Hunting Coat for Christmas

I just ordered a Harkila Angus Hunting Coat.  For years, I've wondered why we don't use leather for hunting jackets and coats. I have several coats made of several miracle fabrics, waterproof, windproof, breathable, with pockets and doodads and thises and thats. Why not a strong, leather hunting coat.  It would be windproof, briarproof, warm and practically bullet proof, as well.  The only drawback that I can see would be the weight.  

Harlika Angus All Leather Hunting Coat

So, after quite a few online searches, I finally found a European manufacturer of something that was a hunting coat that might actually be useful in the field. Made in Scandinavia (I could not get the specific country), it appears well- made and rugged.  Made of buffalo leather, I assume buffalo and not bison, they say it sheds thorns and water as well and is made to last a lifetime. We'll see about that. For the cost, it should last quite a while, I would hope. I can see where it will be useful in the winter months and bad weather casts, pheasants locked down in the drifts, that sort of thing.  I'm pretty sure this is not going to be suitable for the Chukar hunter, but who knows?  Will let you know when it arrives and I get back from my next expedition on 12 December chasing ditch rooters in the Dakotas. 

Do you have a few pounds of Moose, Caribou, Salmon, Goat, Sheep, Bear or Whatever?

I'm trying to get with AK guys (or, really, anyone who would like to participate) to ask to donate meat for a game feed in Pierce, NE.  A church started out with a wild game feed with pheasant and deer, etc.,  and made a few hundred bucks a few years ago.  Last year, for some reason, in the rain and snow, literally thousands of Nebraskans showed up. They stood outside a small church hall for hours to eat deer meat and donate money for the church school.  Their kids don't go there.  They don't attend church there. I guess they like deer meat. Anyway, Scott Magnussen, asked me if anyone could donate moose or caribou or whatever stuff they have- it would be really neat!  Last year, one guy had a few pounds of moose from Wyoming and everyone thought that was awesome.  Scott said they (he) would pay all costs, shipping, all that! If you think this is possible, I will get you in touch with him directly.  He lives in Pierce, NE.

Email me using the Contact Me section on the right side of this BLOG and I'll get you in touch with Scott! I'm impressed with how God is moving in this.  I really think this is a worthy contribution for game meat.

Here is a read for the Bird Hunter in your Family

Click HERE to go to Doug's WEBSITE

Are you looking for a gift for the hunter in the family?  Perhaps this is it.  Check it out.

Hunting Nebraska with Scott and Jeff....

 One of the benefits of delivering puppies to bird hunters is the occasional invitation to stop and "have your bird dogs stretch their legs a bit". Scott (El J's proud papa) showed us to the hunter's suite and told us the smoked prime rib would be on the table at 7.....don't be late. (Not to worry, Scott!). We ate like kings for the next three days thanks to Scott and his wife, Jennifer!  The next day we loaded up and hit some private pheasant land to limit on wily, Nebraska birds. They didn't give us any slack.  They doubled back in the thick grass, but Scott's experienced Brit's were on to that trick and pinned them dead to rights. 

Bobby shot 'em down easy and Scott's gun, nicknamed "Black Sabbath", was a pheasant nightmare. The dogs were spot on. They worked hard in some warm weather and when the weather changed for the cooler, they really came alive!  

All of them displayed exceptional manners, backing when appropriate, with no altercations between the dominant males. Although, there was one small glitch in that picture. Ruby, fresh off a litter of 11 pups, pointed a rooster and, on the retrieve, was getting some determined resistance from the old cock. One of Scott's big males ran to assist on the retrieve and Ruby took exception..she jumped right in his stuff, making it extremely clear whose bird this was!  Champ stomped off, gentleman that he was, muttering "b#tch"!  He was right. 

I managed to put lead on some birds as well on this trip. This is a secondary pleasure to seeing my dogs hunt, point and retrieve. And on this trip, it even took a back seat to meeting the owners of my puppies. I couldn't be happier with each of them. 

Scott dropped a very nice Hungarian Partridge and wanted to get it mounted. The thing was huge.  It's  going to make a great mount. We had some discussion as to the proper way to store a bird for mounting. I think that would be a subject for a future BLOG. We straightened it out, smoothed the feathers and bagged it with the air pushed out. 

Jeff Mimick, owner of Dixie, took us to some family land with his GSP, George. We pushed birds for a hundred yards through 5 foot tall grass until we finally got them up against a ditch and they started coming up. It was point, move, point, move, all the way. I was out of position, but Bobby and Jeff dropped two on the rise. While my Cap dog made a blind retrieve on one, gathering all the attention, Ruby went about her business and brought the second bird to Bobby and said, "Hey, you looking for this?"  Meanwhile, Cap located the first bird and started back across the brush, down the creek bed and in to the deep water. Up the other side, the bank went vertical, and he lost the bird, it rolled into the water and started to flow downstream. George to the rescue!  While my little prima donnas were thinking up reasons for not getting wet(ter), George jumped off the bank, hit the water, swam to the bird, grabbed it, swam back, three-strided it up the vertical bank and handed it to Jeff. (I thought I caught the hint of a smirk there, as well, but I may have been mistaken.)  

This was a great two days hunting with good people and good dogs. Scott Magnusson has Big Red Brittanies, and his Jigs dog was daddy to my Ace dog. That's why he and I were both eager to ensure he get a pup, El J, out of this litter- Ace's last. His Brits are big, long legged, bird hunting machines. They hunted from sunup to sundown with consistent style and grace.  Jeff Mimick and his dog, George, were a pleasure to hunt with, as well. They worked well together and George knows what he is doing in the field.

 This is pheasant country and all these folks and dogs know a bunch about harvesting these colorful birds. I'm truly honored to have spent a day or two with them. 

The Puppy Express.

I struck out on a delivery mission last Wednesday, with four 9 week puppies in the back seat and 3 grown bird dogs in the kennels in the back. The thinking was to do some deliveries and a little bird hunting at the end. 2367 miles later, I ended up meeting Hannah and Hayden and bring them the last little puppy to be delivered, El J (Meaning, LJ, short for Little Jigs, short for, Jigs, Ace's Daddy- pretty clever, I thought.) 

The first new friend, however, was Charlie Majors, outside of Houston. You know, as you may have guessed, I do like to drive. And when the new Beast is humming along and quiet and comfortable, it makes a long drive just all that more pleasant. But, at the end of 12 hours, hitting an hour of bumper-to-bumper traffic in beautiful Houston could make a Baptist preacher cuss! Somehow, we made it through and Charlie and his beautiful daughter met us on the other side of town to pick up Otis. Charlie is a Texas bird hunter and Otis will be working some Bobwhites next season, for sure. 

 

Hannah, Hayden and El J. In Nebraska. 

Dixie and Cindy in Nebraska

Charlie Majors, daughter, and Otis near Houston, TX. 

The next day at noon, I met Jeff Meyers in Stanton, Texas. The drive from Houston to Stanton took me through the Texas Hill Country and then in to desert scrub and Blue Quail country. Oil wells, high speed limits, straight roads, polite drivers, dust, mesquite, land-grant ranches, hawks, eagles, bright sun and letting the Beast run. 

Jeff is a bird hunter in West Texas and little Odessa will be chasing Blues next year. Jeff will be calling with glowing reports of his new little prodigy in the scrub and mesquite desert lands.  Those little cotton tops have met their match. 

Jeff Meyers, 1 year old, and Odessa near Odessa, TX

I made it to Madison, NE by late late afternoon and Dixie met Cindy and Jeff Mimick. I'm not sure who was more happy at this initial meeting!  Dixie will be a pheasant dog and will have a 6 year old German Shorhair at home to teach her all the tricks. 

Just a little bit up the road, the Puppy Odyssey ended, at the home of Scott, Jennifer, Hannah, and Hayden Magnusson. Scott owned my dog Ace's father, Jig's Ramlin Willie. We met several years ago at a National NSTRA Trial and he mentioned he'd like a pup by Ace. Here was my chance to reciprocate. When he mentioned a few days of bird hunting, I casually told the BandC there was no way on this Earth I wasn't going to deliver a pup to Scott!  It turns out, he loves to cook, loves to hunt, has great dogs, a wonderful wife and family and is a passable shot. 

Next:  Tales from the Nebraska Pheasant Chase........

OK, guys! This is how we do it!

Dixie, on the way to Nebraska

This little girl is one of four I will be delivering over the next week in Texas and Nebraska.  This poses an interesting dilemma for me in that I've never traveled with puppies this young. I do not want to use normal "rest stops" with these guys.  The pet areas are germ growing stations and theses young dogs don't need exposure to that. My plan is to just pull off the road in a rural area and find a relatively clean, grassy area and let them out on a lead do what they do. It will lengthen the journey some, but the safety to the pup with override any inconvenience.  

Another problem is feeding and watering.  Rather than having constant food available to them, I will feed them in the morning and water them soon after with a potty break.  Another feeding in late afternoon with the same routine should keep them well fed and watered.  The farthest traveled ones will only be cooped up 2 days, so it won't be too onerous on the them.  In addition, they will be in the cab of the truck with me- all four in a crate for entertainment.  

After the last delivery, we've been asked to hunt for a few days in Nebraska.  That sounded pretty good to me so I ran it by the kennel and got three paws up from the rest of the guys.  They'll need to cool their heels for a few days, but we'll be in roosters and quail in no time.  I'm sure looking forward to that! Stay tuned! 

The Build Out. Or, How do I get all this stuff back in there?

The new Beast o' Birdin' is in the garage, or should I say, barn. It's a fancy, diesel burning, electronic marvel that updates itself and likes to find wifi (!).  It will give you the weather and local diesel prices and get you to the nearest honey hole in fine fashion.  So far, I think I like it a lot.  It's so quiet, the dogs don't even hear me sneaking up to the barn to check on them- awesome.

The time came to start the re-packing of 12 years of accumulated hunting supplies in to the new truck.  First, a topper was procured that had side opening windows.

Then the truck vault was installed.   Note:  The tailgate on this model ford does not lie flush with the bed necessitating the shim you see under the truck vault.  That enables the drawers to clear the tailgate. 

Lighting was installed overhead.  These are LED strip lights that run off the battery so I can feed dogs, or whatever, out in the bush and have plenty of light for all the dog chores of bird hunting.  

Next, I loaded up chains, MRE's, wool blankets, sleeping bags, spare diesel, heaters for the dogs and other miscellaneous.

Dog kennels are loaded and secured and this baby is ready for the ROAD! Actually, there's about a hundred smaller items to be packed in all the nooks and crannies, but you get the idea. 

Here is the finished product. A little naked with none of my favorite decals, but I think I can get a few of them installed before I leave next week.  

I hope I can get the 375,000 miles I got on my last truck.  If so, this one will take me through the last of my bird hunting years.....maybe.

Saving The Two Best for Last

These two males are the last available from this breeding of Ace and Ruby.  This is the ad I posted in the Bird Dog and Fly Fishing Classifieds:

"I have two males, orange/white still available from my Ace and Ruby breeding. They are 7 weeks old yesterday, sassy, healthy, and ready to be a field companion. All shots, etc. AKC/UKC registered litter. Ace is NSTRA CH and grandson of Nolan's Last Bullet. Ruby is the daughter of Bullet, 3 years old, well on her way to NSTRA Ch. $500 770-five eight four-5085. Call or PM."

Since that post, I got a remark on the site that tells me about another dog, in Ruby's lineage, that is outstanding: 

"Randy also in Rubys line that you didnt mention is 2xNFC Diamond Hill Dan. One of three britts in history to win 2. Many judges told me that he was the best britt they ever judged."

Sometimes, it is better to lucky than good.  As a Navy pilot, I heard that saying around the ready room.  In this particular case, I was so focused on the Nolan's Last Bullet breeding, I missed the Diamond Hill Dan input. 

At any rate, this is an awesome bloodline. Two have already gone home.  Two more this weekend and 3 the next week.  I really like these butterballs.  Of these two available remaining, there is a difference in personality.  One is a lover and stays at home more.  The other, slightly smaller one, is likely to be scoping out the pasture, or carrying a ball around, or attacking another pup for fun. I know which one I would want to hunt MT and ID and NM and AZ.  

Mr. Lover

Mr. Go Get Em

You want to what? Do an article about Ace and me? Why?

I got an email about a month ago from a guy who wanted to do an article about Ace and me and how we "interact".  Really?  Yep, he said, I want to publish it in an online magazine.  No cost to you.  OK, I said.  Let's do it.  I sent him some answers to a few questions, the name of my BLOG, and a few pictures.....and I promptly for got about it.

Yesterday, I got another email giving me the link to the article:(http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/nature/post/ace-the-hunting-dog-lives-up-to-his-pilot-inspired-name/)

Here is a small sample of the article:

Ace the hunting dog lives up to his pilot-inspired name

The Brittany spaniel is a National Shoot To Retrieve Association champion and loves to hunt grouse, partridge, and quail

October 23, 2013 by Somyr Perry

Ace the hunting dog with his owner, Randy; all photos courtesy of Randall C. Schultz

Ace, an 8-year-old Brittany spaniel, was born to be a hunting dog. “Ace went hunting with me in Montana when he was less than a year old,” said Randall C. Schultz of Zebulon, Georgia.  “He was amazing! We hunted sharptail grouse and Hungarian partridge there. Then, we moved on to Texas and hunted blue quail. All along he performed like a much older and more mature dog.”

Schultz is an avid bird hunter who blogs about his dogs and hunting excursions at A Bird Hunter’s Thoughts. He’s owned Brittanys before, so it was natural for him to seek out another pup when he lost his beloved Rocket at 12.

Ace the hunting dog with his owner

“Rocket passed away after hunting for me all over the U.S.,” Schultz said. “I wanted another liver-colored Brittany and called a friend in Tennessee, who raises them.  He had an excellent litter and told me to come [see the pups].”

After choosing his pup to take home, Schultz, a retired airline pilot and Navy pilot, knew he needed a special name. “An ‘ace’ is a top pilot, so naturally I wanted my dog to be a top dog—so I called him Ace,” Schultz said.

Ace, who is a National Shoot To Retrieve Association champion, has an impressive resume of hunting game birds all over the country, including in Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arizona, and New Mexico. “He likes to ride shotgun while I drive, and when I go in to eat at a truck stop, you can see him sitting in the front seat, taking care of the truck,” Schultz said.

Click the link above to see the entire article. 

My New Ride, Goodbye Old Buddy (2001 7.3 Diesel F-250)

I hope I can get at least as many miles out of this new truck! When I traded the old one in, it was showing just over 375,000 miles on the odometer, most of them driving to or from bird hunting. 

    

This one is an F-250 as well.  It has the new diesel engine and off road package.  It is the Lariat equipment package.  I've never had a back up camera before.  I figured they just made the backs of trucks a little stronger and the impact was an indicator you'd gone far enough. It's pretty cool to look back there, day or night and see what's coming! 

I didn't really need the NAV feature since I have 10+years of hunting spots around the country stored on my Garmin that sticks on the windshield, but it's pretty nice, too.  I can get a weather map on the screen and do all sorts of stuff by voice command.  Some of the stuff works, some doesn't.  I tried "Show me local movies."- no problem!  I tried "Show me the nearest Chinese Restaurant."- no problem. I was feeling pretty empowered at that point, so I tried "Call the War Department and tell her I want a new shotgun!" There are just some things this truck will not do.  

Three Male Puppies For Sale! Awesome Nolan's Last Bullet breeding.

When Ruby had 11 puppies, I thought, "Oh, no! We will never find good, hunting homes for these dogs!"  Not a problem, actually. 

These are three remaining males. Of course, the females went first- all six, including one for me. Then the males started being promised. These pups are 5.5 weeks old, whelped 8 September 2013. The sire is a grandson of Nolan's Last Bullet and the Dam is the daughter of Bullet.  They are bold, healthy, dew clawed, wormed and the first set of shots will be tomorrow (just shy of 6 weeks). 

Ace,the sire, is 8.5 years old and a NSTRA Champion and incredible hunting dog. Ruby, the Dam, is sort of a prodigy (to my mind) and was pointing and retrieving Huns and Sharps at 6 months. When we were taking these pictures, I was thinking, "You know, I could always keep another one!"  

$500 770-584-5085  Ask for Randy. 

                                             

Review: Go Claws Snow, Mud, Sand Chains. A Better Idea!

They are a special type of polymer. Tough as nails and legal everywhere. 

That's a bunch of gripping action!  

It's a common problem when hunting out west, or even here in GA on the red clay back roads we have. Out west, many times, the roads will be frozen heading in to the back country, and will thaw during the day, making getting out somewhat problematic. In the south, even a slight rain turns the red clay roads into a form of slick snot. I don't care how many wheel drive you have, you ain't going anywhere.  Tires are a factor, but I like to have some form of chain to put on my wheels, in the event I need to get somewhere, like bed and a hot meal. I've used actual chains when getting stuck on some North  Dakota roads, and it was a pain, and muddy.  But, eventually, they worked and I got myself unstuck and on the way. Twice in my hunting career, I've relied on the largess of a local farmer to pull me out with a tractor. (Both times those tractors were so big, they could have pulled the dark out of the night, I think.). 

I knew there had to be a better way. Go Claws. (http://www.flextrax.com/). Google searching produced this interesting little article. I followed up with a call to the company and the owner, designer picked up. Nice guy!  I ordered a set, then another set. I figure, if I put one of these on each wheel, I'll be able to go anywhere, anytime. 

They are incredibly easy to put on. Literally, after you do it once, it will take less than 5 minutes per tire, more like a minute. You can drive with them on bare road for many miles and not damage the tires or the road. And they grip like a tick on your best bird dog!  

Recommendation:  go to the website and watch the videos. My recommendation is a buy. I have a set for each tire and it gives me great piece of mind while on a trip and seeing storm roll up the valley. "Bring it!" I think. "At least I'll make it back to the motel."

(Full Disclosure:  I was not compensated in any manner by anyone selling, manufacturing, or marketing the subject of this post.)

Shameless Bragging- Puppy Pictures!

OK, I had to do it!  These are the only two orange females in the litter.  I've picked one for myself.  

Hoss, the big mama! 

Hoss and Pretty

Pretty

Video of my pups at 4 weeks.

Click Here:  http://youtu.be/_H1058rSi_Q

Last Cast

The last cast of the trip occurred in Montana. A big snowstorm was due to hit the next day. I was right on the bull's-eye. I was told about a nice piece of public land. As I drove up, the temperature was 43° and it was drizzling. Pretty much perfect birdhunting weather.

I took a Ace and Bandit.  I turned them loose and started to cross the fence. Halfway over the fence I looked up and noticed both dogs on point!  I kicked up a covey of Hungarian partridge. All but one of them escaped. Ace made a nice retrieved hand and then took off up the edge of the wheat field. Not long after, he had another point out in the wheat field at 265 yards from me. He was locked up on a sharpie. Another bird in the bag.

After another covey of sharptails and several pheasant, we were finished.  Both dogs did exceptionally well. I dried them off and loaded them up and went in search of lunch.

Every little town out here has a main street café. I hit this one for breakfast. The usual group of farmers had their table, as they talked about the usual stuff. I heard opening-day mentioned it several times. I knew I was among fellow Bird Hunters. 

So, I loaded up and started the long drive home. Snow and rain chased me out of Montana and the Dakotas. It was time to go home, rest the dogs, and plan another trip.

You saw what?

Bandit and Cap on the rim rock. 

Valley Quality covey. 

Hunting the Oregon Trail. 

Handyman's Special- needs TLC. 

Blue Grouse in MT. 

Spring in Idaho. 

Bull a Elk and his harem. 

Winter kill. 

Ace and Cap near cairn in ID. 

Cool Rock.