benelli-banger
Well-known member
Began the last hunt of the trip I just returned from Saturday around 5 pm; my buddy and his Brittany, me and 2 of my labs, the 3 and 7 year old, leaving the 11 year old at the farmhouse to rest. Conditions are brutally dry, scenting has been tough. I suggested to my buddy that we hunt somewhat close to each other to help with bird retrieval should we be so lucky.
We contacted some hens as we followed the East edge of the field we were hunting, a 1/4 section that’s 100% habitat which includes 3 rows of cedars and 2 food plots, which total about 10 acres. Due to the drought we’ve been enduring for the last 4 months, the cover is as crunchy as corn flakes; the grasses, the cattails, and anything else growing seems stunted compared to normal years. We had walked South to begin with, then turned 90 degrees and walked West along the South line of the 1/4 section, parallel to a picked corn field. As we got to the end of the line, nearing the SW corner of the property, I saw a rooster flush and my buddy raise his red label and shoot the bird…seemed like slow motion; I watched carefully as the bird glided down like a 747 coming in to land…damn! My dogs and I got there in a few minutes and joined the search…short grass, no bird…a runner no doubt. I gave my “dead bird” exclamation several times and turned South, as 25 yards from me on the property line there was thicker cover, maybe the size of a garage…searched it with my 3 year old red lab, Peggy, as Lena was doing her own thing evidently. She has developed a knack for recovering cripples, and I just let her go and do what she does. After 10 minutes of poking around, Steve and I concluded the bird wasn’t where we were, so let’s push North, and hope the bird went that way. It was about 5:45, we had maybe 25 minutes of light left. I stayed inside of Steve, letting him work next to the West edge, a minimum maintenance road that’s overgrown with grassy cover, and the other side of that is the neighboring picked cornfield…great spot to walk, maybe we’d contact some more birds while praying for a miraculous recovery of the strong cripple. We walked for another 10 minutes or so, my buddy goes slow due to bad knees…both have been replaced, still lots of pain. I hadn’t seen Lena now for 15 minutes or so, I gazed in all directions hoping to see movement…she’s short, and the same color as the cover we were in…bad combo! I began to get concerned, she’s usually fairly easy to follow as she works a field…I did think to myself that not seeing her in a long time was a good sign, she may just be tracking it! Success with cripples seems higher if she hears the shot and marks the fall, which wasn’t the case with this bird…I leave her alone and let nature dictate, but I decided to holler to Steve to keep an eye out for her…he was about a football field away, but I think he heard me; at that point I figured I’d whistle for her along with some hollering…I did that off and on while we walked, now having gotten at least 1/2 way to the road, about 400 yards, maybe more. I was contemplating how I’d feel if I lost her…I’d leave a hunting vest and come back a few hours later hoping she’d be there. I didn’t really think that would happen, I’d shoot the gun several times and expect her to find me. About this time I saw Steve excitedly pointing down toward the ground, though I didn’t hear anything…I stopped moving to hear better, and he was walking and bent over….he then yelled that Lena had the bird! I called her again and finally saw her through the grass, approaching me with a rooster in her mouth! I took the bird and she collapsed. I took out the water bottle, filling my ball cap as a bowl, which she drank while laying down. I realized she was really spent, so I hollered for Steve to come over with what water he had. He gave her more to drink, and directed some on her head and belly to cool her off. He excitedly said that he heard her panting, couldn’t see her, but found her via her attempt at cooling off. When he saw her lying there, she had the bird pinned under her muzzle, it was very alive, which was the case when she delivered it to me. He tried to water her then, but she grabbed the bird and took off in my direction. After 5 minutes of he and I standing over her, I told him I’d stay with her, he could begin the walk back to the trucks, about 2/3 of a mile. Lena laid there, head flat on the ground, panting, for another 10 minutes…it may have been 50 when we began hunting, it was now a bit cooler. Peggy joined Lena in laying down next to her, panting as well, but her head was up and alert. I worried about heat issues, exhaustion, etc, and wondered if I’d be carrying her 58 lbs of loyal desire out of the field like a baby…I could do it, but it wouldn’t be my preference. She finally held her head up…tried to get up…laid back down. A few minutes later she stood up and the 3 of us walked single file for 5 minutes or so…Peggy then began working the cover, Lena joined in as well, but at a reduced pace. By the time I got to the road and the trucks, Lena was acting fairly normal…and we watered her some more. I don’t know how far she traveled before catching that cripple, but as the crow flies she was 400-500 yards from the spot it was shot, but that bird didn’t take a straight line…she may have traveled 600, 700 yards? She’s made several retrieves where she disappears for 5-10 minutes, and I notice tail feathers sticking out of the grass sideways a few hundred yards away alerting me that she found the bird! This one was above and beyond, given how dry it was, and that she hadn’t heard the shot or marked the fall…I’m glad I hollered to my buddy to keep an eye out for her, which turned out to be an ear, actually….she would have been impossible to find knowing she was sprawled out, totally exhausted but still victorious in the chase! I have to think that that bird got away many times, only to be recaptured and held hostage between her muzzle and the dry ground…would have loved to have seen that, as my buddy Steve did when he pinpointed her location thanks to his ears! I put 2 beers in a soft cooler before we set out for our hunt, needless to say we toasted Lena!!!
We contacted some hens as we followed the East edge of the field we were hunting, a 1/4 section that’s 100% habitat which includes 3 rows of cedars and 2 food plots, which total about 10 acres. Due to the drought we’ve been enduring for the last 4 months, the cover is as crunchy as corn flakes; the grasses, the cattails, and anything else growing seems stunted compared to normal years. We had walked South to begin with, then turned 90 degrees and walked West along the South line of the 1/4 section, parallel to a picked corn field. As we got to the end of the line, nearing the SW corner of the property, I saw a rooster flush and my buddy raise his red label and shoot the bird…seemed like slow motion; I watched carefully as the bird glided down like a 747 coming in to land…damn! My dogs and I got there in a few minutes and joined the search…short grass, no bird…a runner no doubt. I gave my “dead bird” exclamation several times and turned South, as 25 yards from me on the property line there was thicker cover, maybe the size of a garage…searched it with my 3 year old red lab, Peggy, as Lena was doing her own thing evidently. She has developed a knack for recovering cripples, and I just let her go and do what she does. After 10 minutes of poking around, Steve and I concluded the bird wasn’t where we were, so let’s push North, and hope the bird went that way. It was about 5:45, we had maybe 25 minutes of light left. I stayed inside of Steve, letting him work next to the West edge, a minimum maintenance road that’s overgrown with grassy cover, and the other side of that is the neighboring picked cornfield…great spot to walk, maybe we’d contact some more birds while praying for a miraculous recovery of the strong cripple. We walked for another 10 minutes or so, my buddy goes slow due to bad knees…both have been replaced, still lots of pain. I hadn’t seen Lena now for 15 minutes or so, I gazed in all directions hoping to see movement…she’s short, and the same color as the cover we were in…bad combo! I began to get concerned, she’s usually fairly easy to follow as she works a field…I did think to myself that not seeing her in a long time was a good sign, she may just be tracking it! Success with cripples seems higher if she hears the shot and marks the fall, which wasn’t the case with this bird…I leave her alone and let nature dictate, but I decided to holler to Steve to keep an eye out for her…he was about a football field away, but I think he heard me; at that point I figured I’d whistle for her along with some hollering…I did that off and on while we walked, now having gotten at least 1/2 way to the road, about 400 yards, maybe more. I was contemplating how I’d feel if I lost her…I’d leave a hunting vest and come back a few hours later hoping she’d be there. I didn’t really think that would happen, I’d shoot the gun several times and expect her to find me. About this time I saw Steve excitedly pointing down toward the ground, though I didn’t hear anything…I stopped moving to hear better, and he was walking and bent over….he then yelled that Lena had the bird! I called her again and finally saw her through the grass, approaching me with a rooster in her mouth! I took the bird and she collapsed. I took out the water bottle, filling my ball cap as a bowl, which she drank while laying down. I realized she was really spent, so I hollered for Steve to come over with what water he had. He gave her more to drink, and directed some on her head and belly to cool her off. He excitedly said that he heard her panting, couldn’t see her, but found her via her attempt at cooling off. When he saw her lying there, she had the bird pinned under her muzzle, it was very alive, which was the case when she delivered it to me. He tried to water her then, but she grabbed the bird and took off in my direction. After 5 minutes of he and I standing over her, I told him I’d stay with her, he could begin the walk back to the trucks, about 2/3 of a mile. Lena laid there, head flat on the ground, panting, for another 10 minutes…it may have been 50 when we began hunting, it was now a bit cooler. Peggy joined Lena in laying down next to her, panting as well, but her head was up and alert. I worried about heat issues, exhaustion, etc, and wondered if I’d be carrying her 58 lbs of loyal desire out of the field like a baby…I could do it, but it wouldn’t be my preference. She finally held her head up…tried to get up…laid back down. A few minutes later she stood up and the 3 of us walked single file for 5 minutes or so…Peggy then began working the cover, Lena joined in as well, but at a reduced pace. By the time I got to the road and the trucks, Lena was acting fairly normal…and we watered her some more. I don’t know how far she traveled before catching that cripple, but as the crow flies she was 400-500 yards from the spot it was shot, but that bird didn’t take a straight line…she may have traveled 600, 700 yards? She’s made several retrieves where she disappears for 5-10 minutes, and I notice tail feathers sticking out of the grass sideways a few hundred yards away alerting me that she found the bird! This one was above and beyond, given how dry it was, and that she hadn’t heard the shot or marked the fall…I’m glad I hollered to my buddy to keep an eye out for her, which turned out to be an ear, actually….she would have been impossible to find knowing she was sprawled out, totally exhausted but still victorious in the chase! I have to think that that bird got away many times, only to be recaptured and held hostage between her muzzle and the dry ground…would have loved to have seen that, as my buddy Steve did when he pinpointed her location thanks to his ears! I put 2 beers in a soft cooler before we set out for our hunt, needless to say we toasted Lena!!!
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