North Dakota Pheasant Hunting

Day three was as great as day one and two. We hunted some great CRP. The birds were really running, but Lady still managed to pin a few of them down. She also managed to bump a few of them too. One of the many highlight was when Lady made a retrieve on a pheasant that dropped in a pond.

We hunted with our friend Tom on Thursday and he just went on and on about how well Lady obeyed, worked the cover, relocated on moving birds, and found downed birds. Needless to say Dad and I were pretty proud of our little GSP/Brittany mutt this trip.

North Dakota Day 2

Every day we hunt Lady does fantastic, today was no exception. Point after point after point. The weather was a tad bit warmer and the birds were running on us. Lady did wonderous at locating birds and relocating birds after they would scoot on us. We must have had close to thirty points.

It took us a little longer to get all our birds, I guess our shooting luck wore off a bit. We also let a lot birds fly so we could keep hunting and working the dog longer. I limited out first so I became the camera man.

Below are some pics of two of my favorites, Dad and Lady.






Look at Dad's smile and tell me he doesn't just love it!


p.s. I have a confession to make. The only thing that could make this trip more perfect is if my fiance J were here. I really miss her.

North Dakota Update

Dad and I we used a total of 7 shells for our 6 bird limit today. We are typically really bad shots and that is why we drive twelve hours to hunt in an area with hundreds of pheasants, we need lots of opportunity. We started hunting at about 10 and we were finished by 12. We started passing up roosters and only shot birds that Lady pointed.

Here is a pic taken from my dad's Blackberry.

Gone Hunting

My Dad goes on one pheasant hunting trip a year. Years past we have always headed to South Dakota (dad likes to see lots of birds). Because of my school schedule this week made better sense to head out looking for pheasants so we are heading to North Dakota. I know you're probably thinking "that is a stinking long drive", or that "the bird numbers are way down this year in North Dakota." That is okay with us. If we see a handful of pheasants that will be more than we have at home in the great state of Utah.

We have some private ground lined up to hunt on and we are pretty darn excited. Years past we have hunted with neighbors, uncles, and cousins. This year it will just be Dad and me. It should be a great opportunity to spend some quality time together.

I almost forgot our dog Lady will be with us too.

If I can I'll update you throughout the week.

Hopefully we see a lot of this...

Endings

Saturday was one of the worst days. My horse, Echo, that I raised and trained since he was born, eleven years ago, died. Echo was a horse with personality and was in his prime. Not many horses actually want to be ridden, but Echo did.

When we were together in the mountains there was a connection, peace, and understanding between the two of us that cannot be explained.

I have never felt so free at anytime in my life than I did when I rode on the back of Echo. I hope heaven has a place for a good horse.