Business End

  

Cutter and I went back out to Clyde Park for some Huns and ran into this fella...they are nasty-looking creatures and can raise havoc on a dog. I've seen plenty of pups that have been whacked by porcupines and it's not pretty. Luckily, Cutter didn't get that close and didn't have to learn the lesson the hard way.

 

Huns are tough in the winter. The snow knocks down the grass so they can see you from a mile away. We busted one covey up about 75 yards out and watched them go down about a half mile away. We hiked back over to where they went down and the got up 75 yards away again; too far to shoot. They then landed across the boundary line and were off limits.

 

We walked for about another 2 miles before seeing another bird. They were huddled up at the top of a draw next to a grain field. Luckily, when they got up they turned to fly back down the coulee right past me and I was able to knock a couple down.

 

Cutter actually went out and picked up the birds too! He only brought them half-way back but he didn't freak out when the gun went off and now he knows what he's looking for. It's been a little tough finding those "ah ha" moments with him because I haven't been getting into a lot of upland birds but these last couple times out have been huge for his development. He does respond incredibly well to the whistle and regardless of how birdy he is or how fast he's breaking on something, he'll stop in is tracks when he hears the whistle and circles right back. He still flinches a little when tweedy-birds get up because I think he's anticipating the gun-shot but after yesterday, I think he'll start looking forward to retrieving birds at the shot instead of ducking.

 

On the way out I saw another covey feeding just off the edge of an irrigation ditch and was able to put the sneak on them. I peeked over the ditch and saw a couple heads bobbing up out of the snow. I waited for them to jump up and put the bead on one and pulled--it dropped. (The hardest thing, besides getting close enough to shoot Huns, is to actually pick out one bird and put a good shot on it. Usually the first shot I take is too quick and I either don't focus on one bird or I don't let them get out far enough so the pattern doesn't get a chance to expand.) I swung on another one and it dropped. I was a little surprised going two-for-two and since they were close when they got up I was able to shoot a third time and yep, it went down too. Triples don't come my way that often so that felt pretty good.

 

Keep 'em where they live...