Woke up bright and early on Black Friday and headed out alone with my 8 month old Drahthaar pup J?ger.
After the first field, and no birds, I met up with the land owner and he showed me some new spots to hunt. After we parted ways, I bee-lined it back to one that caught my eye. A 1/2 section of milo stubble with a small cat tail draw running through it.
I walked a waterway up around to the stubble, then walked the stubble down to the cat tails.
About half way through the cat tail walk, J?ger locks up on point.
A nice size covey of quail flushes and I knock one down to the left, but J?ger charges forward into the cat tails and flushes 4 roosters!
I've been pretty adamant about not shooting bumped birds so I hold my fire.
I whistle him back, and he returns with a hen in his mouth!!
It really surprised me! She must have held super tight, because his first instinct is usually to point. He's not a big chaser or wild flusher, so I was kind of taken back.
I redirected him to the downed quail and started the "deaaaad" routine. That little sucker had buried himself in the grass and really made us work for him!
But, J?ger found him!
Just past the cat tails was another waterway. Apparently, not all of the roosters had flushed earlier. We found one more in the grass.
And, we got two more quail out of there too!
At the end of our walk was a nice plum thicket and I was able to shoot the rooster that called it home.
We had time to hit one more spot before dark, so we walked some milo down into some grass and trees.
J?ger was birdy as soon as we started our walk. His "birdy" turned into a walking point that carried on for hundreds of yards. He was really doing a nice job of keeping his distance on a running bird. Finally,...he locked up 20ish yards in front of me, and a few seconds later, the rooster flushed ahead of him another 20ish yards. I couldn't hold up my end of the deal on that one.
We found another nice sized covey of quail down in the trees, but I never got a shot. So, we ended the day with 2 roosters and 3 quail.
Saturday, a buddy of mine drove out for a one day hunt.
The morning started out great, and we got two roosters shot in the grass, but it warmed up quick! At one time, my truck said 65 degrees and there was no breeze at all.
Mid morning, J?ger started tracking,...then pointed, then pounced.
I thought, "Mouse for sure".
This is what he brought me kicking and whining!
Gotta love those German dogs!!!
We shot one more rooster in another spot, but the highlight of the day was the very last bird.
We'd just finished a real azz kickin walk that produced a couple of birds that were promptly missed.
The plan was to take one of the waterways back around to the truck, but it petered out in the middle of some wheat stubble.
We were both totally wore slick, so we started our forced march across the wheat stubble, back to the truck. We had to cross a little section of milo stubble to get there, but I didn't expect much.
The sun was starting it's descent, and as it cooled down a little, J?ger was pepping up. He started getting birdy in the milo, and then it was obvious he was working a bird.
This old bird was really putting the moves on him! At one point, he'd trailed it to my right and down the field at least 300 yards. It looked as if he was really pressuring the bird, but instead of whistling him back, I just let it play out figuring if he bumped it, it'd be a good learning experience for him.
Then he starts taking a diagonal line towards us...
And then he locks up solid about 30ish yards right in front of us.
The rooster then flushes about 20 yards in front of him! My buddy knocks him down, and the chase is on again!!
J?ger ran him down and scooped him up!
I was so glad we got that one knocked down for him! He'd worked his butt off for that bird!
It has been some darn tough hunting without a doubt, and I'm real thankful that I've been able to find some birds for my pup.
After the first field, and no birds, I met up with the land owner and he showed me some new spots to hunt. After we parted ways, I bee-lined it back to one that caught my eye. A 1/2 section of milo stubble with a small cat tail draw running through it.
I walked a waterway up around to the stubble, then walked the stubble down to the cat tails.
About half way through the cat tail walk, J?ger locks up on point.
A nice size covey of quail flushes and I knock one down to the left, but J?ger charges forward into the cat tails and flushes 4 roosters!
I've been pretty adamant about not shooting bumped birds so I hold my fire.
I whistle him back, and he returns with a hen in his mouth!!
It really surprised me! She must have held super tight, because his first instinct is usually to point. He's not a big chaser or wild flusher, so I was kind of taken back.
I redirected him to the downed quail and started the "deaaaad" routine. That little sucker had buried himself in the grass and really made us work for him!
But, J?ger found him!
Just past the cat tails was another waterway. Apparently, not all of the roosters had flushed earlier. We found one more in the grass.
And, we got two more quail out of there too!
At the end of our walk was a nice plum thicket and I was able to shoot the rooster that called it home.
We had time to hit one more spot before dark, so we walked some milo down into some grass and trees.
J?ger was birdy as soon as we started our walk. His "birdy" turned into a walking point that carried on for hundreds of yards. He was really doing a nice job of keeping his distance on a running bird. Finally,...he locked up 20ish yards in front of me, and a few seconds later, the rooster flushed ahead of him another 20ish yards. I couldn't hold up my end of the deal on that one.
We found another nice sized covey of quail down in the trees, but I never got a shot. So, we ended the day with 2 roosters and 3 quail.
Saturday, a buddy of mine drove out for a one day hunt.
The morning started out great, and we got two roosters shot in the grass, but it warmed up quick! At one time, my truck said 65 degrees and there was no breeze at all.
Mid morning, J?ger started tracking,...then pointed, then pounced.
I thought, "Mouse for sure".
This is what he brought me kicking and whining!
Gotta love those German dogs!!!
We shot one more rooster in another spot, but the highlight of the day was the very last bird.
We'd just finished a real azz kickin walk that produced a couple of birds that were promptly missed.
The plan was to take one of the waterways back around to the truck, but it petered out in the middle of some wheat stubble.
We were both totally wore slick, so we started our forced march across the wheat stubble, back to the truck. We had to cross a little section of milo stubble to get there, but I didn't expect much.
The sun was starting it's descent, and as it cooled down a little, J?ger was pepping up. He started getting birdy in the milo, and then it was obvious he was working a bird.
This old bird was really putting the moves on him! At one point, he'd trailed it to my right and down the field at least 300 yards. It looked as if he was really pressuring the bird, but instead of whistling him back, I just let it play out figuring if he bumped it, it'd be a good learning experience for him.
Then he starts taking a diagonal line towards us...
And then he locks up solid about 30ish yards right in front of us.
The rooster then flushes about 20 yards in front of him! My buddy knocks him down, and the chase is on again!!
J?ger ran him down and scooped him up!
I was so glad we got that one knocked down for him! He'd worked his butt off for that bird!
It has been some darn tough hunting without a doubt, and I'm real thankful that I've been able to find some birds for my pup.
