Your wise on getting that dog into game. One of the first labs I trained took him to an opening day dove hunt when he was 9 months old. I was 17 so we were both pretty green. He was awesome. During training that spring and summer his sight retrieves on land were out to 75 yards and we kept his water retrieves to no more than 20 yards and he was already taking whistle and hand commands. Except I had not introduced him to live game yet.

Get off to myself a bit in a corner on that first dove hunt and was able to get an early loafer to cruise by at 20 yards and knock it down. I am sending Rufus on his first hunting retrieve and he has this shimmering intent look as I send him and he just explodes forward toward the dove but stops short and picks up my shotgun hull that ejected from bottom of pump shotgun. Uggh. It tool some more work but he figured it but he either hated litter or loved plastic. It took years for him to quit trying pick up hulls even if he had game in his mouth and coming back if he ran across a plastic hull he would pick it up to. Dang dog had an incredible nose. He could find old plastic shotgun shells that had been laying in fields for years. There was no leaving any plastic hulls around for him, especially if we were duck hunting and if a hull is floating near the blind had to police it up or he would try and pick it up.

Still remember day that he did not try and pick up a hull on cold duck hunt after a challenging retrieve. Knocked a wood duck down but only crippled him and Rufus had to chase him down and even dove down to get him, which was also a first. He swims back with duck and gets close and eyeballs hull but then just swims by it to deliver the duck. He is standing there looking at the hull and then looking at me as if to say, I have done my part, the least you can do is pickup your hulls. We sort of made a bargain about that issue from then on.

Waiting.

Twenty gauge.

Hot and cooling off

Bruce, that absolutely has to be the best use of a cattleman's crown crease on a straw hat that I have ever seen. That is a beautiful gun.

Good hunt if down from usual standards. Our puppy got to chase some wounded birds. All in all fun

Hotter than Hades today. Ninety plus degrees and ninety percent humidity. At noon it started raining. Stopped an hour later and was so hot no one could sit out in the sun. Went to another field and had birds coming in. Set up and just at the prime time a tremendous thunderstorm stole the last three hours of what promised to be a good day. Did get a few with the new to me DHE 16 gauge. Choked cylinder and IM. Not too original but I like it and that is all that matters. Shot 1 ounce of 8.5 right, 1 ounce of 7.5 left.

This weekend and next are “special whitewing season here”. You can have 10 whitewings and two mourning doves. My spots were devoid of whitewings after scouting. So, I loaded up the boat and headed south to the fishing cabin. My weapon of choice a G.Loomis 6wt. And an Abel Super 8 reel!! And two nights of solitude!!!!!

Solitude!

The heat was brutal on the Oostanaula River yesterday. About 70 shooters on about 120 acres of sunflowers.Over cast until about 2pm and then the sun popped out so I went to shade until about 4:30. My shooting was off and when my Old Reliable started doubling I got out a Gh Damascos 30in. 12ga. I don't shoot it as well but did to kill a few. I didn't count the birds but it was short of a limit. The most birds I have seen in many years. Many shooters started leaving around 5pm. I assume they had limited out. Around 6pm the birds were pouring in and lighting in the field. Needed more shooters. The birds seemed faster than I ever saw. Getting old is not what it is cracked up to be. Don't be in a hurry to get there. Thankful to be able to do it again. Going again in the morning with my grandson so keep me in your prayers. The Lord is good. Gerald

PS. Some people think I am crazy.

our hunt yesterday was a good one..i got up at 4.00 am and was on the field by 5.30 first bird came in and i got him with the old lifter 10 ga...i shot a box of shells and got 3 birds for my morning hunt...one fellas lab tried to retrieve ever bird shot down it was funny he had his limit in about 5 minutes...we quit shooting at 9.30 and headed for the spring our cooking campsite...we had bolonia french fries 120 doves on the grill fresh killed rabbit chiken baked beans and poodle sop gravey wow....i ate to much for sure.we went back to the field at3.30 boy was it hot only 2 of us crazy enough to set in the sun i got in the shade of a light pole...there was a gentle breeze that helped...i took the 20 ga v grade gun with factory 27 inch barrels i got 5 birds with it..i had really good shooters around me and i did not get many shots......it was really good hunt i was tired but contented and slept like a baby....tommorrow we are going to a new field at a friends house i m takeing the v grade 20 and i m takeing a d grade damascus 20 ga that once belonged to robert wood johnson the founder of johnson and johnson products.....gun has clyinder and full chokes the way it was ordered in 1901....charlie

Sounds like a great hunt Charlie. A 20 ga. Parker is just about perfect for a dove hunt!