fleabagmatt
Well-known member
Took a long weekend to head north for some huntin' and relaxin'. My In-laws live in such an amazing place. They head south for the winter and so we get the place to ourselves this time of year. There is an unbelievable amount of bird hunting variety within 30 minutes of the house. Franklin knows what is coming.
First steps out of the truck and we see some ducks. Sneak through the brush and get a shot. Franklin has just taken naturally to water retrieves, he loves it.
I've hunted this spot for a few years now and have always thought there should be pheasants here. Have not ever seen any sign of them, though, until this weekend. We got into several of them and missed every shot that presented itself, but finding them was the real treat. Also missed a shot on a ruffed grouse just to reinforce what a lousy shot I am.
Just prior to whiffing on a gimme shot. Buried in the grass to my left is Ruby with a beautiful point. I got such a look of disappointment from her as the bird sailed off to the horizon.
On the drive back out of the wilderness area, we came across these ladies. I didn't have any time to hunt turkeys in the spring, and I reluctantly picked up a tag before this trip "just in case." Also note the mulie doe with the photobomb.
I had to scramble up the hill through the brush, but managed to sneak up close enough to get a shot off. Meat in the freezer, my second turkey harvest ever.
The next day we headed up into the woods looking for grouse. Missed a couple of opportunities on some ruffies, but its always fun to watch the dogs work in that environment. We did bump a snowshoe hare that that was harvested and brought home for the freezer. First time shooting one of those. We ran out of daylight before we had time to move up in elevation to look for Duskys.
On the last day of hunting, my bride had to take a work Zoom meeting, so I headed for some BLM land that I've been itching to explore. I parked the truck and started hiking and almost immediately started getting into coveys of Huns. I was only about halfway up the hill, but the views were great.
I hiked for about 90 minutes and got into half a dozen or so coveys of huns, plus a couple coveys of quail. The majority of those, the dogs were ranging out of sight and not steady enough for me to reach them in time. I saw a lot of birds taking flight from 70 or 80 yards away. Spent shell inventory back at the truck revealed that I went 1 for 7 shots. I realllly need to get out and practice shooting.
First covey was maybe 50 yards from the truck. Both dogs went on point, it was a beautiful sight. First shot brought down this hun, and was the last thing I'd hit for the day.
There is so much land at this spot to explore. I know there must be chukar up there as well, just need to go back and find them.
All in all it was a perfect (aside from my shooting woes) bird hunting weekend with my bride. I'm so lucky to have access to this place, everything I hunted was public land.
First steps out of the truck and we see some ducks. Sneak through the brush and get a shot. Franklin has just taken naturally to water retrieves, he loves it.
I've hunted this spot for a few years now and have always thought there should be pheasants here. Have not ever seen any sign of them, though, until this weekend. We got into several of them and missed every shot that presented itself, but finding them was the real treat. Also missed a shot on a ruffed grouse just to reinforce what a lousy shot I am.
Just prior to whiffing on a gimme shot. Buried in the grass to my left is Ruby with a beautiful point. I got such a look of disappointment from her as the bird sailed off to the horizon.
On the drive back out of the wilderness area, we came across these ladies. I didn't have any time to hunt turkeys in the spring, and I reluctantly picked up a tag before this trip "just in case." Also note the mulie doe with the photobomb.
I had to scramble up the hill through the brush, but managed to sneak up close enough to get a shot off. Meat in the freezer, my second turkey harvest ever.
The next day we headed up into the woods looking for grouse. Missed a couple of opportunities on some ruffies, but its always fun to watch the dogs work in that environment. We did bump a snowshoe hare that that was harvested and brought home for the freezer. First time shooting one of those. We ran out of daylight before we had time to move up in elevation to look for Duskys.
On the last day of hunting, my bride had to take a work Zoom meeting, so I headed for some BLM land that I've been itching to explore. I parked the truck and started hiking and almost immediately started getting into coveys of Huns. I was only about halfway up the hill, but the views were great.
I hiked for about 90 minutes and got into half a dozen or so coveys of huns, plus a couple coveys of quail. The majority of those, the dogs were ranging out of sight and not steady enough for me to reach them in time. I saw a lot of birds taking flight from 70 or 80 yards away. Spent shell inventory back at the truck revealed that I went 1 for 7 shots. I realllly need to get out and practice shooting.
First covey was maybe 50 yards from the truck. Both dogs went on point, it was a beautiful sight. First shot brought down this hun, and was the last thing I'd hit for the day.
There is so much land at this spot to explore. I know there must be chukar up there as well, just need to go back and find them.
All in all it was a perfect (aside from my shooting woes) bird hunting weekend with my bride. I'm so lucky to have access to this place, everything I hunted was public land.
