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| Shack in New Mexico The big Brit was near perfect that day, and my partner commented on it. “Thank you,” I said. “He did have a pretty good day.” Shack, as an adult, was the culmination of years of learning from past mistakes. I learned to start training a puppy while still young with the end result always in mind. When they were just little puppies, fighting for the wet food, just weaned from momma, I would start quietly clapping my hands, and build up to louder noises over the weeks. They would associate loud noise with pleasure. I taught them obedience, whistle and voice commands, to recognize objectives, to retrieve with speed and style to hand (no dropping the bird early in the excitement), and steadiness on point regardless of shots, yelling, or ATVs roaring by. I taught them to back, and all the other little things that enabled a dog to compete in field trials. And, after all that, many trials, and a few hundred dead quail, perhaps by the age of two, I would load them in the back of the truck and we would head to Montana, South Dakota, Idaho, Oklahoma, or any number of other western states, and I would show them what a bird dog was born, bred, and trained to do. By the time Shack smelled his first wild bird, he already had a solid base of what it meant to be a bird dog. It wasn’t a stressful time at all. I already knew how he would do, because for two years I trained him with the end in sight. It wasn’t always that way. My first dogs were a Brit male and a female Setter. I was learning about bird hunting. It was an obsession with me. I had 2000 acres of Georgia clear cut to hunt. The land held numerous coveys of Bobwhite Quail, and any given day, the dogs would find four or five coveys. Those two dogs and I would hunt from dawn ’til dusk 50-60 days every year. After a few years, we had the coveys named. I was the only bird hunter on the property. Life was good. Then, I read an ad in the Georgia Market Bulletin about “Have Fun With Your Bird Dog!”, and “More Action per Acre!”. The next weekend, I was in the north Georgia mountains, looking up a gently sloping field as a man rode a horse around the field dropping quail in the grass. I remember thinking, “How tough can it be? You have 30 minutes to find just five birds? And, they are all right there?” It did not go well for us. Rocket (Brit) found three birds pretty quick. I shot at and missed all three. He chased the last one into the woods, and I could hear him in there flushing that bird over and over again, as time ran out. The judge (on horseback, as well) said, “Don’t worry, it’ll get better!” I appreciated, but didn’t need, his encouragement. I was hooked! That was in 1992. |
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| Cap in Georgia |
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| Cap and Me Mearns Hunting |
Mearns Quail Hunting in the Arizona Mountains.
Randy Schultz
BLOG: www.abirdhuntersthoughts.com
YouTube: A Bird Hunter’s Thoughts
Books: Endless October/Endless October Season 2
Podcast: A Bird Hunter's Thoughts- Turn 'Em Loose
Audible Book: Endless October Endless October Season 2
Facebook Profile: Facebook Profile
770-584-5085
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| Endless October and Endless October Season 2 |
For a traveling bird hunter, October is heaven on Earth. It's the author's favorite month. He is a story-teller, dog trainer, wingshooter, and wandering bird dog man. Every fall, he turns his truck north and west to match wits with grouse, pheasant, quail, and Chukar. He takes us through the years and the dogs. He tells the stories of coveys flushing, roosters cackling, quail running, shotguns, family, and even one unlucky yard chicken. He will take you west to Montana, Idaho, and Arizona, north to Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and south to Georgia. You can feel the wind, hear the exploding flush, smell the prairie, see the sunset, and taste sweet victory in the win. The journey isn't without a few bumps in the road, as Randy learns as much from his dogs as they do from him. From season to season, puppies grow up, dogs hit their prime, and old dogs die, but through it all, the yearning and the restlessness aren't satisfied until that glorious month of October.
Season 2 in the life of a traveling bird hunter. Randy brings us more exciting stories of hunting across the country with his bird dogs. One dog gets lost in the desert of New Mexico, and a frantic search goes on for more than a week. One old campaigner hunts the mountains of southern Arizona like he's a bullet-proof three year old again -- right to the point of a thirty foot fall off a rock face. One old girl proves intelligence and desire can make up for lost youth. All these stories, and more, will get your heart pumping, your head nodding in agreement, and may even wet your eyes occasionally. Randy's goal is to make it to heaven in a cloud of dust, sliding to a halt, and exclaiming, "Wow! What a ride! Thank you, Jesus!" This book, the second one, so far, shows that he is a little farther down that road, and even more excited than ever!
The Proof is here! Look for it on Amazon mid-June.
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| Endless October Season 2 (Proof) |
Dedication
This book is dedicated to the everyday bird hunters. The men or women who buy a dog, train it, and hunt it. They overcome fear, uncertainty, and financial obstacles along the way. They fear failure, training the wrong way, and lost or hurt dogs. They experience uncertainty about where to hunt, how to hunt, how to shoot, and how to handle and care for the dog. They have financial obstacles in buying equipment, guns, trucks, and traveling. And, despite all that, they load up, drive out, put dogs out, and, overcome a real fear of the unknown day ahead with a dog on the ground. They slide a few shells into their shotgun, turn into the cold breeze, and step forward into a brand-new adventure. They don’t field trial, blog, post, message, video, or share. They bond with their dog to become a predator team. They harvest the bounty that God provides, and they put meat on the table. This book is for them.
Email me at: endlessoctoberbook@gmail.com for a signed and/or personalized copy!
CLICK HERE to go to Amazon for the first season!
