explained how come the West side was so packed. With our options being few we decided to try McNary unit.

Not a bad walk, not the best cover, not a great lunch, but not a bad spot. With a little more scouting and a couple more ducks this could turn out to be an okay place to hunt. So at least we learned something today.
A. McNary could be a great option for last in line hunting on the East side
2. Always bring a Youth of some kind on 'Youth Hunting Days'
d. We are THE BEST, actually we already knew that.

GBCH