At last! I bring you: the first split of duck season 2016.

The first split of duck season came and left before I could even blink my eyes. It’s hard to believe that we’re already 2 weeks into the second split in December – where the heck did November go? 

Anyhoo… Let’s get rolling!

John and I hunted in Georgetown for opening day. It was a fairly warm morning – one that required a ThermaCell – but it turned out to be a beautiful day. Although we didn’t have any ducks to show for our efforts, we still saw plenty of birds throughout the morning. We just happened to pick the wrong blind to hunt, and the ducks never really came our way.

With the super warm weather up north, and our land still feeling the effects from hurricane Matthew, nobody had very high hopes for the start of the season. The ducks just hadn’t come down yet, and those that had were concentrated where there was still food. Still, it’s always good to at least see ducks in the air, so we were sufficiently entertained!

Part of my excitement for that first hunt was getting to try out my new Girls With Guns Waterfowl Jacket. The GWG girls were kind enough to send one to me to try out for the season, and I could not wait to put it to the test. I was pleased to find out that I can wear the jacket on all occasions – whether I had just a long sleeve T-shirt underneath it, or was layered up for colder weather. With the PrimaLoft Silver Insulation, the jacket never felt bulky, and never got in the way of shooting or picking up decoys.

If you saw my Instagram post, you know I took a spill that morning while picking up decoys, and the wrist cuffs on the jacket helped to keep my arms dry (even though I filled my waders with water). Shocking, right?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

A few days later, I had my first hunt of year with ol’ Otis. A cold front had moved in, and it was nice to have some “ducky” weather at last. The hunt started off a little slow, so of course we cut up in the blind for a little bit. Naturally.

Then, like a light switch, the ducks really started coming in, working perfectly around our blind – we couldn’t reload fast enough. True to form, I missed my first two or three ducks in the flurry. Not to worry, that typically means I will do well for the remainder of the hunt. Usually if I nail my first shot or two, I can’t hit the broadside of a barn for the next 10 minutes. Go figure! 

It didn’t take too long to start stacking ducks.

Mallards, bluebills, and ring necks made up our full limits, and we were out of the blind in no time!

Since it coincided with Thanksgiving weekend, we did more than just duck hunt during that first split. A little time in the deer stand, a birthday celebration, and a quail hunt or two rounded out the holiday weekend.

It warmed back up between that duck hunt with Otis and our quail adventure, so short sleeves were essential! I tell you, if you don’t like the late fall / early winter weather here in SC, just wait a few hours – it’ll change on you in the blink of an eye!

I saw two deer on one of my hunts, but decided to pass on them both. I could tell the pair was a doe and her yearling, and they were so entertaining to watch that it never really crossed my mind to get them in my crosshairs. After about 20 minutes in the field, they eventually wandered past me in the tree and disappeared into the woods.

I also happened to turn the big 3-0 that weekend, so a post-birthday nap in the deer stand was unavoidable mandatory.

Aaaand sadly I did not wake up in time to duck hunt on the morning after my birthday celebrations. I tried, I promise!

Don’t worry – there have been plenty of duck hunts in the meantime – stay tuned!

PS – A HUGE thank you to Shianne and Callie over at Girls With Guns for my jacket  / hunting items. I can’t wait to continue rocking my GWG gear!