All - been quite a while since I posted...apologies, no excuses. Wanted to provide a report back to the group that I've learned so much from over the years and has given me some great connections in the field.
Group hunted 8 days the full week before Thanksgiving...4 guys, 3 experienced dogs. We typically hunt around Redfield (public and private) and this year wrapped the trip up exploring new public ground an hour south of Mitchel.
Trip started out with highs in the low 60's, which was honestly too hot for the dogs but they pushed through it and we kept our hunts limited to creeks/rivers/water the first few days so they could cool off as required in the water. We saw decent birds numbers, a bit lower than previous years but not terrible but definitely more hens that in the past. On the positive side, they were holding pretty tight for us, got a lot of good points, and good experience for dogs. I believe we only struck out on one public spot and it was likely because we backed out upon seeing some guys bow hunting in a tree line ahead of us in an attempt to not screw them up too bad.
In spite of the heat, we did fairly well, even a 4 man limit one day on private ground following a creek with good cover...took us all day finishing right at dusk but worth it. Once it cooled down we were able to cover more ground and bag numbers kept growing. We found birds in various cover from cattail sloughs, CRP grasses, weeds, wind break tree lines, standing crops/food plots, etc. Hard to determine whether one was better than the other honestly, which makes hunting fun because you just never knew.
Just an interesting/frustrating note, we lost more birds in cattails this year than we ever have...years past, we might have lost 2 or 3, maybe...I would estimate we lost as many this year as all previous combined. It was frustrating and disappointing and wasn't due to dog effort. They are all 4 or 5 years old and have hunted SD pheasants since 8-10 months old. I'm not sure if it was because it was pretty dry and scent conditions weren't the best, the birds are getting tougher, our shooting is worse, Fiocchi loads aren't what they used to be, or what. Anyway, we hated it but it was tough for sure.
As it cooled, the weather kept getting worse and worse with precipitation and WIND. Holy crap it was windy mid week...if they got into the jet stream, forget about it. Ultimately the big push of snow hit the last day of our hunt, temps dropped and winds blew hard.
I also earned a totally new respect for my 45pound Brittany on two occasions. The first...a cattail spear was shoved up my nose by what felt like a Roman centurion. I swear to you there was brain matter on the tip when i dislodged it. After catching myself, my cousin walking about 20 yards to my left yelled, "Holy #$%$#, dude, you're bleeding like a mother" I looked down and had blood streaming off the end of my beard, all over my clothes, vest, etc. Started spitting blood running down back of my throat, etc. Now, some might think...that's cool, probably looked tough...and in some fashion it was...until I couldn't get it to stop. I started shoving toilet paper wads from my buddies vest (stored in the same pouch as dead birds BTW) up my nose and the blood started backing up and blowing them out a couple times...I'm alive to tell the story so it stopped but be careful of those ISIS inspired cattails, they're here to kill us. Anyway, besides the point...what i realized is that our dogs dive into that crap constantly without thought and push through it constantly, chase birds, retrieve birds, with sheer disregard for anything. They are amazing field companions...wouldn't take another.
Secondly, our last day was blizzard conditions with HIGH wind. A rooster got up near a pond bank and my buddy laid it down but the wind carried it across the pond. What does my Britt do...crashes through the ice and broke it all the way across the pond to get the retrieve. He kept hunting, figuring slowing down or stopping would be hard on him. couple hours later, move fields and he couldn't get out of his box...was hypothermic in just a few minutes. Folks, this one is on me, I realize that...I just thought he had recovered from the pond and would be fine after hunting a couple hours...felt horrible. Threw him in the front floorboard with heat full blast covered in blanks and coats and by the next day he was recovered for the ride home. After that, I called it a trip and my buddies agreed losing a dog ain't worth it so we hung it up 3 shy of our bag limit at 57.
Ultimately, our take was that bird numbers weren't better, actually a bit lower than previous years in the areas we hunted. The weather extremes we encountered made it even tougher but we were still hunting ringnecks in SD with old friends, made new memories, found even greater respect for my 4 legged partner, and we're all still hooked. In my book, all better than working...
I hope all had and are having a great hunt this season, I'm off to Kansas tomorrow to see if there are any birds left...been 6 years. Regardless of bird numbers, going to chase my dog and hunt with my cousin and it will be better than work.
Group hunted 8 days the full week before Thanksgiving...4 guys, 3 experienced dogs. We typically hunt around Redfield (public and private) and this year wrapped the trip up exploring new public ground an hour south of Mitchel.
Trip started out with highs in the low 60's, which was honestly too hot for the dogs but they pushed through it and we kept our hunts limited to creeks/rivers/water the first few days so they could cool off as required in the water. We saw decent birds numbers, a bit lower than previous years but not terrible but definitely more hens that in the past. On the positive side, they were holding pretty tight for us, got a lot of good points, and good experience for dogs. I believe we only struck out on one public spot and it was likely because we backed out upon seeing some guys bow hunting in a tree line ahead of us in an attempt to not screw them up too bad.
In spite of the heat, we did fairly well, even a 4 man limit one day on private ground following a creek with good cover...took us all day finishing right at dusk but worth it. Once it cooled down we were able to cover more ground and bag numbers kept growing. We found birds in various cover from cattail sloughs, CRP grasses, weeds, wind break tree lines, standing crops/food plots, etc. Hard to determine whether one was better than the other honestly, which makes hunting fun because you just never knew.
Just an interesting/frustrating note, we lost more birds in cattails this year than we ever have...years past, we might have lost 2 or 3, maybe...I would estimate we lost as many this year as all previous combined. It was frustrating and disappointing and wasn't due to dog effort. They are all 4 or 5 years old and have hunted SD pheasants since 8-10 months old. I'm not sure if it was because it was pretty dry and scent conditions weren't the best, the birds are getting tougher, our shooting is worse, Fiocchi loads aren't what they used to be, or what. Anyway, we hated it but it was tough for sure.
As it cooled, the weather kept getting worse and worse with precipitation and WIND. Holy crap it was windy mid week...if they got into the jet stream, forget about it. Ultimately the big push of snow hit the last day of our hunt, temps dropped and winds blew hard.
I also earned a totally new respect for my 45pound Brittany on two occasions. The first...a cattail spear was shoved up my nose by what felt like a Roman centurion. I swear to you there was brain matter on the tip when i dislodged it. After catching myself, my cousin walking about 20 yards to my left yelled, "Holy #$%$#, dude, you're bleeding like a mother" I looked down and had blood streaming off the end of my beard, all over my clothes, vest, etc. Started spitting blood running down back of my throat, etc. Now, some might think...that's cool, probably looked tough...and in some fashion it was...until I couldn't get it to stop. I started shoving toilet paper wads from my buddies vest (stored in the same pouch as dead birds BTW) up my nose and the blood started backing up and blowing them out a couple times...I'm alive to tell the story so it stopped but be careful of those ISIS inspired cattails, they're here to kill us. Anyway, besides the point...what i realized is that our dogs dive into that crap constantly without thought and push through it constantly, chase birds, retrieve birds, with sheer disregard for anything. They are amazing field companions...wouldn't take another.
Secondly, our last day was blizzard conditions with HIGH wind. A rooster got up near a pond bank and my buddy laid it down but the wind carried it across the pond. What does my Britt do...crashes through the ice and broke it all the way across the pond to get the retrieve. He kept hunting, figuring slowing down or stopping would be hard on him. couple hours later, move fields and he couldn't get out of his box...was hypothermic in just a few minutes. Folks, this one is on me, I realize that...I just thought he had recovered from the pond and would be fine after hunting a couple hours...felt horrible. Threw him in the front floorboard with heat full blast covered in blanks and coats and by the next day he was recovered for the ride home. After that, I called it a trip and my buddies agreed losing a dog ain't worth it so we hung it up 3 shy of our bag limit at 57.
Ultimately, our take was that bird numbers weren't better, actually a bit lower than previous years in the areas we hunted. The weather extremes we encountered made it even tougher but we were still hunting ringnecks in SD with old friends, made new memories, found even greater respect for my 4 legged partner, and we're all still hooked. In my book, all better than working...
I hope all had and are having a great hunt this season, I'm off to Kansas tomorrow to see if there are any birds left...been 6 years. Regardless of bird numbers, going to chase my dog and hunt with my cousin and it will be better than work.
