BrentD
Well-known member
It may be 2022, but this is officially the close of the 2021 season for me and Gus. Following anti-hotspotting rules, I can only say I was somewhere in The Middle; North of Mexico and South of Canada in a state that still had a bird hunting season until the most recent sunset.
Anyway, it was a great hunt, with few shots taken, very few birds killed, but a lot of good times.
Gus and me were hunting with a friend and his two young Griffons (5 and 2 yrs old). We met a third, dogless guy for the last two days. When we started, he asks me, "Do you like hunting with goldens?" I was sort of dumbstruck, so I muttered, "Well, yeah". He says, "I've never heard of anyone hunting with a golden before". I really did not know respond to that. Anyway, on the last day, we started with just Gus and the three of us make a really long loop of several miles in order to hunt back to the truck. I shot the prairie chicken, and Gus was hunting strong, so I was feeling really good. When we were nearly back to the trucks, Gus was quartering back and forth in front of us when he spun and locked down in front of the guy who had questioned hunting with goldens. He was quite a ways from me. I hollered "He is on POINT! Shoot that BIRD!" and a rooster got up (I was expecting a chicken). He managed to knock it down, and Gus made short work of its attempted escape on foot. If I was happy from getting my first prairie chicken, I was absolutely ecstatic that Gus put a bird up for him that he did not miss and then tracked it down and tackled it. Maybe goldens are hunting dogs after all. It was a fine finish to the season, and I managed to come home with pheasant, quail, and that handsome, precious prairie chicken. It was perfect.
It was big country with big landscapes that are really different than my usual hunting (also somewhere north of Mexico). They are hard landscapes for me to photo and make them look as impressive as they are when you are immersed in them, miles from the road.
Dry country that took its toll on many people. Buildings like this were the rule, rather than the exception.
In a land without rocks, sometimes roadway banks are cut vertically to minimize erosion. Sort of weird to me.
As a mouse hunter by profession, I found this roadkill to be pretty interesting. It's a kangaroo rat. I am not 100% certain of the species at the moment, but they are all awesomely fascinating creatures.
A really, really nice @#)(# bird, my first. I seriously considered mounting him, but mounting critters really is not my style. Gus was pretty happy with him too. Lots of vintage in this photo. One is 64 yrs, 2 mo and 23 days, another is 12 yrs, 6 mo, and 25 days, and the gun is 118 yrs, and a handful of months and days that I am too lazy to look up right now. But if it's important, let me know and I'll figure it out
I was using my Greener for most of this trip. Beautifully restocked to be almost exactly like the original after I badly broke the original in a fall a couple of years ago.
Gus getting some appropriate "dog hardening" at a small town motel.
And now we wait and count the days until the first birds of 2022.
Anyway, it was a great hunt, with few shots taken, very few birds killed, but a lot of good times.
Gus and me were hunting with a friend and his two young Griffons (5 and 2 yrs old). We met a third, dogless guy for the last two days. When we started, he asks me, "Do you like hunting with goldens?" I was sort of dumbstruck, so I muttered, "Well, yeah". He says, "I've never heard of anyone hunting with a golden before". I really did not know respond to that. Anyway, on the last day, we started with just Gus and the three of us make a really long loop of several miles in order to hunt back to the truck. I shot the prairie chicken, and Gus was hunting strong, so I was feeling really good. When we were nearly back to the trucks, Gus was quartering back and forth in front of us when he spun and locked down in front of the guy who had questioned hunting with goldens. He was quite a ways from me. I hollered "He is on POINT! Shoot that BIRD!" and a rooster got up (I was expecting a chicken). He managed to knock it down, and Gus made short work of its attempted escape on foot. If I was happy from getting my first prairie chicken, I was absolutely ecstatic that Gus put a bird up for him that he did not miss and then tracked it down and tackled it. Maybe goldens are hunting dogs after all. It was a fine finish to the season, and I managed to come home with pheasant, quail, and that handsome, precious prairie chicken. It was perfect.
It was big country with big landscapes that are really different than my usual hunting (also somewhere north of Mexico). They are hard landscapes for me to photo and make them look as impressive as they are when you are immersed in them, miles from the road.
Dry country that took its toll on many people. Buildings like this were the rule, rather than the exception.
In a land without rocks, sometimes roadway banks are cut vertically to minimize erosion. Sort of weird to me.
As a mouse hunter by profession, I found this roadkill to be pretty interesting. It's a kangaroo rat. I am not 100% certain of the species at the moment, but they are all awesomely fascinating creatures.
A really, really nice @#)(# bird, my first. I seriously considered mounting him, but mounting critters really is not my style. Gus was pretty happy with him too. Lots of vintage in this photo. One is 64 yrs, 2 mo and 23 days, another is 12 yrs, 6 mo, and 25 days, and the gun is 118 yrs, and a handful of months and days that I am too lazy to look up right now. But if it's important, let me know and I'll figure it out
I was using my Greener for most of this trip. Beautifully restocked to be almost exactly like the original after I badly broke the original in a fall a couple of years ago.
Gus getting some appropriate "dog hardening" at a small town motel.
And now we wait and count the days until the first birds of 2022.
) still going strong.
