carptom1
Well-known member
Just back at work from a trip in SD and thought I would share a few thoughts. First the good:
Enjoyed hunting with a few uph'ers in sd this past weekend. Really enjoy seeing other guy's and their dogs and how they hunt. Rod (natty bumpo) really enjoyed watching those cockers work. Wow what energy they have, little blurrs of fur:thumbsup: Enjoyed watching the track and retrieve in that CRP field. I wasn't close enough to see all of it but it was sure we were not finding that bird without a good retriever. Great little dogs. Charles (Dsmtsi) enjoyed hunting with you and your buddy dead-eyed-joe. Man that guy could shoot. Kinda reminded me of myself when I was young.
Charles that little gsp is wired for sound. She just needs some seasoning. JonnyB enjoyed you and kirk as always. Really enjoyed that beautiful golden work. What a pretty dog. Enjoyed the entire trip. My dog has really started to figure it out. His stamina is incredible. I was a little disappointed a couple weeks ago when his foot injury slowed him a little. He was a machine this weekend and it made my trip. He put up a ton of hens, and as I counted at least 20 shootable roosters in three days. I watched him jump in some tumbleweeds and have two birds shoot out from under him. I think we might have a near mid air catch of a hen somewhere I will try to get. I shot a bunch ( more on that later)
Ps the 11 0z filet at mad mary's. man that was good, so was the ribeye, the walleye, and the carmel apple cheescake ( hey I burned a bunch of calories)
Also the dog bringing me two cripples really makes me feel good. A good retriever is a great conservation tool:thumbsup:
The bad:
The wind. Friday was 40mph and made for some really tough hunting. Birds didn't want to fly. The ones that did were turbocharged. Bird numbers were down for sure. We still saw a few hundred birds, but way less than years past. The good thing is there were a bunch of hens. My buddies dog. He was a great hunter a few years ago, but has really declined the last couple. I think he finally has figured out he is done. The difference is great, he had very few shootable birds. Stepping in a hole and turning my ankle. I only blocked one field in three day's. Nearly hitting a huge buck on saturday night. Man that was close.
The ugly:
My shooting was absolutely horrible. I have hunted pheasants since I was 12 and have never had a trip like this. I gave a guy a bit of advice that I give my sons a while back, shoot at the next one like you have never missed. I needed somebody feeding that crap to me cause I sucked. In that wind they were getting up close, too close to shoot, then catching the wind and by the time you moved your feet to shoot they were gone. I started pressing and then missing shots even when the wind died some. Thought I was over it saturday when I had two down by 11 or so, but no it continued. Worst shooting I have ever had. Part of the problem is even after all the pheasants I have harvested over the years, my balls still go in my throat everytime the dog blasts one up. I love it! Even the dog started looking at me kinda funny. I get soooo excited when I get to go. I hope that never changes. The shooting will come back always has. I have a few pictures somewhere but I was challenged a little this weekend.
Enjoyed hunting with a few uph'ers in sd this past weekend. Really enjoy seeing other guy's and their dogs and how they hunt. Rod (natty bumpo) really enjoyed watching those cockers work. Wow what energy they have, little blurrs of fur:thumbsup: Enjoyed watching the track and retrieve in that CRP field. I wasn't close enough to see all of it but it was sure we were not finding that bird without a good retriever. Great little dogs. Charles (Dsmtsi) enjoyed hunting with you and your buddy dead-eyed-joe. Man that guy could shoot. Kinda reminded me of myself when I was young.
Charles that little gsp is wired for sound. She just needs some seasoning. JonnyB enjoyed you and kirk as always. Really enjoyed that beautiful golden work. What a pretty dog. Enjoyed the entire trip. My dog has really started to figure it out. His stamina is incredible. I was a little disappointed a couple weeks ago when his foot injury slowed him a little. He was a machine this weekend and it made my trip. He put up a ton of hens, and as I counted at least 20 shootable roosters in three days. I watched him jump in some tumbleweeds and have two birds shoot out from under him. I think we might have a near mid air catch of a hen somewhere I will try to get. I shot a bunch ( more on that later)Ps the 11 0z filet at mad mary's. man that was good, so was the ribeye, the walleye, and the carmel apple cheescake ( hey I burned a bunch of calories)
Also the dog bringing me two cripples really makes me feel good. A good retriever is a great conservation tool:thumbsup:
The bad:
The wind. Friday was 40mph and made for some really tough hunting. Birds didn't want to fly. The ones that did were turbocharged. Bird numbers were down for sure. We still saw a few hundred birds, but way less than years past. The good thing is there were a bunch of hens. My buddies dog. He was a great hunter a few years ago, but has really declined the last couple. I think he finally has figured out he is done. The difference is great, he had very few shootable birds. Stepping in a hole and turning my ankle. I only blocked one field in three day's
. Nearly hitting a huge buck on saturday night. Man that was close. The ugly:
My shooting was absolutely horrible. I have hunted pheasants since I was 12 and have never had a trip like this. I gave a guy a bit of advice that I give my sons a while back, shoot at the next one like you have never missed. I needed somebody feeding that crap to me cause I sucked. In that wind they were getting up close, too close to shoot, then catching the wind and by the time you moved your feet to shoot they were gone. I started pressing and then missing shots even when the wind died some. Thought I was over it saturday when I had two down by 11 or so, but no it continued. Worst shooting I have ever had. Part of the problem is even after all the pheasants I have harvested over the years, my balls still go in my throat everytime the dog blasts one up. I love it! Even the dog started looking at me kinda funny. I get soooo excited when I get to go. I hope that never changes. The shooting will come back always has. I have a few pictures somewhere but I was challenged a little this weekend.
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