mstand
Member
I was able to get out once more.........
Had a plan........get some friends together and head out for the last three days of the season. Couldnt think of a better way to do this then to share it with some good people and dogs. We were going to start South and head North, ending up in the Fostoria area.
Friends show up and her husband is pretty sick, but decides e can tough it out, so off we go.
We get tot he first location and we all hit the field. All the dogs are working the area very well. We get to the fenceline and I hear someone yell out ROOSTER!!! I look left ant it is a pretty hard shot. Birs is way up in the ai and heading for me......kinda hard to explain........... I hear a shot, bird is still tracking, but now more left to right, it was all happening to fast and my first shot was a controlled, yet not well aimed hail mary. Bird is cackling at me now.............I draw a deep breath bring the barrel back down and squeeze another shot and the bird cackles no more.
We head SOuth on our march now. Many birds are getting up, but mostly hens. This is very good stuff. It seems maybe the cold has kept hunters away and the birds have gotten a little lax....something they wont repeat in the coming days....... Towards the end of the march and about 100 yards from the road, Baja goes on point. Being young, I just kinda watch her. We are still learning how to read each others movements and how to become a team. She points, but her tail is telling me she isnt sure. She moves off into a track and then another point. Te twitch of her nose lets me know she is till thinking about it. She moves off again.........10 yards ahead of us the rooster has had enough of the foolish young pup and erupts from the snow. I had all of a quarter of a second to decide is Baja had done her job well enough to earn this bird. Half a second later, I drop the bead on the rooster and another one lands in the bag fllowing a good retrieve from the youngster.
The last one came as we were heading back to the truck. The others were just a tad ahead and Max had looped around to our left. I hear the familiar singing of the Garmin telling me he is on point..... I begin my search for him and locate him. Solid as a rock. My friends GSP, Roxie, comes in for a nice back. I take my time walking into to him and try to take some picture...that dont turn out well...before I go in for the flush. I take some steps in and the young bird gives away is location with his flush and cackle. I quickly take aim and put him into the bag after Max makes his retrieve.
We head back to the truck and I am told that my friends hubby needs to head back home. I give the dude an "A" for effort, but there is some nasty stuff going around so I dont blame them for heading home.
I stayed on and hunted with another buddy the next day. But the birds had woken back up and just sent the dogs on a wild goose chase. We saw 1 rooster that we should have dropped, but I didnt like the shot. We had plenty of hen points and enough to make a good video. But I have a feeling you all would rather see the falls, then the points.
I decided to head home last night and not hunt the closing day. The weather looked like it was going to keep the roads dicey, so I wanted to get home. Who knows, maybe I will fill my muzzy tag today.
All in all I am very happy with our season. I got to spend a lot of time hunting with my husband and with good friends. I got to meet some super people this year and I hope we all keep in touch. I have gotten to hunt behind many different dogs and seen some really good dog work and seem some not so good dog work, my own included.
Now it is time to lick wounds, clean guns, back away hunting equipment and prepare for a summer full of training.
Max has qualified for the 2014 NAVHDA Invitational, and while I have been tossing around the need or want to go or not............I think he has earned this last chapter in his testing career.
Enjoy the pics and video and thanks for following along on our hunting adventures this year.
The areal shot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfiEP92os8M
The last point, shot and retrieve of the season.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o_06dq3Rsc
Had a plan........get some friends together and head out for the last three days of the season. Couldnt think of a better way to do this then to share it with some good people and dogs. We were going to start South and head North, ending up in the Fostoria area.
Friends show up and her husband is pretty sick, but decides e can tough it out, so off we go.
We get tot he first location and we all hit the field. All the dogs are working the area very well. We get to the fenceline and I hear someone yell out ROOSTER!!! I look left ant it is a pretty hard shot. Birs is way up in the ai and heading for me......kinda hard to explain........... I hear a shot, bird is still tracking, but now more left to right, it was all happening to fast and my first shot was a controlled, yet not well aimed hail mary. Bird is cackling at me now.............I draw a deep breath bring the barrel back down and squeeze another shot and the bird cackles no more.
We head SOuth on our march now. Many birds are getting up, but mostly hens. This is very good stuff. It seems maybe the cold has kept hunters away and the birds have gotten a little lax....something they wont repeat in the coming days....... Towards the end of the march and about 100 yards from the road, Baja goes on point. Being young, I just kinda watch her. We are still learning how to read each others movements and how to become a team. She points, but her tail is telling me she isnt sure. She moves off into a track and then another point. Te twitch of her nose lets me know she is till thinking about it. She moves off again.........10 yards ahead of us the rooster has had enough of the foolish young pup and erupts from the snow. I had all of a quarter of a second to decide is Baja had done her job well enough to earn this bird. Half a second later, I drop the bead on the rooster and another one lands in the bag fllowing a good retrieve from the youngster.
The last one came as we were heading back to the truck. The others were just a tad ahead and Max had looped around to our left. I hear the familiar singing of the Garmin telling me he is on point..... I begin my search for him and locate him. Solid as a rock. My friends GSP, Roxie, comes in for a nice back. I take my time walking into to him and try to take some picture...that dont turn out well...before I go in for the flush. I take some steps in and the young bird gives away is location with his flush and cackle. I quickly take aim and put him into the bag after Max makes his retrieve.
We head back to the truck and I am told that my friends hubby needs to head back home. I give the dude an "A" for effort, but there is some nasty stuff going around so I dont blame them for heading home.
I stayed on and hunted with another buddy the next day. But the birds had woken back up and just sent the dogs on a wild goose chase. We saw 1 rooster that we should have dropped, but I didnt like the shot. We had plenty of hen points and enough to make a good video. But I have a feeling you all would rather see the falls, then the points.
I decided to head home last night and not hunt the closing day. The weather looked like it was going to keep the roads dicey, so I wanted to get home. Who knows, maybe I will fill my muzzy tag today.
All in all I am very happy with our season. I got to spend a lot of time hunting with my husband and with good friends. I got to meet some super people this year and I hope we all keep in touch. I have gotten to hunt behind many different dogs and seen some really good dog work and seem some not so good dog work, my own included.
Now it is time to lick wounds, clean guns, back away hunting equipment and prepare for a summer full of training.
Max has qualified for the 2014 NAVHDA Invitational, and while I have been tossing around the need or want to go or not............I think he has earned this last chapter in his testing career.
Enjoy the pics and video and thanks for following along on our hunting adventures this year.
The areal shot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfiEP92os8M
The last point, shot and retrieve of the season.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o_06dq3Rsc
