BritChaser
Well-known member
Hunted Saturday at the Happy Hunting Grounds in NW. First off we took on nearly a section of corn stalks with a big, many-fingered deep draw in the middle that features patches of kochia and wild plum, a real butt kicker of a field. Saw twenty or so birds and we each bagged our lone opportunity in that two and a half hour trek. Then we went to a quarter of stubble with a nice short draw. We should have looped around to hunt the draw into the wind, so we ended up watching twenty birds fly away out of range. Our bad. After lunch we hit this year's honeyhole, a terraced quarter of milo stalks with a very weedy north fence line, a fair west fence line, great roosting habitat to the east across the road and a small deep draw. It did not disappoint. Wind was due west so we headed straight into it along the weedy north fence line and kicked up a half dozen birds 100 yds. from the road. We knocked down and bagged two, one each we decided. Now we had two each. We turned south at the west fence line, with my buddy following a south bearing rising draw with kochia on each side and me sticking to the fence. A few wild flushes gave me no shots. Once up on the high ground my buddy bagged another on a straight away with his brand new Beretta 12 ga. autoloader with a modified choke screwed in. At the SW corner we turned east to cross the short, deep draw and saw a cock land in a patch of terrace weeds on the horizon east of the draw. A few out-of-range wild flushers launched out of the kochia at the bottom of the draw. Beyond at the terrace patch where we saw the cock land, Gus the Brittany nailed a point on him and I knocked him down with my second blast, no. 5s through a full choke in my 625 Citori, on an arcing right to left shallow angle shot. There was nothing else in that patch so we turned north to let the dogs inspect another nearby terrace weed patch. Another lone cock presented an arcing right to left shallow angle shot, just like the one I had made a few minutes ago. This time a single salvo of no. 6s through my modified choke made the knock down. Gus rousted him, gave a short chase, and returned him to hand to make my limit. With my broken gun broken over my shoulder we turned east toward the road, then north along a terrace toward our rigs. About fifteen birds had come out of the grass field to the east of the road for their afternoon meal while we were hunting the west side of the field, and they were very surprised when dogs and hunters came upon them. My buddy bagged his fourth bird out of this group with a lone shot on a shallow right to left angle. When we reached our rigs, it was two-thirty. The guns were put away and the W.L. Weller bourbon was deployed. It cut the dust real good. What a satisifying day in the open country of the high plains of western Kansas. Before we said our goodbyes, my buddy handed me a beautiful magazine compiling several famous hunting and fishing stories. The cover featured a black and white portrait photo of Ernest Hemingway. I wondered if Hemingway ever had such a good day afield.
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Just about perfect, really! I've never been a fan of limits before lunch (unless the weather is truly miserable). Sounds like you got some great dog work, some great exercise, and a couple great meals coming your way. Hard to beat that!