Blooding a New Gun

[mobirdhunter]

Thanks for the comments. Craig is so right, too few days for so many things.

Jerry is referring to the old Virginia game law prohibiting hunting quail in the snow. Although I don't recall the details, the law specified a percentage of the ground that must be snow covered for the law to kick in. Snow was deemed an unfair advantage for the hunter. It was indeed a crap shoot to try to figure out if it was legal to hunt on any given snow day. The good news is that it did not snow very much.

When my father would visit us in Missouri and we would hunt quail in the snow he was forever asking if we were "legal." I don't think I ever convinced him.

For those of you who have hunted wild Bobs in the snow, you know there is nothing easy about it...but it is different. Depending on the snow depths, quality of the snow, and other weather conditions, it can be hard on both man and dog (especially the dog's feet). Yes, seeing tracks is a plus, but snow Bobs act in even more unpredictable ways, flushing wild, burying deep in snow (hard to scent), and flushing into trees (if you think shooting a grouse that rockets out of a tree is a tough shot, the small bullets that quail flushing from a cedar seem to be are exponentially more difficult to hit). I dislike hunting in snow. Aspen's injury is an example of the perils to dogs.

But anymore I feel hunting days to be a gift, and I want to take advantage of the time that's given to me, Elaine and my dogs. I know it's the same for many of you who love following dogs after those wonderful wild birds...in places that make you stop to admire.