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Bird hunt turned photo shoot

1K views 13 replies 12 participants last post by  Mumbles 
#1 ·
I played hooky from work on Friday and headed to the property. The Mrs. was tired of hearing me say "I don't get to hunt enough". She said to get out of town but be back for the Grandson's birthday party on Sunday. On the way over I stopped and got to meet Alex MacDonald. Orangeradish stopped I with his family too. After a nice chat with Alex, I headed on to the Okanogan. I was surprised to find snow at the house when I arrived.



It was late in the afternoon so I decided to hunker down to some duck burgers for dinner and a good book or magazine. The duck breast was from our hunt several weeks ago. I took the breast meat and mixed some bacon and ran it through the grinder. Topped with some onion and a slice of cheese and a dab of dijon.





The next morning I found even a bit more snow and began wondering how productive this hunt was going to be. As I had my breakfast the fog poured into the valley and I thought the hunting would be a bust. I took a few minutes to snap some photos around the house.







With the temps barely above twenty I dutifully trudged through the snow in search of the wary pheasants. Sasha stayed home to keep Glenda company. Nary a bird to be found and only a few tracks in the snow. Time to head to the woods and maybe some grouse.



As it turned out the roads and forest that I usually hunt were deep in snow on Mt. Hull and when the truck undercarriage began to plow snow I turned around for lower elevations. A good mile long walk showed no sign of grouse at all so I drove around and snapped photos of the area. Old homesteads are a favorite target of my lens.



This morning I packed up and headed out before sunrise. Near Brewster the sky turned to fire and I had to stop and snap a quick one. The ride home went fast and after a nap I'm ready to go to my Grandson's 20th birthday party. Maybe some duck hunting will fare better on the wet side in a couple of weeks. A good time to get away though as always...

 
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#3 ·
Duck burger?!?! Now I have to try that!! I make duck jerky and its pretty darn good. "I took the breast meat and mixed some bacon and ran it through the grinder. Topped with some onion and a slice of cheese and a dab of dijon." Is that all I have to do?? whats the duck to bacon ratio??
Thanks!
 
#5 ·
whats the duck to bacon ratio??
Thanks!
The recipe called for a pound of duck breast and a quarter to half a pound of bacon. I used thick cut smoked bacon. Here's the trick, place the breasts and bacon in the freezer for about a half hour so they are semi-frozen. The pieces go through the meat grinder easier that way. If not frozen they get mushy. The seasoning I used was course ground chipotle pepper seasoning. Fresh onion slices overpowered the meat, so the next time I used sauteed onion, slightly carmelized. That worked much better. Cheese of your choice and you're good to go. Enjoy...
 
#9 ·
Great photo story, Roper. now I'll have to harvest a few ducks (but I have a great pass-shooting spot that will keep water-hating Hank dry & busy, lol.). Thanks for the photo of the retirement house I might be able to afford . . . wonder if that old homestead comes with friendly spirits?
 
#10 ·
It was great meeting you, Rick; thanks for stopping by! You might think about making it a regular stop on the way; I'm always up for company. I see you decided on the Citori whilst afield! Those were really nice scatterguns you have!!! And the duck burgers! I've gotta try that! Jason and the kidlets might have caught the duck disease as well. We got `em Mallardtone M-295 close-in calls for Christmas, and they were squacking all over the house!
 
#12 ·
It was great meeting you, Rick; thanks for stopping by!... I see you decided on the Citori whilst afield!
Thanks Alex, I enjoyed the visit also. I didn't have time to pick up any non-tox for the valley hunt. The river winds around the field and it's posted for non-tox. Little Sister got to walk the woods up on Mt. Hull though, I think she liked it...

Jason's youngest son sure is a pistol! I'm glad the kids had fun. Till next time, take care...
 
#11 ·
Great pictures. Love that view of the valley. Too bad about the hunting, but that is secondary to spending time in the Okanogan!

Interesting on the duck burgers. I prepped a couple of the duck breasts with a simple coating of flour and browning with onions & celery. I'll add bacon next time.
 
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