12/31/2003

My son Luke and his girlfriend Amanda joined me for a duck hunt on this beautiful New Year's eve morning.  Not many ducks were flying but we did get off a few shots with not too much success.  It was fun however and Amanda got to see what we do for fun.  It was a beautiful morning with a fantastic sunrise.  All is good on the last day of the year.

12/7-8-9/2003

I hunted the local waters during the morning and afternoon hours.  There were some birds flying.  With all the cold and stormy weather there must be a lot of ice up north that sent the ducks our way.  I had a mixed bag over the three days including, black duck, broadbill, mallards, merganser, brant and geese.  One of the brant was banded.  I called in the information and should get a history of the bird in about two weeks.  This year I am using a real hot Federal Premium Ammo.  This stuff is devastating at 1500 feet per second.  For ducks I am using 3 inch with #2 shot.  For the geese I am using 3.5 inch BBB.  Both of these loads are superb and drop them hard even on the long shots.  I think it is going to be a good season with lots of birds in the neighborhood.  The sunrise this morning was one to behold, decoys on a glassed our bay and all the beautiful colors.  It was a great experience just to be there.

Captain Al Lorenzetti

Pete Johnston, Rich Santos and I spent a couple of days on West Fire Island for the opening of the duck season for 2003-04.  As you can tell from the picture of Pete sleeping on the deck with short sleeves on, it wasn't the type of weather that is conducive to duck hunting.  We had two bluebird days and very few ducks.  We did take a few crows and a few ducks so it wasn't a total bust but we did have a good time.  There are very few birds around right now and it has to get a lot colder to drive them down here from the north.  There are a lot of black ducks in the marshes however so that is what I would set my sights on until the numbers of open water ducks improve.  There were thousands of sea ducks in the ocean between the Lighthouse and Ocean Beach over the past few weeks.  I might even give that a try with favorable weather conditions.

1/26/03

The last day of the duck season and it was a happening.  Tony and Bill set up the rig early at the jetties near the inlet.   Ken Mearns and I joined them at about 7 am.  Later, Jim Conte joined in and then Scott Mearns with his kids, Dillon, Taylor and little Alexa.  Bill's dog Bridie, and Scott's dog Scoot rounded out the crew.  It was a lot of fun.  The dogs, especially Bridie made some incredible retrieves.  It was a wonderful thing to watch.   We bagged some ducks to boot.  We were checked over by the Suffolk County Police because someone in the neighborhood must have complained.  The police officer wasn't familiar with hunting laws.  He suggested we stop the hunt but was a gentleman about it and left it up to us.  We continued to hunt and were then checked out by a DEC officer.  The Dec officer was very polite and thorough in his inspection of our gear and licenses.  Everything was in order and he confirmed what we knew, that it is perfectly legal when waterfowling to be closer than 500 feet from an occupied dwelling as long as you are shooting over open water.  We continued to enjoy the hunt and it was memorable.  I already look forward to the 2003-2004 season.

Captain Al Lorenzetti

1/24/03

I had a great day hunting at the Peconic River Sportsman's Club.  A whole bunch of members, about 14, made it out to the club for a day of deer hunting.  In addition, we also made it a barbecue/cook out feast to complete the entire atmosphere of a great hunt with lots of good people in a magnificent setting.  We set up two drives before lunch.  Half of the team acted as drivers and the other half were posted guns.  The first drive didn't produce any deer. The second drive pushed two deer to the shooters but they never presented a good target and no shots were fired.  I had a possible shot at about 60 yards but held off as I thought the deer were heading right toward Ken Mearns who was the next shooter to my right.   They spooked before Kenny could get off a shot and evaded the rest of the shooters.   They won.  We then returned to the clubhouse for some vittels.  The club manager Paul and a few volunteers had prepared a great hearty meal while we were hunting.   The showpiece was a full tenderloin of beef on the barbecue with all the trimmings and ice cream dessert.  We all feasted on the wonderful food and then headed out for another hunt.  The first drive produced nothing but the second drive was successful.   Two deer were moved and Art Fogal bagged one as a driver just as the push began.   Shortly after, Sal Ballaera bagged another.  We wrapped up the hunt after a great day in the field filled with lots of good fun, good food and memories that will last a long time.

Captain Al Lorenzetti

1/22/03

Hunted with Jim Conte and Ken Mearns.  We had a tough time of it with thick ice and very low water.  We managed to break through the ice and open up a hole to set our rig.  There is so much ice on the bay today that the ducks must have headed to another area with more open water.  We saw a few and bagged a couple but it was pretty dead.  I think this might be it for the season.   Everything is locked up with heavy ice.

Captain Al Lorenzetti

1/21/03

Ken Mearns, Jim Conti and I did a morning hunt.   We broke ice once again and had a super low tide.  We set out the decoys and had a good shoot.  Lots of buffleheads and mergansers.  Real cold conditions made it a little tough but it was fun.  I tightened up my choke and did much better than yesterday.  Tight chokes work best.

Captain Al Lorenzetti

1/20/03

I did an afternoon hunt with Ken Mearns.  We broke a lot of ice and had a go at some broadbill.  We missed most but bagged a couple.  The wind came up and it got real cold.  Kenny's "K" rig worked real well.

Captain Al Lorenzetti

1/18/03

Hunted the bay for ducks today with Jim Conte and Ken Mearns.  It was bitter cold at about 8 degrees with lots of ice.  We broke the ice and made a hole which lasted about 10 minutes before freezing over again.  We bagged merganser and broadbill and had pretty good shooting for a while but when the morning flight found open water, they stayed there and that was the end.  It was a good morning hunt despite the conditions.

Captain Al Lorenzetti

1/17/03

Went deer hunting at the Peconic Club with Ken Mearns.  We hooked up with a good bunch of club members when we arrived.  We set up a couple of drives and I was posted for both.  On the first drive, one deer was pushed and fellow member Sal had one shot at it on the run but didn't hit it.  On the second drive all hell broke loose.  About 6 deer were pushed to the posted hunters.   The first one headed right at me and stopped head on looking at me at about 45 yards right between two trees.  I put the scope on it and took the shot and the deer went down on its haunches but was heads up and looking at me.  I thought I had wounded it so I took another shot thinking I would finish it off.  To my surprise it bounded up and took off.  I took a shot at it on the run and then Steve who was to my north also took a shot but it kept running.  A couple of minutes later, a deer ran behind the line of posted hunters.  I heard Steve let go with two shots and saw him pointing his gun to the rear.  With that I looked behing me and saw the running deer.   As it passed me I took two shots at it and also missed.  Then the drivers pushed a deer and it got hemmed in by the fence at the property line and was banging into it trying to get away.  If it went farther down the line, Ken would have had a shot but it reversed its direction and ran right in between the two drivers and made its escape.  Bottom line is I blew the first shot which was the best opportunity.  I must have flinched or whatever but it was a poor performance on my part.  In the end the deer won, all of them!  It was a good day of hunting however and thats why they call it hunting and not killing.  It was great spending time and having some good laughs with fellow club members.

Captain Al Lorenzetti

1/15/03

We gave the the ducks, geese and deer a break today and went to the Peconic Club to shoot some clays.  Kenny, Jim, Joe and I shot a round of sporting clays and then a round of 5-stand.  It was kind of cold but the shooting was fun and the targets were good.  We had a lot of laughs.  In between rounds we enjoyed great home made motzah ball soup and other goodies prepared by one of the club members.  It was a good day with good company and a lot of shooting.

Captain Al Lorenzetti

1/14/03

I have been remiss in updating the reports.  I was traveling with my friend Rich Santos for a few days and didn't get a chance to let you know what has been going on.  Since 1/4 and in between trips, not a great amount of good hunting took place.  Ken Mearns and I did a couple of morning trips to Peconic River Sportsman's Club for the shotgun deer hunt.  It was beautiful out in the woods communing with the wildlife but the deer hunting was a bust.  Good time however and a lot of good people to be with at the club.  A couple of duck hunts on the bay took place.  Not a lot of ducks but we bagged a good number of broadbill, buffleheads, mallards and brant and a few nice fat geese.  The sporting life is great when you can partake of it whether or not the game is plentiful.  Below are a couple of images taken at the Peconic River Sportsman's Club, Ken Mearns posted for the passing deer and a wooded road in the back country of the club on a cold, snowy but beautiful morning.

Captain Al Lorenzetti

1/4/03

Gunned the morning with Ken Mearns, Ralph Scordino and Rich Santos.  It was a slow morning in conditions that should be real good for duck hunting.  The wind was blowing and the snow falling but the ducks were somewhere else.  We pass shot a couple of brant and had a dumb drake mallard dive in to a broadbill rig.  He didn't fly out and probably just as well for the mallard population genes.  He was really dumb.  In the afternoon with just Rich Santos and myself we sat until about 5 minutes before sunset with nothing going on and then a hen broadbill set her wings and came in like a chicken.  That was the only bird we had a shot at all afternoon.  I think the birds found some other place to play and hang out.  I will have to do some exploring tomorrow and find out where they are.

Captain Al Lorenzetti

1/2/03

Hunted today with Ken Mearns and Jim Conte.  We got access to an estate and set up for geese.  It was a secret spot, so secret that the birds didn't even know where it was.  Nice afternoon but no action at all.   A lot of good stories and breaking chops to pass the time.  It's all part of the game.

Captain Al Lorenzetti

1/1/03

A great start to the new year with an early morning hunt with Rich Santos and Ken Mearns.  We had fun in the rain with a lot of good shooting.  We bagged a mix of ducks including mergansers, golden-eye, broadbill and buffleheads.  It was almost non-stop when the rain and wind picked up.  Another good day.

Captain Al Lorenzetti