Upland only---no ducks harmed in this post

TimJ

TimJ

Well-known member
Over the past week Deuce has taken a quantum leap in pheasant hunting. It probably helps that he has been out 5 times in the past 9 days. He really seems to be getting it now. He is doing some good dog work and sometimes I even hit the birds.

Rainy day rooster.
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A warm afternoon. He worked 2 roosters, 2 roosters down.
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This afternoon we had two hours to get out before sunset. Amazingly with my shooting skills it only took one of them to get a limit.

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This was an amazing hunt for us. This is a public spot that gets hunted hard. I mean every day and often more the once. When the conditions are right it still usually holds some birds. They are educated running little devils. They will flush wild, it takes some caution from a dog to pin them down.

The first rooster was a bit of a track but at the end it held. As I came up to flush the bird Deuce got less solid making it clear it was still moving. I took a step or two ahead quickly and the old rooster flushed. I'm sure it wasn't his first run in with a dog but it was Deuce who outsmarted him.

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He then trailed one for what felt like 10 minutes. I had heard some roosters cackling earlier, I figured it was one of them and that it had flown off. As I walked off trying to get him to leave the old scent it suddenly got much fresher. This rooster finally ran out of hiding spots and flushed wild. It was my best shot this year on a pheasant.

I was happy with just one out of this spot and now I'm just one away from a limit. I've only shot one limit in SD over him. I normally just want a chance as one or two and I'm happy.

We get close to the west edge of the property and Deuce points...then he creeps up some...then he points...this goes on for a couple minutes. Finally he locks up better on a clump of grass. The flutter of wings coming up a couple feet from me is not something I ever hope I get use to. I yell "Hen!" I try to stay in that habit even when alone. Deuce goes right back to tracking.

This one gets into some thinner grass making it move even faster. Deuce goes on point and when I walk up to where he is pointing a rooster flushes 20 yards farther ahead. I took a shot and missed. I still had about 1/3rd of the place left but I felt like I might have missed our chance.

We go maybe 200 yards and Deuce's nose goes well up into the air, a sure sign he got a whiff of a bird up ahead. He moves up 20 yards and locks up. I was 50 yards away so I hope the bird holds. I move up to the side of him and slip over to get a better angle. Up pops a rooster moving fast to the left. As I pull up on it I see another one lift out of the cover to the right. It takes me two shots but the third bird drops. Deuce is on it in a flash and brings it right back to hand as he always does (not saying they are all in perfect shape when he gets back but he is quick). As he comes back I kneel down and give him a rub on the side and tell him he was a great dog today.

Some days everything just feels right. Today was one of those rare days I won't soon forget...the day my dog grew up and hunted better then I thought he could.

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If you made it this far without being bored thank you for reading about my pride in my dog.

Tim
 
I could have enjoyed a few more pictures and read a little more.


Since my Son moved to the Southwest corner of your state a few years ago, I never get tired of reading about your South Dakota.


Maybe someday I'll get a chance at a few Pheasants. Where he lives, it's more apt to be grouse of some sort.


Thanks for taking the time!


Jon
 
Good morning, Tim~

'Great read - thanks very much!

My eye went immediately to that old Model 50 - the gun my Dad bought new (1954?) and used until his last winter (2011) - and the gun I used to shoot "his" first Gobbler for him.

Have you read John Hewitt's The Winchester Model 12 As A Way Of Life. A great book on all counts - but the title is a bit of a misnomer. It refers to a single chapter in the book - whereas John and his brother mostly shot Model 50s.

All the nest,

SJS
 
That's awesome Tim! Nice to see and hear that Deuce is learning and coming into his own.

Love that second photo.....
 
Today is our opening day. Our birds are stocked, but it is all about the dog work for me.

It is 70 degrees and raining. That is why I am typing this right now instead of taking the gun and dog for a walk.
 
Congrats Tim! It's awesome watching things "click" into place for your dog! Here's to those great moments and many more to come.
 
Fantastic, great looking roosters and one fine looking pup!
What is your favorite pheasant recipe??
 
[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]"Today was one of those rare days I won't soon forget...the day my dog grew up and hunted better then I thought he could."

Watching the light bulb turn on for them is the best part, especially when you can pinpoint the hunt it happened. For my pup, it was the very last day of woodcock season last year. For the most part, she did a lot of following and backing my older dog with some unsure points. That day it just clicked. She had majority of the finds, pointed with confidence and stayed to the front hunting her own area.

Our woodcock season opens tomorrow and I can't wait.

I hope one day to make it out there to chase wild birds. Thanks for sharing your story. Still think Deuce is a shorthair!
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Thanks everyone. It's been a learning experience for both of us this season.

Jon,
I'd guess there are mostly Sharptails in that area. It isn't too far from the south central part of the state where you can run in to some pockets of pretty good pheasant numbers.

Fred,
That is my dad's old Winchester Model 50. It's a heavy gun to carry on an upland hunt but I shoot it well. Its very reliable when I remember to clean it once a year.

Steve,
I have not read that book. I like shooting my M12 also so it would be good all around.

Kevin,
It was 50 and raining in that first photo. It makes for good scenting conditions. :)

Carl,
I have been doing a lot of pheasant fingers so far this fall. I slice 2 or 3 strips out of each breast and de-bone the thighs. Then I soak them in milk with a little hot sauce. Buttermilk would work better I suppose but I don't normally have that on hand. Then dredge them in seasoned flour and quickly fry. I roll them in some butter and hot sauce after they are done if I want buffalo strips.
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Jay,
He does look like a Shorthair and he gets called that all the time. Its OK though, he has the brain of a Wirehair so he understands that not all people are as smart as he is. :)
Woodcock are one bird I want to get him on. I should have made it over to southern MN a couple weeks ago to try a river bottom or two. We have a few, very few, in eastern SD but no hunting season.
He has always been an out in front hard charging hunter but for a long time it seemed like he'd just as soon not wait for me if a bird was running on him. Now he waits for me to catch up before he tries to pin them down. He is rock solid on point when the birds sit tight.

Tim
 
Awesome pictures. I'm really looking forward to visiting the home place in IA at Christmas. The last several years I didn't think it was worth the cost of a non-resident license, but I've been talking to some buddies and the roadside count numbers are up so I'm going to give it a go this year. It's been far too long since I've drawn a bead on a rooster.
 
Way to go,Tim. You earned the right with all the hard work you put in training Deuce. There is no doubt that buttons probably popped off the shirt! Those pictures are the best. Thanks so much for posting this.
Al
 
Andrew I've also heard some good things from Iowa. The biggest issue here isn't finding pheasants it's finding the cover. It seems like there are birds in almost every bit of good cover. There just isn't as much cover since CRP acres have been dwindling. I hope you are able to get a few roosters this year.

Al you are right. I walked out of that cover with my chest stuck out just hoping someone would drive by to see us casually strolling past the rest of the field. :) We earned that little cocky strut.

Tim
 
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