benelli-banger
Well-known member
Last bird I shot Friday was a bird that flushed and caught the strong north wind, which accompanied the falling snow; I needed 3 shots, though I hit it on the 2nd…after the 3rd shot, it began flying higher, skying upwards as they will do sometimes after getting shot in a particular location…this one didn’t achieve that much height, maybe 20-25 yards, then dove towards the snow covered ground, but was being carried forward by the stiff wind. I started calling the 3 dogs, as I wasn’t exactly sure where they all were; I hurried toward the area I thought the bird would have made landfall, and was yelling to the dogs to search…I finally got to an opening in the cover, and two of my dogs were heading towards me with no bird…I was disappointed, but was sure it was DOA…I kept walking south, figuring the bird was further in that direction. I was lucky to have 6-8” of snow, it helped me find another bird I shot 20 minutes earlier, they stand out like a sore thumb lying atop the snow. As I continued to cajole the pooches to keep searching, I noticed Lena take a bead and start sprinting for a spot further south…with the north wind, she had no scenting help; it was the darndest thing! As she was running, I noticed what appeared to be dark vegetation sticking straight up out of the snow…could it be??? It looked like tail feathers! Sure enough, that’s where she stopped, and at this point she was probably 80-90 yards from the point at which I shot…yup, she picked it up and began the victory trot back to me! It is strange to think the mere sighting of tail feathers sticking out of the snow was all it took…no scenting at all. It was unique to get to watch this, most of the time these heroics are obscured by grass, corn, cattails, cedars, etc! Fun to see the action unfold as it did…by far the greatest source of joy for me on these hunts, though there is much joy derived from other aspects of these hunting trips! Dogs rule!
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