The other day hunting with Jake, it got me to thinking about the first time that I shot a goose. I was 12 years old. I had been hunting geese for a couple of years at the time and we would only average about 3 to 6 geese a year. The club that my dad was a member of had leases up around the Windsor reservoir. We never hunted over decoys because we were in these box blinds that were spaced about 150yds apart and there were usually 15 to 20 in a field. The hunting wasn’t that great. Most of the shots that we had were passing shots and most of those were usually way out of range. Sky-busting is what we called it. We used 00 and 4 buckshot to hunt with. That morning was typical of most other mornings. It was cold and the geese were slow in coming off of the lake. We had one flock come over that we shot at and I can remember that the floor in our blind had a covering of snow over it that had turned into ice. As I would shoot that old 870 straight up, granted I barely had arms long enough to work the pump, the recoil after each shot would slide me across the floor until I was backed into the corner. About mid-morning another flock came over us and finally I was able to connect on a goose that was towards the back of the pack. I have killed a lot of geese since then and hunted them a lot of different ways but after almost 26 years, I can remember it like it was yesterday. I have been fortunate to harvest many animals in my brief hunting career, but the ones that stand out the most for me are always my firsts. As I reflect back on the hunting that I have done, I look at all of the memories that I have made for myself and I can only hope that my kids will be able to build there own memories and adventures. To my friend Jake and to my future best hunting buddies Jacob and Caleb. (I know that you are too young yet!) Remember your firsts, because that is where it all begins. Oh! One more thing. To my good friend Jim: “How about them Tigers!†You owe me a soda pop! It’s the first time I beat him in a bet if you are all wondering.
Very good post. I know exactly what you mean.
enjoyed your site
and remember well the first deer, duck I took.
Matt, Rex,
Thanks for the kind comments. It is tough sometimes to remember the goodtimes that we have had in the past, but somethings just stand out in our memories. Thanks again.
While I’ve never killed a goose, I remember the first deer that I killed with a shotgun, I was probably only 14 at the time and was so proud of myself, and I just recently had the joy of killing my first deer with a bow.
I remember my first goose very well, that sticks with you forever.