2014/2015 Fall Days Afield Thread

[flyandski365]

As some of you know, I lost my dog Steve this summer in a fishing accident. Be careful taking your dogs on the river.

Anyhow, here is the new project. Judy is Steve's 1/2 sister from the same sire. She's just over four months old now and birdy as all hell. I find her chasing huns on our property and pointing magpies. Hopefully she'll get her shit straight. She's the one with the beard, getting clobbered by her lab friend, Maude.



As for killing, I zipped a doe on the last day of archery season here just to fill the freezer. It has been very, very delicious.

Damn Rev, so sorry to hear that about Steve. Can't see the pic but I'm sure she's a cutie.

While I was chasing my damned bird around my bro was shooting his first CO mule deer.

[Grange]

As some of you know, I lost my dog Steve this summer in a fishing accident. Be careful taking your dogs on the river.

Anyhow, here is the new project. Judy is Steve's 1/2 sister from the same sire. She's just over four months old now and birdy as all hell. I find her chasing huns on our property and pointing magpies. Hopefully she'll get her shit straight. She's the one with the beard, getting clobbered by her lab friend, Maude.



As for killing, I zipped a doe on the last day of archery season here just to fill the freezer. It has been very, very delicious.

Didn't know you lost Steve. That's tough. Can't see the picture, but she sounds like she's progressing well.

If my dog trial is cancelled this weekend I'll be up north chasing birds with my dogs and cutting wood.

[Phall]

I was wondering when you were going to appear in this thread, Rev. Sorry to hear about Steve. How's everything with First Lite?
Taking this weekend off, then going to begin hitting the marsh hard for more ducks, and scouting for my cow.

[yeahman]

Gonna be belly crawlin' for an antelope Monday and Tuesday...

[flyandski365]

So, this sucks. I just spent a few days in the hospital and was unable to continue working with Flapjack during that time. Cooper's hawks need constant work to keep them tame enough to work with and when I got back I knew it was over. I could have tried to work him back into shape but that would have been a bigger pain in the ass for both of us than it was worth so I let him go. I'll be getting a new bird within then next month or so, I hope. Not a cooper's hawk though.

[Johnny P]

With this being my first fall participating in the deer hunt. I've been reading quite a bit about what to do and not do. In my search for answers I came across this. WOW!!!!

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v...86882&fref=nf#

[yeahman]

^^Now that's what I call up close and personal! Holy crap. I had a buddy who had a small griz follow him up a tree and he had to kick it in the face. It bit his leg and he still has the scars.

[Grange]

Combined cover dog trialing and grouse hunting in one weekend with my dogs. I participated in a big shooting dog trial on Saturday and then went grouse hunting with my dogs after the trial. Between the hour long brace and the half hour call back my setter, Tico, had put on a lot of miles, but she still had energy to go hunting. We ended up with a runner-up ribbon from the trial, 4 grouse pointed by Tico two grouse flushed by my lab, Summit, all while hunting, one grouse in the game bag, and two tired, but happy dogs.

[yeahman]

Buddy found this when pheasant hunting in North Dakota...check out how the little buck's brow tine is implanted right in the center of the skull of the big guy! These two died a gruesome death...but that's nature.

[brice618]

My GSP is at a good friend of ours / dog trainer / barber getting some training and he called two days after we dropped her off and said "I'll give you 2,000 and free hair cuts for life for her".

Needless to say, I'm excited for quail season to start. After many tough drought years across Texas, the bobwhite have finally seemed to rebound some and we've been getting good rain and hearing a lot of birds.

Skipped out on early dove to get married, but should be in the bow stand and duck blind soon. This is really the only saving grace for living in Texas.

[The Reverend Floater]

Not sure why the pics aren't showing up.

Anyhow, took Judy out this week for a quick hunt. It's a cool and miraculous thing to see the moment when they figure out what they're doing. For Judy, we were walking along when all the sudden she went from dickin' around in the desert to intensely following scent with a propeller tail to locking up on point--all in about 20 seconds. One dead quail later and she seems to have transformed from bumbling puppy to hunting dog. She ended up pointing a hen pheasant a bit later.

Got a guide trip this weekend where she'll likely see her first duck retrieves. The guiding gig has been a really good thing for training a puppy...she has been exposed to birds since she was eight weeks old. This will be the first time she'll be on a client trip but I think it'll be good as long as they have a sense of humor.

Judy and Maude:


Judy and her first pen chukar when she was about 10 weeks old:

[bushman]

My son setting decoys at our farm in NODAK.

[The Reverend Floater]

My son setting decoys at our farm in NODAK.

Heading out there the 1st through the 10th. Should we bring our duckin' stuff or not? Is the public duckin' worth it?

[The Reverend Floater]

Had four great clients today from SF who ended up having a really good day. Started with a duck hunt in flooded barley which saw four really good sized groups of ducks and a few random pairs. They had to knock the dust off before they were shooting well but ended up scraping some ducks. At around 10am we switched gears to pheasant and they had a great morning. Always fun to guide good dudes who are responsible hunters--makes for a fun, low-stress day.

[bushman]

Rev. Duck hunting in NODAK is all about the weather, not about access. If you want to shoot ducks, there is always places to do it, the weather determines how good shooting going to be. Snowstorm just after warm weather is the best. When I was there the weather was good for bird watching and little else. We did shoot a good number pheasants and a few sharptails. There were more mallards there than I ever seen as a percentage of total duck numbers. What part of the State will you be visiting?

[Phall]

Car's packed, I'm antsy. 6 hrs until departure for my cow/spike muzzy hunt. TR to follow.

[yeahman]

Car's packed, I'm antsy. 6 hrs until departure for my cow/spike muzzy hunt. TR to follow.

Good luck! We had some success in our elk camp last weekend, one guy bagged a cow and another guy shot a 5 point bull. And we all bagged a lot of beer. Even had some snow on Sunday morning, that was a very welcome surprise. Good times.

[thebirdhunter]

General season, public land, DIY.

[MakersTeleMark]

Insert general thread handclap.

[stompinlines]

[stompinlines]

Duck season has been lots of scouting, little shooting. Unseasonably clear and warm for WI. The next few days could be lights out.

[yeahman]

General season, public land, DIY.

Nice job, that's the way to do it.

Add one more bull to our elk camp tally, another buddy shot a 4 x 5.

Now the long grind starts for me...fortunately I have an understanding wife who loves elk meat. And she loves to hunt, although she does not carry a gun. She's got sharp eyes and has spotted a few deer for me to slay. If you can find somebody who's quiet (she is), it's actually quite an advantage to have an extra set of eyes along. Got the babysitter for Monday when it's supposed to snow so we'll be in the elk woods until dark.

[The Reverend Floater]

General season, public land, DIY.

Nice, dude! Which unit?

[The Reverend Floater]

Shot my buck the other night...nothing to write home about but a nice, sturdy 3x4 that went lights-out with a single shot to the brisket at 165 yards. Easy-peasy and I'm glad the freezer is full.



Leaving for ND in a few hours...I'll post a TR.

[Phall]

Nice Birdhunter and Rev.
Filled my cow tag Thursday. Pics/story to follow once my friend gets back from the desert with my pics.