Duck season is officially over in central Illinois, but Greg and I have started field hunting for geese! I absolutely love field hunting. It is super comfortable, and you can get all cozy in your layout blind. I even bring a sleeping bag and blankie with me so that I stay extra warm. They’re camo, too, of course! Hunting on the water for duck is not always the warmest or most comfortable experience because it’s wet, but in a field you can hide well and just stay warmer. If you are a new hunter or want to try waterfowl hunting I would recommend field hunting first because sometimes the lack of comfort while hunting can be shocking, and field hunting is the perfect way to ease into the sport.
At first we weren’t sure if we were going to get to field hunt this year because we didn’t have an official spot once duck hunting was coming to an end, but one of Greg’s super sweet coworkers knew of a farmer who had land with water, field, and geese, and the farmer is letting us hunt it. I am just super excited about this because field hunting is my favorite.
These pictures are from two hunts from this weekend. We hunted the eve of Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve. It was merry and bright (lol) to be able to hunt those two days together! We would have also hunted Christmas morning, but Greg and I hosted Christmas day for our families (totally magical and fun and more about that tomorrow). Plus,the weather was beautiful. Setting up decoys, Greg and I even got a little sweaty and had to take off our jackets.
This is also a really sweet spot. Driving to the field the geese were swimming on the water. We didn’t harvest anything either day because we’re still kind of scouting the land, but we did see a TON of birds! Watching the sky while hunting is one of our favorite parts. Geese flew over us and we could just hear and see them so clearly. It is honestly fascinating watching animals in nature like that, and I always leave our hunting spot feeling a deeper connection to Greg and nature. It is a total endorphin high because your heart just gets pumping as the birds get closer to you!
We’re going to go hunt this spot again this Thursday, and hopefully have some better luck. We learned some lessons like hiding our layout blinds better, and we think we have the feeding times for when birds get to the field nailed down. We are just itching to get out again because of how many birds we did see on those 2 hunts!
My hunting gear: jacket – overalls/bibs – boots – sweatshirt
Greg’s hunting gear: jacket similar here – pants – boots – shirt similar here