Shorthair Hunters
Member
Here it is the final weekend of the season, boy that came fast. Just seemed that I was talking to my cousin about what time to meet him in Limon to ensure we get to the first WIA of opening day before others and just a few days ago we were confirming our time to meet for the final day.
We decided to skip Saturday and go on Sunday for two reasons, one was the temp was supposed to be 20 degrees cooler and second was a tradition we have had for several years of hunting the final day of the season. So Sunday meets us with some slippery roads for about half the drive getting us to the first WIA about 15 minutes later then usual. We take a long look at the field knowing it will be several months before we see it again but yet the dogs run into it as if they were hitting it for the first time with youthful energy and the usual quick barks or yips from Orley, I still don't know why she started doing that it's like she's to excited to hold it in or she is telling us to hurry up. We head west through the grass pushing towards a road when a rooster takes flight to the right of my cousin which he quickly thumps him with the first shot. We both thought he was going down but instead the rooster keeps beating his wings and escapes the second shot. We watched the bird fly over the road then make a sharp left turn and nose dives into the wheat field, after some searching I saw what looked like tail feathers sticking up in the wheat and when I got closer that is just what it was. We celebrated with the first bird of the last day and hoped that I would get one so we could end the season with each getting a bird. Back across the road and finished walking the field with pushing a hen towards the middle. We walked the second WIA without much to see but the rooster jumping out of reach when walking from the truck and Orley giving us the usual lets get moving yips which is probably what flushed the bird.
We knocked on the land owners door, told him how much we appreciated him letting us hunt his land and let him know if he needed anything to call. The first wheat field produced a hen under my cousin foot which gets the blood pumping being that close. The next field saw a rooster jump way ahead of us so a quick stop at the truck for a refill on the water bottles we head north thru the wheat. Its fairly easy walking since the combine cut in the same direction so you can walk the tire path. It's about 11 o'clock and I'm thinking to myself, I hope I get one or am have I not got one because the pheasant gods have something special for me? Not much farther I found out, it was something special. Orley goes on point nice and solid about 15 yards ahead of me so I move up quickly with old red (my 20 ga. Red Label) at the ready, hen hen hen I shout out and just as I start to breath again the wheat erupts and there he goes, a rooster with another hen starting out low giving me a bad shot since Orley had started after the hens but was on her way back when the rooster flew by her but it gained some altitude and fell to my shot. What I didn't see was another hen had also busted out when the rooster had my attention. Six birds in one group that was great to see and experience and it provided me with my first bird of the last day. Un like most of the hunting shows on TV we don't just stuff the bird in a bag and move on we stand there and relive it and tell each other what they saw and how exciting it was, we praise the pups clean the feathers out of their mouths and give them water and then we continued pushing on. Feeling the weight in my vest makes me smile again and I give a "thank you" to the one above for the gift not thinking I would be so close to my second rooster that both Orley and Ivy pointed flushing from right to left in front of me. Two birds within 5 minutes, I love this stuff and another thanks given. We finished walking north turned south and started back towards the truck. The dogs were acting birdy giving us the indication of a running bird ahead of us. With all three dogs out in front of my cousin a rooster feeling pinched flushes between him and them falling to his shot from his grandpas side by side, four up and four down two more to end the day.
The next field we walk in the shape of a "D" so just about at the point we turn to make the straight portion I hear the wings beating their way out of the wheat behind me so spinning to my left I quickly stop the escaping rooster, with a mouth full of feathers Orley has my third and final bird of the day and of the season. We finish the field with 3 more hens busting at the corns edge and my knee killing me, I had twisted it a few weeks ago on some snow and it was not happy so we decided to start heading back but we wanted to stop at one more spot where we have found birds in the past. So with me limping along we pushed the weeded ditch pushing towards the barbed wire fence pushing several hens out the end and one un lucky rooster that ended my cousins day and season. Back to the truck for more photos and me noticing that Orley just had to end her season with a 3/4" long cut to her head from the barbed wire, "really" I said to her you could make it a whole year without cutting yourself open? So with a glob of Neosporin on the cut we said good bye to the grasslands of eastern Colorado and headed home.
Lots of reminiscing about the past year and all the crazy things we saw and was apart of. We thanked each other for another safe and great year which was our best year to date and will be very hard to beat, if it's even beatable.
Thank you cousin, Orley, Ivy, and Jessy
Hope all that read my posts enjoyed the final weeks story and all those before it, be safe and until next season be kind to one another.
We decided to skip Saturday and go on Sunday for two reasons, one was the temp was supposed to be 20 degrees cooler and second was a tradition we have had for several years of hunting the final day of the season. So Sunday meets us with some slippery roads for about half the drive getting us to the first WIA about 15 minutes later then usual. We take a long look at the field knowing it will be several months before we see it again but yet the dogs run into it as if they were hitting it for the first time with youthful energy and the usual quick barks or yips from Orley, I still don't know why she started doing that it's like she's to excited to hold it in or she is telling us to hurry up. We head west through the grass pushing towards a road when a rooster takes flight to the right of my cousin which he quickly thumps him with the first shot. We both thought he was going down but instead the rooster keeps beating his wings and escapes the second shot. We watched the bird fly over the road then make a sharp left turn and nose dives into the wheat field, after some searching I saw what looked like tail feathers sticking up in the wheat and when I got closer that is just what it was. We celebrated with the first bird of the last day and hoped that I would get one so we could end the season with each getting a bird. Back across the road and finished walking the field with pushing a hen towards the middle. We walked the second WIA without much to see but the rooster jumping out of reach when walking from the truck and Orley giving us the usual lets get moving yips which is probably what flushed the bird.
We knocked on the land owners door, told him how much we appreciated him letting us hunt his land and let him know if he needed anything to call. The first wheat field produced a hen under my cousin foot which gets the blood pumping being that close. The next field saw a rooster jump way ahead of us so a quick stop at the truck for a refill on the water bottles we head north thru the wheat. Its fairly easy walking since the combine cut in the same direction so you can walk the tire path. It's about 11 o'clock and I'm thinking to myself, I hope I get one or am have I not got one because the pheasant gods have something special for me? Not much farther I found out, it was something special. Orley goes on point nice and solid about 15 yards ahead of me so I move up quickly with old red (my 20 ga. Red Label) at the ready, hen hen hen I shout out and just as I start to breath again the wheat erupts and there he goes, a rooster with another hen starting out low giving me a bad shot since Orley had started after the hens but was on her way back when the rooster flew by her but it gained some altitude and fell to my shot. What I didn't see was another hen had also busted out when the rooster had my attention. Six birds in one group that was great to see and experience and it provided me with my first bird of the last day. Un like most of the hunting shows on TV we don't just stuff the bird in a bag and move on we stand there and relive it and tell each other what they saw and how exciting it was, we praise the pups clean the feathers out of their mouths and give them water and then we continued pushing on. Feeling the weight in my vest makes me smile again and I give a "thank you" to the one above for the gift not thinking I would be so close to my second rooster that both Orley and Ivy pointed flushing from right to left in front of me. Two birds within 5 minutes, I love this stuff and another thanks given. We finished walking north turned south and started back towards the truck. The dogs were acting birdy giving us the indication of a running bird ahead of us. With all three dogs out in front of my cousin a rooster feeling pinched flushes between him and them falling to his shot from his grandpas side by side, four up and four down two more to end the day.
The next field we walk in the shape of a "D" so just about at the point we turn to make the straight portion I hear the wings beating their way out of the wheat behind me so spinning to my left I quickly stop the escaping rooster, with a mouth full of feathers Orley has my third and final bird of the day and of the season. We finish the field with 3 more hens busting at the corns edge and my knee killing me, I had twisted it a few weeks ago on some snow and it was not happy so we decided to start heading back but we wanted to stop at one more spot where we have found birds in the past. So with me limping along we pushed the weeded ditch pushing towards the barbed wire fence pushing several hens out the end and one un lucky rooster that ended my cousins day and season. Back to the truck for more photos and me noticing that Orley just had to end her season with a 3/4" long cut to her head from the barbed wire, "really" I said to her you could make it a whole year without cutting yourself open? So with a glob of Neosporin on the cut we said good bye to the grasslands of eastern Colorado and headed home.
Lots of reminiscing about the past year and all the crazy things we saw and was apart of. We thanked each other for another safe and great year which was our best year to date and will be very hard to beat, if it's even beatable.
Thank you cousin, Orley, Ivy, and Jessy
Hope all that read my posts enjoyed the final weeks story and all those before it, be safe and until next season be kind to one another.
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