Back Bay Outfitter

Few experiences promise less wingshooting adventure than arriving in the bustling terminals of JFK International Airport, with the Manhattan skyline in the distance. Shuttle trains, courtesy vans, rental cars from a fortified lockdown amidst urban blight and crazy traffic: It seems like the wrong direction to travel for a guy from a town of 1,200.
    But Tommy Cornicelli is here, and he is dialed in on Canada geese. And the city is just the starting point; Tommy C.—Back Bay Outfitter himself—is based an hour-and-a-half east on Long Island, and the concrete gives way first to suburbs, then to countryside, then to farmland and vineyards on the way to East Moriches, which Tommy refers to as “the un-Hamptons.” Tommy is in his 28th season guiding waterfowlers, and, but for a seven-year break on the Jersey shore, he’s guided every year on Long Island, where he grew up.
    Before my visit, Tommy told me there’s a population of 6,000 Canadas in his area of Long Island’s North Fork. Imagining something more densely settled by humans, I could scarcely believe him. But after hunting the last two mornings of January 2009 with him, I believe he may know each goose by its distinctive markings. With some help from a committed crew, he knows where the birds eat through the afternoon and where they sleep at night. He has arranged exclusive leases and built pit blinds on some of the largest farms, where, with a full crew and a trailer-full of decoys spread across fields of rye, sod or corn, he is ready to greet the geese each morning for more than two months.
    Tommy C. brings Canada geese into his decoys and over his gunners from first shooting light until, typically, a limit is shot. The birds come in singles and pairs, by the dozens and then in waves, with hundreds more in the air on the horizon looking for the safety of numbers and a sunny spot to graze. They’re drawn to the expert arrangement of full-body and silhouette decoys and by Tommy’s strategic flapping of black paddles that emulates geese on the ground rearranging their feathers. And they’re drawn by a symphony of calling (orchestra loud in the pit, too!) from Tommy, who’s on the Gold Staff for callmaker Foiles Migrators.
    So Tommy C. has achieved a list of superlatives for himself in the world of tolling the geese of Long Island to the guns of clients from The City and the populous East Coast. (He’s also a world-class decoy carver and judge of top-flight calling contests, and his experience as a charter captain for striped bass nearly matches his years of waterfowling.)
But the quality that stuck for me is far more personal: Despite a life in the business, Tommy Cornicelli is a fair and ethical sportsman. He calls the shots only when geese are in killing range. He also counts escaped wounded birds against the group’s total—so between his Chessies and his crew, that doesn’t happen often. “I’ve got no interest in guys that just want to come kill animals,” he told me.
    There were six of us in the pit the first morning, plus Tommy’s three-year-old Chessie, Ziggy. The decoys were all set in darkness, then as soon as we settled into the comfortable benches of the pit blind and got our gear sorted, there were geese in the air, visible through the woven mats of marsh grass on the hinged lids that form the ceiling. When the first geese came over and the cover flew open, I got my first taste of jumping up and shooting from a pit blind. It’s more difficult than I had guessed, but I killed birds both days, and the crew as a team harvested plenty.
    For the final day of the season, we were joined by Tommy’s 4-year-old grandson, Joey, who was clearly on-board with the whole game, enjoying the Chessies, the face paint and especially the calls. It took a little coaching, but Joey went happily through the decoy spread to retrieve a downed goose. It was a cripple that seemed nearly as large as Joey as he carried it aloft by its neck with a look of earnest determination. It was one of many highlights of a day afield that held thousands of geese in the air and a limit on the ground by 11:30.
    Tommy C. also offers bay shoots from a floating blind with the possibility of mallards, black ducks, gadwalls, greater scaup, buffleheads, long-tailed ducks, Canada geese and the occasional pintail, teal and wigeon. Freshwater marsh shooting for puddle ducks is also available.
    Most clients come for day trips, although the businesses created for the summer traffic and vineyard and farm tours mean that fine food and lodging are nearby for multiple-day bookings.
    For more information, contact Back Bay Outfitter, 516-446-2286; www.backbayoutfitter.com.