Badger Matt
Single-Sixer
Burned some leave today to go hunting. Tomorrow's leave will be spent with "She Who Must Be Obeyed."
A friend and I had jumped some Mallards of a stock pond a week or so back when we didn't have any duck stamps. This afternoon I found three Mallards on the pond and took one. I dearly love duck hunting and just realized this is the first duck I've taken since November 2003 - Reason #1 I'm retiring next Summer. Rosie wasn't too sure about the oversized web-footed quail and refused to retrieve it. She didn't mind swimming out to sniff it, mind you, but putting that thing in her mouth was not on the menu...
We walked a creekbed that held some Wood Ducks the previous weekend, but had no luck. Time to put the pumpgun and non-toxic loads back in the Jeep and break out the double and lead shot for quail.
We found quail calling in a few spots and flushing wild in others. We found ourselves surrounded by calling covies and sat tight until we figured one might be closest enough to find while still spread out and feeding. I walked right past a hen and she made it away unscathed...scared, but unscathed. A little further on, Rosie went on point and locked down a nice cock bird. He must not have known I was there as he took off rather slowly and I took advantage of his sloth.
Sorry about the quality of the pic, but you get the idea. A good afternoon...as are most afternoons that don't involve work.
OK, so my dog's a wee bit spoiled. We both sit up front and she navigates. Thank God for GPS because she can't read a map any better than my wife (Shotster, please keep this little jab to yourself :
: )
This has been a great Fall for me. Work is generally an all-consuming endeavor for me and I miss out on a lot of the hunting I enjoy. My first year here in California was a blur with no hunting or shooting at all. Even when I've got the time, it typically takes me a year or two to learn the local ropes. Then I posted on another forum and a member invited me to shoot some clays with him. Since then we've enjoyed a few memorable bird hunts. Make fun of Kalifornistan if you must, but these Napa Valley hunters know how to enjoy the hunt; wine, cheese, meats, and breads/crackers for lunch. Good fun.
I'm really looking forward to retirement next Summer after 28 years in the family business. It'll be time to get a grown-up job (20 hours a week or less) and do a heckuva lot more hunting. This is Rosie's first year really hunting (did one dove hunt in FL) and her training's been sorely neglected. Happily, her gene's have the right stuff and she's figuring it out on her own. I still need to get her to fetch reliably and come even when really cool birds/rabbits flee within sight...but I pretend she knows how to hunt and she pretends I know how to shoot.
A friend and I had jumped some Mallards of a stock pond a week or so back when we didn't have any duck stamps. This afternoon I found three Mallards on the pond and took one. I dearly love duck hunting and just realized this is the first duck I've taken since November 2003 - Reason #1 I'm retiring next Summer. Rosie wasn't too sure about the oversized web-footed quail and refused to retrieve it. She didn't mind swimming out to sniff it, mind you, but putting that thing in her mouth was not on the menu...
We walked a creekbed that held some Wood Ducks the previous weekend, but had no luck. Time to put the pumpgun and non-toxic loads back in the Jeep and break out the double and lead shot for quail.
We found quail calling in a few spots and flushing wild in others. We found ourselves surrounded by calling covies and sat tight until we figured one might be closest enough to find while still spread out and feeding. I walked right past a hen and she made it away unscathed...scared, but unscathed. A little further on, Rosie went on point and locked down a nice cock bird. He must not have known I was there as he took off rather slowly and I took advantage of his sloth.
Sorry about the quality of the pic, but you get the idea. A good afternoon...as are most afternoons that don't involve work.
OK, so my dog's a wee bit spoiled. We both sit up front and she navigates. Thank God for GPS because she can't read a map any better than my wife (Shotster, please keep this little jab to yourself :
: )
This has been a great Fall for me. Work is generally an all-consuming endeavor for me and I miss out on a lot of the hunting I enjoy. My first year here in California was a blur with no hunting or shooting at all. Even when I've got the time, it typically takes me a year or two to learn the local ropes. Then I posted on another forum and a member invited me to shoot some clays with him. Since then we've enjoyed a few memorable bird hunts. Make fun of Kalifornistan if you must, but these Napa Valley hunters know how to enjoy the hunt; wine, cheese, meats, and breads/crackers for lunch. Good fun.
I'm really looking forward to retirement next Summer after 28 years in the family business. It'll be time to get a grown-up job (20 hours a week or less) and do a heckuva lot more hunting. This is Rosie's first year really hunting (did one dove hunt in FL) and her training's been sorely neglected. Happily, her gene's have the right stuff and she's figuring it out on her own. I still need to get her to fetch reliably and come even when really cool birds/rabbits flee within sight...but I pretend she knows how to hunt and she pretends I know how to shoot.
