This was my third year heading back to NW South Dakota to hunt on the 2500 acre ranch of some friends I was able to make in my first trip out there and it just keeps getting better. I asked my younger cousins Carl and Jesse if they cared to join me for a wild pheasant hunt and I could tell they were pretty stoked about the trip, my only concern was that after three hard winters out there the bird numbers would really be down, I did my homework and spoke with the Rancher and the game warden in that area and they both assured me the population held pretty steady, I told the guys nothing was a guarantee, but lets go give it a try. The 12 hour drive is a little rough, but knowing wild roosters are waiting certainly helps, the first morning we arrived we were greeted with roosters and partridge walking along the ditches all over not 20 minutes into the hunt Honey flushed her first rooster and Jesse quickly dispatched of it, Honey really only retrieves down birds to me for some reason she will run right by other people to always bring me the bird, so as she is dropping it at my feet, Dustin is calling Jesse to talk about my buck that they just found back in Wisconsin, Jesse found out the hard way wild birds don’t tolerate much and he watched about 40 birds flush up in front of him while he tried dropping his cell phone and picking up his shotgun, it didn’t take us too long after that mishap to limit out on roosters with some partridge and quail mixed in as well, I was most ecstatic to see my yellow lab actually stopping and “pointing” birds that’s quite unheard of for flushing breeds and at 8 years old to pick up that trick must mean you cannot teach old dogs new tricks, they will just learn them on their own; she really amazed us for the 2 days we were out there watching her body language helped us prepare for flushing birds and watching her scent trail running roosters for a hundred yards or better was bittersweet for me, I raised her from a pup she is my pride and joy and her hunting seasons are coming to an end in the next few years I keep wondering if I will even have the drive to hunt ducks or pheasants anymore when my hunting companion can’t join me she was the first hunting dog I ever raised and I bet if I have twenty more none of them measure up to her she is that special, the best part is she was a $250 puppy from some random old man that lives near a pheasant club in Waupun, some people trying to end up with a rare pointing lab have them flown in from England and spend $2,000 on a puppy or buy from the best bloodlines I took a chance and bought from a cheap purebred litter with no field champion pedigrees and went against my uncle’s advice to NOT buy the cutest dog in the litter, her red fox shade caught my attention and her boldness when she came running up to me right away in front of all her littermates, I should have known right there she was destined for good things. I was just happy to be able to pass on the good memories and love for a flushing rooster with my little cousins they enjoyed shooting the birds and watching Honey work and I enjoyed sitting back and watching it all take place, besides it didn’t take me long to realize they were much quicker to the trigger on a flushing rooster than their old cousin was after about the fifth rooster that Honey flushed in front of me that Jesse blasted out of the sky as I was easing the safety off on my gun I gave up, I sat back with the camera and took some pictures at the end of the last day and as luck would have it Carl came running out of the grass looking a little shocked only to tell me he saw a skunk and Honey wasn’t as scared as him…Great! Skunkey, smelley dog to ride home with. All in all we limited on roosters both days combined with some partridge and grouse and even blasted a few prairie dogs and a rattle snake the last day, I could not be more thankful for Todd and Anna my friends in Bison, SD for their hospitality, I have said it once and I will say it again: nicest people in the world live out there.
Here’s to many more memories and hunts to come, Cheers!
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