[mobirdhunter]

A hunter hunts many things beyond bag limits.

As our bird seasons end, first in Missouri, followed by Iowa, and then anyplace else we might go for another finale, there is a hope for good days. How do you define a good day? Weather makes a difference. Your best friend in tow. Good dog work. Birds (Oh, let there be birds!). A good gun, and shooting that does it proper justice.

We ended our Missouri season with a couple of days that would certainly meet the criteria for "good day" status. We were also able to sneak a decent Iowa outing into our good day cache. A covey at the very end of a long, muddy walk made everything worthwhile.

Then the snow and cold hit, and we began to think of climate change (no politics here!). A trip to Kansas, canceled earlier because of the prospect of poor weather, came to be at the last minute as we saw a couple of warm days appear in the mystery that is long range forecasting. Long Kansas prairie days in beautiful weather were practically bird-less, and I was thinking our finale would be without a chance. With an hour left in our trip, Aspen, who had been out of action for a couple of weeks with a bad foot issue, came through with a long roading point of a covey of public land Bobs that gave me some chances. His bird work far outshone my shooting, but a bird or two in the hand -- with the our season running out -- is a blessing. It will be easier to face the long off-season with a "good day" in our memory.

For you who still have some time left in your season, good luck. I hope you find some "good days."

Key to the photos for part one of this thread:

1. Our one an only chance at a Missouri rooster came over one of Aspen's last points before sitting out time because of a torn pad. I was not expecting pheasants, so this bird fell to a 20 gauge load of number 8s from a very open-choked right barrel of the little CHE we call "Reggie's Gun".

2. Aspen pins a single from a covey that flushed wild from across the property line onto land we had permission to hunt (it usually works the other way doesn't it?).

3. A wild Missouri end-of-season Bob is a treasure. This cockbird was taken with Reggie's Gun over a point by Aspen. I probably shoot this gun better than any for which I am caretaker.

4. A family of otters surfaced from under the ice on an isolated pond as we walked by. They must have traveled far overland to get here. I'm sure there were no fish left when they moved on.

5&6. While Aspen was out of action, 10 year old Alder got a string of days during which she reminded us of just how good a bird dog she has been, in spite of her wanting to hunt in the next county at times. The second photo shows the single just rising (you can just see it under my arm). Wanting to help make sure this covey would be here next year, it was the only shot I took on this day, although Alder presented us with several nice points.