Parker Gun Collectors Association Forums  

Go Back   Parker Gun Collectors Association Forums Parker Forums Hunting with Parkers

Notices

Reply
Thread Tools Display Modes
Last Week, Last Gasp...
Unread 01-15-2022, 02:29 PM   #1
Member
mobirdhunter
PGCA Lifetime
Member
 
Garry L Gordon's Avatar

Member Info
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 4,649
Thanks: 13,084
Thanked 9,469 Times in 3,042 Posts

Default Last Week, Last Gasp...

After a New Year's Day snow storm that was followed by days of single digit highs and ice packed back roads, the last week of the Missouri bird season warmed and the snow melted. In spite of a foot injury to Aspen that kept him sidelined for a day, we managed to hunt four of the last five days of the season (it's snowing today with about 8 inches on the ground as I write this on our official last day of the season).

We revisited some farms where we had "saved" coveys for just such days -- balmy and sunny -- and then just made it out before the ice began to fall yesterday, a foggy, but beautifully still day. We probably had as many bird contacts and bird work from the dogs on these four days as we had all of the last couple of weeks. If it has to end, I'm glad it ended with birds.

Here are some photos from our last days...

1-3. Elaine got some nice shots from a covey we caught out in the foxtail that got up in waves. I'd taken 4 birds from this covey this season, so I only took one on the rise and let the remaining ten or so serve as photo models.

4. After the bitter weather of the preceding week, the critters were out and about on these warming days. Fortunately no skunks, but lots of possums.

5. It amazes me that the backroads can keep a sheet of thick ice on them long after the snow melts. They are treacherous then, and later, when they thaw and the clay turns to muck -- "slicker'n snot on a doorknob" as an old hunting buddy used to say. Still, on a day like this, it's just nice to be out with the dog (Alder, in this case) and, of course, Elaine.

6. Alder got in on some of the action on a large covey that had obviously evaded us on earlier hunts to this farm. She is so different from Aspen that sometimes they don't seem to be the same breed of dog. She sure likes her birds, though, and goes harder than any dog I've ever hunted behind. Many days I can't keep up with her(!)

7. In one hour of hunting yesterday, Aspen had 7 nice finds from one "fence line covey" that we'd hunted only once this season. These birds were track stars, the singles running over a half mile along a fence with scant cover. Aspen had a blast, though, and we took two birds from this covey and got back to the truck as large ice pellets began to fall.

8. This bird was able to sneak out the "back door" while Aspen was pointing in front of me. I thought it was his bird and moved to go after it, and the one he'd been pointing flew out behind me. I felt like I was in a Keystone Cops movie. Always trust your dog!
Attached Images
File Type: jpg IMG_0814.jpg (544.9 KB, 13 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_0817 3.jpg (498.9 KB, 12 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_0818 2.jpg (487.6 KB, 4 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_0823.jpg (567.4 KB, 6 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_0828 2.jpg (510.3 KB, 1 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_0855.jpg (526.8 KB, 2 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_0893.jpg (511.5 KB, 2 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_0888.jpg (517.6 KB, 3 views)
__________________
“Every day I wonder how many things I am dead wrong about.”
― Jim Harrison
"'I promise you,' he said, 'on my word of honor, I won't die on the opening of the bird season.'" -- Robert Ruark (from The Old Man and the Boy)
Garry L Gordon is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 01-15-2022, 02:53 PM   #2
Member
Reggie B
PGCA Lifetime
Member
 
Reggie Bishop's Avatar

Member Info
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 2,490
Thanks: 2,936
Thanked 3,436 Times in 1,366 Posts

Default

Still using the 16? It appears to be that gun. Nice photos! Thank you for sharing your season with us, it was enjoyable.
__________________
"A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way."
Reggie Bishop is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to Reggie Bishop For Your Post:
Unread 01-15-2022, 05:32 PM   #3
Member
Dean Romig
PGCA Invincible
Life Member
 
Dean Romig's Avatar

Member Info
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 31,557
Thanks: 35,430
Thanked 33,039 Times in 12,321 Posts

Default

Great pictures Garry! Wonderful country.






.
__________________
"I'm a Setter man.
Not because I think they're better than the other breeds,
but because I'm a romantic - stuck on tradition - and to me, a Setter just "belongs" in the grouse picture."

George King, "That's Ruff", 2010 - a timeless classic.
Dean Romig is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to Dean Romig For Your Post:
Unread 01-15-2022, 05:40 PM   #4
Member
6pt-Sika
PGCA Lifetime
Member
 
CraigThompson's Avatar

Member Info
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 8,502
Thanks: 5,493
Thanked 7,458 Times in 3,383 Posts

Default

Very nice ! I’m a setter fan regardless of which variety
__________________
Parker’s , 6.5mm’s , Mannlicher Schoenauer’s and my family in the Philippines !
CraigThompson is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to CraigThompson For Your Post:
Unread 01-15-2022, 05:48 PM   #5
Member
charlie cleveland
PGCA Member

Member Info
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 12,986
Thanks: 0
Thanked 7,787 Times in 3,967 Posts

Default

very nice hunting ground it s good to see the bob whites again...great pictures...charlie
charlie cleveland is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to charlie cleveland For Your Post:
Unread 01-15-2022, 06:15 PM   #6
Member
mobirdhunter
PGCA Lifetime
Member
 
Garry L Gordon's Avatar

Member Info
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 4,649
Thanks: 13,084
Thanked 9,469 Times in 3,042 Posts

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Reggie Bishop View Post
Still using the 16? It appears to be that gun. Nice photos! Thank you for sharing your season with us, it was enjoyable.
I used a Smith 16 and a Parker 20 on these hunts. I had intended to use "Reggie's Gun" for the last day, as by this point in the season I need the best fitting gun I have, but, alas, 10 inches of snow stole our last day from us.

I hope this snow storm misses most of you, but I fear it will leave its wrath in snow and ice for many. Be careful and safe.
__________________
“Every day I wonder how many things I am dead wrong about.”
― Jim Harrison
"'I promise you,' he said, 'on my word of honor, I won't die on the opening of the bird season.'" -- Robert Ruark (from The Old Man and the Boy)
Garry L Gordon is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 01-15-2022, 06:18 PM   #7
Member
mobirdhunter
PGCA Lifetime
Member
 
Garry L Gordon's Avatar

Member Info
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 4,649
Thanks: 13,084
Thanked 9,469 Times in 3,042 Posts

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by charlie cleveland View Post
very nice hunting ground it s good to see the bob whites again...great pictures...charlie
Charlie, I have my personal photographer tag along on our hunts. She claims she's the "sherpa." as she carries the water for the dogs. She's the best hunting buddy I've ever had.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg IMG_0836 2.jpg (628.8 KB, 2 views)
__________________
“Every day I wonder how many things I am dead wrong about.”
― Jim Harrison
"'I promise you,' he said, 'on my word of honor, I won't die on the opening of the bird season.'" -- Robert Ruark (from The Old Man and the Boy)
Garry L Gordon is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 01-17-2022, 12:49 PM   #8
Member
TARNATION !!!
PGCA Lifetime
Member
 
Jack Cronkhite's Avatar

Member Info
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,806
Thanks: 867
Thanked 2,371 Times in 657 Posts

Default

Great post. The take away for me and I suspect a few others is “Always trust your dog”. I learned that a few decades back on a pheasant hunt. Taz, a young very energetic GSP, had only a few hunts under his belt (collar?). I dropped a rooster into weeds and scrub brush. I had a good mark and headed that direction. Taz, on the other hand was moving in a very different direction. I called him back to my mark so he could pick up the scent and find the bird. He did not want to be there. Then I saw why. I hadn’t killed the rooster and I saw it moving in cover where I had pulled Taz away from. I felt stupid and never interfered with the dogs again. Our eyes are never a match for their noses.
__________________
Hunt ethically. Eat heartily.
Jack Cronkhite is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 7 Users Say Thank You to Jack Cronkhite For Your Post:
Unread 01-17-2022, 02:40 PM   #9
Member
mobirdhunter
PGCA Lifetime
Member
 
Garry L Gordon's Avatar

Member Info
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 4,649
Thanks: 13,084
Thanked 9,469 Times in 3,042 Posts

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack Cronkhite View Post
Great post. The take away for me and I suspect a few others is “Always trust your dog”. I learned that a few decades back on a pheasant hunt. Taz, a young very energetic GSP, had only a few hunts under his belt (collar?). I dropped a rooster into weeds and scrub brush. I had a good mark and headed that direction. Taz, on the other hand was moving in a very different direction. I called him back to my mark so he could pick up the scent and find the bird. He did not want to be there. Then I saw why. I hadn’t killed the rooster and I saw it moving in cover where I had pulled Taz away from. I felt stupid and never interfered with the dogs again. Our eyes are never a match for their noses.
You are so right, Jack, and I admit that even though I've learned to trust the dogs (the hard way), I still screw up royally on occasion. My worst faux pas happened twice in my time hunting behind dogs, and it occurred in exactly the same way, and with the same dog (which tells you how smart I am) Quail in the snow will sometimes bury themselves after a covey flushes. I know this from too much experience. On two occasions my dog Prairie Trace, the best bird dog I will ever hunt over, pointed a single from a snowy covey flush. By his demeanor he "told" me the bird was "right here under my nose, Dad." I kicked and kicked. Nothing. I tapped his head and said "all right," the command for him to move on. He did not. I kicked some more, widening my focus. Nothing. Another head tap and "all right." No movement on Trace's part. I tapped him again. He reached down and picked the live bird out of the deep snow and presented it to me. Over his 16 years he did this twice, with many other extraordinary feats of bird legerdemain. After about 5 years, he had me trained to trust him and his nose. Thankfully, he was a tolerant teacher, and his image now is engraved on a custom Fox 16 that has taken many birds in his honor.

Yes, trust your dog!
__________________
“Every day I wonder how many things I am dead wrong about.”
― Jim Harrison
"'I promise you,' he said, 'on my word of honor, I won't die on the opening of the bird season.'" -- Robert Ruark (from The Old Man and the Boy)
Garry L Gordon is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to Garry L Gordon For Your Post:
Unread 01-17-2022, 03:37 PM   #10
Member
charlie cleveland
PGCA Member

Member Info
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 12,986
Thanks: 0
Thanked 7,787 Times in 3,967 Posts

Default

good hunting pals are hard to come by looks like you have found yours...keep her safe your a lucky guy....charlie
charlie cleveland is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to charlie cleveland For Your Post:
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 01:32 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright © 1998 - 2023, Parkerguns.org
Copyright © 2004 Design par Megatekno
- 2008 style update 3.7 avec l'autorisation de son auteur par Stradfred.