Colorado 2015-2016 Week 10

[Shorthair Hunters]

I knew that with the incredible season we have been having it had to come to an end at some point and that it did. Saturday morning found my cousin and myself walking the first WIA not putting anything up or even getting the pups birdy. The next WIA was better (kind of) we pushed north towards the road telling myself that "anytime now" and from behind and to my right the sound of a bird taking flight. I spun around to see the rooster picking up speed, as I pulled the gun to my cheek I pulled the trigger and knew I was behind him so with better concentration on him the second shot rang out but no bird. I think what happened is I thought the bird was going away from me when actually he was slightly going to the right just enough for me to shot behind. Reloaded and continued on turning south and having a few hens flush out of their hiding place.
Once at the private property we walked our normal route anticipating the flush at the end of the field only to be puzzled that we were all most all the way around the field with nothing flushing. Coming closer to the road in front of my cousin a rooster flees the seen with two shots chasing him. After talking to cousin he thinks he did the same thing I did and thought it was going straight away but it was angling a bit. The next wheat field was a huge walk with only a hen at a pinch point. By this time we are wondering where they all went, we know we have taken a lot of birds off this property but we aren't finding the hens. In the next field I had a rooster flush to my left and it felt like I waited forever but it was just a slight hesitation until I realized it was a rooster flying away but slightly left to right. First shot missed and the second one connected with the bird going down but not crumpled just gliding. The dogs were in the area it went down quickly but the bird hit the ground running and was not found. I a little farther around the field my cousin got a quick shot off on a distant rooster but a clean miss. We walked the remaining areas with nothing else being found so we headed to another property that we have not hunted this year. With my cousin and his labs on one side of the tree row and myself and Orley on the other we walked the length kicking a few roosters out way ahead of us as if they had been hunted all year long.
By this time we were beat and the pups were tired but we wanted to hit one more small area. We parked got the pups out and headed into the thick cover only to watch two rooster bust out to our left and out of range and two more out ahead of us. That was enough we were done so we loaded up the pups put our guns and vests away and headed for home with nothing in our bed of the truck, first time this year. We should have had three but it was quite the reality check and we talked about where the birds went this time and that it will be interesting to see what we find next week.

 

[Logical]

Seems like your experience this weekend supports my theory - when it is above 30 degrees, the birds are staying the the grain fields. I hunted many grass corners this Saturday, but with the temps in the upper-30s, I saw few birds.

I did work one corner where 6 or 7 roosters flushed way ahead of me. I kept walking, and when I got to that area, one lone, lazy, oblivious rooster flushed. I dropped him in a crumple (that makes 4 shots at 4 birds, all of them collected into my vest, since I had my gun fitted two weeks ago!).

I met a group of 5 hunters with 4 dogs, at 2:00 in the afternoon. They had one bird. No other shots for them all day. They were hunting the grasses, also, and around stands of trees. Further evidence that the birds were not in the grasses, but likely in the corn fields.

To further support my theory (and to taunt me, I am sure), as I was leaving the area about 3 p.m., I was driving the county road between a corn circle and a CRP quarter. About 10 hens flew out of the corn field (I won't call it a flush, since they were going to fly across whether I was there, or not). I slowed to avoid hitting one that was flying low, and more got up. As I passed through the mass of birds, I looked in my rear-view and saw even more getting out of the corn. Could not id gender, but there were at least 30 birds that got out of the corn and flew to the grass. I guess they had been in the corn all day.

I am not going to give up, yet. While it is supposed to be warm this weekend, I may have a dog coming with me on Saturday. That will allow me to try some of the wheat stubble I have not been successful in as a solo hunter. I am always willing to try! Just have to change the methods to suit the group of hunters and dogs (if there is more than just me hunting).

Enjoy the last two weeks of the season!