White Christmas Hunt -- Anyone Else Partake?

mobirdhunter · 12-26-2017, 01:22 PM

My wife and I have a long standing tradition, over 30 years now, of hunting on Christmas Day. We had snow this year for only the 7th time in the last 37 years (according to my shooting log). We "saved" a large covey on a farm close by for the Day's hunt. It was cold, but the winds were down -- unusual for us here in North Missouri. Modern day quail on snow are predictably unpredictable, and act completely different on the snow, often flushing wild and into trees, or holding so tight as singles that the dog gets tired of my fruitless kicking around and reaches in to grab the bird. Christmas day was no different. We found our covey which flushed from our Gordon's point before I could get in range. We followed up, flushing several from trees until we got two really tight holding singles that I took with my new-to-me AH 16 gauge. I only wanted a brace of birds from this covey, so we worked some more singles without shooting and headed home -- a nice, short hunt. I'll probably revisit this covey one more time this season and take no more than two more birds. It's a good size covey, but I want them to be around for the future.

Anyone else hunt Christmas Day? I'd enjoy reading your accounts of the Day.

birddogdoc · 12-26-2017, 01:40 PM

Those are the best of days...

Jeff K. · 12-26-2017, 01:51 PM

I didn't have to be anywhere till Noon on Christmas, so I walked a couple of ditches for ducks.

OH Osthaus · 12-26-2017, 01:57 PM

nice picture Jeff

mobirdhunter · 12-26-2017, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawn Wayment

Those are the best of days...

You are right about that. And the fact that they are few and far between makes them all the sweeter.

mobirdhunter · 12-26-2017, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Kuss

I didn't have to be anywhere till Noon on Christmas, so I walked a couple of ditches for ducks.

Jeff,

Thanks for responding. Glad to know that you celebrated the day...and that there is still open water near you.

Harold Pickens · 12-26-2017, 02:57 PM

Didn't have any Christmas plans til around 5:00pm, wife suggested I go hunting. Snow turnrd to freezing rain, back to snow with sub 20 temps and high winds. Everything was ice covered except main roads, so I didnt make it out. Glad that you did, and wonderful pictures.

Jeff K. · 12-26-2017, 03:02 PM

I passed on duck hunting today. We have a high of 7 today. The ditches are freezing fast.
Retrieving a down duck could be rather dangerous!

C.O.B. · 12-26-2017, 05:20 PM

X Mass is a travel day for me to my wife's family for dinner which is usually served in the early afternoon.

I love to get out and hunt pheasants in the snow but it won't be happening much if at all this year. Daisy is just hanging on and every day she is with me I count as a blessing. We are fortunate she has no pain but came close to going to the vet last week.

Today it was -10 with the wind so Daisy and I hunted in Africa and watched some old westerns on TV. All things considered it was a good day.

How about some pics of that 16???

mobirdhunter · 12-26-2017, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Kuss

I passed on duck hunting today. We have a high of 7 today. The ditches are freezing fast.
Retrieving a down duck could be rather dangerous!

We had open water on Saturday, and I saw geese and ducks on the farm pond where we were hunting. No bismuth handy, so we turned back to quail. By Sunday the water was frozen. Only the big water is still open. Our high today, like yours, Jeff, was in the single digits. We have four out of the next 7 days forecast for single digit highs, so we'll pick and choose our hunts carefully.

Be careful on that new ice!

That Parker looked like a duck-taker. What's its configuration? What were you shooting in it? Just curious to know.