Finally On The Road again!!

It never gets old! Too darn cold in SD- even though they are et up in birds still. I figure I'd have no problem hunting I single digit temps if I was already there, but to drive 2 days to do it? Naw. NM is out of blues. The pros and the dedicated hunters alike say the birds are WAY down. I do love that country...... So I decided on a return to KS. Good birds, low pressure and lots of public land. Will hunt out of Hays and points south- as per DNR.

Woodcock in the Backyard

I am fortunate to be able to hunt right outside my back door. Peaches (top) and Ace (bottom) are both pointed on Woodcock. I have a creek and swampy bottom that runs along the back of my property. The Woodcock hit this creek every year in their migration from up north to the nesting spots on the gulf coast. They are such an overlooked species down here- the season is only a month long- and most bird hunters don't even know what they are. It's like shooting a butterfly- they juke and jive and twitter...... It sure is fun and my dogs love it!

Cake dog

I did NOT do that. You didn't see me, and you can't prove it!!

First Lock Down point for Lily

The bottom picture shows 8 mos. old Lily locked down on her first covey with Robert going in for the flush. The top picture shows me holding a bird harvested in the rise with Lily and Ace, her daddy. You know, in this case, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Lily went on to be one of the go-to dogs on the string by the end of the trip for Robert. I may need to grab a dog out of the next litter. I was going to wait one more year, but he's throwing great pups and I do like working with good ones......

Hey, this is a lot of fun! Keep hunting...

I came across this picture of me, self-taken, after a day hunting blues in the TX panhandle. You can't see it but there is a limit of the little cotton-tops on the ground by my knee. We were driving out after a frustrating day, thinking about moving on up to SD, when I saw a bird flush to my left. I stopped, grabbed my gun, Ace, and a pocket of shells and stepped off the graded sand road of the ranch. Right then the world exploded when about 30 blues got up all around me! I mean, we were in the middle of them- and a bunch more ran off into the brush. Ace locked up to the flush and I watched as they scattered out along a stretch of flat, brushy, sandy, grazed-over pasture. The sun was at my back, the breeze was in my face, it was 30 deg. and there was a big grin on my face as we set out to some of the best shooting I've ever seen. Ace locked up time after time pointing two and/or three of the little buzz bombs before they erupted out of the pointed cactus, shin-oak, or grass pile. What a great time! We took our time, easing along and hitting all the cover, ditches and vegetation. What seemed like 5 minutes later (actually an hour or so), I grabbed for more shells and came up empty- with a dog on point, the sun on the horizon and the temperature dropping like a stone. I had one shell left in the A.H.Fox 20 ga. double and was one bird shy of the limit here in TX. (Limits never held much fascination for me- I rarely get close enough to worry about them on quail- but today it would be nice to round it out.) Ace was intensely pointed at the base of a cactus as I eased on up alongside him. I glanced at his face and it was set in that stoney look bird dogs get when they are dead center of the scent cone- almost mesmerized by the smell. I kicked at the shrub and 5 gray blurs came out of that cactus heading in all points of the compass! As a lefty, I locked down on the one heading from my left to right, checked his location down the barrels and pulled the trigger.......

It was a day to remember.

End of the Day and Trip

Long day and heading back to the truck. Tired dogs, hunters and birds in the bag.

Perfect final day

Here's a shot of some typically great habitat for quail here in KS. Ace, Bo and Peaches had a good final day before watering and settling in for an easy drive back to GA. Great trip. Hopefully, NM is next- if I get a good report on the birds.

College Bound

A monument sitting by itself on the prairie. Interesting stuff!

Big Kansas

70 deg but the hunting is good!

Incredible Sunset

Good Duck Day

Those are teal and a Pintail. What a great day on the pond.

Osage Orange Tree

Watch out when you back up! Local guy told me they have fence posts 100 years old made out of this wood.

Hunted duck today. Wind was 25-40 mph with intermittent snow. "Great day for ducks" they say. Got a pintail and a teal- had a great time. Birdhunters got nothing on duckhunters- those boys are crazy, no doubt!

Old Church on the Prairie

I really like seeing the old buildings out here. I wonder who got married and buried here? The amazing things you see while driving around.

2 by 0900

The old man, the dog Bo I mean, still has it. With the snow, the birds are holding tight. I won't mention the third where I was fumbling with my safety- lol!!!

Heading Out

Haven't hunted near here for 15 years. I noticed while heading out that downtowns pretty much all look the same out here. It's comforting and something you can count on.

Until the Super Walmart shows up, I guess. I'll have to change along with America, since I found out shopping is patriotic and what better place to shop than the Great Wall of Mart.

Finally!

Across Old Man River. Officially on a hunting trip. Do you set benchmarks like that?

Darn!

It didn't take long for me to leave my dog waterer along side the road. This was #3! One in AR, one in WI, and now one in GA- 150 miles behind me. Of course that's not counting the one that dropped off the truck on I-285 in ATL at about 85 mph when the tailgate dropped down in 1993. (Now, there is a story there!)

The good news is I pass several Cabela's and Bass Pro's on the way- as if I needed an excuse to stop.

On the Road again!

Ace and Bo and Peaches and I are on our way to KS. Robert's been out there for 2 weeks and finding lots of pheasant but little quail. 2 to 4 coveys per day.

I just filled up with diesel at QT for $2.55- gotta love that.

Next Hunt on the Horizon!

My good friend Robert (who is absolutely in love with one of Ace's pups, Lily) will be hunting KS for about 3 weeks starting mid-Nov. I'm thinking my blue F-250 may crank up and head out that way around 1 Dec for a week or 10 days. I checked with Ace, Bo and Peaches and got strong approval for the plan- the old ball and chain may be a different matter altogether, however. (She just found out that all my shotguns DO NOT cost $200. When I get my hands on that "friend", I will wring his neck!) Anyway, looks like I'll have to be sensitive and caring and act like I care what Oprah is talking about. At least for a week or two.

Kansas will be fun. You never know what's coming up- pheasant or quail. After a few days there, I may ease on up to my friend's farm in SD for a little more pheasant. They are getting hammered by a blizzard today....I sure hope it won't mess up his cutting the beans and corn. They had such a late start cutting that he said they may not get it all in this winter! I wonder if he needs a retired knot head to help him drive those machines? Humm?

Heading Home

This is one worn out Brittany! Picture book points, nice retrieves, super finding dead and eating 10 Rimadyl- this boy did it all. The Rimadyl incident got him Hydrogen Peroxide squirted down his throat- to make him vomit- and a trip to the vet. Looks like he'll be fine. While at the vet, a Lab with a snoot full of porcupine quills and a Lab with a shoulder cut came in. Ah, memories of past hunts....

Only 1489 more miles to go.