Started with a Deer hunting day. I had one last chance at the big buck in the area, but he eluded me again. Hopefully he is still around. Should have a monster rack next year. Dove were everywhere that last day of General Gun Deer Season. While we were hunting Deer that is.



But it is like the Dove know. Late the next morning I met with Steve Heath after we gave up at our stands waiting on does. It was overcast and still. The Dove mostly did not return. What did return were Cows and lots of them. We had been mostly without Cows for a couple years and never this many. We found out from the Rancher it is why there is no wheat in that field pictured. And he informed us there will be no wheat next year either.





It took some walking but some Dove were shot in the Creek Bottoms of all places. All I can figure is the Dove were on the creek looking
for any water they could find. Everything was frozen all day.



We had some fun pattern testing our loads on the ice. Dove loads would not break it.



Steve had to head home, but I stayed for one more day. I had some lease maintenance to do and wanted another chance at the dove.
Started with a great frosty sunrise.



For this hunt I broke out a personal favorite, the old Smith & Wesson. A much better day with the sun out and a little warmer.
Dove did fall.



I even broke out the old Swiss Army Bike!
Well, not really Swiss Army, but that is what I like to call it.



Pointing instict kicking in on a cripple

There had been reports of Cranes on our back field even though it was never planted in wheat so I carried some appropriate shells
in my pocket just in case. I did have a low fly-by. I hit one, heard the shot hit, knocked it out of formation, and a couple wing feathers fell. That Crane just dipped a little and pulled right back into formation. Tough birds. I need to go back with the decoys and 10 GA before season is over.

Crane Tracks in the field.



Some of that lease maintence was to put the fish feeder back up. Because of the wood ducks I take it down before hunting season.



And the Game Camera retrieved. Pigs in the Snow.



Because of a breakdown with my Truck, this was my last Dove hunt of the season.

This is not my girl Blaze. We have a Vizsla that stays with us at the Firehouse that belongs to David Burns. Here are a couple pics of Lacy. She is a running dog, not a hunter but I am certain she could be hunted over.

I got out before the last storms to chase Snipe. Even before the rains there was too much water for the field I was on. But eventually I found a couple of promising areas. Note the holes in the mud left from feeding Snipe.



Due to there being few birds I used Blaze as a flushing dog to cover more ground. She got an A+ in that department. She hunted hard, stayed close, and used her nose well to find birds despite then not wanting to hold for her. But those birds must have had a bad taste. Though she found and retrieved all birds, you could tell she did not want to.



I got 5 out of 7 birds I shot at and I would easily say the two I missed were out of range. I was using a skeet choke and 8 1/2 spreader loads making quick shots on the ones I did kill.



Now the bad. The place I was hunting was under 3 foot of water from rains over that night. And another public area I was going to hunt was flooded even worse. It is in fact closed due to the River flooding it.

So Mother Nature has won out on this season for Snipe. None of my Snipe hunting grounds recovered in 2010. Lots of fun while it lasted.