by Bret “T-Bone” Amundson
Let’s be clear about one thing: I don’t go to the mall. Occasionally I’ll spend too much time inside Sears. The Roger Maris Museum will from time to time help me forget the horror that surrounds it. Otherwise I avoid the mall like the…well the mall.
But I have been known to hit it up the day before Christmas because you can generally shop for everyone there. Electronics, tools, girly stuff, a mixed bag of shopping can be done. I actually do like a little variety.
That’s how today’s hunt went. Deer, turkeys, ducks, geese and pheasants were all in the mix.
I spend the morning in the stand, bow at the ready. Deer are funny aren’t they? You can pattern them all you want, but they’ll never fail to surprise you. I had a small 8-point appear from the opposite direction I was expecting. I watched him walk through a giant bedding area and into the woods where I was sitting. In fact he slowly walked the trail 10 yards from my stand. I decided to give him a year or two. I do like having meat in the fridge though so he’s lucky…
I’d been hearing a lot of geese in the area this week and felt some transition slough time was in order. As I pulled up to the slough, a small flock of geese and a few ducks flew out. I figured they’d come back.
One honker, one big greenhead and one ringneck all flew a little too close to the floating fakes I’d strategically placed. An odd combination.
A nearby WPA was usually good for a flush or two and a short walk offered two jumpy roosters that bumped just out of range. Next time.

While I don’t like going to the mall, I do enjoy a multi-species adventure as often as possible. I don’t always enjoy scrapping with a turkey at the gas station. Filling up, I noticed there was a gobbler in the parking lot of Tank’s Tattoos. I figured I’d try to sneak a quick photo…I didn’t expect him to follow me all the way back to my truck. Thanksgiving allllmost came early for him. As it was, it felt a little like Christmas and I always like Christmas better anyway. See the video here.

Tomorrow is the Minnesota Gun Deer opener. I’ll have my bow tag in hand so feel free to push some megabuck my way!
Hmmm, I envision a future article on surviving your first trip to Gander Mountain or other like store. Like the new format of the blog page – can’t tell what’s all different but I like it.