25 Jan Family TimeHello MAHA folks...each year my daughter wants to spend her birthday weekend with me out doe and quail hunting. This year we headed back up to [location deleted] and had a pretty good weekend. The deer pickings have been slim for us this year, but we managed to place a tag on one more deer to bring our family total up to two for the year. That's a pretty small fraction of what we normally tag each year but like I said, it's been a lean year. I don't normally appreciate trespassers but this time around it worked to our benefit when two trespassers entered the property we were hunting and drove the field edges in their truck. They ended up pushing a herd of does and yearlings along a creek bottom and right to us. We should have brought home more than one doe, but the remaining deer did not appear to want to hang around long enough for a second shot. Neither did the trespassers...they drove off the property without the benefit of a visit.
The real highlight of the trip was the quail hunting. We only spent about 3 1/2 hours following the dogs around but in that brief time we put three covies up, the smallest of which was 9 and the largest maybe 18 - 20...you know how hard it is to count brown blurs when they're zipping through the timber and brush. As always seems to be the case, I shoot too fast and my kids (daughter in this case) shoot too slow or maybe even not at all so once again we didn't put much of a dent in the quail population as you can see from the photos. But it was a great hunt...our 5 month old German Shorthair made his first retrieves and they were fantastic...brought the birds right to hand and released them immediately. He also had three good points...it wasn't his fault that two of the points were on birds that had already been put to the air and to the gun, they were still nice points.
The best point occurred after the second covey rise when I managed with my second shot to wing one of the brown blurs but he didn't go down right away. We continued to hunt along the creek edge in the direction the birds flew when suddenly the 5 month old locks down on a point I had only seen in my dreams and the older dog (2 1/2 year old Llewellyn) immediately froze in his tracks honoring the younger dog's point...made my heart soar and even my daughter appreciated the significance of the moment. The moment was only slightly blemished when we discovered that rather than a single from the covey, it was the bird I had winged on the rise and was now dead...it was still a great point and honor and the pup made a pretty good retrieve once he realized the bird was not going to get up and fly. A little later, the older dog and I were working the opposite bank of the creek looking for singles when the older dog made a nice point and I managed to hit the blur with the first shot...I had a good mark on the bird so I continued to watch the older dog (who doesn't much care for retrieving) work the field edge when the pup suddenly shows up at my feet with the quail...nice surprise and a real nice retrieve. The pup's second point was actually simultaneous with the older dog's point...they locked down together at almost the same time and right next to each other. This point resulted in our third covey - approximately 15 blurs, one of which I managed to get my shot and the bird to meet in the same space at the same time. The pup didn't see the bird fall so I called him over to let him find it. When he came across the downed bird he once again locks down real nice. Once he determined the bird was not going to run away or fly, he pounced and made a good retrieve. The antics of the pup and watching the two dogs begin working together was a real treat...my daughter had more fun laughing about the dogs and their antics than anything else on the trip.
Downside of the trip, besides the trespassers, was the numerous coon carcasses we encountered...six total, four of which had been neatly skinned. I suspect trespassers are going onto the property coon hunting or trapping maybe. But we saw several turkeys, plenty of sign, and heard two pheasant roosters cackling one morning...we were unable to locate them later with the dogs, but at least we know they're out there. All in all it was a good trip. I've included several photos, mostly for the entertainment value.
Thank you Matt for the great story and pictures. To see a big guy like you on a father - daughter hunt and enjoying a pup is refreshing, showing us what is really important. Any father can appreciate the great start in life you are giving your daughter.
22 Jan WaterfowlThe 2006-2007 season is history for 99% of the waterfowl hunters, but the regular goose season in Missouri is open until January 31st. Light goose season will re-open February 1- April 30th, but be prepared to weather the cold and mud...
The snow geese have been moving through the last week or two but just started to concentrate with the last cold front. They are working almost every region of all three states but as always, their patterns are inconsistent and very few members have the equipment to hunt snow geese properly. Many of the fields the geese are using are very muddy and will be with the forecasted above freezing temperatures and especially so if they have been cultivated. If you plan to set up for geese call the office for permission to use ATV's since a couple of the better localities may be muddy.
21 Jan Iowa Spring Turkey CutoffJanuary 28 is the application deadline for Iowa spring turkey tags, apply through the Iowa DNR website. MAHA lease land in Iowa has plenty of birds and hunter pressure has always been light during spring seasons past. Spring turkey seasons
Pheasant |
Thank you for sharing yet another fine picture.
