All season long I have given Tess the first drop because she needs the bird contacts to learn her craft vs Spud in his 5th season. I dropped her in a long winding draw running between a corn stubble field on one side and sunflowers on the other with the wind in her nose.
It was a run to remember.
We had been at it a for a mile or so with a few pheasants put up but no roosters in range, when Tess went on point on the downwind side of a big Kochia weed patch. Pheasants starting flushing and I dropped a two shot double. Tess found the second one in short order. I moved her over to my mark on the first bird and asked her to hunt dead. Little gal went on point and eventually pulled out the crippled still live rooster buried under the grass.
We moved on. Tess went on a tentative point, I moved in, a single sharptail flushed ahead and I dropped it. We moved on and Tess starting working a track. We were coming towards the cross fence of the property we were hunting and the adjoining property which had been heavily grazed. Tess went on point at the last remaining cover at the fenceline. I went in, a rooster went up, came down and Tess brought in our 3rd rooster of the walk.
We turned and started hunting along the fenceline towards where the Wife had moved the truck. Tess got birdy, worked and worked and eventually went on point. I went in, two sharptails flushed and I swung on the closest one and dropped it. Tess bringing in a big mature late season sharptail.
We moved on. Tess found another couple of Sharptails, I again downed the closest one. Tess bringing in our 3rd sharptail of the walk. Wings Works Vest paid off carrying 3 roosters and 3 sharptails the rest of the way back to the truck. Having already limited out on our first walk, I ran poor Spud in some open wheat stubble to give him something to do. Looking forward to next season when I can run them together more often. Tess retrieving our 3rd Sharptail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6wN-EURRu4
Tess's Big Day!
Next morning I dropped Tess in a big patch of nice grass with milo stubble on one side and sunflowers on the other. She had a nice run for a puppy. First point she was 160 yards out and held until I arrived. Darn roosters were at the edge of gun range and the hens were in my face. We had a couple more similar episodes but no roosters when we finished that drop. Spud was up next and he was ready. His first drop was in a waterway running through sunflower stubble. He did nice work and we came away with a rooster and a sharptail off of his points.
Spud needed more work so I gave him the next drop. It was a grassy draw with some cattails running next to corn stubble. It is a place much better suited to a cool headed veteran than a wild ass puppy in her first season. Spud was on point in short order, pheasants flushing all around. I picked out a rooster and dropped him into the cattails, picked out another one and did it again. Cattails prevented Spud from getting marks on either bird, I asked him to hunt dead on the closet bird and he quickly found it. Moved to my second mark and asked him to hunt dead, he did and eventually went on point, I told him to "Get Him!", Spud plunged his head in the cover and the rooster squirted out the back side. The chase was on, tail got wrecked but Spud returned triumphantly with our limited out rooster. Spud told Tess what goes around comes around.
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Next Day started with dropping Tess in a draw running up through corn stubble. She lived up to her nickname Tess Mess and what could have been a couple of rooster and a limit of chickens was another wild ass puppy run through birds with chasing following that. We moved a draw over and tried again. Did a little better and Tess got on board with a Sharptail.
Spud got the next drop. He did his thing and we soon had two roosters off of his points.
Spud and I continued on. He went on a high head cautious point, relocated and did it again. I went ahead. A big Cock Prairie Chicken flushed, I took extra care to make sure I was on it and swinging before I touched off. I wanted that Chicken.
A 3 species Day with Spud's Trophy late season Cock Prairie Chicken headed to the Taxidermist.
In search of one more rooster, I dropped Tess in some cattails running around the edge of a large frozen pond. She was on point soon after, hens flushed in our face, then a rooster. Tess with our 3rd rooster on our 3 species day.
Last day of the trip I started with a drop for Tess in a beautiful piece of grass with cattails running through the bottom with milo stubble on two sides. Little gal knows to head for cattails when she sees them and she was on point shortly after. Birds flushing, I picked out a rooster dumped him, picked out another one and dumped him. With Tess buried in cattails and no marks I passed on shooting a 3rd, instead concentrating on keeping my marks on the two downed. Tess hunted dead found them both and we moved on. Tess on point again, a big beautiful rooster went up and Tess brought him in.
Tess's last day limit of roosters. Beautiful birds, Beautiful country.
Spud's turn next in search of Grouse. I dropped him in the same draw Tess had cleared out two days before. Spud did some beautiful work. I let several pheasants fly off of his points when he went on another cautious head high point, relocated, pointed again. I went ahead two chickens went up, I swung on the closest one and dropped him. An even bigger late season mature Cock Bird!
Spud and I hunted on. Spud on point again, relocated again, pointed again. Two chickens up, one down. This one a mature hen.
Look at the horns on that Cock Chicken. Thinking now I might do a taxidermy scene with the two Cocks fighting and the Hen standing beside set onto of a nice table.
That afternoon, the Wife and I packed the truck in warm 68 degrees sunshine with plans to hit the road for home in the morning. The next morning I woke at 5am, found the truck covered in snow and high winds. Aired the dogs and foolishly started for home thinking I could out run the storm. BIG MISTAKE!!!
A short distance down the highway I realized I have made what could be a deadly mistake. 50MPH winds with gusts to 70MPH made for zero visibility in the whiteout conditions and predawn darkeness. I could see nothing. We were headed east and the passenger side of the truck had enough wind block that the Wife could make out the side of the road and she gave me straight, left or right course corrections as we crawled along. I prayed aloud as I drove. I had no visibility of the shoulder and the risk of getting plowed into by a Semi made pulling over a very unattractive option. The Wife takes meds for poor circulation in her hands so getting stranded on the side of the highway could turn really bad. We continued on at a crawl. Made it to the next sizable enough town and checked into a motel as the blizzard raged on. Interstate highways in all four directions were shut down. Reports of a 20 car/semi pileup came in.
We made it home yesterday afternoon. The plows and the wind had cleared at least one lane for most of the way east and south and the drive was much easier than I had worried about all through the night. It was brisk airing the dogs along the way however.
Praise God, we made it home Safely. Merry Christmas Everyone.
