Duckin' in AR

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Stan Hillis
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Duckin' in AR

Post by Stan Hillis »

Made the drive today from GA. Sitting around watching American Sniper movie tonight. Weather looks good for green timber hunting tomorrow morning. Clear skies and colder temps. The HE will go to the old familiar blind on the L 'Anguille. Hoping for a good morning. Follow up will come tomorrow

Best to all, SRH
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Jeff S
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Re: Duckin' in AR

Post by Jeff S »

Right now, as the rest of us are sitting at our desks, Stan is swatting mallards out of the sky.
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Re: Duckin' in AR

Post by 67galaxie »

I really hope he is. I am training someone to open my restaurant as we speak so that I may one day have a life in the outdoors again
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Re: Duckin' in AR

Post by Rbishop »

Good luck Stan! Post lots of photos! :D
Stan Hillis
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Re: Duckin' in AR

Post by Stan Hillis »

Cheer up, guys. You aren't missing anything. This is the worst I've ever seen it in 25 years of hunting the L 'Anguille. Four of us killed 4 mallards, two gadwalls and two teal yesterday morning and didn't fire a shot today. There is a general consensus that hundreds of thousands of mallards are hung up in Missouri on tens of thousands of acres of intentionally unharvested and flooded corn. There is a 55 mile long area of unharvested, flooded corn, three to four farms wide.

Watch this video for more info on it:. Go straight to Part 2, and wait until the podcast with Jeff Foiles starts. Do a YouTube search for federation flyway of LA. (Part 2).



Still hoping things get better for tomorrow morning.

Best, SRH
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Re: Duckin' in AR

Post by fox-admin »

Every year the ducks seem to stay north later and later in our flyway. Here in NY mallards stay longer in the St Lawrence valley into January if there is no snow cover. Corn harvest was late this year and the northern birds never moved south of the finger lakes. Montezuma refuge is holding tens of thousands ducks and geese. Why go south if u have open water and food and the hunting season is closed. In our era you need to be mobile, going to traditional hot spots will disappoint.
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Jeff S
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Re: Duckin' in AR

Post by Jeff S »

Stan Hillis wrote:Cheer up, guys. You aren't missing anything. This is the worst I've ever seen it in 25 years of hunting the L 'Anguille. Four of us killed 4 mallards, two gadwalls and two teal yesterday morning and didn't fire a shot today. There is a general consensus that hundreds of thousands of mallards are hung up in Missouri on tens of thousands of acres of intentionally unharvested and flooded corn. There is a 55 mile long area of unharvested, flooded corn, three to four farms wide.

Watch this video for more info on it:. Go straight to Part 2, and wait until the podcast with Jeff Foiles starts. Do a YouTube search for federation flyway of LA. (Part 2).



Still hoping things get better for tomorrow morning.

Best, SRH
Stan, get back into that blind and don't come out until you have some pictures for us. :)
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Re: Duckin' in AR

Post by Jim Cloninger »

I know what you mean about Mallards not migrating south very far. Most of the Mallards that used to come to California from Canada are "short stopped" in the Columbian Basin in the state of Washington now. A combination of hot springs, flooded corn and the Columbia river!
Goodbye Mandy, once in a life time hunting dog. I miss you every day.
Stan Hillis
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Re: Duckin' in AR

Post by Stan Hillis »

A few pics from the three days in the L 'Anguille River bottoms .......

The HE in the big river blind. Bismuth reloads awaiting their turn.

Image

View from a smaller floating blind in a flooded field corner near the river. Good many green wings worked us here that afternoon. 30" BSS, for steel shot, in wait.

Image

Three nice drakes taken yesterday morning with the BSS. Going to weigh that biggest drake. He's huge, and I just want to see what he weighs. Had to "case" the HE after the second morning. Noticed a tiny bit of movement of the buttstock on the action and didn't want to shoot it anymore until that has been addressed. Don't need any cracks starting.

Image
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Jeff S
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Re: Duckin' in AR

Post by Jeff S »

Stan, thanks for posting the great pictures of those fat mallards. Have you shown us pictures of the big blind before? I seem to remember a blind with a kitchen.
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Re: Duckin' in AR

Post by Stan Hillis »

You remember well. I recall sitting and listening to Jim Lindsey and a teammate, Fred Cox the kicker, both of whom played with the Minnesota Vikings, telling "war stories" of their NFL days in the '70s. Fred commented that the blind was spectacular. Jim said that it cost more than his first house, to have built ........... $38K. That was some 20 years ago. It has served very well.


Inside, kitchen area:

Image

Inside, shooting area:

Image

View from a shooting hole:

Image

Can't seem to find a pic of the outside of the blind right now.

SRH
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Jeff S
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Re: Duckin' in AR

Post by Jeff S »

:) Just sitting in that blind has to make a guy feel good.
Stan Hillis
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Re: Duckin' in AR

Post by Stan Hillis »

Jeff S wrote::) Just sitting in that blind has to make a guy feel good.
Yep, especially after having hot, fresh brewed coffee, hot chocolate, biscuits and sausage, cinnamon rolls, etc. We even had hot, grilled duck rolls one morning, some years ago. Mallard breast meat, butterfly sliced, stuffed with cream cheese and ground sausage. Breakfast is usually started just after the early flurry of ducks is over. Kill a limit on top of that and you feel real good !!

SRH
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Re: Duckin' in AR

Post by Foxnut »

Stan,
That is one impressive duck blind!!! That’s the way to do it!!
Regards - Foxnut
Stan Hillis
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Re: Duckin' in AR

Post by Stan Hillis »

Sorted out the issue with the slight looseness in the buttstock yesterday. The tang screw had backed off about 100 degrees without my noticing it. Retightened it and play all gone. Good reminder to me to keep a closer check on those.

Weighed those green heads, too. The big one weighed 3 lbs. 3 oz. the other two 2/11 and 2/12. Anybody else ever weighed any? I'd like to know if that one really was larger than normal, or if we have just gotten used to seeing smaller ones down here.

SRH
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