Hunting Pictures

2008 - 2009 4th Hunting Season Continues

Page 19

February 8^th

Murk-n-da Birds with Brian Landrum and Journey!

Met up with Brian Landrum and his Vizsla Journey today for another Snipe hunt this day.

With Blaze home injured, I had no dog to walk with me, so no action shots, but I did find I caught another Snipe in flight picture.

The wind was brutal and I am not sure if it hurt us or helped us. Birds flew past us using the wind to advantage. At times we could not swing the guns fast enough to get a bead on them. Yet at the same time some birds obviously did not want to fly as far into the wind and would drop back down. Others seems to hold better and flush in range. I think we both had limits at about the same time in around two hours of hunting.

Nice picture of Brian and his Dog.

First thing I did when I got home was lay on the floor with Blaze and take a long nap. I was exhausted. Big thank you to Brian and Journey. Enjoyed the company. Hope we can do it again soon.

February 11, 2009

To continue the week without Blaze page and since I could not use my dog, I though I might make it a challenge and hunt with an old single shot .410. It was my first shotgun. I traded $10 and a six pack of Lone Star Longnecks for it from a fellow Bullrider on my High School Rodeo Team. I killed many a rabbit with it on hunts done while skipping School.

Snipe Hunting like they did 100 years ago!

February 14, 2009

Last Snipe hunts without Blaze

Dave and I went after them again today. I took my Smith and Wesson this time. It has a fixed skeet choke, so I had to pass a lot of shots. Tough without my dog now. If not on the mud or in the water, the birds just disappear into the ground. Like Dove hunting we would have to take a mark and either retrieve the bird or drop a marker at the spot before raising the gun to another bird, no matter what second shot opportunity was presented.

What wonderful birds I love. They have such heart. Two of the birds I shot today came straight at me as if they would eventually stab me in the eye with their beak. All I could see is a growing silhouette of a head, bill down and the points of the shoulders. Wings not visible, folded in like a B1 Bomber. No lead needed, but I had to be super fast to blot the bird before it closed the distance. They are so fast in that position, they usually end up being faster; sending me off balance while I attempt to swing around for a going away shot.

February 15, 2009

Pictures from my last Snipe Hunt of the Season. Good friend Dave also on this hunt. He left his flashlight and sack at home so we had to use guns this time.

Look real close in the bottom left of this picture and you can see a Snipe landing. I was limited out in like 45 minutes and before Dave, so I stayed back and played around with the camera.

I somehow caught this Snipe on a fly-by picture. On this hunt I had a Snipe fly at me to fast for me to shoot it head on. It came so close to my right ear that I had to dodge it. I was too startled to turn and take the going away shot. I regret not thinking to raise the but of my gun and bat it out of the sky.

Dave again. I am sure he is a little warm in those waders. I wear hip boots myself.

A couple Teal upset with our bird hunting.

I just can't decide which of these I like best, so I am going to post them both. In the first picture I left in the background an old abandoned Decoy that was on the bank. The second one is kinda neat in that it shows the gold Snipe on the bottom of my shotgun.

Then I got this Idea for the picture. Not especially happy with my camera on this day, but being in the water and mud all the time and it did get wet and muddy a couple times; I don't dare take a better one for hunts li

And that's my last Snipe hunt. Short morning of shooting and back on the road by lunchtime. My shooting is never very consistent. Not sure why, but this day, was about the best I have shot all year. I certainly had some misses, but most of the successful shots on this hunt where long difficult ones. I was definately "in the zone" as they say. I hope it continues for next time. Hope y'all enjoy the pictures and another look into my kind of hunting.

Click Here for Page 20 with Blaze back in action

2008 - 2009 Hunting Season