A Season Ends...In Dog Years

[Garry L Gordon]

Our Missouri bird season ended on the 15th. Three days before its end we experienced a strong ice storm that left almost a half inch of ice on everything. I thought my home season was over, but in another turn of fate, the weather warmed and within two days, all the ice and snow had melted and the temperatures rose nearly 50 degrees. I'd saved our best bird farm for the end of the season, and although Elaine was under the weather and could not go with us, we went on this last day that was balmy...and extremely wet.

All of the coveys we'd found on earlier visits to this farm were home. The little DHE 20 did its work, and Alder and Aspen performed well. Alder even found a rooster for us, a very unusual event in this part of the State. We don't often try to take a limit, but the bird numbers were very strong, the cover great...and it was the last day. We ended the day with 8 wild Bobs and a rooster about 2 hours before the end of shooting time. We were tired, very wet, and very happy. As I gave the dogs a snack and settled them in for the 2 hour ride home, I thought about little Cedar, our cancer patient, waiting at home with Elaine for our return. Cedar had yet another corrective surgery recently -- her fifth, and will not hunt at all this year. The doctors give her a 50-50 shot at being with us at the beginning of next season. This is my 56th year afield with a gun, but Cedar lost this, her 8th year. Our dogs have so much less time. They live to hunt, as do those of us who love to follow them; so for me it's even harder to think of a season's end for my dogs.

So now we'll finish out the Iowa season and do the same for Oklahoma, weather permitting. We'll also head back to Kentucky to end their grouse season. Cedar will travel along with us, waiting patiently for her turn. Hopefully she'll get that turn come late September, and hopefully we will all start next season together with good health and high hopes. That's all any hunter can ask.

Key to photos:

1. An ice storm took away our electricity for much of a day, and I thought it would take the end of our Home Season, but thankfully, there was a "climate change" and the ice and snow disappeared in less than a day.

2. Alder got the morning shift. Here she is at the end of her hunt, soaked to the skin along with "her" birds.

3. Cedar stayed home with Elaine. Elaine said Cedar paced continually looking for me and the other dogs. Finally, Elaine thought to open the window so Cedar could look out for us to return. She spent her day at the window. Here she is in her protective collar waiting for us to get back with birds for her to smell. I hope there is another season for her...and for all of us.

[Timothy Salgado]

Thanks for a great post, I hope all works out well for you and your family.
Take Care,
Tim

[Reggie Bishop]

Excellent as always.

[Ed Norman]

Garry,
Another great story, thank you again, I look forward to your threads. I wish the best for your dogs/family. My buddy with 2 brittanies and I were supposed to go tomorrow towards the southern part of the state for planted quail. We got about 19" of snow the last 2 days:( There is 5" of snow down south, they are supposed to get rain all day today, then 18 degrees tonight, so we are afraid its gonna be to much ice to hunt. Probably wait another week and hope. I can't really run my dog in this, I usually head west where the snow levels are less just to exercise him. Thats really quite an amazing day you had hunting, you don't see that kind of hunting day to often I bet in that area of your state.

[Garry L Gordon]

Ed, Thanks for your comments. We had yet another round of snow and freezing rain, and the temperatures have plummeted to 0 while the wind has blown upwards of 40 MPH. Those crusted and ice conditions can cut a dog's feet, and they are too life threatening for quail for me to want to flush a covey. The Iowa season ends on January 31st, so we are hoping for some change in conditions that would allow us to get out several more times before then. Alder and Aspen are going stir crazy, but it's even too cold to be out with them more than a half hour or so at a time.

This kind of weather is what wood stoves and fireplaces are made for! I'm sure Cash won't hold it against you if you wait for better conditions.

BTW, hunting wild quail in the snow presents some interesting changes in their habits. It is not uncommon for birds to flush into trees, and there are are other times that they bury so deeply into the snow that it's difficult to flush them. I have on occasion kicked and kicked in front of the dog without flushing a bird only to have the dog get disgusted with my efforts and reach in and pick up the bird for me. But a quail roosted in the top of a cedar tree is impossible to see, and when they flush, nearly impossible to hit. They are interesting and adaptable little birds. We do not hunt them if the weather is such that breaking up a covey might cause them to not get back together before nightfall. Iowa restricts hunting to end at 4:30 pm. We practice that closing time whenever and wherever we hunt quail in very cold and/or snowy conditions.

I've had dogs point birds still on the roost in snowy conditions. That's a sight to see the birds all huddled together, some actually sitting on top of another bird for warmth. Seeing birds on the ground in front of a point is a sure recipe for disastrous shooting!

Good luck with your planned outings. Go when you can.

[Ed Norman]

Garry,
The grouse I hunt especially later in the 2nd season,can flush way ahead of us, I can see the dog birdy, way ahead, then I walk up and see the fresh grouse track, then nothing, and usually about that time the grouse will fly off from 40 feet or so in the big pine trees where I hunt sometimes. You have to be quick on the trigger to even get a shot off. Last year my buddy with 2 brittanies and I hunted one of my spots in the 2nd season in December and the dog went on point, we had just had about 6 inches of fresh snow. I was walking towards the dog, I whispered to Fred, theres no tracks!! he said the bird is buried under the snow ( I did not know grouse did that) as I got up close to the dog a grouse burst out of the snow heading right at me, I raised up for a shot, realized he was to close, turned completely around and shot and missed, then fred said where there's one there's usually 2 birds, as that was sinking in, another grouse took off right out of the snow. I stayed in the area for 5 minutes studying all this, I have learned so much from those 2 guys that helped my wife and I out with our brittany. My brittany cash will look up in the trees now, I think he is trying to tell me he saw them fly up there. It is very hard to see a grouse 40 feet in the air, but occasionally you can depending on the type of pine tree. I am sure getting an "education" spending time in the woods. This has been quite a journey...

[Ken Hill]

Garry,

A nice hunt to end the home season. I hope you have a nice hunt at the end of the Iowa season. Kansas has been hit or miss this year, but still going ou until the season ends on 31 Jan.

Ken

[Mills Morrison]

Georgia woodcock season ends today. SC goes another week. Quail season goes until end of February. Hoping for one more hunt before it is over. Julia and I did one quail hunt with 20 gauges, one hunt with 28 gauges and now we need 16 gauge to round it out

[Garry L Gordon]

Georgia woodcock season ends today. SC goes another week. Quail season goes until end of February. Hoping for one more hunt before it is over. Julia and I did one quail hunt with 20 gauges, one hunt with 28 gauges and now we need 16 gauge to round it out

Mills, I like your goals of using different guns/gauges (not to mention doing so with your wife). It makes the experience so much richer. Are you finding woodcock in decent numbers?...are your quail hunts for wild birds?

[Mills Morrison]

Wild woodcock and released quail. Wild quail are nearly gone around here

We hunted a whole day but found 4 limits of woodcock