My Season Ends Tomorrow...
- Thread starter walk213
- Start date
Shorthair Hunters
Member
Went out Saturday for a long warm walk, had about 20 hens holding tight giving what could be a great shot but wrong sex. Had one rooster jump in some farmers old junk but was sligh enough to stay behind something both times i shot. The temp increased quickly keeping the dogs hot and drinking alot of water, turning the frozen ground to mud. Found a large covey of bobwhites so i will have to remember that spot for next year. One more weekend and then the traditional last day of the season left so until then good luck.
walk213
Active member
560 Miles and....
A more detailed report to follow.
-Tough morning; did not even track a bird despite 5 miles of walking through some of my favorite areas
-Met another hunter filling up at the local gas station. He did not have a successful morning, so we decided to team up
-Hit a row of trees from both sides, and bam I nailed my first rooster of the day
-3 hours later, we hit a pivot and forced a rooster to a corner....Pride was determined to find him and did. Tom pulled off a nice shot at 35 yards
560 miles of driving and one bird....worth every minute. See you in November.
A more detailed report to follow.
-Tough morning; did not even track a bird despite 5 miles of walking through some of my favorite areas
-Met another hunter filling up at the local gas station. He did not have a successful morning, so we decided to team up
-Hit a row of trees from both sides, and bam I nailed my first rooster of the day
-3 hours later, we hit a pivot and forced a rooster to a corner....Pride was determined to find him and did. Tom pulled off a nice shot at 35 yards
560 miles of driving and one bird....worth every minute. See you in November.
sdt-Evergreen
Member
Nice way to end the season, Perserverance and sometimes more than one person.
Last week we could have used one more person to post as we tried to surround the birds. Hopefully I have 2 more days left this season.
Last week we could have used one more person to post as we tried to surround the birds. Hopefully I have 2 more days left this season.
BleuBijou
Active member
Way to go!!!!!!!! I am living vicariously through you guys this year!! Been out once and it was a tough go!! Hurt my back(3 herniated discs) in Sept 2011 and have been struggling since! Lost over a inch of muscle in the right quad and have to bend over all the time to relieve pain. Nerves are shot!! Finally a go for surgery from the Doc, just waiting approval as it is a comp injury!! You can imagine the nightmare with all the Comp B.S.!!!!!! 16 months and I am so done with this crap!!!! Tear it up while you can Boys!!!:cheers:
walk213
Active member
BKNIGHT, very sorry to hear of the diagnosis. How are you doing? Cancer continues to plague my friends and family. I will say a prayer that you recover quickly and get back in the fields.
To all that will hunt for the next week....good luck and please post pictures.
BKNIGHT, please shoot me a note if you want to get out next season. Pride will be 10 but will still get on birds.
Almost time for a puppy.
To all that will hunt for the next week....good luck and please post pictures.
BKNIGHT, please shoot me a note if you want to get out next season. Pride will be 10 but will still get on birds.
Almost time for a puppy.
walk213
Active member
I am not allowed to post my BLOG site here. So here the story of my last hunt of the season.
My last hunting trip of the 2012-2013 pheasant season started out like any other journey to Eastern, Colorado; up at 4:00 am, out the door by 4:50 am and adjacent to my favorite field by 7:45 am. The temperature was sixteen degrees, and there was a subtle ten mph wind easing its way in from the northwest. The conditions were great, but I felt I was about forty five minutes behind schedule. My gut told me that the birds had already made their way into the corn fields where they could not be pursued. Pride and I quickly worked our way through the shin high CRP. I knew that if there were birds to be had, they would be holding tight in the deeper cover along the draw at the end of the field. Pride has often sought our quarry in this field, and he knows when to turn on his afterburners. Not dissimilar to our last trip, we moved quickly through the one hundred and fifty yards of brush but never encountered a bird. It was the second trip in a row that my honey hole failed to produce results.
The night before the trip, I phoned a rancher friend who had allowed Pride and me to hunt his land on three occasions during the season. For over two seasons, I never received a positive answer to my question “would it be possible to walk your land with my dog”. Honestly, I developed a complex as landowners repeatedly denied my requests to access their property. Unfortunately, my appeal to make a final tour of his prime real estate was denied. He emphasized the need to end the season early in order to give the birds a “break”. Nevertheless, I stopped by the house to drop off a case of bud light, and a personal thank you card addressed to the family.
Pride and I headed one half mile east then unloaded next to a large grass field that abutted corn. The snow that blanketed this field three weeks before was almost gone, and had unfortunately matted down the already sparse cover. We employed a zigzag pattern in order to cover ground, and perhaps confuse a running rooster. Pride did get hot as we marched towards the end of the field. When he slowed down and began to sniff in circles, I prepared myself for action. It took about thirty seconds, but a hen jumped up thirty yards in front of me. A few “no bird” calls had Pride ready to continue our walk west. Thirty minutes later we loaded up, and maneuvered to another favorite area about four miles southeast of our position. When I arrived at the field, there were already three trucks surrounding the area so I moved on. Pride and I spent the next hour covering an enormous field that did not show any signs of life. Disappointed but undeterred, we headed to town to fill up the Dodge Ram 1500, and get some food.
With a Monster Rehab energy drink and some jerky in hand, I stared at the map to determine our next move. Another hunter pulled into the market so I asked him how his day was going. He described an all too familiar story; working two dogs, he was able to get some birds in the air, but not close enough to attempt a shot. I asked him if he would like to hunt together to see if we could improve our odds. He responded with enthusiastic “yes”, so we began to collaborate on an afternoon strategy.
With a renewed focus, we drove further east towards some pivots that we hoped had not been mowed down. About five miles into the drive, Tom slowed and waived me up. He had noticed a one hundred yard row of evergreens in a walk in area just off the adjacent road. The plan was simple; I would drive to the east and work Pride west, and he would counter that with his two Brittany spaniels. I quickly made my way west, weaving between the fifteen foot evergreens. As Pride neared Gunner and Major, all dogs simultaneously turned quickly in the direction of the road. A rooster busted from the tree line, and flew straight back to the east. The tip of one tree prohibited me from executing an immediate shot, so I jumped forward and reset my position. My first shot from my Beretta A400 XPLR Light 12 gauge missed high, but the next shot knocked the bird down immediately. Pride ran furiously at the mortally wounded pheasant, and brought him to my hand. We thanked the dogs for their efforts, exchanged congratulations, and then continued on our way. The excitement level had suddenly intensified for all participants.
The next four pivots we hunted appeared amazing, but produced nothing. We hunted every inch of the dense CRP, hoping to move birds into the surrounding corn fields. Unfortunately, two miles of stalking produced only one startled hen. We continued our drive north towards Nebraska with the hope that the extra miles of driving would eventually pay off. We came across a unique walk in area that had knee-high grass surrounding a dense and long plum thicket. Tom, Gunner and Major took the right side of the trees, while Pride and I moved left. About half way through the walk south, Pride became birdy. Nose down and tail vigorously moving, he began to demonstrate signs of a pheasant in our presence. I readied for a shot but nothing happened. Tom and his dogs turned the corner around the plum thicket, and marched southeast. We both acknowledged that our dogs were in pursuit of moving prey, and the pace suddenly quickened. Pride moved to my right, and ran hard to the edge of the field. Tom was positioned about fifty yards to my right, and we expected the dogs were on a crafty cock bird. When Pride started to forcefully dig his nose in a clump of grass, a rooster jumped just inches from his head. As the bird took flight, all three dogs started their chase. The bird flew low which caused me to delay a shot as Major was in my field of vision. Tom, however, had a clear shot and knocked the bird out of the sky with his Winchester SX3 20 gauge.
It was now 4 pm, and we needed to quickly make our way to our last field of the day. The land that I had in mind always has birds moving from corn to cover as night approaches. As we drove up to the edge of the CRP, birds were already taking flight. We quickly piled out of the trucks, and jumped into the tall grass. The dogs were moving with determination as they obviously knew pheasants were sprinting away from us. After five hundred yards we turned back toward the west with the hope that some of the birds that we passed would hold tight. Unfortunately, these late season pheasants have been conditioned to outwit their pursuers. As the sun set, we watched the running birds take flight against the red sky. While we were disappointed that a shot never presented itself, the scene that unfolded in front of us was pretty awesome.
My 2012-2013 pheasant season appeared bleak at the outset. The drought that has savaged Colorado over the last 12 months was clearly visible to the not so discerning eye. Farmers, ranchers and landowners were all suffering, and so were the birds that depend on the habitat to survive. Hopefully, significant precipitation hits the region soon, and solves what is becoming an ever worsening problem. While the number of birds I harvested was far less than last year, I still had an amazing time. November cannot come soon enough.
My last hunting trip of the 2012-2013 pheasant season started out like any other journey to Eastern, Colorado; up at 4:00 am, out the door by 4:50 am and adjacent to my favorite field by 7:45 am. The temperature was sixteen degrees, and there was a subtle ten mph wind easing its way in from the northwest. The conditions were great, but I felt I was about forty five minutes behind schedule. My gut told me that the birds had already made their way into the corn fields where they could not be pursued. Pride and I quickly worked our way through the shin high CRP. I knew that if there were birds to be had, they would be holding tight in the deeper cover along the draw at the end of the field. Pride has often sought our quarry in this field, and he knows when to turn on his afterburners. Not dissimilar to our last trip, we moved quickly through the one hundred and fifty yards of brush but never encountered a bird. It was the second trip in a row that my honey hole failed to produce results.
The night before the trip, I phoned a rancher friend who had allowed Pride and me to hunt his land on three occasions during the season. For over two seasons, I never received a positive answer to my question “would it be possible to walk your land with my dog”. Honestly, I developed a complex as landowners repeatedly denied my requests to access their property. Unfortunately, my appeal to make a final tour of his prime real estate was denied. He emphasized the need to end the season early in order to give the birds a “break”. Nevertheless, I stopped by the house to drop off a case of bud light, and a personal thank you card addressed to the family.
Pride and I headed one half mile east then unloaded next to a large grass field that abutted corn. The snow that blanketed this field three weeks before was almost gone, and had unfortunately matted down the already sparse cover. We employed a zigzag pattern in order to cover ground, and perhaps confuse a running rooster. Pride did get hot as we marched towards the end of the field. When he slowed down and began to sniff in circles, I prepared myself for action. It took about thirty seconds, but a hen jumped up thirty yards in front of me. A few “no bird” calls had Pride ready to continue our walk west. Thirty minutes later we loaded up, and maneuvered to another favorite area about four miles southeast of our position. When I arrived at the field, there were already three trucks surrounding the area so I moved on. Pride and I spent the next hour covering an enormous field that did not show any signs of life. Disappointed but undeterred, we headed to town to fill up the Dodge Ram 1500, and get some food.
With a Monster Rehab energy drink and some jerky in hand, I stared at the map to determine our next move. Another hunter pulled into the market so I asked him how his day was going. He described an all too familiar story; working two dogs, he was able to get some birds in the air, but not close enough to attempt a shot. I asked him if he would like to hunt together to see if we could improve our odds. He responded with enthusiastic “yes”, so we began to collaborate on an afternoon strategy.
With a renewed focus, we drove further east towards some pivots that we hoped had not been mowed down. About five miles into the drive, Tom slowed and waived me up. He had noticed a one hundred yard row of evergreens in a walk in area just off the adjacent road. The plan was simple; I would drive to the east and work Pride west, and he would counter that with his two Brittany spaniels. I quickly made my way west, weaving between the fifteen foot evergreens. As Pride neared Gunner and Major, all dogs simultaneously turned quickly in the direction of the road. A rooster busted from the tree line, and flew straight back to the east. The tip of one tree prohibited me from executing an immediate shot, so I jumped forward and reset my position. My first shot from my Beretta A400 XPLR Light 12 gauge missed high, but the next shot knocked the bird down immediately. Pride ran furiously at the mortally wounded pheasant, and brought him to my hand. We thanked the dogs for their efforts, exchanged congratulations, and then continued on our way. The excitement level had suddenly intensified for all participants.
The next four pivots we hunted appeared amazing, but produced nothing. We hunted every inch of the dense CRP, hoping to move birds into the surrounding corn fields. Unfortunately, two miles of stalking produced only one startled hen. We continued our drive north towards Nebraska with the hope that the extra miles of driving would eventually pay off. We came across a unique walk in area that had knee-high grass surrounding a dense and long plum thicket. Tom, Gunner and Major took the right side of the trees, while Pride and I moved left. About half way through the walk south, Pride became birdy. Nose down and tail vigorously moving, he began to demonstrate signs of a pheasant in our presence. I readied for a shot but nothing happened. Tom and his dogs turned the corner around the plum thicket, and marched southeast. We both acknowledged that our dogs were in pursuit of moving prey, and the pace suddenly quickened. Pride moved to my right, and ran hard to the edge of the field. Tom was positioned about fifty yards to my right, and we expected the dogs were on a crafty cock bird. When Pride started to forcefully dig his nose in a clump of grass, a rooster jumped just inches from his head. As the bird took flight, all three dogs started their chase. The bird flew low which caused me to delay a shot as Major was in my field of vision. Tom, however, had a clear shot and knocked the bird out of the sky with his Winchester SX3 20 gauge.
It was now 4 pm, and we needed to quickly make our way to our last field of the day. The land that I had in mind always has birds moving from corn to cover as night approaches. As we drove up to the edge of the CRP, birds were already taking flight. We quickly piled out of the trucks, and jumped into the tall grass. The dogs were moving with determination as they obviously knew pheasants were sprinting away from us. After five hundred yards we turned back toward the west with the hope that some of the birds that we passed would hold tight. Unfortunately, these late season pheasants have been conditioned to outwit their pursuers. As the sun set, we watched the running birds take flight against the red sky. While we were disappointed that a shot never presented itself, the scene that unfolded in front of us was pretty awesome.
My 2012-2013 pheasant season appeared bleak at the outset. The drought that has savaged Colorado over the last 12 months was clearly visible to the not so discerning eye. Farmers, ranchers and landowners were all suffering, and so were the birds that depend on the habitat to survive. Hopefully, significant precipitation hits the region soon, and solves what is becoming an ever worsening problem. While the number of birds I harvested was far less than last year, I still had an amazing time. November cannot come soon enough.
Hunter1971
New member
Walk,
Great story! What a way to end the season.
I went out with my wife (her first time hunting) and 3 other hunters yesterday. We had Andy, my Setter, Bill's Lab, and Andy's trainer Mark with his 4 English Pointers (ran two pointers at a time). We ended up with 5 birds in the bag, but we (mostly I) missed more than I care to admit. My excuse was that I was using my brother-in-laws pump shotgun verses my semi-auto (my wife was using mine). I kept forgetting to pump, click click!
So I finally figured out how to kill a bird with my first shot, then there's no need to pump! :cheers:
It was a great time! My wife was not presented with a shot even with all of us trying to put her in the best position, (it's very hard to predict these late season birds) but she did great and she had an awesome time. I am proud of her for finishing her Hunter Safety on Saturday to make sure she could experience her first hunt on Sunday. :thumbsup: I just wish we could have got her a shot at her first rooster, but who knows the season isn't over yet!
One of the other hunters I was with is also a newbie to pheasant hunting and is a member of this forum as well, he shot his first bird yesterday afternoon. He was grinning ear to ear when I caught up to him with tail feathers sticking out of his game coat!! :10sign: Nice to see him learn, come along, and to finally get his first bird.
The dogs did great! It was really cool watching 3 pointers go on point and back each other just waiting for the flush! My wife got to see first hand what all the hype is about and she also got to see our Andy in action! I think she is almost as proud of Andy as I am??? Mark did a great job of training him to the point he is now. More training to come for Andy either this Spring or early Fall. (Force Fetch and Refresher) :thumbsup:
As always I would like to thank Bill and Tucker for spending their time with us, it's always a pleasure to hunt with Bill and his lab. I'm thankful that him and Tucker put up with our "hyper big running dogs". :cheers: Thanks Bill and please thank Tucker for us for the hard work he does of finding these late season birds!
Hopefully I will make it out one more time? We shall see?
Great story! What a way to end the season.
I went out with my wife (her first time hunting) and 3 other hunters yesterday. We had Andy, my Setter, Bill's Lab, and Andy's trainer Mark with his 4 English Pointers (ran two pointers at a time). We ended up with 5 birds in the bag, but we (mostly I) missed more than I care to admit. My excuse was that I was using my brother-in-laws pump shotgun verses my semi-auto (my wife was using mine). I kept forgetting to pump, click click!
So I finally figured out how to kill a bird with my first shot, then there's no need to pump! :cheers: It was a great time! My wife was not presented with a shot even with all of us trying to put her in the best position, (it's very hard to predict these late season birds) but she did great and she had an awesome time. I am proud of her for finishing her Hunter Safety on Saturday to make sure she could experience her first hunt on Sunday. :thumbsup: I just wish we could have got her a shot at her first rooster, but who knows the season isn't over yet!
One of the other hunters I was with is also a newbie to pheasant hunting and is a member of this forum as well, he shot his first bird yesterday afternoon. He was grinning ear to ear when I caught up to him with tail feathers sticking out of his game coat!! :10sign: Nice to see him learn, come along, and to finally get his first bird.
The dogs did great! It was really cool watching 3 pointers go on point and back each other just waiting for the flush! My wife got to see first hand what all the hype is about and she also got to see our Andy in action! I think she is almost as proud of Andy as I am??? Mark did a great job of training him to the point he is now. More training to come for Andy either this Spring or early Fall. (Force Fetch and Refresher) :thumbsup:
As always I would like to thank Bill and Tucker for spending their time with us, it's always a pleasure to hunt with Bill and his lab. I'm thankful that him and Tucker put up with our "hyper big running dogs". :cheers: Thanks Bill and please thank Tucker for us for the hard work he does of finding these late season birds!
Hopefully I will make it out one more time? We shall see?
Brent: glad to hear about your hunt yesterday. I was wondering how it went. Great to see you got the wife out there to see Andy in action. Hope we get some water this year, the bird population recovers, and the farmers have a better yield.
I'm planning an Oct/Nov private hunt to my friend's private land in South Dakota pending a bird report in Late June. Last time I was up there, it was limits every day no problem. If it looks good, I'll drive up for about 4 days. If you want any info on the trip, let me know. I'm also going to talk to him about one of his chocolate lab hunting pups.
I'm planning an Oct/Nov private hunt to my friend's private land in South Dakota pending a bird report in Late June. Last time I was up there, it was limits every day no problem. If it looks good, I'll drive up for about 4 days. If you want any info on the trip, let me know. I'm also going to talk to him about one of his chocolate lab hunting pups.
Hunter1971
New member
Pete,
Yea let me know what your plan is after you get your report this summer. :cheers:
Yea let me know what your plan is after you get your report this summer. :cheers:
walk213
Active member
Great Stuff Hunter1971.
It must be a great to watch all those dogs working as one unit. I watched American Bird Hunter last night with my wife. I asked her if I could buy her a 20 gauge so we could hunt together in the fall. She responded by saying "not a chance you are getting me up at 4 am." That ended that.
I have a charity hunt at Rocky Mountain Roosters this Saturday. While I prefer wild birds, this is a good cause with good friends.
Good luck if you make it out again.
It must be a great to watch all those dogs working as one unit. I watched American Bird Hunter last night with my wife. I asked her if I could buy her a 20 gauge so we could hunt together in the fall. She responded by saying "not a chance you are getting me up at 4 am." That ended that.
I have a charity hunt at Rocky Mountain Roosters this Saturday. While I prefer wild birds, this is a good cause with good friends.
Good luck if you make it out again.