All done

[jmnhunter]

season is over, seems to go too fast like usual. just got back from SD-- great times, great sights, great dog work, mediocre shooting

started friday off hunting all public land waiting for my dad to hunt the private stuff. the 1st wpa, my pup and I found a pocket of birds, atleast 15 birds I would guess, only 1 was a rooster, should have had him. they held fairly tight for what we pushed them out of, when the dog got birdy, you can tell they started running to the end of the thick cover where they eventually started to flush.

2nd piece we hit was some CREP property, and i was pleasantly surprised on this piece of land on the habitat quality, nice thick CRP. kicked up a bunch of hens, one rooster on the property line but i didnt have a safe shot. its awesome seeing your dog get birdy, definately can tell when he comes across some birds that ran through vs birds that are close. we found another pocket of birds with a couple of roosters, dropped the one, then another got up and shot him too. made some venison brats for lunch, tried a different wpa with no luck, then went back to that crep property to kick up a few more hens. right at roosting time we watched 3 roosters land near us, i directed the dog to the area of one rooster after we walked to that spot but he must of ran out of there before we could have cornered him. awesome day and weather overall.

the rest of the weekend dad and I hit some of our relative's private ground, the first 1/4 section of CRP was hayed off so there was only half of that left over and this spot used to produce tons of birds but after walking it, we only flushed 10 or so, more on the public land.

hit another section of crp, found a pocket of birds, flushed very wild though. walked some trees and found some in there, walked a small slew and a couple more. ended the day with birds flying from a cornfield back into the crp we walked earlier, tons of birds flying in, ended with our 6th at sunset.

last day we only flushed 2 roosters, lost one that was a runner and the other was a clean miss to end the season.

pup is beat, the crusty snow put a beating on his paws, they're pretty raw right now.

public land bird ratios were pretty good favoring the hens, i suppose its due to the pressure, the private ground had quite a few roosters to hens

 

[Miforester]

Nice report.

 

[joeg]

season is over, seems to go too fast like usual. just got back from SD-- great times, great sights, great dog work, mediocre shooting

started friday off hunting all public land waiting for my dad to hunt the private stuff. the 1st wpa, my pup and I found a pocket of birds, atleast 15 birds I would guess, only 1 was a rooster, should have had him. they held fairly tight for what we pushed them out of, when the dog got birdy, you can tell they started running to the end of the thick cover where they eventually started to flush.

2nd piece we hit was some CREP property, and i was pleasantly surprised on this piece of land on the habitat quality, nice thick CRP. kicked up a bunch of hens, one rooster on the property line but i didnt have a safe shot. its awesome seeing your dog get birdy, definately can tell when he comes across some birds that ran through vs birds that are close. we found another pocket of birds with a couple of roosters, dropped the one, then another got up and shot him too. made some venison brats for lunch, tried a different wpa with no luck, then went back to that crep property to kick up a few more hens. right at roosting time we watched 3 roosters land near us, i directed the dog to the area of one rooster after we walked to that spot but he must of ran out of there before we could have cornered him. awesome day and weather overall.

the rest of the weekend dad and I hit some of our relative's private ground, the first 1/4 section of CRP was hayed off so there was only half of that left over and this spot used to produce tons of birds but after walking it, we only flushed 10 or so, more on the public land.

hit another section of crp, found a pocket of birds, flushed very wild though. walked some trees and found some in there, walked a small slew and a couple more. ended the day with birds flying from a cornfield back into the crp we walked earlier, tons of birds flying in, ended with our 6th at sunset.

last day we only flushed 2 roosters, lost one that was a runner and the other was a clean miss to end the season.

pup is beat, the crusty snow put a beating on his paws, they're pretty raw right now.

public land bird ratios were pretty good favoring the hens, i suppose its due to the pressure, the private ground had quite a few roosters to hens

Try some Musher's Secret.
Works for my dog.

 

[Goosemaster]

Nice report- sounds like a great time.I hope to get out to sd. this year. I know what you mean, about watching the dog get birdie. You get to where you can tell where the bird is, after a few years.

 

[jmnhunter]

thanks guys; does that mushers secret work for conditioning the pads? i thought it was more so to keep snow from building up within the paws?

:thumbsup:

 

[A5 Sweet 16]

thanks guys; does that mushers secret work for conditioning the pads? i thought it was more so to keep snow from building up within the paws?

:thumbsup:

It does both. Just like lotion on your hands & balm on your lips. If I don't do those things & spend much time out in the cold/sun/wind, I'll get cracks & splits. Honestly, I don't worry about Musher's Secret (probably should) until we start hunting in snow, but then I apply it real liberally before each outing. I cram it up between the pads, all over the rest of the paws (tops, bottom, all over), armpits, chest, scrotum, etc. I put it all the places snow tends to accumulate & it really reduces it, thereby reducing the chafing associated with it. People who run dogs in hot climates (especially if sandy ground) say it really helps there too.

 

[Miforester]

It does both. Just like lotion on your hands & balm on your lips. If I don't do those things & spend much time out in the cold/sun/wind, I'll get cracks & splits. Honestly, I don't worry about Musher's Secret (probably should) until we start hunting in snow, but then I apply it real liberally before each outing. I cram it up between the pads, all over the rest of the paws (tops, bottom, all over), armpits, chest, scrotum, etc. I put it all the places snow tends to accumulate & it really reduces it, thereby reducing the chafing associated with it. People who run dogs in hot climates (especially if sandy ground) say it really helps there too.

Another product that I have used is Desitin, it works well for snow build up and helps with any wounds or chaffing.