Glad I found this thread. The stories are a big reason I visit. The map above is impressive, and I have many walks mapped in my memory.
I have an 11 year old english setter, Macey. I have been begging to add a new dog for a couple of years, but.... I won't go into that. Last year was my 6th year hunting Kansas. My buddy and I made our first trip out in 2012, and that trip is a story on its own.
In October last year, 2 weeks before our annual Michigan grouse hunting trip, Macey decided to take an extra long walk at my mom's place in southern Indiana. I have always let her run free at my mom's when we visit. For some reason she got lost this morning. I went home from mom's that weekend without her in tears. I had several people around town keeping an eye out for her. After a couple of false reports of seeing her, a co-worker of brother-in-law was certain he saw a setter about 3 miles from my mom's. In full faith that this report was accurate, I left to make the 2 hour drive back to mom's to look for her. She was reported running off into a soybean field. I looked for her that Friday evening along a creek and an old fallen barn and did not see her. I went back to the same spot again the next morning feeling like she had to be around this creek and barn. I walked by the barn twice again, and the last time I stopped feeling like she had to be close and hollered for her to get in like I would when out hunting. It was as if the grasses were parted and she walked out. She was almost scared of me when she saw me at first. After moment she ran to me and laid in my lap. You're hunting dog is never just a dog. Even though that is what I was telling myself and others all week just so I could move on when I thought she was gone. That was a Saturday when I found her, and we were grouse hunting in norther Michigan the following Friday.
Needless to say I was a little apprehensive how Macey would do last year, but she may have had her best year ever. We are from Indiana, where there are very few isolated pockets of wild pheasants. However, this girl tracked down and pinned under point 4 wild roosters in early season on public ground.
The roosters in Kansas always seem a bit tougher both for dog and shooter. One afternoon this last December, Macey gave us multiple consecutive opportunities that took us a while to capitalize on. My brother-in-law, his dad and another buddy stayed back after lunch to rest up, while 3 of us took a walk. Right after lunch is rarely a productive time it seems. The moment we hit a fallow field Macey locks up in a corner. Before I can get to her 6 or 8 roosters jump out in front of her. A couple of long shots come up empty. We continue to the end of the field at a gravel road, and she slams hard again along the road. Foolishly thinking it was a hen with how close it felt she was to the bird, a rooster takes off running catching both myself and my buddy off guard. Multiple shots again, and no reward for Macey. We turn to take the opposite end of this field back, and Macey locks up on a hen in a little finger. We walk past the finger with Macey reluctant to leave(Trust the Dog should become a memory verse...). We had walked away from Macey about 50 yds only to look back to see her frozen on the edge of this finger. We were able to walk in on this point, which was not normal, to find that a rooster had sat tight as we had just walked through. We rewarded ourselves and Macey on this flush with one in the bag. Turning back again to head to the house, we are almost out of the field, when I see Macey doing the point and stalk. Knowing we had recently flushed a rooster to this end of the field, I am thinking pheasant. With my buddies following close behind Macey, I swing wide to the corner of the field thinking I might cut off a running rooster. Once to the end of the field she locks solid and the guys walk in to put up a 20+ bird covey of quail. All 3 of us drop birds on this rise, giving Macey plenty of clean up work to do. She proceeds after this to nail multiple singles as we make our way back. What makes this great is that this 10+ year old dog produced all of this in under 2 hours with retrieves. When we got back to the other guys, they asked if anyone limited out with all the shooting. I always laugh when I hear a hunting group around me doing a lot of shooting because I am sure it amounts to a lot of missing.... the same holds true for everyone.
I have added another member to my hunting family this spring. I new setter named, Gus. I can't wait to get him on some birds I have coming this August. He is showing off a lot in the backyard, but I know it can be a long first season. Even with the excitement of a new pup, I look forward to short walks with Macey this season. Tried to attach a picture of Macey, but not sure if it worked.
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