Duckpower- God Love It!!!

Several years ago, something weird happened... In the aftermath of an amazing volley of shotgun fire, out of a flock of eight eiders only two made in through our gauntlet. As the six floated with the tide on the flat calm water, I announced the simple mathematics of our effort:

"We are at a 75% accuracy rate, and I'm not sure what happened with the other two..."

It was also at that time that our little hunting group of Matt, Steve, and I became the self-proclaimed founders of Duckpower. And within a short amount of time we acquired alter egos to support our self-centered ways...

It is through good luck that I was able to team up with Steve and Matt, and how my relationship with these brothers has developed into the very best of friends. If I were to have gotten married today, both of these fine men would be standing next to me...

First up is Matt Diesel with the world's fastest semi-automatic pump action shotgun hence Machine Gun Matt... When a game warden arrives to check our licenses and limit then it's Misdemeanor Matty, and when things are just right- Diesel by itself...

A relative newcomer to the gunning world, he has brought an intensity and passion for sea ducking that I've never seen from anybody so quickly... We met in 2005 and I currently describe him as one of my very best friends... There's an adage I came up with about my pal Diesel:

" you can't always make a good duck hunter out of a friend, but I've made one great friend out of a duck hunter..."

Next up is the Hammer, or his full name, Duckhammer which derives its origin from a nasty 10 gauge BPS pump action... It literally hammers the ducks and because he's the force behind that cannon, it became quite clear that the Hammer was here to stay. But there is an alter ego especially when he rips out the 3" autoloader Franchi 620 which has earned the silky soft nickname, Frankie Fuddle. Another unfortunate title, Sheldrake Steve originated around the same time as Diesel acquired the alter ego, Matty Merganser. Somehow both Matt and Steve have embraced this idea that shooting a merganser is cool, so when they showcase a lousy moment and look sort of bad, then the negative nickname surfaces.

However, I was fortunate to catch back up with Steve as we taught together in 1999 in downeast Maine. He ended up taking a position with the state and moved to the central Maine area. For some odd reason, we lost touch until by chance we both ended up in Orono in 2002 to pursue administrative degrees. I fear this time we won't be losing touch...

And finally myself the downeast duck hunter, who has over time been referred to as the Duckman. However I have found some unfortunate references with Beachball as the eiders bounced in slowly and all bounced away slowly, and Cocoa when I called myself T-Duck and my cohorts remembered a Seinfeld episode that I would rather forget.

Nevertheless, we support each other on our great shots and lavish the opportunity to witness a poor one. The successes often are overshadowed by the mishaps and we've become a predatory pack that loves to consume on each others failures. But I wouldn't trade our situation for anything, for it is Duckpower that has made our passion even better. God love it!!!