The Fat of the Season

[mobirdhunter]

The November weeks before the firearm deer season in Missouri can be some of the richest of the year. The rut is gearing up and sitting in a tree stand or on the ground can be an entertaining endeavor as bucks begin searching out does and chasing them before they come into estrus. Woodcock will often be found in the brushy low spots as they head South, and the duck season opens the first weekend of the month. For those of us who love hunting wild quail and pheasants, these first days of the season are days to probe for new coveys, check to be sure those perennial coveys are still in good shape, and explore a new farm or two before the gun hunters shut things down and we have to head to Iowa. If the weather is cool, these days before deer season can be the "fat" of the season.

Every season is different. Usually it is too warm for hunters and dogs to beat the thick early season cover. Not so this year as we have had record cold temperatures. We'll miss out on early duck hunting because of frozen water, and the flight woodcock are not to be found, but the several outings we've had, between sits in the tree waiting for the big one to wander by, have been productive.

We have found a covey or two on each of our several short outings so far this season in our local North Missouri haunts. With Cedar still out of action from her cancer surgery, Alder and the puppy, Aspen, are getting plenty of time. I wish Aspen could be braced again with Cedar, but his outings alone are also good for his development.

I started the season with my new "go-to" bird gun, a 30 inch DHE 20 that fits me like a well broken in pair of boots. I also christened a DHE 28 gauge that has high dimensions and shoots where I look. It's going to be hard to decide which gun to use -- a great problem to have.

Key to photos:

1. The little 00 framed 28 is stocked high and I've discovered it shoots where I look. It will be hard to choose between this little gun and my trusty DHE 20.
2. The first bird of the season: a wild Missouri Bob taken from a large covey on a 40 acre plot of ground no one bird hunts but us. The DHE 20 makes me a better shot than I am with its 30 inch tubes that keep swinging even when I have poor shooting form.
3. After lots of rain this past summer, the cover is great, and the birds seem to be willing to hold in the early season...which will surely not be the case in several weeks. This point by Alder was on a nice sized covey of young Missouri birds.