YOUR WORST HUNTING TRIP

Today my hunting buddy and i were working on gear for next weekends opener. And we got into discussion on several things over the years and the worst trip. After thinking back 45 years i think the worst trip was for me when I was 17. I lived in Va then and we would float/jump shoot a long stretch of the James River near Lynchburg Va. During one float trip our boat got tipped over and almost everything went flying. My buddy then lost a Mod 12 in 16 ga. WE dragged all we could to the bank and built a fire to dry out. Also we took turns swimming for his gun and didnt find it that day. It was during our Xmas break and the temps were above normal that year. Well it took 2 more trips back and days of diving and swimming but we found it . After cleaning and drying it went back into action a couple of weeks later with an "idiot " cord tied to our guns and the boat. Dont know if our Dad's would ve let us hunt anymore if we hadn't gotten lucky and found that Mod 12. SO what has been your worst hunt?

Rick

Three years ago I dropped a clutch in my Prodrive Mudboat. I was 7 miles up river with the wind in my face. I have never to this day owned a cell phone. No service in the river bottom anyway. I have A deal with my Wife.
If I don't come home don't call anyone till the next day. As long as I'm out there I might as well hunt the next morning also. Just over five hours later I could see the launch down wind of me now. I made it. It's is good to know you can get out on your own. I would not want to do it to often however.

Good stories guys. Thats crazy Rob!! Glad you made it back. I'll share a story when I get some time.

Here is another hunt I was on. Not the worst but almost my last hunt.

A couple of seasons ago I hunted a large flat just off the main Red River channel. Water was less than knee deep with a good bottom. Shot a lot of ducks there. One morning about 5am I boated up to the flat just like I had done ten times before. Climbed out of the boat and started pushing the boat up to where I wanted to set decoys. Next thing I know, Im in water way over my head. About 28 degrees that morning. Just by chance on the way down I got two fingers on the back of the transom next to the motor. I pull my self up as water was running into my waders. Now how do you get back into the boat? I worked around hand over hand to the side of the boat. With everything I had I got a leg up on the boat side. Crazy River cut a bankout through the flat in two days. I have spent my whole life on the Red. I have seen what she can do.
That morning I bested the river by Two fingers.

This is not the worst hunting trip for me but I will say if you have a friend who is lactose intolerant don't offer him coffee with one of those nice speciality creamers. I would have thought he would have declined the offer for coffee. That sort of emergency in neoprene chest waders could be expensive as I don't think that smell ever comes out of neoprene. To make matters worse the daily rations of TP had already been exhausted so all was left was shirt sleeves or a camo face mask. Who really cares at that point if the ducks can see you. The swamp smelled a little worse that afternoon.

In short... Set off for a morning hunt in a building snowstorm. Had 3"-4" of the white stuff already on the ground when we got on the road. 14 miles up the road = whiteout conditions; accidents everywhere! Could barely even see the road. Common sense prevailed, so we turned the truck around and headed home. Pulled over at a local convenience store where my buddy had parked his truck. He got out, cleared his gear from my truck bed, and got in his truck. I pulled away and my other hunting partner who's riding with me said, "Pull over. Lemme clear some of the ice/snow from the windshield." Stopped the truck and then watched my buddy's truck pass us and come to a sliding halt. He got out of his truck and started gesturing wildly to my friend, who was now clearing my windshield. Friend looks behind my truck, drops his head dejectedly, and opened my door. Snow and wind filled the truck cab. I could hardly hear what he said the first time. Heard it clearly the 2nd time though... "The f*#$ing boat is gone!" I responded, "What?!?" He replied, "Your F*#$ing boat... it's gone!"

Naturally, I was horrified and thought "worst-case-scenario" = fatality(ies) after a vehicle struck it in the blinding snow. All my friend cared about was whether his Bennelli SBE was okay 'cuz it was in the gun box on the boat.

So... we put a call into 911 to report a "lost boat" on US-13. The reaction from the dispatcher was hilarious. Anyway... we found the rig about four miles up the road where it was precariously hanging over a drainage swale. A DelDOT snow plow crew had located it first and they placed an orange reflective traffic barrel behind it. Surprisingly, no damage whatsoever except for the safety chains that had snapped right off. We hooked the rig back up to the truck and made it safely home (we did manage to jump shoot a couple birds on a stream later that morning!).

Went out the next day and replaced everything!!!

We Have A WINNER! Thats Crazy.

Ed Lewandowski wrote:In short... Set off for a morning hunt in a building snowstorm. Had 3"-4" of the white stuff already on the ground when we got on the road. 14 miles up the road = whiteout conditions; accidents everywhere! Could barely even see the road. Common sense prevailed, so we turned the truck around and headed home. Pulled over at a local convenience store where my buddy had parked his truck. He got out, cleared his gear from my truck bed, and got in his truck. I pulled away and my other hunting partner who's riding with me said, "Pull over. Lemme clear some of the ice/snow from the windshield." Stopped the truck and then watched my buddy's truck pass us and come to a sliding halt. He got out of his truck and started gesturing wildly to my friend, who was now clearing my windshield. Friend looks behind my truck, drops his head dejectedly, and opened my door. Snow and wind filled the truck cab. I could hardly hear what he said the first time. Heard it clearly the 2nd time though... "The f*#$ing boat is gone!" I responded, "What?!?" He replied, "Your F*#$ing boat... it's gone!"

Naturally, I was horrified and thought "worst-case-scenario" = fatality(ies) after a vehicle struck it in the blinding snow. All my friend cared about was whether his Bennelli SBE was okay 'cuz it was in the gun box on the boat.

So... we put a call into 911 to report a "lost boat" on US-13. The reaction from the dispatcher was hilarious. Anyway... we found the rig about four miles up the road where it was precariously hanging over a drainage swale. A DelDOT snow plow crew had located it first and they placed an orange reflective traffic barrel behind it. Surprisingly, no damage whatsoever except for the safety chains that had snapped right off. We hooked the rig back up to the truck and made it safely home (we did manage to jump shoot a couple birds on a stream later that morning!).

Went out the next day and replaced everything!!!

Story is legendary in waterfowling circles here in Delaware. It's been told at DU fundraisers, Christmas Day dinners, and in numerous duck blinds. One of the funny aspects is that my one buddy who grabbed his gear from my truck at the convenience store never even noticed that the boat was missing!

I kinda have 2 the first one was when I was 17. Me and a friend always wanted to hunt this one pond out in the marsh but we didn't have a boat at that age and the only way for us to get there was to hike about 4miles through the marsh and over creeks we left at 2am and started hiking guns, 6 decoys, some burlap to help. Hide us as we were just gonna hunker down in the tall grass. It was about a 2 hour walk
Half way there I said to rick hey did you bring shells he yells back yeah I have some in my coat pockets. I knew I hade some in my coat pockets aswell. We get there in plenty of time toss the dekes out get set up. We see the light coming from the east as the sun is coming up so I reach into my pocket and grab 3 shells to load the gun and I hear rick say son of a bitch I don't have any shells. He said they I washed the coat and I took em out. I reached into my pockets and gave him 3 shells and I counted what I had left 9. So the sun come up first flock of mallards come it and 6 shots gone 1 draken next flock of black ducks 6shots 1 black each now only 3 shells left gave rick 1 I kept 2 flock of mallards come in 3 shots no kills we sat there for the next hour and watched small flocks of mallards 4 to 6 come in land take off with empy guns. We were on the X with no shells. I still laugh at that. Looking back I shoulda loaded one shell at a time. Woulda had a longer hunt and not wasted shells. And picked each one at a time.

The second was last season in the new sneakbox. There was this one spot I wanted to hunt at low tide I saw the ducks going there at low tide to feed in the shallow water. To do this I needed the wind to be right and I would have to sit through low tide and wait for the water to come up to get me and the boat out. Got there early got the sneakbox set where I wanted it as I knew it would be high and dry when it was shooting time. The tide goes out and I walk through about 1 foot of water and 2 foot of bay mud to set my decoys so they wouldn't be in the mud. I walk out to set the last 2 dekes an turn to walk back to the sneakbox and my feet got hung up in the deep mud and I trip and fall face first in about 18inches of muddy water. I took my coat off as I was hot from setting the other dekes and when I fell I got a good bit of water down my waders and I put my hands out to catch myself and I went to my sholders in mud and face in the water. Of course this is one 1 of only 2 cold days we had I think it was 20 degrees with a stiff 25mph wind. So I am soaked water down my waders.the sneakbox is high and dry with no chance of pushing or draging it out to deep water as I was on a big mud flat with a small pool of water where my decoys were. So I get into the sneakbox take off the layer of soaked shirts and put my dry coat on. And climb up under the canvas dodger. The way I set the boat was with the wind at my back so under the dodger I was out of the cold wind. I knew I had about 4 more hhours till the tide would be up enough to get the boat out and get back to the ramp. Then the wind shifs and its blowing right in on me.it was a cold 4 hours but I was able to get back and get a hot shower and get warm. That day sucked. To top it off with the wind shift the birds were landing about 200yards away. Now I keep an extra coat and sweatshirt stuffed up in the bow of the boat. Being cold and wet is the worst in my opinion.

Christmas Eve Blow about 25+ years ago--Gunning Brant and some puddlers in indian river--Steady winds eventually were clocked at 60+ We could not launch the boat, due to 6' waves which filled the boat and pushed us back to shore--We spent four hours walking a 16" boat with a mariner on the back, full of dekes, around burton's island, built an improv roller set, and got it into the salt pond-One of my partners retrieved the vehicle--Man, ginger brandy never tasted sooo good.
Same folks, but on our old digs--1993--january 16--last day of the season--We had a five foot wall of water cross the dune by conch bar, on the del bay, south of big stone beach road--We rode two jon boats into the woods, got a ride over to where we had the vehicles parked, went out, got the motorboat unanchored form the digs, and proceeded to go on search for decoys--90% were retrieved, most still in the blind, which left its original location and floated inverted for over a quarter mile- Some dekes are still in trees, to my knowledge, or way back in the marsh, which changed for the worse that day.
One plus on both is that when you are with friends, and have Faith, things work out pretty good.
I will not go into the sea trout adventure, when we pulled into cedar creek in a 16 footer with a good catch. Came in on some nasty gusts from the anchorage--The state fuys asked us where we were and were incredulous, since a few 20+ footers had fouldered just going out the Missipillion. They were believers when we showed the fish!

george w wrote:Christmas Eve Blow about 25+ years ago--Gunning Brant and some puddlers in indian river--Steady winds eventually were clocked at 60+ We could not launch the boat, due to 6' waves which filled the boat and pushed us back to shore--We spent four hours walking a 16" boat with a mariner on the back, full of dekes, around burton's island, built an improv roller set, and got it into the salt pond-One of my partners retrieved the vehicle--Man, ginger brandy never tasted sooo good.
Same folks, but on our old digs--1993--january 16--last day of the season--We had a five foot wall of water cross the dune by conch bar, on the del bay, south of big stone beach road--We rode two jon boats into the woods, got a ride over to where we had the vehicles parked, went out, got the motorboat unanchored form the digs, and proceeded to go on search for decoys--90% were retrieved, most still in the blind, which left its original location and floated inverted for over a quarter mile- Some dekes are still in trees, to my knowledge, or way back in the marsh, which changed for the worse that day.
One plus on both is that when you are with friends, and have Faith, things work out pretty good.
I will not go into the sea trout adventure, when we pulled into cedar creek in a 16 footer with a good catch. Came in on some nasty gusts from the anchorage--The state fuys asked us where we were and were incredulous, since a few 20+ footers had fouldered just going out the Missipillion. They were believers when we showed the fish!

Huh? Either you need to try writing when sober, or I will have a few drinks and try to read it again