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Didn't get out all that much this season, but went one more time on the 2nd of January. We finally got that smart old rooster who had escaped us several times this season... Good job Abbie!

My son and I hit the farm one last time for the season. I carried a camera he carried his shotgun, Abbie did the finding/pointing. It's not a big farm, but did still have a couple of roosters. Abbie locked up on a very tight point and I walked in, stomped around and reached down into the snow...

Lots of rainy days lately and busy before Christmas too. Got out today with one son for a quick hunt at the home farm, haven't been there since deer season started. Abbie did pretty good, pointed three roosters and a couple hens. I think scenting conditions were ideal, one she followed quite...

Been a busy week with family matters. I only had an hour or so Sat PM but wanted to get the pup out once this week. A short drive to the local public area and ended up with Abbie's first pheasant. We only saw two, the first one I didn't get a shot, Abbie's fault, but that's another story......

I have run into a neighbor running her pup off leash (we live on the edge of town and there are some farm fields near, it's Iowa), a couple of times recently. It's a black and white pup and today I asked her what the breed was. She said German Shorthair, (in a very german accent). It's a...

Sounds like a crappy weather start for the season opener in Iowa this Saturday. I may wait until Sunday after church to get out, maybe Saturday PM if it quits raining(eastern Iowa). But I'm really anxious to get out! I suppose the rain won't stop a lot of folks will it?

Do many of you dog owners vaccinate to prevent Lyme disease? My vet recommended it for my dog since she is out running grass and weeds a lot. It wasn't too expensive either. I think she gets 2 shots a year apart.

Taking one of the grandsons (13) out for a couple hours Saturday or Sunday with my son. He's walked with my son and I when we hunted for a couple of years now and is ready to hunt. I like the idea of a short youth only season. Gives us a chance to observe and advise him since we won't be...

Took the pup out for some field work this AM and saw something I've not seen before in Scott County (eastern Iowa). There were a couple of sandhill cranes standing in the bean field next to us. Suppose the strong winds we had earlier in the week could have blown them off course during...

I've hunted pheasants over the years with O/Us and SxSs where I had a choice of two chokes, more open for close shots, tighter for longer shots. Now this year I'm going to be using a Benelli Semi-Auto 12 Ga. I patterned a few shots on paper Saturday at the range I usually shoot (35 yards + - )...

Anyone else have any old memorable or funny "surprise flushes" when you were least expecting one? I remember two or three. One time my hunting partner and I, (we had no dog), had just walked a swampy area and sat down on a log to rest. After about two minutes sitting there, a pheasant...

Does anyone request the actual habitat and/or migratory bird stamps from the Iowa DNR when you buy your license/stamps? I usually get my license and such from a retailer and didn't know you could still get an actual stamp until I bought my migratory bird stamp, (the paper that says you paid...

I've been taking the pup out a couple mornings a week for training and have been seeing fair numbers of birds (which is especially good for my part of eastern Iowa). They still all look like young hens for the most part, but today Abbie pointed a young rooster with a red cheek patch about the...

Well, it's almost over. I hope to get out one last time Saturday with the new EB pup. I don't care if we get any birds (but it would be a bonus) I just want to get her on some more birds before the season ends, she's almost 7 months old now. I still see a few guys out here in far eastern...

After waiting a year I finally got a new pup. She's a French Brittany named Joie, I always had/liked Britts. She will be an in the house dog along with our Corgi, (not getting along right now but they will once the pup slows down???). Now the training, house and hunting begins. She'll be...

Sorry, I didn't see the other "survey" post. I see the DNR survey numbers for this year indicate pheasants are up significantly.....but since the 2013 harvest was way way down, are the roadside survey numbers anything to really get excited about? I personally have seen a more pheasants this...

What is your favorite magazine for upland bird hunting, (pheasants mainly)? I get F & S and a couple Iowa magazines, but they're not the best if your main focus is upland birds.

We got almost 2 inches of wet heavy snow today, (Quad Cities), it weighed down some of the tall grass pretty good. I hope it's not an omen of the coming winter...

I'm in the process of looking for a new Brittany pup, (house pet and hunting pheasants). I've had both males and a female in years past and the males seemed to be better hunters, but that was probably the individual dogs and the training they got... or was it? Any recommendations or personal...