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Being
a guide is like being Humpty-Dumpty, you are setting
yourself up for a great fall. If you don't know your game
like the back of your hand, you are probably facing a lot of
problems.
Then there is the cooperation of the animal you are after,
and finally, there is GOOD OLE MOTHER NATURE !!!!
Before you ever get into the field, you already have three
strikes against you.
1. MOTHER NATURE (Where does it say, that being a guide for
hire, that you can predict the weather for the day that your
client wants to hunt?)
2. THE ANIMAL ITSELF (With crows it's decoy placement, more
decoys or less, do I use two callers or only one, a mouth
call, an owl, maybe not?)
3. YOUR CLIENTS (Will they wear camouflage or not? If so,
what colors? Can they shoot? Will they listen to you and
bring plenty of shells?)
And if that's not enough to think about, you can always ask
yourself, did I pick the right area or spot? Then you have
the time of the season. How soon will the birds wise up to
the callers and decoys? Have they been shot at enough or
called to be shy of the callers and gunshots?
And last there is the client that set up this hunt. Said he
had heard from a friend how much fun that he had and all the
great shooting there was and thought you must be a
professional. Oh Boy, now the pressure to perform really
good. You try to tell the guy that you have had some very
good hunt and it's getting later in the season and that
anything can, and probably will, happen. But after hearing
what a good time that his friend had, he won't have or think
of anything else.
At this point there is only one thing that you can do...
Pray, cross your fingers and knock on wood. Not that I am
superstitious, but it never hurts to be safe about these
things, if you know what I mean. Now Heaven willing, you are
ready to start guiding.
You've scouted the area, so you hope the crow will be there.
You've checked the blind, set up the decoys, and told your
clients where to meet you. Now that you are ready, what
could possibly go wrong?
You drive them out to the blind and unload the truck, hide
the vehicle and return to the blind where your clients ask
"How long before we see any action?". In return
you just smile and say, "Just as soon as I turn the
caller on." YOU FOOL !!!! Why did you have to go and
say that? You are now just asking to fall off the GREAT
WALL!!!
Fortunately
for you, the scouts appear immediately upon turning the
caller on. Small talk tells you that your clients are
waterfowl hunters. Are they sky-busters? They assure you
that they have hunted over decoys and you begin to wonder.
It's not long before the shooting gets hot and you can tell
from the first bunch of crows that these guys have never
shot crows and wonder about the ducks! Only one of the five
is shooting light loads while the others are shooting heavy
field loads in 6's and 4's... what punishment... over kill.
There will certainly be some sore shoulders tonight.
In the next 2 1/2 hours they shoot 17 boxes of shells, kill
73 crows, and tell you it was the most fun they ever had.
Thank you Lord! You have, once again, preserved your
reputation as the king of crow guides.
After years of guiding clients from 14 different states
including Alaska, I am fortunate to be able to count all my
dismal hunts on both hands. One gentleman, unbelievably, had
three bad hunts in a row but still had a great time. I still
owe him a great hunt.
Even after 21 years of shooting over 40,000 crows, I still
haven’t learned all of their tricks.
For more information on Crow Hunting
with Kenny in Iowa, Click Here
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