Endless October (The Series). Now available on Amazon Books.

Click Here to go to Amazon

 

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!  

Endless October- Season 2 Bird Dogs, Stories, and the Traveling Bird Hunter

The Proof is here!  Look for it on Amazon mid-June.

 

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!

 

Gear That Works! Carrying the Water: RuffLand Waterhole and Dakota 283 Dash

 

RuffLand Waterhole (Note the carefully applied orange tape, so I don't donate another one to Rest Areas around the country.)

 

This is, and has been for many years, my primary dog watering hole. I like it.  A lot.  It's a recommended piece of gear.  In addition, I carry gallon jugs to fill this container while on the road or hunting.  I always thought it carried 2 gallons of water, however the company website reads it carries one gallon of water.  The video on the website shows it accepting a gallon of water, but it's a misnomer (in a good way).  Yes, you can pour one gallon of water into the front, open section of the bucket.  But, the way I handle this is to then tip it back and have the water run back in to the container, then add another gallon up front.  So, it will hold almost two gallons.  The downside is that driving using my method will splash a lot of water out- back to nearly the original gallon. And, although the back of the truck is all-weather, I now have water splashed into the back of my truck. 

 

How the Waterhole travels.

When I went to the "4 kennels in the back" method of hauling the Brit pack, I could not find room for the square cube Waterhole.  Now it sits, angled up to keep water from splashing out, between the kennels and the tailgate.  A keen observer will note: I cannot open the tailgate without first grabbing the water bucket and lifting it out.  It's not a huge inconvenience, but it's not the best solution, either.  

Enter the Dakota 283 Dash.  When I won a Regional NSTRA field trial, this was one of the awards.  I'd never heard of it.  I got home, opened the box, and pulled it out. 

Dakota 283 Dash 3.5

It's made out of a hard plastic (that's a non-technical term I apply to most things not wood or metal) similar to the Waterhole.  I was initially unimpressed with the cute little, blue plugs.  So, I filled it, inserted the plugs, and it's water tight.  Wait!  No splashing?  I laid it flat, and pulled the bowl plug.  The bowl filled with water using the same siphon wizardry the Waterhole uses. Then, I tilted it back up, and all the water in the bowl ran back into the hole.  Plug inserted, I lifted it back to the vertical position. I was pondering how long it would take me to lose the little, blue plug in the bowl, when I noticed a round slot in the back perfectly sized for the plug from the bowl. It's a clever, little storage place for the plug. (I can see already, I'll need to order and extra plug. Or, run a little cable from the plug to the handle, so it won't walk off on its own.)

Back of the Dash with bowl plug storage showing.

So, all that is good, but here is the BEST feature.  The shape of the Dash allows me to store it between my Bed Slide and the bed sidewall using the integral handle grip at the top.

Dash stowed out of the way.

To recap: The Dash gives me 3.5 gallons, that won't spill, and stores out of the way.  

Cost for each unit might be a factor.  The Dash goes for $89, regardless of color, at various online retailers, while the Waterhole goes for $46-$49, depending on color (white's the cheapest).  I suppose the techno-geek in me is rearing its head when I say I can haul 3.5 times the water, without splashing, for about twice the cost.  Sounds like a win-win to me. 

Dakota 283 Dash and RuffLand Waterhole

I really like them both.  I am a huge fan of RuffLand (notice the kennels), but in this case, the Dash scores a home run.  I think the combination of spill-proof, 3.5 gallons, and storable on the side wall makes this water delivery system a MUST BUY!  

(Full Disclosure:  I bought the Waterhole (and lost three other ones), and I won the Dash.  I was not compensated in any way, by either company.  The opinions and crackerjack science are my own.  No animals were harmed during the testing.  (In fact, no animals were harmed during most of my last bird hunting trip, but that's another story.  See Endless October on Amazon Books.)  #abirdhuntersthoughts

A Good Day Trialing in Georgia

NSTRA CH FlyBoy Ace's Bullseye (Shack)

 

2021 Georgia Region Championships

Hufstetler Farm, Bronwood, GA

March 13-14, 2021

 Members of the Georgia Region and their families gathered at Hufstetler Farm for the 2021 Georgia Elimination Pre-Trial, 2021 Georgia Elimination Championship, and Awards Ceremony. Members enjoyed a delicious BBQ supper and a presentation by Quail Forever representative, and NSTRA Sponsor, Kenny Barker before the Annual Meeting.

 Gerald recognized Tyler Clore who served as Vice President this year. CJ Pearson provided the financial report, and officers for 2021-22 were elected. Officers for 2021-2022 are President – Gerald Pannell, Vice President – Keith Howard, Treasurer – C.J. Pearson and Secretary – Brittni Pannell.

 2021 Regional Awards were presented to:

High Point Dog - PINEYWOODS SWEET AS HONEY – Owners Janice and Harold Hufstetler

High Point Female Dog - PINEYWOODS SWEET AS HONEY – Owners Janice and Harold Hufstetler

Most Improved Dog - BRYSON'S DIANA aka ANA – Owners Gerald and Bryson Pannell

The Scott Clark Award – Harold Hufstetler

Judge of the Year - Harold Hufstetler

Sportsman of the Year – C. J. Pearson

Rookie of the Year – A tie – Maggie Adams and Bryson Pannell

Junior Handlers were recognized and given personalized leads. Georgia Junior handlers are Kam Hill, Bryson Pannell, Madissyn David and Maggie Adams. Not present was Sarakate Pannell. 

Oldest and Youngest Handlers (Green Shirts) Bryson Pannel (12), Randy Schultz (70)

 The 2019-2020 NSTRA Georgia Region Board of Directors drafted a proposal for the establishment of and the requirements for induction of dogs into the Georgia Region Hall of Fame. The members of the Georgia Region approved the proposal of the Georgia Region Hall of Fame at the 2020 Georgia Region Annual Meeting. Nominations of dogs that meet the requirements are to be submitted by their owners to the Georgia Region Board of Directors. The first induction ceremony held at the 2021 Georgia Region Awards Banquet was an emotional event. Congratulations to the following dogs and their owners who were the First Inductees into the Georgia Region Hall of Fame.

 CEDAR HILL TOBY - Donald and Jared Roberts

CIRCLE R MISS ROLLING DICE - Donald and Jared Roberts

TOP GUN KING - Ricky Gunnyon

TOPGUN SHOTGUN - Ricky Gunnyon

POPCORN - Ricky Gunnyon

GET ER-DONE SKY - Ricky Gunnyon

SHE'S A SCOOTER - Keith Koon

TROOPER'S BOY TRIPP - Gerald Pannell and Jeff Keck 

All of us and Top 4: Shack/Schultz, Skeeter/Koon, Howard/Trim, Jane/Hiland

The PRE-TRIAL was held on Friday, March 12th. LOTS OF SUNSHINE and NO RAIN! Placements were earned by the following on

 Field A

1 BUCK'S CHANCE

2 PINEYWOODS SWEET AS HONEY

3 STURDY OAK FRANK

4 DD'S THE GEORGIA PEACH - TY

 Amateur Placements on Field A were earned by

1 PINEYWOODS FEARLESS RAY DONOVAN – RAYMOND

2 MOSSY CREEK'S READY TO RIDE - CLYDE

3 ABRACADABRA'S RUBY

4 SARKATE'S MOONSHINE – SHINE

 Field B:

1 T T'S SOUTHERN JANE

2 SNAKE ISLAND PICEN - BOGER

3 CHOESTOE VALLEY CHARLIE

4 FLYBOY NAVY BLUE – BLUE

 Amateur Placements on Field B were earned by

1 FLYBOY NAVY BLUE – BLUE

2 UNCLE DOBB'S FIDDLEN BEN

3 ABRACADABRA'S RUBY

4 SARKATE'S MOONSHINE – SHINE

 Round One.

On Saturday, March 13^th, the field was cut from 34 to 16.   Bodie Ray served as Field Marshall. Ed Ford and Gene Pritchett were Judges and Noah Sheriff was the Bird Planter. There were 34 dogs in the trial that began at sunrise. 16 dogs continued to Sunday.

 1 DD'S THE GEORGIA PEACH aka TY/ Dan Miles

2 FLYBOY ACE'S BULL'S EYE aka SHACK/ Randy Schultz

3 CHOESTOE VALLEY CHARLIE/ Bill Pickard

4 BUCK'S THAT’S A FACT JACK/Ken Buck

(Yes, the top three were Brittanys!!!)

 

 Round Two.

After 8 morning braces the field of 16 was cut to 6. 

.

Final 6 Kieth Howard/Trim, Charles Hiland/Jane,Keith Koon/Skeeter,Ken Buck/Chance,RandySchultz/Shack, Ricky Gunnyon/Tater

 Round Three

The semi-final was 3 braces which resulted in the following placements:

 1^st.- Skeeter/ Keith Koon

2^nd- Shack/ Randy Schultz

3rd - QUAIL VALLEY'S GOT TRIM/Jeff Keck, Handled by Keith Howard

4th - T T'S SOUTHERN JANE/ Charles Hiland

5th - BUCK'S CHANCE/ Ken Buck

6th - GETER DONE THUNDER/ Ricky Gunnyon 

Round Four 

The top two dogs ran in the final hour.  The final scores differed by 17.5 points.  It was a real nail-biter for those that hung around.

 2nd place went to SHE'S SKEETER GEORGE – SKEETER owned by Keith Koon and Keith Howard and handled by Keith Koon. 

Trophy Presentation by Gerald Pannel (President) to Randy Schultz

 1st place and 2021 Georgia Region Champion - FLYBOY ACE'S BULL'S EYE – SHACK owned and handled by Randy Schultz.

Keith Koon congratulating Randy Schultz