Moving back

cockerfan

New member
Well, it is almost a sure thing that I will be moving back to Iowa in about a month. I will be living in the boonies a few miles north of Bonaparte, which is in the very SE corner of the state. There's not much for birds in that area, but the locals are telling me that there are quail around. If nothing else I will have space to raise birds and plenty of room to run the dogs. I am really looking forward to being back in the state! Will I have any of you guys as neighbors?
 
I like to think everybody in the state is my neighbor since we're all withing a couple hour drive. :thumbsup: I live just south of Des Moines though.
 
I like to think everybody in the state is my neighbor since we're all withing a couple hour drive. :thumbsup: I live just south of Des Moines though.

You do realize that you just called Coot your neighbor, right? Are you sure you want to do that?:)

I am very familiar with Indianola; I used to drive down there weekly for work, and hunted birds on some of the public land in Warren county. There were still some birds left in those parts 2 yess ago...
 
There are a few birds, about 3 or so to be exact. :eek: They are around, just takes some miles to find them. About Coot, crazy thing is I grew up about 30 miles or so from him, so him and BC can't be too bad of guys.
 
Neighbors....

I live in Keosauqua- Van Buren county is beautiful...but the birds are very scarce! Of course, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a deer or two! Drive carefully- just traveled from Houston, through Arkansas, and then Missouri...didn't see a road kill deer until I hit Iowa...and then counted seven from Keokuk to Keosauqua!
 
If you live in Keo, we'll basically be next-door neighbors! I moved down to Texas last summer, so I'm painfully aware of the bird situation up there. I did manage to shoot 6 or 7 roosters in Linn county on about 4 days of hunting this past winter, but I think I got a bit lucky. Still, in some places I saw enough hens to make me a little optimistic for this year.

As for deer, I drove up to IA last weekend to work out the details for this move, and while I was there, I held a 200 7/8" deer that was shot about a mile from where I'll be living. Also talked to a guy who found a dead deer with a 197" rack in the same area. I won't be lacking for good deer hunting!

Stein, do you have any bird dogs, and if so do you ever train them? I'm planning on putting in bird pens fairly quickly and getting a working population of pigeons going, maybe some game birds too. I'm getting a couple Cocker pups in mid July, so I'll be spending quite a bit of time training this fall.

Jordan
 
Cocker, did you go up north and hunt with coot last year? I seem to think I remember you guys doing something of the sort, but I could be dreaming too.
 
Cocker, did you go up north and hunt with coot last year? I seem to think I remember you guys doing something of the sort, but I could be dreaming too.

Yup, I sure did. I earned the privilege of participating in "the great pheasant hunt" on that trip, and Coot got to watch Rocky in action... Course he was only 8 months old and the snow was deep, so there wasn't much action on Rocky's part...or Coots for that matter:) Also watched BenelliBoy go through quite a few shells:)
very fun time.
 
Get to work VZW:) Welcome back cockerfan:thumbsup: Better practice your winter driving it's lacking if I remember right:D I want :coolpics: of them pups.
 
Get to work VZW:) Welcome back cockerfan:thumbsup: Better practice your winter driving it's lacking if I remember right:D I want :coolpics: of them pups.


Wait, I was the one who drove through that drift without spilling the cup of coffee that was in my right hand :) Of course, getting back through that drift didn't go quite so smoothly...but I attribute that more to my Ridgeline's clearance than my driving skills!

I had a good chat with the breeder this evening. I'm still not positive which pups I will be getting, but we're starting to get a pretty good idea. He's giving me the pick of the litter from both litters, and we're waiting until the last possible moment to decide which ones I'll take. I'll put up a couple of pictures in a little bit from off of my phone.

Coot, if I've still got an invite to come and hunt up in your neck of the woods, I'd sure try to make time for it sometime this winter. My wife's mom, who lives in Granada, MN, just put her house on the market and may move to Cedar Rapids once the house sells, so I won't have that excuse to drive up to those parts, but I think I could still work it out. And, I suppose there's a decent chance that the house won't sell by the time pheasant season rolls around.
 
These are the two at the top of the list right now

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Do you guys hunt too, or just eat? :) The Cocker nationals are in Staples, MN that weekend. I would really like too make it up there for a day at least to watch, so maybe I can work it to coincide with the pheasant opener. All wife-willing of course:)
 
Do you guys hunt too, or just eat? :) The Cocker nationals are in Staples, MN that weekend. I would really like too make it up there for a day at least to watch, so maybe I can work it to coincide with the pheasant opener. All wife-willing of course:)

I'm going to go with just eat. Coot, I'm tired and don't want to be at work for the rest of the day. Cough Cough, oh no, better leave. Don't want to get those customers sick.
 
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