Halloween Hunt

[nstric]

Took a buddy out this morning ... heading south to hit some public.

First field of big bluestem netted 4 roosters and 6 hens. No trigger pulls as only the hens held.

Second, and last field, netted 10 roosters and around 25 hens. Gunner pointed 4 of the 5 roosters shot, my buddy taking the other on wild flush. He pointed a few more as well, but we opted not to shoot for various reasons. Dozens of hens held nice. Had one group of around 12 hens flush at once, my buddy standing in the middle of it. Was great to see!

Nearly all birds were in shorter foxtail. Those that flushed from the bluestem were likely pushed into it. I think they avoid the heavier cover when it's so wet.

As a bonus, both dogs pointed a covey of quail. I shot two out of the group. My buddy's dog did great on pointing the singles afterwards. He didn't want to return to the pheasants!

This hunt returned some hope for me. Was wet, but fun.

 

[Madison COunty]

Nate,

How do you tell when your dog is pointing? Do you have a GPS collar? I have a 2 year old GSP and can't see him in most of the cover we hunt....especially the big blue stem.

 

[nstric]

I've a beeper collar. A must have with a pointing dog in my opinion.

This said, today, in the foxtail, we could see the dogs.

 

[Madison COunty]

I have a DT collar with a locate button and a run/point mode. Is that similar to what you use?

 

[nstric]

Tritronic's Sport Upland G3 here.

 

[Madison COunty]

I've a beeper collar. A must have with a pointing dog in my opinion.

This said, today, in the foxtail, we could see the dogs.

I'm sorry I meant does your collar beep when the dog is out running and then when he is on point have a different beep?

 

[nstric]

I'm sorry I meant does your collar beep when the dog is out running and then when he is on point have a different beep?

Yes, it can do all sorts of things. You can read the specs here.

I prefer no beep, or sound, when the dog is running as I enjoy taking in as much of Mother Nature's natural sounds as I can when afield. The constant beep annoys me.

Mine is set to only beep when Gunner is on point.

 

[mstand]

].

I prefer no beep, or sound, when the dog is running as I enjoy taking in as much of Mother Nature's natural sounds as I can when afield. The constant beep annoys me.

Mine is set to only beep when Gunner is on point.

This is why I chose a Garmin 320 over a beeper collar. Plus, I found that I quit hacking on my dog when I got the Garmin. It brought all kinds of piece of mind.
Go figure that they came out witht he Alpha a year after I bought my Astro. But to tell you the truth, I like the option of running with or with out an ecollar.

 

[nstric]

A pic of my buddy, our bounty, his dog "Deacon", and "Gunner".

 

[KBell]

Nice work Guys!

Great job and the picture shows the great cover.

Nate did you age class the birds? Our two from last week were this year's hatch and I know one that flushed was an older bird.

Keep up the great work! I know I am looking forward to consuming those two sometime this week.

 

[nstric]

Yes ... two of the five looked to be last year's birds. One of the other three was quite young.

 

[KBell]

It's early. . . but

Thank you Nate!

I know we are early in the game but my newly formed hypothesis is that the hens that were able to nest due to the moist spring were only able to pull off small or partially successful hatches. In other words, I am hypothesizing that 1/3 to 1/2 half of the birds we harvest will be last year's birds.

This will be a very bad thing!

Ken

 

[niceshot]

nstric, did you say 3 of those 5 birds in the picture are first year birds? They look so beautiful. Fully colored, large bodies, large white collars, long tails, they look so uniform.

 

[nstric]

nstric, did you say 3 of those 5 birds in the picture are first year birds? They look so beautiful. Fully colored, large bodies, large white collars, long tails, they look so uniform.

Yes. 3 of the 5 were this year's birds. One not off of the nest too long.

Related . . . most of the roosters seen but not bagged have been first year birds too. Really young. Very short tail feathers, poor fliers, etc. I'd say 3 out of 4 wild flushers have been this year's birds. I think the older, wiser roosters have been running.

 

[niceshot]

nstric, I keep looking at that beautiful photograph, what's the story behind the field full of foxtail?

 

[nstric]

nstric, I keep looking at that beautiful photograph, what's the story behind the field full of foxtail?

Public ground. Red Rock. Huge fields.

 

[niceshot]

Cool. Does the State do any tillage or food plots?

 

[nstric]

Cool. Does the State do any tillage or food plots?

Some food plots, yes, but I don't come across many.

 

[niceshot]

Doesn't the switch, brome, or reeds canary usually take over the foxtail in a year or two? I think it's really amazing to find a field of foxtail on public land without discing or tillage, better keep that your special place nstrc.

 

[niceshot]

A pic of my buddy, our bounty, his dog "Deacon", and "Gunner".

nstric, something about these colorful birds is sure mesmerizing, but in your post you said one was "just off the nest". A young molting rooster is the size of a softball, has 6 inch tail feathers, and is so ugly you don't want anyone to see you shot it. Are you sure this is the right picture for this story?