benelli-banger
Well-known member
I have a 9.5 year old as well...didn't hunt her a lot on this trip, she is very thin and I am struggling to put weight on her...
Expectations
- Thread starter Munster927
- Start date
Munster927
Well-known member
I wish I had that problem sometimes haha but that's no good to hear. Hopefully they fatten up a bit. Dogs and weight fascinate me sometimes. My dad had a few dogs that were, to put it lightly, a little chubby haha now my 9 year old remains the same weight give or take maybe 2 to 3 pounds all year long no matter how much I feed her. She just self regulates herself. There's always food in her bowl.
... bifurcated... not a word I planned on seeing here..." railroad tracks cut through"
benelli-banger
Well-known member
I think the other truck may have been from colorado...
Munster927
Well-known member
Just got back from my trip to South Dakota and wanted to provide a report as a couple said they were curious to know how it went.
The first day I just hunted 2 spots after driving 6 hours. First spot I had no flushes but the second place I had some missed opportunities and a gift. Missed one and dropped a 2nd rooster that I couldnt find. I knew when I shot that it was putting it's running shoes on when it hit the ground. I was hunting some gnarly grass and the wind was blowing a good 25-30 mph. My dog didn't have any luck finding it. The gift was my dog found someone else's crippled bird. She was getting birdy when all of a sudden a rooster popped out of the grass but hit the ground and was running. My dog ran it down and brought it back. Had a broken wing but was still in good health. So I dispatched it and threw it in my vest. No other birds that day.
Second day I started at the same spot I finished day 1 at. Had a rooster within the first 10 minutes out of the truck. Walked another hour and a rooster flushed wild and landed about 100 yards away. Something tells me it was the bird I tickled the night before. He flew funny and didn't fly very far before setting back down but who knows. Me and the dog hustled over but I couldn't get that son of a bitch back up if my life depended on it. Assuming he hit the ground and ran. Second spot i hit a big cattail slough that had all kinds of pheasant droppings in it but not one single flush. Last spot of the day was my 3rd choice. The two areas I wanted to try had other hunters at so I had to settle for a back up back up spot. Should have had a rooster but four shots of #5 steel at about 30 yards couldn't get the job done. So another rooster flush wild but couldn't get him back up. Walked until sunset and put up only 3 hens.
Last day of my trip should have been a banner day if:
A: I was smarter
B: I wasn't shooting like garbage
Had a rooster in the vest 10 minutes out of the truck. Walked down to a cattail slough and the thing just errupted with birds. Alot of hens but a good number of roosters. I didn't expect that many birds in that slough so I didn't have my dad post up on the back side of it. If I had sent him around to post, he'd have had a chance at knocking down his limit in one spot.
The birds all landed into a big crp field on the opposite end of the field. I peeled off to push a tree row I'd seen a good number of birds in a previous years visit. I told my dad to stay on one side of the tree row that had more cover, so he'd end up pushing some cover instead of walking just a cut hay field on the other side. Halfway through, my dogs out up a pair of roosters that my dad would have had a great shot at if I told him to walk the other side. Flip of a coin chance and it didn't pay off.
We got back to the truck, took a break for a bit when I decided I wanted to walk the big chunk of crp where I saw the birds from earlier land. My dad needed a break so I went alone. Put up a rooster about halfway through and dropped him. Got to the end of the field and about 10 birds got up, only noticed 1 rooster. Got on him and CLICK. Somehow my safety got caught in between "fire" and "safe". Flipped my safety back off, banged away 3 shots as he flew off laughing at me. No other birds the walk back.
Final spot of the day, walked an hour and a half, only to put up a rooster and drop him. Took 3 shots to drop him (again, garbage shooting) but he dropped.
Overall it was a good trip. I didn't see as many birds as I expected. But sure beats sitting at home. And my young dog got some good work in which is priceless.
The first day I just hunted 2 spots after driving 6 hours. First spot I had no flushes but the second place I had some missed opportunities and a gift. Missed one and dropped a 2nd rooster that I couldnt find. I knew when I shot that it was putting it's running shoes on when it hit the ground. I was hunting some gnarly grass and the wind was blowing a good 25-30 mph. My dog didn't have any luck finding it. The gift was my dog found someone else's crippled bird. She was getting birdy when all of a sudden a rooster popped out of the grass but hit the ground and was running. My dog ran it down and brought it back. Had a broken wing but was still in good health. So I dispatched it and threw it in my vest. No other birds that day.
Second day I started at the same spot I finished day 1 at. Had a rooster within the first 10 minutes out of the truck. Walked another hour and a rooster flushed wild and landed about 100 yards away. Something tells me it was the bird I tickled the night before. He flew funny and didn't fly very far before setting back down but who knows. Me and the dog hustled over but I couldn't get that son of a bitch back up if my life depended on it. Assuming he hit the ground and ran. Second spot i hit a big cattail slough that had all kinds of pheasant droppings in it but not one single flush. Last spot of the day was my 3rd choice. The two areas I wanted to try had other hunters at so I had to settle for a back up back up spot. Should have had a rooster but four shots of #5 steel at about 30 yards couldn't get the job done. So another rooster flush wild but couldn't get him back up. Walked until sunset and put up only 3 hens.
Last day of my trip should have been a banner day if:
A: I was smarter
B: I wasn't shooting like garbage
Had a rooster in the vest 10 minutes out of the truck. Walked down to a cattail slough and the thing just errupted with birds. Alot of hens but a good number of roosters. I didn't expect that many birds in that slough so I didn't have my dad post up on the back side of it. If I had sent him around to post, he'd have had a chance at knocking down his limit in one spot.
The birds all landed into a big crp field on the opposite end of the field. I peeled off to push a tree row I'd seen a good number of birds in a previous years visit. I told my dad to stay on one side of the tree row that had more cover, so he'd end up pushing some cover instead of walking just a cut hay field on the other side. Halfway through, my dogs out up a pair of roosters that my dad would have had a great shot at if I told him to walk the other side. Flip of a coin chance and it didn't pay off.
We got back to the truck, took a break for a bit when I decided I wanted to walk the big chunk of crp where I saw the birds from earlier land. My dad needed a break so I went alone. Put up a rooster about halfway through and dropped him. Got to the end of the field and about 10 birds got up, only noticed 1 rooster. Got on him and CLICK. Somehow my safety got caught in between "fire" and "safe". Flipped my safety back off, banged away 3 shots as he flew off laughing at me. No other birds the walk back.
Final spot of the day, walked an hour and a half, only to put up a rooster and drop him. Took 3 shots to drop him (again, garbage shooting) but he dropped.
Overall it was a good trip. I didn't see as many birds as I expected. But sure beats sitting at home. And my young dog got some good work in which is priceless.