Tag soup for me

Anyone that has been hunting for a while knows these words well.  It's not the words any of us like to use, but the reality of it is...it happens.  Today is the end of the regular deer hunting season in south Idaho.  This isn't quite how I had it planned out three months ago, but as fate would have it one of the large wild fires that hit Idaho this year was burning in the area we were going to go hunting.  So our elk season got scrubbed, and I ended up having to explore new hunting areas down here in southern Idaho for deer.  It was a little frustrating at times, but the positive things that came out were that I had learned some new hunt areas and explored some beautiful country.

I found some nice rubs in one area but I couldn't find the culprit.

I found myself in a heard of elk with the bull bugling his head off within yards of me.  I glassed up a huge black bear boar that was roaming looking for his next meal.  I came across countless haunts that ruffed grouse called their home.  So even though I wasn't able to fill my tag I came out with a lot of useful information on the area.

Hunting season is far from over though.  My daughter still has a late season controlled hunt tag to fill, I have a doe tag for central Idaho to fill, and there is still plenty of bird hunting left to do.

Youth pheasant opener

The weekend before last was the youth pheasant opener.  I have permission on some property north of town that I have taken quite a few pheasants out of in the past.  We headed to this spot to see if Taylor could bag her first bird.  We covered quite a bit of ground and got some birds up but they were all out of range.  Without a good snow to hold them they were running for the hills.  The only shot that Taylor would have had on one was when we were almost back to the rig and she unloaded her gun.  I walked over to a lone sagebrush and a nice rooster gets up and flies dead away.  It was a fun hunt never the less and Taylor's first bird hunt with shotgun in hand.

Close encounters

Last weekend I had my first close encounter with a rattlesnake.  Literally my next step was right onto it.  Luckily it had started rattling, but that's not what I thought it was, I thought it sounded more like a couple dragonflies mating.  That kind of wrinkled paper sound of their wings.  I'm sure it was because it only had four rattles on it that it wasn't as loud as I would have thought it would have been.  The point is...it stopped me dead in my tracks, but I was looking in the air, not at my feet.  Luck was on my side though and I happened to look down right before I stepped and saw it coiled up with its head reared back, it was not happy.  I think the cold was also in my favor though and it was a little sluggish.  Kati was coming up by my side and I grabbed her collar and pulled her back.  She was upwind and didn't smell it or I'm sure she wouldn't have had anything to do with it.

No bird hunter is a fan of rattlesnakes.  They pose a serious threat to the hunter and the dog especially.  If you've never seen a dog that's been bitten by one just Google it.  It's not a pretty site.  I've heard that if they get bit on their feet they have a lot better chance of surviving then if they are bit on their chest or neck.

It wasn't a huge rattlesnake, but I'm sure it would have done plenty of damage if we wouldn't have gotten lucky and been made aware of it's presence.

If you've been reading this blog for a while then you know I've taken my gun dog through snake avoidance class a few times.  I was curious if she remembered her training so I let her have a smell.  I was glad she had not forgotten.

Another day in the hills

Fortune has favored me already as I have had two great back to back weekends of upland game hunting.  Not full bags of game, but there are far more rewards then just putting birds in your bag.  Those that have been there know that of which I speak.

First things first, we needed to get some boots on the pooch.  Her feet where mostly healed from the weekend before, but I think we've both learned our lesson...her feet are just not tough enough to hunt without boots in chukar country.  This is one instance that I am glad she is a submissive dog.  I've seen a few dogs that just fight and fight against anything they don't want to do, luckily.....that's not my dog.

It doesn't take too much equipment to the boots on.

I use Lewis Dog Boots.  These are the best boots I've used for my dog.  They come in vented for the warmer months, and non-vented for the winter.  Trust me, don't waste your time with other boots.

I have never, nor will I ever understand someones methodology behind shooting signs.  It's a national past time for signs in rural areas to have bullet holes in them.  It just is what it is.....stuff people do.

It was crazy warmer then it was the previous weekend.  There was no natural water available so I took 4 liters with me.....hoping that would be enough.  Chukar country was looking mighty inviting, and we were ready to head in.....

Not a hundred yards and we busted our first covey of chukars.  No joy for me though as my first shot was too far, and my next shot a few minutes later had too much delay.  What I mean by delay is that after we broke the covey up we caught up with a few strays, except they didn't want to fly, they wanted to run.  And Kati ran one of them straight into me.  Not five feet from me this chukar stopped and stared right at me for what seemed like minutes, but was of course seconds.  Such gorgeous birds!  Then it got up, and I had to wait till it got out there a ways, not quite like throwing up and shooting.  So I missed.  If only I would have known before the next five miles that this would be the only covey I would run into!

Shade was few and far between, brush in the dry creek bottom was about the only thing we could find to take a nice break in.

When we got back after our round trip I decided to investigate the area we busted the covey out of when we first came in.  Kati found one lonely chukar hiding out under a sagebrush.  I'm thinking it was the one that almost ran into me, as it flew in this general direction.  Not so far this time though.  This picture was taken at home by the way.  Believe me, no green out in the chukar hills!

One thing for certain that I learned on this day, I would have gladly taken 6 liters of water with me!  And that hill I climbed down when I left the car was a mountainous beast on the way back!  I was one happy camper to get back to the rig and dive into the cooler for my trusty friend!

Kati jumped in her kennel, sucked down some water, I put her kennel fan on her, and that wrapped up trip number two for this year.  The weather is finally cooling down here now, and that is good news for those that venture out into the grassy, rocky, sagebrush littered wasteland in search of the red deviled bird.