What do you most remember, misses or hits?

I tend to remember the really easy birds that I just plain fanned on.
My Old Lab...now gone to the pheasant filled field in the sky...and I went to walk out a little grassy area that no one else wanted to fool with. The cover was pretty thick...but not real big! I saw my old dog get birdy and watched the grass moving in a jagged pattern with dog in hot pursuit. I was sure he was on a rabbit when about 10 feet in front of me up pops a big old rooster. I was ill-prepared mentally and physically to make a decent shot. When I finally shouldered my gun and finally got the safety off I fanned on two wild shots.
Awwww shucks! Dog gave me one of those looks!!

I try to have a mental video tape of some of the good shots I have made to offset the misses. Ahhhh...memories are a special gift from God!
 
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BritChaser said:
Misses?! What misses? LOL. :p
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My thoughts exactly ....

Can't remember the last time I missed, we'll maybe on the first shot, but the follow up shot always provided the coup de grace. :D

I would have to say I would remember the misses, especially any well within gun range.
 
I remember a lot of the misses, but also a lot of the shots when Molly put it all together and put birds in the air in front of me.

The most memorable shot of last year was the one made by my 13 year old nephew. We were in SD. A rooster flushed in front of me, following a path that would take him past my brother, and on, right past my nephew, Max. I passed on the shot, and looked to see my brother lower his gun as well. The rooster held course and provided a hard 20 yard crossing shot for Max. I watched as the gun came up, the safety went off, and he tracked the bird for a second. Bang, bird down. Beautiful shot on his first rooster.
 
The hits and not always by me. My favorite bird hunting companion (my brother in law) hit one so hard the dog wouldn't pick it up. Now when a co hunter hits one a little to close we say "awe you Steve'd it" I now think you know the culprits name.
 
LOL, QH the no shell thing I have done a few times. Then one in particular, I unloaded on a couple tough shots as a bunch took off only to have 5 or 6 roosters get up by my feet. Shaking my head as I am trying to dig a couple shells out of my pocket. How the hell a guy can walk in and bust 20+ birds all around you. And not get a dang thing LOL. :eek:
 
FCSpringer: I'd be happy to follow you and those springy dogs around to hand out shells if I could get a couple of opportunities like that to show my Labra-trievers.

I had a case not eveen near as good as that where the dogs got birdy and started working back toward me and I am thinking ``what the heck? I must be in the middle of them.'' Yup I was. With two hot labs racing at me and birds jumping right out from every direction.

Fortunately for my ego, they were all hens, but I was pretty happy they would be around for this spring. :)
 
Misses seem to stick with me more than hits. Dead lock cinches that I drop both barrels at without cutting a feather stick in my memory bank for certain. True in the air doubles stick with me too. Even with the amount of pheasant hunting I do I only get an opportunity or two for that every year.

I'm with everybody else though. What sticks in the mind most for me is dog work. I like to stone a pheasant as much as the next guy, but those times when I wing tip a bird over a bare field and the rumpus ensues are my favorite. You can almost hear the theme music to the Benny Hill show when you get 3 dogs putting the afterburners on while a rooster zig zags in front of them.
 
I guess I probably remember the odd-ball shots, if anything. Hits and misses just about the same. Like a crosser in range that you empty your gun and it leaves you totally scratching your head wondering how in the world you could have missed three times... And I also remember the snap-shot hits. For instance, when you only have a tiny window in the cover to hit the bird and you actually pull off that million-dollar shot...:D The eays hits and the tough misses don't stick too long in my memory.

The points and retrieves stay with me for a long time though. Especially the tough retrieves, as others have mentioned. There have been a few of those that are unforgettable for me! That's why I don't mind having a 50# dog hop up in my lap in the recliner. She's earned it... matter of fact, I should go give that dog a biscuit and an ear scratch right now!:D

I think we can all agree (as far as shooting goes) that it is most important to remember your buddy's misses. And help remind him whenever he starts to get a big head...:laugh:
 
Daisybuck said:
FCSpringer: I'd be happy to follow you and those springy dogs around to hand out shells if I could get a couple of opportunities like that to show my Labra-trievers.

I had a case not eveen near as good as that where the dogs got birdy and started working back toward me and I am thinking ``what the heck? I must be in the middle of them.'' Yup I was. With two hot labs racing at me and birds jumping right out from every direction.

Fortunately for my ego, they were all hens, but I was pretty happy they would be around for this spring. :)
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My hunting will start in Nov. come on up LOL. Right after I get back from Utah.
 
"I think we can all agree (as far as shooting goes) that it is most important to remember your buddy's misses. And help remind him whenever he starts to get a big head... "

That is a great part of the hunting for my group. The comraderie and constant bantering.

I tend to remember the misses (the few that are, LOL) the most and they haunt me! It's always fun to talk about the group"s dogs and all the things that they do and have done.
 
From notes from hunting with Mick, the new, used, dog:



The following day, a bit less-worse, but...as I walked back with Mick, the pheasant bumping my butt and my shoulders aching with the effort, I stopped and viewed the muted changing of the colors on the trees, with firs ringing them, making the reds, yellows and oranges of the leaves more conspicuous, felt the strong breezes, savored the aches, and smiled at the dog, ahead with clouds and then blue sky reaching down to him, and brushed off the complaints, realizing that when I allow myself to wish for things...these are the things I wish for.

Mick is loving his life. I wish I could put him on more birds, so he could learn from them, and polish our instruction dialog.

But it was nicely cold yesterday, the wind occasionally cutting into my skin, the sun shone often, and the one shot was a beautiful rooster going up and away from me, reaching to clear some junk trees at the far end of the property, then falling at the gunshot, and dropping down to where I could see Mick racing to get him.

The stuff of dreams for an old man.
 
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Kismet said:
At your request, I hearkened back to what I remember most...and oddly, it is not the hits or misses.

It has always been the dog work for me. Stunning sometimes, artful upon occasion, and absolutely ridiculous at others...the wirehairs I've had have etched images that will stay with me...as long as I can remember things.

Hope this doesn't count as thread veer, but the shots kind of go away.
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The missed shots I remember are when the dog has doneit's job, pointed the bird steady and I kick around and miss an easy shot. The dog gives me that look.
 
I remember the hits and only a few misses, mostly when my Weim, Dakota, gives me the "stink eye"! :laugh:

Like others have said, my most vivid memories are of watching the dogs work ... simply an incredible thing to watch. I usually hunt alone with only one dog, and there is nothing better than knowing that you and your buddy are working in unison as a team.
 
CO_Weimar said:
I remember the hits and only a few misses, mostly when my Weim, Dakota, gives me the "stink eye"! :laugh:

Like others have said, my most vivid memories are of watching the dogs work ... simply an incredible thing to watch. I usually hunt alone with only one dog, and there is nothing better than knowing that you and your buddy are working in unison as a team.
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lest we forget!
 
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