The Trifecta, Three Separate Hunts In One Week
The Trifecta, Three Separate Hunts In One Week
Its finally here, my annual duck hunt. Except this years hunt has a few twists. Different people, unusual places, and different species. Instead of being an invitee, I am the one managing the invitation. Eight hunters will travel from TX, GA, and NC for a unique Sea Duck Hunt off the shore or Kitty Hawk, NC and surrounding areas. Yes, duck hunting in the ocean with the Nags Head lighthouse as our backdrop. Except my Sea Duck hunt is only the tail end of this week. I have two sperate outings before my hunters even arrive. Ill target Wood Ducks on the Chowan River and attempt to harvest my first Tundra Swan.
A brief introduction to swan hunting. Only ten states in the country allow swan hunting. North Carolina being one of those states, however, through a lottery system. For those who are not aware, many states, especially out west for big game, require you to purchase a lottery ticket that accumulates points to gain access to legally hunt an animal. In Nevada, after you get drawn for a bull elk, you must wait seven years before you can get another chance. Regardless if you harvest an animal or not. So, after applying for only 2 or 3 years, I finally was drawn for a Tundra Swan.
So, why hunt a Tundra Swan? It does not seem “right” or “they are so majestic”. These being some of the things I have heard people say. Hell, only just as far back as 2023 you find a case in New York where a swan was killed, and felony charges were filed. Again, why would you do this? Tundra Swan has been on my list of things I wanted to hunt since I was a little boy. A family friends son who was probably five or six years older than me did it and subsequently that made it cool. My uncle had a massive swan on display in his house with not only one band around a foot, but a band around its other foot and neck. A three banded bird is a unicorn of the waterfowl community. On average, 65-75 thousand Tundra Swans travel to North Carolina annually. Just over four thousand tags were drawn and of course not all are successful.
So here is how the week will play out.
December 31st
· Drive to Elizabeth City to spend New Years alone (Wife oddly approved)
January 1st
· Tundra Swan Hunt through Fourth Generation Outfitters
· Successful or not, drive to an Airbnb I am familiar with that has access to Chowan River
· Hunt the river via Kayak (Poke boat) that night
January 2nd
· Morning hunt on river
· Drive to OBX to meet my guys
Over the past two years I have had the pleasure of hunting with my Uncle Jamey as he has introduced me to a lot of my duck hunting knowledge. This year, I set up a crew and it just kept getting bigger. All in, we have eight guys that easily could have been 12. Jamey always warned me about setting up a hunt as it can be a bit troublesome. You have to have guys your trust with safety, on timeliness, who can pitch in to help, and you enjoy their company. Often times these become the same people I invite on all my excursions because they are reliable. This year (at the time of writing) I have Archer Price (TX) Jordan Dombach(GA) Parker Buchanan (GA) Harris Jenrette (TX) Joe Neely (NC) Nicholas Rhyne (NC) Ian Shain (NC) and two on standby if one were to back out. Eight is a good number as the blinds hold four each.
I am terribly excited to see how this year goes. Over the past two years I have had opportunities to shoot Teal, Black Duck, Blue Bills, Mallards, and those pesky Bufflehead. I have high hopes we get opportunities at Red Heads. Selfishly, I want my Tundra Swan, hope to get lucky on the Chowan for Wood Ducks, and cross my fingers my friends enjoy their first time hunting through Parkers Waterfowl out of Kitty Hawk, NC. If they shoot birds and I don’t, I would be happy just to be outside.
More to come.