My first Goose Hunt

[DanielJRioux]

My very first goose hunt was several years after I began following my dad in the squirrel woods. He would shoot them and I would run and retrieve them. I learned to make sure they were dead and be one proud little swam carrying them in a game bag that dragged the ground.

Well on this morning the geese were flying and my dad was shooting and shooting and shooting. He missed well in my young mind every goose in horicon. After the evil "you want to sit in the car look". I shut up and sat down. Low and behold he finally connected, and down came our bounty a big old honker. My dad looks to me and says "fetch". Which I obediently did. The goose came down in the middle of a cut corn field. What seemed to me at the time 100 miles away. I guess to a 6 year old across the street would seem that far. Well by the time I reached the goose it had shaken off the plummet to earth.(only winged).

My dad told me just grab it by the neck and bring er here. Being the way I am even today when my dad says something I respond.(today I will give some thought how best to proceed). I grabbed the bird and it grabbed me. We began what can only be described as a fight for my life. That bird bit scratched hissed and pummeled me with its wings. Not having a whole lot of sense back then I never let go. I to was punching screaming kicking and rolling around in a muddy field with a goose darn near as tall as I. My dad never being one to intervene a fair fight. (one on one) kept yelling words of encouragement. I kept screaming that it was trying to kill me. finally after what seemed 15 rounds I won by decision. Not that I killed my adversary, no I just wore it down enough to be able to carry it to my dad. I was covered from head to toe with mud scratches and bruises. In the end what does my dad have to say?

Wait until your mother sees how muddy you got.

Should have ended any further relationship with him then and never ever went hunting or fighting again. But I can say that I still hunt as hard as when younger, I just learned not to grab any geese.
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[cat_man]

Hey great story Dan! Was that from your childhood? Hilarious stuff. I used to be my dad's pheasant hunting dog too -- when I was too young to carry the gun myself.

Doesn't he realize that although hunting dogs aren't cheap, they're cheaper than children? Maybe I was a little more useful than a hunting dog though -- I also got to do chores at home. [][crazy]
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[patches]

good story but i also hear ya, my father wanted a boy, he got me, but he couldnt of asked fer more, i was more boy than he could of wanted. haha oh well that was his problem, i still went fishin and huntin anyways. even if it was with laddie john, betsy jake ya know hahaha later[] but then i got older and i had someone to go with and take, my son! haha and we had a ball! all our life! and now he,s 29. haha[]
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