6th Prize
Hunting Journal with Weatherby Logo (100 awarded)
Eric Coplan, Minnesota
“When I was a kid I remember my father would take me out of school for dentist appointments when the geese were migrating. Funny, I only went to the dentist once a year (usually in the summer), but got out of school to go to the ‘dentist’ a couple times through the goose season.
Now I am grown-up and enjoy the passion of waterfowling like my father did at one time. Now my father is in his sixties...age and being busy have all but stopped his goose hunting. He still tells lots of great stories of hunting back in his prime and you can see the love for the sport and the hunt are still there but time and money are not always available.
For my dream hunt I would bring my father with me. The hunt would have to take place somewhere on the Missouri River, but if the geese were flying good it should be in the Pierre, South Dakota area. He took me there once when I was 15 and that was the last time we ever hunted together. It would hopefully be cold and windy because he taught me that's when the geese fly low.
Breakfast would be quick and dirty, a bite while running out the door. Lunch would have to be eaten at an old local somewhat run down diner. It makes a young man (boy) feel so good eating with his father in a place like that. I still remember 15 years ago sitting across from him sipping hot cocoa waiting for a hot sandwich and hoping the sun would not go down that day in the field. Finally supper would be oven-baked goose breast with veggies and potatoes if you stay at a cabin or some restaurant. It does't really matter because you never think about the food. You just talk about how low the geese were flying that day or the really big bird in the third flock was. Then the best part of making plans for the next day.”