doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Retrieving Downed Birds Can. Be Rough

This grouse fell over a steep embankment and retrieving it was with a rope, rappelling down the slope…

Having the proper equipment makes all the difference, here is my bird retrieval kit.

Kirk looks like you been having lots of fun. And I'm stuck in the office.

Did you see all the birds and targets I’ve shot with that .410?

Your post title reminded me of the time that my friend Bob dropped a duck that ended up floating in the middle of the River Cherwell above Oxford.

He sent in Toad (3/4 Labrador, 1/4 Collie) who rushed to the bank but then uncharacteristically locked on all 4 brakes at the edge.

Bob was about to shout at him when a Pike, invisible till then, and “the size of a field gatepost” rose to the surface, swallowed the duck and both disappeared.

How did the dog know what was about to happen?

Well done. Reminds me of a duck I winged just below the bridge separating Fenwick Island, Delaware and Ocean City, Maryland. I had to go under the bridge which was the state line between Delaware and Maryland. It was a narrow gut, which the locals called the ditch. I knew I was being watched by a Maryland game warden. I did not know there was a Delaware game warden watching me on the other side. Some "neighbor" had most likely called both states DNR's to get me to stop hunting.

So I loaded my Chesapeake Bay retriever and went after the cripple in my john boat. Once past the bridge I could not legally shoot the duck as it dived and swam away. Duck season was closed in Delaware. So I spent 10 minutes playing wack a mole with a cripple duck. Went up about half a mile into Delaware before the duck tired and my dog got a chance to bring it back. She, my Chessie, was magnificent and my mistake was retrieved. I miss that girl.

Before I got back to the state line I was stopped by the Delaware game warden. Told me he saw the whole thing. Started to tell my I was in trouble for hunting when the season was closed. I pointed to my gun with an action open and no shell in it. He checked it and decided I might not have been "shooting" the duck but still checked my gun for a plug and wanted to see my Federal duck stamp. I pulled my Maryland hunting license out and the stamp was affixed to the back side of it. Signed as it needed to be. Then I pulled my Delaware and Virginia hunting license out with state stamp in place as well. He decide to let me go with a verbal warning to not hunt so close to the line and people. Jerk I thought.

When I got back on the Maryland side of the line I was met by the Maryland game warden. He checked my papers as well, never looked at my gun. Told me he saw the whole thing. Knew I was in "trouble" when I went after the cripple. Was surprised the Delaware DNR did not cite me for hunting out of season. I explained my gun was empty and the dog did the work. Then I asked him if he saw the whole thing what he would have done if I did not go after that cripple? Charge me with wanton waste of game he said, even when it crossed state lines. Damned if you do and damned if you don't. My opinion of game wardens was low by then and has never improved much in five decades of hunting since. I applaud your effort and success.

Great post, Kirk. What are the daytime temps there, now?

The pics led me to wonder about snakes. i know the Prairie Rattler is native to there. Is it warm enough for them to still be active?