2005 - 2006 First year of hunting

Page 3

November 29, 2005

Snipe Hunting

Catching a Cripple

Tried some different things on the snipe. Impossible to use Blaze to point them. Hunting open lakeshore and flats on a large lake. 
They flush either just in range or just out of range. They never seem to know where they are going and then change their mind once they figure it out and they fly like rockets. Woodcocks on jet fuel. I dare not say the ratio number of shells per bird taken. We 
boated to spots I know and likely spots with that sandy loamy shoreline snipe like. Then just walked the shore. I kept Blaze heeled 
as we walked. Then just sent her to fetch when I took a bird. Usually they fall in the water. Like woodcock some missed birds would 
fly a ways and land again. Often in high grass or bushes. Those times I would go to the area and send Blaze in to flush the bird. 
She would be out of my site and the bird would shoot out fast. 

I tried a couple of neat things that actually worked. On one bend or small cove that I knew held several snipe I "stayed" Blaze on the point of the cove. I went behind the brush line and worked my way to the opposite point. Blaze is trained to drop whatever she is doing and come to me if I do rapid blows on a whistle. Well, I took a knee on that opposite point and blew the whistle. She drove every snipe in the cove right to me. They were flying 100 miles and hour, but I did take a one shot double with that. 

Another thing I did and I don't know if it was really why the bird held so long,  but I got an idea with a particular bird we had been jumping back and forth across a big flat and out of range each time. Just out  of the range that I knew the bird would flush I "stayed" Blaze. I backed up and went around to the bird from a different angle with  the idea that the bird would be more concerned watching the dog than me. I actually got pretty close to that bird before it flushed  and I easily dropped it.

December 10, 2005

More Duck Hunting

Did an open water boat hunt December 9th and 10th. Found out I did not need the dog ramp I bought for the boat. Blaze just climbs or leaps out wherever and prefers to climb back in at the transom like a monkey. Last two days she has retrieved Mallards, Gadwall, 
Buffleheads, Shovelers, and a Hooded Merganser. It did take a lot of coaxing with promise of a beef jerky reward for her to 
retrieve the Merganser. You could almost hear her say "Yuck!" when she dropped it half way back from the first swim out. Did not get any boat hunting pictures. It was wet and muddy and pictures would be difficult with the blind up anyway. We did end the day 
by getting out of the boat for a stalk across a rise to a river channel. Jump shot a Shoveler. I did get a picture of her with that. 

Though you can't see it in the picture, Blaze had to break ice on this morning.

All this hunting is really getting her hard and muscled.  Already getting that hardened been there done that look at 15 months old

January, 7, 2006

Weston's First Hunt

Took Weston on a walking hunt along some nearby hunting areas. His first real hunt at 8 years old, but we never found any game. Rabbit hunting along a creek first and then ended with a snipe hunt on the lake. We did not kill anything which actually was part of 
the plan. Did have a moment where Blaze thought she was a coon hound and ran off in chase. Had us worried, but from what I heard in the distance I think she gave up when the coon decided to make a stand. Blaze had cornered a raccoon in the back yard once. I guess she remembered that. Should not be much of a problem normally, it is just that at that time with the drought I was seeing a lot of raccoons and possums out mid day. Had a good time. For Weston I had to pack out a large turtle shell, raccoon skull, clam shells, and porcupine eggs (cockleburs), so we definitely did not come home empty 

February 10, 2006

First Quail Hunt and a Squirrel

My Deer lease near Graham had no quail five years ago and before. Last couple of years we had one or two coveys that we would run across during deer season that surprised us. Oddly enough this year with the drought things changed. We had the only live creek for miles, which too has dried up, but has several water holes along it. Hot, dry, windy weather on her first quail hunt, but she found 4 separate covies that morning at my hunting lease. It was a dry windy day so we did much better than I could have hoped. I stopped in the Feed Store I use in Graham and the word is my dog was doing no worse than guys with top dogs in the area on good leases. I did not chase the singles that first morning. Instead I spread some chicken scratch at the spots Blaze found the Quail. Late that afternoon we found three of the coveys again at the baited locations. She did her part, but my shooting...... well needs some improvement. Been leading too many ducks lately I guess.

Blaze was unable to find more than two covies of Quail a day on return trips to the lease. We did have some rain since that first hunt and those first covies were all related to water, so I feel like earlier our lease may have drawn some covies from adjacent land that had to move for water. 

Blaze did find her a Squirrel. With intent of being a versatile true to her roots dog, I encourage this. Not to mention me being an ex houndsman, it is only natural that I train Blaze to tree Squirrels. I actually had done some tree training before this hunt. .Blaze treed the squirrel in a tall tree before being dispatched to meet it's maker. 

 I staged this picture later teasing Blaze with the squirrel.

Well, she showed me, she just climbed the tree and got it. 

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2005 - 2006 Hunting Season

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