Young guns take aim

No doubt about it, Bryan Savoy takes to duck hunting, and goose hunting, like, well, like a duck to water.

The 54-year-old New Iberia outdoorsman hunted 10 of the 16 days in the recent special teal hunting season and logged 40 of the 60 days in a duck blind or goose blind in 2016-17.

Savoy still gets his biggest kick even when he isn’t actively duck hunting, though, whenever he chauffeurs young duck hunters on each youth weekend duck hunt the weekend before each split. That was the case Nov. 4 when he took four young duck hunters into the marsh near Gueydan. The regular season opened Saturday in the Coastal Zone and West Zone.

Joining Savoy in one of his duck blinds were Wayne Langston and his nephew, Griffin, 14, both of New Iberia, and David Krepper of New Iberia, and his son, Braydon, 16. Manning the other duck blind was Dustin Naquin of Youngsville and his son, Dylan, 13, and Brad “Bam” Romero of New Iberia and his son, Logan Romero, 15.

Braydon Krepper attends Westgate High School. Griffin Langston goes to Catholic High School. Logan Romero is a student at New Iberia Senior High School. Dylan Naquin attends North Vermilion High School.

Savoy said he and the elder Langston, 41, have been friends and waterfowl hunting buddies for many years. Savoy is an oilfield salesman for American Eagle Logistics, where he has worked since January 2014. He retired after 27 years as a salesman with All State Insurance but couldn’t stand to stay home, so after seven months of retirement he joined American Eagle Logistics.

Savoy used to take his sons, both adults now, on youth weekend duck hunts the weekend before each split opened and continues the tradition of taking youngsters duck hunting in the marsh. Dr. Chris Savoy, 28, his oldest son, recently opened a dentistry practice in New Iberia and Brandon Savoy, 21, is a senior majoring in business at LSU.

They both started waterfowl hunting at a young age with their father. Chris Savoy planned to be in the duck blind with his father when the first split opened Saturday.

Savoy said he always has relished the time spent with young outdoorsmen.

“It’s really all about getting kids involved … learning how to handle a shotgun … learning how to be safe and getting to like duck hunting,” he said Wednesday night.

Savoy’s group hunted last weekend in two duck blinds on his 50-acre lease, which he’s had nine years, in the marsh six miles south of Gueydan. He loaded duck hunters, his Labrador retriever, shotguns, shotgun shells, etc., into his boat powered by a Pro-Drive, which he leaves in a boat shed on the property, and drove to each duck blind.

The Romero father-and-son waterfowlers and Naquin father-and-son duck hunters were in one duck blind. Savoy was in a duck blind with the Kreppers and Langstons.

“We got in the blind about 10 minutes before shooting time. I dropped the others off first, then dropped off my little crew. I went hide the boat about 100 yards behind the blind in the marsh and walked back,” he said.

Savoy did all the calling in his duck blind. He called with a Duck Commander, although the hail, comeback, feeding and other grunts didn’t have to be repeated too often with the amount of ducks on hand on a foggy morning.

The teal came in on them in groups of “20s, 30s and 40s,” he said.

“Oh, it was really a great hunt. They (young duck hunters) loved it, man. They had so many birds,” Savoy said. “It was foggy that morning. I guess they were lost in the fog. Man, they had teal all over the marsh.”

When the shooting was over, 24 teal had been shot out of the sky. Four six-duck limits.

“They were just having the best time of their lives,” Savoy said, noting the boys had beau coup opportunities to shoot.

“It took them a lot of shells to get their birds,” he said with a chuckle. “That’s the funnest part about it. Shooting. They got to take their time and shoot birds.”

Yes, he confided, his trigger finger was itching and he wished he could have been firing away, too.

“Oh, yeah, I wish I could have had a gun. I wish I could have shot. I wish it was opening morning for adults,” he said.

Wayne Langston, a salesman for Premium Oilfield Service, also enjoyed it as much as the young duck hunters and Savoy.

“It was an excellent hunt. One of them shot almost three boxes (of shotgun shells). Griffin shot a box,” Langston said.

“Oh, those kids just had a big smile on their face, nothing but smiles,” he said.

Savoy’s black lab, Trey, a 2 ½-year-old retriever, also enjoyed getting into action early in his third season of waterfowl hunting. The dog retrieved ducks shot by the boys in the duck blind with Savoy and Langston.

The Kreppers and Naquins were hunting out of a duck blind in the middle of a big pond, so the ducks those youngsters knocked down were picked up by boat after the hunt as there was no wind to push the kills out of sight.

Savoy was proud of Trey.

“He’s such a good dog. This is his third year. He’s really pretty good now. He’s got a lot of experience hunting with me every day,” he said.

The Langstons, Romeros and young Krepper hunted again Sunday morning and finished the hunt with 11 ducks. The elder Krepper went deer hunting that day and the Naquins had to return to New Iberia, Savoy said.

As for Savoy, he went on a spectacular speckle-belly goose hunt that Sunday morning with goose hunting guide Jack Cousin, a University of Louisiana at Lafayette graduate who was born and raised in New Iberia. But that’s another story. (See related story on this page.)