Late Season Goose Hunt

There is goose hunting and then, there is Goose Hunting! This falls in the latter of the two. The storms had passed and gave way to clear skies and sub zero temperatures. The Klamath River was froze solid and the geese were hungry. Fortunately for us, we had some standing Barley to draw them in. It was in the mid 1980's and gas was a $1.20 a gallon and a dozen eggs only .80 cents. We could get pretty far on both in those years. We hunted hard and put in our time in the pit blind. A 4' by 8' steel box buried below ground level, and yes it was cold! Hunting with my best friend we would smoke Swisher Sweets and tell each stories and watch the smoke billow around us. Playing tic-tac-toe with spent shells on the walls of the pit, waiting for the faintest sounds of Geese off in the distant. We answered them with authority and invited them to our little patch of snow. They answered with urgency and dropped in with reckless abandon...cupped, committed and you'd better be ready! We had geese landing arms distance from our pit blind. We were happier than pigs in ....well, you know. With perma grins and flushed with adrenaline we were warm once again. There was about a week during this particular season when we (about 6 of us) would take turns in the pit shooting limits of geese. Big late season northern Canada Geese. I shot so many I got tired of plucking them. Although when I lay my head on that down pillow (from those very birds), all that remains are the warm memories of good friends and simpler times. Oh, and how I miss both.

Women's Hunting Journal Integrity For The Hunt