HEs in Quebec

[Sporrns]

Finally caught up with the owner of this cell phone pic which turned out to be the best of the trip. Taken in late Sept. 2016 in the Ille du Pas (aka) Lac St. Pierre or "Gladuville." The big gun is my cherished HE; 32" 3" Mag, the very first shot out of which on opening morning left me with a single shot gun!! (locking bolt problem), Sure wore me out having to open and close that thing so fast! I retired it after the first morning and went to my Pointer Grade Superposed with Kent TM #3s alternating days between that and my Jap A-5 3" Mag using Black Cloud #4s. ("Survive, Adapt, Overcome").

[vaturkey]

Those sure are funny looking wading shoes. PS. That's a pile of quackers for sure.

[fox-admin]

Very nice, thanks Craig

[Stan Hillis]

That's nice, Sporrns.

Have you gotten the HE fixed yet? I didn't understand the problem. A problem with the locking bolt caused one barrel not to fire?

Thanks, SRH

[Jim Cloninger]

That's a nice strap of "Mallets". Jim

[Sporrns]

Stan, don't know if the HE is fixed yet or not - I left it with Dan Rossiter on my way back home from Canada after the hunt. I never got back up his way to grouse hunt near Binghamton NY, which I normally do in early Oct. (got rained out 2 weekends in a row), so I just told him to go ahead and fix it so I could take it to Beaver Dam in January. Time got away from me ahead of that trip (Thanksgiving, Christmas, new grandchildren, etc.) and I never contacted him re: the HE, so I went with my X/DE 'Special' that Dan had restocked for me last year for use at Tunica. (That's the gun in the photos I posted earlier).

What was happening with the SuperFox was the gun was popping open about a quarter inch off the watertable after the first shot; if I shut it quickly I had my second barrel ready, but you can imagine what that was like with more than 2 birds in the air at any one time! Dan pronounced it a locking bolt issue; either the rotary bolt was not travelling far enough in an arc that engaged the rib extension cutout to lock the barrels to the action, or the critical angle in/on the sloping side of the rib extension was worn to the point where it needed to be built up (welded) and refit. Either way, it was a bitter pill to swallow after all the time and money I put into that gun: I wanted to be "Nash Jr.", with two giant drake Mallards rolling 50 yards out, dead in the air at the same time. As it turned out, I had to settle for one huge orange-legged Blackduck at a time x 2. I decided I could more than live with that! Kevin

[Jim Cloninger]

Kevin, you have had 2 spetacular duck hunts this season! Can you tell me the ratio of Black Ducks to Mallards in your bag? What is the limit on Black Ducks in Quebec? I would really like to go on a hunt specificly for Black Ducks. I have only killed 2 in my long duck hunting career, incidently in Minnesota.
Jim

[Stan Hillis]

Thanks for the reply, Kevin. I understand the issue with the second shot problem now. I have seen this many times with O/Us, most notably the later made Brownings, but have never seen a Fox do that. Not that they can't, it is just rare, IMO.

When I read what you said about having "to settle for one huge orange-legged Blackduck at a time x 2", I had to roll my eyes, while at the same time my jaw dropped. You poor fellow. I would trade my double for my old Iver Johnson Special Trap single barrel if it would get me into a situation like you described.

Glad you had a good season and, thanks again for the pics. I know it seems a bit conceited sometimes to post pics of yourself ...... I've felt concern about that many times. But, I have had so many viewers call or email me to express their gratitude that they're able to, in a small way, relive their earlier hunting trips through our pictures, that I no longer feel that way. To all who may feel a bit reticent to post pics of themselves and their hunting trips ....... please don't feel that way. Post 'em!!! We love 'em.

SRH

[vaturkey]

Interesting regarding black ducks. I for about 10 years had the privilege to hunt about a 35 acre lake in Northern Va. For those 10 years about the surest thing we encountered was black ducks. The season what shorter then regular ducks, and you were only allowed one black duck each, but they were there. Probably killed more black ducks then mallards on that lake. Once it got truly cold, the black ducks seemed to move out and the diving ducks appeared in mass. Those were good days. Wish I was shooting doubles back then, but a Benelli was my weapon of choice.

PS. Lake has been 100 % developed now. My Golden Gracie was brought into the house hold to specifically be a duck dog and to replace my dear old Abby (gone for 3 years now). Unfortunately, Gracie never got a chance to retrieve a duck as we lost the lake her first winter. A picture of Gracie and Abby are attached taken in Belfast Maine:

[Jeff S]

By all means, keep posting pictures of yourself. I buy Field & Stream just to look at the pictures, and these are better. Keep them coming.

[Sporrns]

Jim - One of the reasons I love to travel (some say too far!) to duck hunt is the continuing variety of ducks you can encounter in a specific area. Where we hunt in Quebec the first time I went I was all excited about shooting Canvasbacks. Turned out that particular area was not attractive to Cans for a variety of reasons (mostly food), but the Blackducks there are definitely numerous and are the biggest Blackduck's I've ever seen. As I mentioned elsewhere, the Canadian Wildlife Service does a much better job IMHO adjusting duck limits according to pre- and post-season survey results. In the 8 years I've hunted there, they have adjusted the limit on Blackducks from 1 to 2 then back to 1 then back to 2 and one year they even raised it to 3 per person per day (out of the daily bag limit of 6 ducks total). Currently it is back to a 2-bird limit, all based on a supply and demand type of game management plan. My personal belief is that they are much more efficient at this than the US because there a fewer layers of bureaucracy to peel away there with endless reviews and levels of sign-off.

Other Blackduck "strongholds" I have hunted for years are the lower New Jersey shore (Cape May County, Oceanside), and the Blackwater NWM area below Cambridge, MD. Paradoxically, on my recent hunts at Beaver Dam, we have seen few if any Blackducks (on the trip of a few weeks ago we saw 2 in 2 1/2 days of hunting). So far as the ratio of Blackducks to Mallards in the bag of course it depends on the area - In Quebec the year of the 3-bird limit on Blackducks it was 50/50! But there are lots of other species in the bags in both Quebec and Beaver Dam - Gadwalls, Widgeon, Teal, Shoveler and even a Woodie or two. In coastal New Jersey mostly Blackducks and Mallards and lots of other divers like Scaup (Bluebill), Bufflehead, Ruddies, and Goldeneyes (Whistlers).

Stan - glad you appreciate and enjoy the pictures - I like to take a few good ones on every hunt to commemorate the times & places, also celebrate the opportunity to still do this "like in the old days." With so much of life today dominated by would-be do-gooders and the ever-present HHEDs (hand-held electronic devices), these hunts are like an elixir to me - chances to see the sun rise & set, smoke a fine cigar while waiting in the blind, smell a wet retriever, hear gunfire and waft that ammonia-like rush of burnt power up my nose. (Get down, they're going to pitch!!!) Kevin

[DENNIS HAYS]

Kevin you are more than welcome to come and hunt West TN with me if you are ever down this way. But you can NOT take my dog when you leave. I am hoping to try and hunt Beaver Dam this year. My friend hunted there when he was a kid with Nash. Dennis

[Jim Cloninger]

"these hunts are like an elixir to me - chances to see the sun rise & set, smoke a fine cigar while waiting in the blind, smell a wet retriever, hear gunfire and waft that ammonia-like rush of burnt power up my nose." You have got it right , Kevin. I wish the pace of life was like the 1950's, when I first started duck hunting. This electronic age is too much for me. I don't even have a TV or "smart phone"! I have 3 Fox duck guns all with 32" barrels and choked tight: 1908 CE, 1910 C, and 1923 HE. Along with my new Black Labrador retriever pup, I love duck hunting with these wonderful A.H. Fox SxS's.
Jim

[bbman3]

I once in late 60s had a beaver pond full of black ducks and had great hunting until people found out its location.Looks like you had a great hunt! Bobby