"Getting the Passion"
August 2005
As the sun peaked over the horizon, the first group of Greenwing buzzed our pit blind. Two swings and the group landed 10 yards from of our blind. I flipped open the pit wings, the teal flushed and the guns roared. Two guns firing and six hit the water. That wasn't six ducks … it was six empty hulls! I laughed out loud as all the teal flew off, but I knew this was going to be a Thanksgiving morning I would never forget.
No doubt the teal had given the morning a jump-start of excitement, but this hunt would be memorable for me in another way. This was my grandsons second duck hunt and his first when he shared the pit with a young man his own age. My grandson Chase lives in a metropolitan area in south Texas and the young man sporting the second gun was Bub Bruton.
There's quite a contrast between these two young men. While Chase's dad enjoys hunting and fishing, it hasn't worked out where Chase gets much exposure to the outdoors. In fact, my daughter … his mother, had just as soon them not keep guns in their home. On the other hand, Bub's dad is an avid outdoorsman and works with us every duck season. That means Bub has had a big dose (some may think an over dose) of our duck hunting lodge, but no matter what their different back grounds were I knew these two young men had a couple of things in common. They both enjoyed the fellowship and sport of a duck blind and neither one of them could shoot worth a crap!
Before I called the end of the hunt last Thanksgiving, Chase had shot more than a box of shell and would have shot many more had I not started making him load one shell at a time, trying to improve his shooting. Bub had spent two boxes, if not more and George (Bub's dad) and Brett (Chase's dad) had decided to pitch in on the shooting and had spent a box of shells themselves. If you can't tell by the number of shells they shot, it turned out to be one of those mornings you live for and dream about. Not only did the boys experience non-stop duck action, something else got Chase's attention.
Over the years Jackie and I have given Chase a few duck calls and encouraged him to practice, but until this hunt he had not shown any interest in learning to call. It wasn't the duck action that got his interest up, it was Bub. While Bub has shared a pit with several members of our staff the past couple of years, this was the first time he had a chance to take the lead on calling. I guess it comes with the territory, or over-dose of the duck lodge, but one thing for sure … Bub can handle a duck call. Even thought he doesn't compete on a regular basis, he did manage to take fifth in the Junior World last year at Stuttgart. Add the excitement of non-stop duck action, the sounds of guns blasting, good fellowship and outstanding calling by a young man his own age and no wonder Chase was interested in learning to call.
Distance between our homes drastically reduces the opportunities we have to expose Chase to duck hunting, but we want to keep his interest up in the sport and him to learn to call. So what can we do? We decided to do the same thing my dad did for me. We started looking for an instructional CD. When I was a youngster, my family hunted on a regular basis, but no one blew a duck call. We had to rely on invitations to duck hunt, but dad knew when I had gotten the passion for learning to call. One Saturday morning he came home with a duck call and a 45-rpm record. While it drove my mom wild at times, between the record and hunting with dad and his friends, I managed to learn the basics of handling a call.
As far as instructional CD's go, the choices seem to be unlimited and they're reasonably priced. We've decided on two we're giving Chase and we're sending him a call to go with them.
Marc Ackerman and Swamp Thing Mallard Calls produce "Kindergarten for Duck Callers". With a notable southern flare, this CD provides a unique and at times, almost a comical approach to the basics of duck calling.
www.swampthingmallardcalls.com or call 843-835-2505
TakeEm.com produces "Mastering The Fundamentals of Duck Call Operation". This CD not only reviews basic duck calling, it also goes over the ins and outs of selecting the call or calls for your specific situation.
www.TakeEm.com or call 563-210-6451
We won't know how call practice is going until next Thanksgiving, but I'm looking forward to sharing the blind with my grandson again … even if he wants to test out his new calling techniques! Maybe Chase will end up Getting the Passion!
Charles "HammerTime" Snapp
Email: snapps@arkmo.com
Website: www.arkansaswaterfowl.com
For the simplicity of ordering, click on this link and go directly to a fine selection of duck and goose calls. Many of these calls, like the Shawn Mann Calls, come with instructional tapes. www.schumacherswaterfowlsupply.com |
