youth opener

G

gsh lover

Active member
Looking forward to hear all your reports,good and bad.
We have decided to leave the birds alone this year,mainly due to lack of days off from work,but also,one less group to stress what few birds there are.

Off to the deer stand,bucks are trailing does,so the rut is getting close.

Good Luck to all of my fourm buddies.
 
First, thanks to all who sent good wishes!

For those that don't like long posts;

2 dogs, 3 kids, 1 adult--0 (ZERO!) birds, 0 flushes, 1 birdy-dog moment, just shy of 5 hours afield:eek:

Woke up extra early this morning. I've been fighting some kind of bug for a couple days and felt terrible, but the season's too short to be a wimp.

We chose to drive north a couple hours, then back to the west a bit. The cover is in great shape this year. Most (75%) of the bean and corn fields had been cut, but I would estimate only 10% of the milo fields had been cut.

We started in medium CRP at first light, close to cut milo. My GSP got birdy 1 time in that 40 acres, but it didn't produce a flush. We went to the milo and took a pass through it; nothing. We walked a grass waterway that linked the milo to a nearby hedgerow (winter wheat either side); nothing. 2 single chickens flew over us on our walk back to the truck. Maybe that's what the GSP smelled in the grass.

Down the road we come across a flock of 12 GPC's in a cut bean field. I let the boys out to spook 'em and watch 'em fly. They discussed where they'd set up for a pass-shoot when our friends from NC visit.

We used a 2010 WIHA map because I figured that would be good enough (Wal-Mart was out of the new addition this AM). I drove 20 miles of backroads to scout a couple WIHA's for wolfcreenc. Unfortunately, a local hunting lodge has leased all of the WIHA's in that section, since 2010. In 20 more miles of backroads back to the area we started in, we saw our first and only covey of quail, eating gravel by some private land. We rolled the windows down so the boys and dogs could hear 'em flush.

Our next spot was a full section of WIHA. Brushy draws with 20-30 yard CREP/buffers on either side, meandered through a corn-field. We hunted about a mile of it, turned and walked a 200 yard strip of high weeds and saw nothing. We finished by walking across the cut corn-rows back to the truck. We walked a mile of corn stubble. We saw 2 dove in the corn stubble, but again, the dogs never got birdy.

Ask the kids if they had fun and they'll emphatically exclaim that they did. That said, I know the little guys wanted badly to pull the trigger and experience the rush of a flush at least once. Seeing them start the season somewhat discouraged sucks.....sorry, there's no other way of putting it.

On a brighter note; all 3 of 'em had enough fun seeing turkeys, talking to a farmer, finding 2 coon dogs someone had lost the night before, poopin' in front of the truck and hoping we'd drive over it, flushing those chickens, and just flat behaving like WILDMEN in while we were driving between spots:thumbsup:, that I doubt they'll balk at getting up early tomorrow morning to do it all over again:) ............In a different area of course;)
 
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Thanks for the story.
Very sorry about the results. You tell those wild indians of yours,there be birds out there somewhere. Keep on trying.
No deer this am,located a couple of fresh scrapes,we are going to set up on them this pm.
 
gsh lover said:
Thanks for the story.
Very sorry about the results. You tell those wild indians of yours,there be birds out there somewhere. Keep on trying.
No deer this am,located a couple of fresh scrapes,we are going to set up on them this pm.
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You can bet I will! It was a relatively short hunt.

I'll put 'em on some quail in the morning:thumbsup: There are a couple coveys just down the road.
 
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Its great that you got the kids out. Mine are all grown now, and I miss those times.

We knew it was going to be a tough season, but lets hope you get the kids into some birds this season.
 
Nice post! Tell the kids that anything worth worth having is worth working for. The more miles covered, the more rewarding the bird. Sounds like they enjoyed the day!!
 
Hey KB,
Fear not, I know we will be on birds together 20 days from now:thumbsup: Getting the "honey holes" all lined up for our hunt; cant wait! The boys will get to smell the powder.
As I learned a few years back, always listen to the farmer and that we will be doing:cheers:
Wolf
 
Hunted 3 places today that we've consistently seen coveys in for the past 2-3 years. We didn't see any quail. Our hunt lasted just over 4hrs.

The boys and I will continue moving westward through the season, at least until we find something to work the dogs on.....and shoot at:)
 
kansasbrittany said:
Hunted 3 places today that we've consistently seen coveys in for the past 2-3 years. We didn't see any quail. Our hunt lasted just over 4hrs.

The boys and I will continue moving westward through the season, at least until we find something to work the dogs on.....and shoot at:)
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RATS u will get them
 
If they ask why there aren't birds, or where they are... the simple answer is "they is, where we aint!
This is a good teaching opportunity in why they call it hunting and not killing, some of my most memorable hunts had few birds and easy limits can become boring, I like it right in the middle "limits at sundown"
Happy Hunting
 
We're not complaining, but it was a long way from the "middle" as I see it:thumbsup:

These boys have been going with me for years. They know it's only a matter of time before we get on some birds...they've seen a few birdless days in their time. They know how to appreciate and enjoy these days. Today, for example, we came across a snake, a turtle, 15 turkeys (got invited back to hunt those), and approximately 20 dove flushed out of a low-spot and surprised us. They found an old tree house behind where a house. They rested their shotguns at the base of the tree and climbed on up. I sat in a washout, out of the wind and in the sunshine. The dogs found some water to play in, then sat and kept us company. It's hard not to be happy in these conditions.

I almost forgot the highlight, we were hunting a draw and my eldest son saw a calf lying motionless. He said, "Dad, I think it's dead" as he walked toward it. The calf woke up and darted away after crashing loudly through dead tree branches. The boy darted toward the truck:D

A lot of magic happens when you just get out there. We had a good time.
 
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That awesome! and I totally agree, just being out hunting makes memories... the best memories and times are made when you never think about them and then it's like remember 10 years ago when we saw the calf take off. No one remembers the 40 or 3 pheasants you got
Happy Hunting!
 
Glad to hear you guys went out. We warmed up the gsp a little with some released birds today.
 
KB, thats not the report I wanted you to give, but I guess I'll take it anyways. I know it sucks to have kids you want to see success with and dogs you want to have birds in front of.
 
Tough to keep them interested when you aren't evens eeing birds. I had planned to go but didn't make it out.
 
matto said:
Tough to keep them interested when you aren't evens eeing birds. I had planned to go but didn't make it out.
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It can be, no doubt. Fortunately, we spend a LOT of time outdoors, even when we're not in pursuit of game. This experience/lifestyle lends itself well to the boys being able to keep themselves entertained.

I actually thought about some of the posts on this forum board while we were walking, through a seemingly endless expanse of birdless prairie. I started asking the boys about this hunt and that hunt, in different parts of the state (different states as well), at different ages. I asked them what we did, who we were with, where we ate, and in some cases, what might have happened/went wrong while we were 'there'. They recalled one story after another, remembering details even I'd forgotten; but there was one question they couldn't answer on ANY of the trips and that was, "How many birds did we get that day?". Over and over they responded, "I don't remember".

I ain't makin' this up and I ain't exagerrating, they could not recall a single bird count, save for the day my eldest was the only one to get a bird:rolleyes:....he was able to remember how many 'we' got that day;)
 
KB,
I admire the way your raising your kids, I'm trying to do the same with mine. I have a 8 year old girl and a 5 year old boy. I got into deer hunting because of them, took them every chance I could last year. Ended up shooting a buck and 2 does with them in the blind with me and wouldn't trade that experience for nothing. We also had hunts where we'd just watch the deer, let them walk and the kids learned that hunting isn't always about killing, but the experience of being out there and everything else that goes along with it. I teach PE and I've seen firsthand what computer/video games and being indoors can do to kids and I'm trying my best to make sure my kids don't end up like that. They go outside and play, ride bikes, climb trees, throw tennis balls on the roof and invent games with sticks, things we all did while growing up. Spending time outdoors with your kids is priceless and one day when they have kids of their own I hope they pass that on.
 
Kansas gsp me to except Justin has to chase cattle on a regular basis . His PSP Nintendo x box stuff collects dust.
 
KansasGsp said:
KB,
I admire the way your raising your kids, I'm trying to do the same with mine. I have a 8 year old girl and a 5 year old boy. I got into deer hunting because of them, took them every chance I could last year. Ended up shooting a buck and 2 does with them in the blind with me and wouldn't trade that experience for nothing. We also had hunts where we'd just watch the deer, let them walk and the kids learned that hunting isn't always about killing, but the experience of being out there and everything else that goes along with it. I teach PE and I've seen firsthand what computer/video games and being indoors can do to kids and I'm trying my best to make sure my kids don't end up like that. They go outside and play, ride bikes, climb trees, throw tennis balls on the roof and invent games with sticks, things we all did while growing up. Spending time outdoors with your kids is priceless and one day when they have kids of their own I hope they pass that on.
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Thanks, I feel the same way about you and several others on here. It's one of the reasons this has become a social outlet for me (my only social outlet outside of work). I just don't understand or appreciate the ways of most folks "these days".

Now about those deer....I've never been a deer hunter either. Just a couple weeks ago I went and bought 2 rifles. I have no idea what I'm doing, but it sure seems like we see them regularly when we're moving about. We're going to wait until the late doe season and do our best to put a couple in the freezer!
 
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