# Duck season 1970



## alleyyooper (Oct 26, 2012)

Opening day 1970 duck season was spent at my dad's farm with two cousins Rick and Norm and their brothers in law Jim and Dale. My brother was in the service stationed overseas or he would have been along for the fun we were about to have.
The neighbor behind dads wood lot had this huge beaver pond which resembled a pair of small lakes. The main pound down by the dam it's self was a good 25 acres then there was a cut where it narrowed to probably 150 feet across then another pound that was close to 20 acres or more. Rick had a little ten foot pram we drug back to the lower pond. The plan was it would get launched by Jim and Dale once we were in position. Norm was stationed in the cut where it was narrowest I was just above the cut where it started to widen out. Rick went back to where it narrowed down to a stream again. Everyone except me had a 12ga of one sort or another, I had a 16ga. Pump an old Wards Western Field the very first shot gun I ever owned. Remember this as there is another story about that shot gun that will make your belly jiggle coming. The signal was given so Jim and Dale could launch the boat. When they launched the boat the big flock of mallards that had been down near the dam rose and headed up stream just as we figured. Jim and Dale got a couple shots off before they were out of range, as they passed by Norm he also got a couple shots off. My turn came next as they came out of the cut and decided to settle near me. I got 3 shots off so they decided to go higher up stream to where Rick was waiting where he got his 3 shots off. Those ducks circled those ponds 3 times before they decided they had enough and left the area. We had a total of 6 drakes between all of us. Soon a flock of mergansers flew over and decided they liked the looks of the place. We collected a nice bunch of them before they decided the place isn't to hospitable. We trade places Rick and I in the boat, Jim and Dale at the upper pond where Rick and I had been. We got some more mallards when a new flock showed up. It was decided to take a break for lunch at the house. Rick rowed the pram around so I could pick up my hulls to dry and reload.
Back at the house we had lunch decided we would hunt some ponds in the woods across the road. We were doing well over there also. My shot gun discharged once as I was racking a shell in when the safety was on. We decided to call it a day as we were close to us all having our limit. We cleaned the ducks and everyone went home.
The next day I took my shot gun to a smith in Cadillac Michigan to get it checked out to see why it had discharged with the safety on. I also putt all my hulls in a net bag and hung it by the wood burner heating stove.
A couple days latter I got my shot gun back seems a screw in the safety had worked loose which made the safety not work as it should. A week later I sat down and reloaded those hulls I had hung by the wood burner to dry out.
I was getting ready for a pheasant hunt down state near St. Johns.

The next year they went to the points system so we stopped hunting as a day limit could end up only being two ducks per person. 


If you all thlike this story of days gone by I have several more I can tell.

 Al


----------

