It's a great time when my lovely wife wants to come up and see what I do on these hunting trips! We had a good day today and the weather even cooperated with lows in the 30's and highs in the 60's, little wind. Tomorrow, however, is supposed to be brutal- windy and possible snow, sleet and highs 40 or less.

North Dakota

Lots of birds up here, even though they are saying the bird numbers are down 60%.

Tritronics Classic 70 G3 EXP- It don't wurk good wit' no antenna, Bubba!

For some reason, the antenna on my Tritronics Classic 70 G3 EXP disappeared.  I admit it had been some time since I checked the security of the antenna.  WARNING!  When you are in the field, it is a bad time to lose an antenna, with no back up. My options at this point are: I can order one from Tritronics and get it 2 days later or drive to Bismarck (240 mile roundtrip) to purchase another one.  Two mistakes I made: one is not checking the security of any antenna I have, pre-hunt or every day.  Second, I should have extra antennas on board for the eventually of loss or damage to one.  Actually, I did have an extra....last year in MN, I sat on a rock and heard a "crunch".  It was the antenna on the TT which had been dangling from a secure holder on my belt!  Oops! But, I had a backup antenna in the truck and all was well. Do you think I would order another set?  Of course not.....   I have double backup antennas for my Garmin... and today I will get another Tritronics antenna at Scheels, in Bismarck, when I go to get my wife at the airport.  Dude, it's cheap insurance.  Do not go in the field with out extras of everything- any part that can break, wear out, or get lost..

Randy and Ace in ND with limit of Pheasant

Another great day. The pups are hunting like experienced dogs and  Ace is his usual business-as-usual self.  The weather is perfect with lows in the 20's and highs in 50's.  Tomorrow, my wife shows up to monitor the situation!  I sure do hope the weather stays good and we get in to plenty of birds- the pressure! 

Georgia Boy Limits in North Dakota

We worked hard all morning and finally hit the jackpot. Lots of birds and some great dog work from my top dog! It was the "perfect storm" of all the variables coming together- weather, birds and experienced dog. Bobby is one fantastic shot, too. There weren't too many of the ditch chickens that flew out from under his gun. Pretty much, when I saw a rooster get up in front of him, I mentally was putting it in the vest already. 

North Dakota and chasing Pheasant

That's Bobby Ferris (top picture) and Ace and me in the lower picture. This was the first day on the ground in Southwest North Dakota. the birds were hit very hard by the Spring weather- wet and cold. Estimates are a 60% die off. That's is probably true, based on what we are seeing. However, the birds are still available, with a good dog or two. It took us most of the day to harvest our 6 roosters, and we are seeing a lot of young birds from a second hatch. One very pleasant surprise (for a dog man) is the hunting performance of one of my young dogs, Cap! What a joy to watch and hunt over. He's bold, quick and thorough. When he points, it is intense and staunch. He listens and I can see the wheels turning as he looks for cover and thinks things through. I used to worry that he was too quick on the draw, that he was too bold. Now, even at 16 months, I see a little thread of thoughtfulness in him. If his development is parallel to his half-brother, Bandit, he will develop in to a wonderful bird dog. My wife would like me to say that Cap is HER dog and I am only borrowing him. I must admit he is the only dog that will "sit for a treat" in my kennels (WW III almost came about when I saw her asking him to sit with the house dogs for a bone!). Obviously, he isn't hurt by that at all- perhaps he's even more attuned to me because of it.

American Made Ford Hunt Truck

Next pic at 300,000 miles!
40 degrees and rain. Can't wait to put a dog on the ground!  Not long now- maybe 2 hours.

On the road again

The very best time to drive in Atlanta.  By the time the sun comes up, I will be close to Nashville.

Roosters, let me introduce Ace, Cap, Ruby and mister A. H. Fox.

Mr. Rooster and I have a date!

Two young dogs and one experienced campaigner and I will tackle however many birds are left in the SW North Dakota wheat fields.  Reports vary from, "More than I've ever seen!" to "Walked all day and moved 2 roosters." I suspect I'll find the middle ground.  My pups are ready for the running demons- they've been on Sharptails, Huns and Ruffs the past year.  These birds won't mess them up now.  I would like to just watch their faces when the big rooster comes out of the grass, but dropping the thing is more important right now.  Travel day tomorrow and Wednesday.  By sunrise Thursday, Mountain Time, you can mentally watch me turn a pair of Brits loose, shoulder the old 20 ga. and step off in to the grass for another adventure with my buddies.......

The $200 Shotgun

The Old Ball and Chain
Her First Quail on a Covey Rise

We have a little family secret down here.  And since this is just between us, I'll share it. 

It seems that sometime in the distant past, I may, or may not, have mentioned to my wife, that although I do have several shotguns they are all inexpensive.  In fact, the story goes, none of my guns cost more than $200, so she says I told her.  While neither confirming nor denying said statement was made, I do admit I was guilty for allowing the misunderstanding to exist.  Over the years, as shotguns were acquired, I assured my lovely bride that I would never pay more for them than the usual amount.  And, so, life blissfully carried on.   Until the fateful day, in my barn, during a field trial.  It was cold and raining so several of my bird dog friends were warming themselves by the fire and talking about all things bird hunting.  BJ joined us for a bit. She usually holds her own in these meetings regaling the audience with stories of my adventures with my various dogs.  Laughter and good natured ribbing was the name of the game, with everyone chipping in to tell an anecdote about their favorite dog or hunt.  Conversation got around to shotguns and who just bought what, the various makes and models and quality thereof.  Finally, someone happened to spy the gun I'd set aside as I came in from my brace and asked if that was the old A.H.Fox and why would I use it in such bad weather.  I explained I did like to shoot the gun, and I would probably spend quite a while cleaning and oiling after the day was over.  Another friend opined that he would never allow a gun like that to get wet, and so on.  I happened to glance at my wife and noticed a puzzled look on her face.  Warning flags shot up all over (Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!).  Uh, oh!  But then, BJ smiled and announced that it was no big deal, since "..none of Randy's guns cost more than $200 anyway.".   (At this point in the tale, you could hear the wind blowing dust in the empty street and the hawk screech high overhead.)  Mouths opened, jaws dropped and men froze in place.  After a long, quiet moment....... "Absolutely! Yes! Uh huh! Yep, that's right, BJ!" was heard throughout the barn.  Then, slowly, the laughter started and I heard several of my "friends" explaining to BJ the book value of a few of my $200 guns. It was generally acknowledged that I was dog meat for the rest of the year, I would never see the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota, Kansas, Texas, Wisconsin, or New Mexico again (or, at least, during my natural lifetime)! She laughed and enjoyed my discomfort for a while and then gracefully bowed out to head back to the house.  Always a class act, she gave me big kiss and said she needed to get going.  "It's a long drive to Atlanta, honey, and you don't mind if I do a little shopping, do you? Oh, and I promise not to get anything that costs more than $200!  Honest!"

There is a lesson in there, somewhere, but I just don't see it.......

A few wrap-up photos from the MT/MN Hunt

That's Cap and me in the top two photos.  The top one celebrates his first Hungarian Partridge- notice it was taken after the sun set- during the gloaming.  The flash really set off the Wing Works reflective straps.  The second shot is  getting ready to go to the MN grouse woods- a whole 'nother set of parameters for little Cap.  Last is Terry and some Ruffs they harvested after a good day in MN last week.  I, personally, didn't see that many birds, but pictures don't lie (at least these don't).

Gear that WORKS!

I evaluate gear and have two new, short youtube videos describing the WingWorks Vest and Turtleskin Snake Chaps.  There is no polish here- just a bird hunter telling it like it is.

WingWorks Vest video

Turtleskin Snake Chaps

Next Trip- Pheasant in North Dakota and South Dakota

This is Ace with the limit of three roosters in North Dakota.  For the past, lets see, 15 years at least, I've been hunting North Dakota for pheasant.  While they don't have the statewide name that South Dakota has, where I've been going has at least the number of birds!  Over the years, I've gravitated to the area around Mott and Hettinger.  The public land is plentiful and the birds are like rats.  My friends up there constantly complain about the broken headlights and windshields from these colorful ditch-chickens.  Numbers up or numbers down, it makes no difference.  For some reason, this corner of North Dakota holds the birds.  Now, I do not hunt line abreast with a lab walking in front of me.  I  use pointing dogs and usually just little old me working a field.  I do just fine.  The PLOTS land in the area is great!  Most of the private land is posted and you must ask permission to hunt.  There is a lot of fee hunting in the area, so a sweet little area will probably be off limits- unless it is PLOTS (Private Land Open to Sportsmen).  Housing may be a problem now, too.  since the discovery of the Baaken oil field under this part of North Dakota, Montana and Canada (Google it), there is a housing shortage- be sure to call ahead to motels.  Good luck!

Hunt Wrap-Up

I finally made it home after 1 1/2 days on the road. Funny, how it seems so much shorter going than coming. Even after stopping at the Norske Nook in Osseo, WI (on I-94), it was still an ordeal. Part of the problem was knowing I was going back in to eighty and ninety degree heat! Since the third day in Montana, the weather was perfect- low humidity and cool temps. In Minnesota, the high overcast and cool temps made for perfect scenting and easy walking.

In retrospect, Montana was great fun and a lot of work. I don't shy away from walking as far as needed to find birds, and MT put that attitude to the test. I never did calculate the total distance walked, but it was pretty close to ten miles per day- perhaps much more than that. An interesting note: I did use my Astro to track my dog's running distance and noted they usually cover five times the distance that I walk. No wonder they are lean and mean by the end of a two week jaunt!

The top picture is of me and Ace. The bottom is of Bob and three of his four dogs- a Spinone, Sophie, Pudelpointer, Razz, and Gordon Setter, Tink. Not shown is his GWP "Ug".

Minnesota was beautiful. The people are absolutely friendly and the grouse woods are vast and flat. Unfortunately, we didn't find a whole lot of birds. The cover was still on the trees, so, when the dogs pointed a bird not right on the trail, it was very hard to get close enough to the dog quickly to get a shot! Many times, I would be pushing through alder and aspen only to hear the flush and see a brown blur through the trees.

All in all, it was a very successful trip. I would do it all again in a heartbeat. The dogs got worked on all manner of game birds and the pups had several points and retrieves. No one got hurt or shot or lost or aggravated. I am thankful that I have the health and opportunity to do this.

My Main Dog "Ace" and a Sharptail Grouse

This kind of says it all.

Minnesota Grouse Woods

We are hunting the Superior National Forest near Hoyt Lakes, MN. Scenes above show typical cover and the bottom pic is typical food, plus greens. We are getting only 6+ flushes per day and it's taking walking 10 miles per day to get those. If I wasn't in shape before I got here, I am now. The dogs are worn out and skinny from 12 straight days of hunting. It's tough to keep the dogs' weight up with all the running they do, but they are on double rations, plus a little wet food, too. Ruby, my young pup, is downright skinny. Today was the last day and we are heading back tomorrow. I'm looking for a stop in Osseo, WI to get my wife a pie at Norsk Nook! She said I could go hunting all I wanted, but if I'm anywhere near the Norske Nook, Osseo, WI, I'd bette come home with one of theor world famous, home cooked pies! Awesome.

Next trip is end of Oct to ND for pheasant!

Grouse 3- Me 0

Secret Minnesota Grouse Trail


Every year, it's the same thing.  For the first few days, those wiley grouse kick my butt.  Ace, Ruby and Cap all did a marvelous job.  Ruby pointed 3 birds.  On the third find, the bird got up and flew directly away from me high and down the trail.  I calmly lifted the gun, while mentally putting the bird in my game bag- and missed!  I was tempted to start a little "Navy talk" right there.  But I resisted (remembering PSR) and gave Ruby a lttle love on the trail.  The other two finds, the birds got up too far out for shots.  You look out boys!  We'll be back tomorrow.  And we'll be ready!

Last Day Photos

A herd of horses comes over to see what bird hunting is all about. Cotton, a young pointer, is getting in to her stride on Sharpies. Bob and his Pudelpointer, Raz, put one in the bag. Bob and his Spanone, Sophie, and Gordon Setter, Tink, after a successful cast. We saw, among the group, many different breeds of dogs. There was no way anyone could pick a "best" breed. To my mind, and I'm a hard core Brittany man, that Spinone did one fine job and would be the dog of the day!

Wow! Honeyhole!

Five covies huns, five covies sharptails, 20 pheasant and some darn fine dogwork marked this perfect day!  My puppies are handling the birds with not only technical correctness,  but also a type of grace. I can read them so much better now. I know when Ruby's tails starts that little wag, you may as well cock the gun.  And when Cap starts and stops a.few times with his head high and moving back and forth, he'll be locking down in a matter of seconds.  And Ace was his usual typically outstanding self.  When my pups get 24 hunting trips under them (as Ace does) I hope they have the attitude, intelligence and class he has.

On to Minnesota and Ruffled Grouse.

PSR- Live for the day!

PSR, it's what we all strive for.  Point, Shoot, Retrieve.  As I was on a 3 hour cast today, with my pup Cap, I got to pondering that.  Point, Shoot, Retrieve- all the rest is details.  I suppose you could write a book about each event and we all know the "devil is in the details", but PSR is really what it is all about.  Do you ever get dissatisfied after a hunt?   I find myself thinking of the finds we had throughout the day and critiquing my dogs and even myself. If I'm not careful, I will start getting too critical and then it becomes a competition.  I laughed coming in yesterday when I realized I'd worked myself up and what was a really nice day in the field, I was turning in to a disaster! "Hey", I reminded myself, "you are hunting and living your dream.  Get your head together and enjoy your dogs and blue sky and your friends, for crying out loud!"  I laugh as I remember how I really had to jerk my own chain!  If you are like me, start every day with the realization it may your last day behind a dog.  Enjoy it!!  Also, like I tell my hunting  friends, "Try to be the man your dog thinks you are!"