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Pursuits of Fin, Feather and Conservation

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Instagram - tailfeathers_upland

Super proud of this little squirt today. The past three seasons we have played the game of “see who can flush the bird first” and she has won every time. Thats why an hour into her run today I just assumed she had stopped to take a pee in a dense patch of reed canary grass, when in fact, she was on point and holding beautifully. Looking on like a fool, I let a full minute pass before I realized she had not so much as blinked an eye. She then rolled an inquisitive eye at me, as if asking what on God’s green earth I was waiting for. Hustling into the grasses about fifteen feet in front of her, I stepped on this rooster, who quickly fell at the report of the CZ. I think Zeta even held steady to wing like an old pro. Another first - she was super excited to get to her downed bird. I would like to think our training time this past summer played a role in her performance today, but more likely, Zeta decided it was time to play the game like a big girl. Fingers crossed this is the beginning of a fine pointing dog and not just a one-off!

After six seasons of chukar-chasing with Finn, a bird finally fell for her. I’ve never seen chukar hold, never had a flush in gun range. That hasn’t changed, but as Finn worked our third covey of the morning, my friend Chas and I tried to split around them. As Finn pointed on the ridge spine, the birds squirted out beneath her to flush over Chas. A 200-foot fall landed the bird at the base of a large bitterbrush, which Finn located for us. Yet another species for this pup who has seen so much in our time on the Palouse and beyond. As of this hunt, she has put every bird species we have pursued in the bag. The last bird on our list is sage grouse, which will have to come soon!

Tools of the trade.

I wish every grouse hunter could encounter a covey of historic proportions, and by that I mean an actual covey of ruffs of ten or more birds that you’ve only read about in the books of grouse hunters past. Finn and I experienced a covey of 10-15 birds Sunday, climbing a semi-open slope thick with blackberry and rose. The birds were tucked into grasses between shrubbery and chirped in alarm as Finn halted to point. They flushed as I approached, and as the first bird fell, a second flush erupted, offering a second bird. One gray and one brown-the gray bird coming from this year’s hatch. I expected coveys of ruffs were a thing of the past, only to be read about in wingshooting literature. Experiencing the covey was worth the hunt, let alone having the good fortune of taking two birds. An unforgettable moment for she and I, no doubt.

Retirement from the puppy factory has not been going as planned for Kea. She has been battling autoimmune issues since late July. It began with her shedding all of her mucosal membranes from nose to gastrointestinal and presented with internal lesions and inflammation. That hurdle has mostly passed but she continues to have GI issues and now skin lesions. She lost weight and we are having a hard time feeding her enough to maintain weight currently, making it unlikely that she will see many hunts this year. I decided to take her to the @pheasantsforever258 youth hunt at Clyde Shooting Preserve this weekend. She hunted ok and had fun, and allowed a couple youth hunters some extra gunning. We might just have to go back in November for the Chapter’s membership appreciation hunt, but she will need to wear boots to keep her sensitive paw pads from becoming sore as they are today. Hopefully she can overcome this for a full season afield next fall at 11 years old. Thanks to @makaiwivlogs for running his Gordon alongside Kea. The two did well together!

The thing about dogs and home coveys is that the dog figures out the birds long before the birds catch on. When the gate opens, Yuba runs a routine among brush piles and sometimes disappears to be found on point by an old dozer. The hunts are short, the coveys are big, and the dog is just a little smug, loving every moment of it.

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Articles
Product Review: Ranger and Worker Vests by Hurtta
An Ounce of Prevention
Kudos
Contact
Pushing the Limits - Emphasizing the Hunt over Harvest and the Role of Social Media
Gear Reviews

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Join 16 other followers

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Instagram - tailfeathers_upland

Super proud of this little squirt today. The past three seasons we have played the game of “see who can flush the bird first” and she has won every time. Thats why an hour into her run today I just assumed she had stopped to take a pee in a dense patch of reed canary grass, when in fact, she was on point and holding beautifully. Looking on like a fool, I let a full minute pass before I realized she had not so much as blinked an eye. She then rolled an inquisitive eye at me, as if asking what on God’s green earth I was waiting for. Hustling into the grasses about fifteen feet in front of her, I stepped on this rooster, who quickly fell at the report of the CZ. I think Zeta even held steady to wing like an old pro. Another first - she was super excited to get to her downed bird. I would like to think our training time this past summer played a role in her performance today, but more likely, Zeta decided it was time to play the game like a big girl. Fingers crossed this is the beginning of a fine pointing dog and not just a one-off!

After six seasons of chukar-chasing with Finn, a bird finally fell for her. I’ve never seen chukar hold, never had a flush in gun range. That hasn’t changed, but as Finn worked our third covey of the morning, my friend Chas and I tried to split around them. As Finn pointed on the ridge spine, the birds squirted out beneath her to flush over Chas. A 200-foot fall landed the bird at the base of a large bitterbrush, which Finn located for us. Yet another species for this pup who has seen so much in our time on the Palouse and beyond. As of this hunt, she has put every bird species we have pursued in the bag. The last bird on our list is sage grouse, which will have to come soon!

Tools of the trade.

I wish every grouse hunter could encounter a covey of historic proportions, and by that I mean an actual covey of ruffs of ten or more birds that you’ve only read about in the books of grouse hunters past. Finn and I experienced a covey of 10-15 birds Sunday, climbing a semi-open slope thick with blackberry and rose. The birds were tucked into grasses between shrubbery and chirped in alarm as Finn halted to point. They flushed as I approached, and as the first bird fell, a second flush erupted, offering a second bird. One gray and one brown-the gray bird coming from this year’s hatch. I expected coveys of ruffs were a thing of the past, only to be read about in wingshooting literature. Experiencing the covey was worth the hunt, let alone having the good fortune of taking two birds. An unforgettable moment for she and I, no doubt.

Retirement from the puppy factory has not been going as planned for Kea. She has been battling autoimmune issues since late July. It began with her shedding all of her mucosal membranes from nose to gastrointestinal and presented with internal lesions and inflammation. That hurdle has mostly passed but she continues to have GI issues and now skin lesions. She lost weight and we are having a hard time feeding her enough to maintain weight currently, making it unlikely that she will see many hunts this year. I decided to take her to the @pheasantsforever258 youth hunt at Clyde Shooting Preserve this weekend. She hunted ok and had fun, and allowed a couple youth hunters some extra gunning. We might just have to go back in November for the Chapter’s membership appreciation hunt, but she will need to wear boots to keep her sensitive paw pads from becoming sore as they are today. Hopefully she can overcome this for a full season afield next fall at 11 years old. Thanks to @makaiwivlogs for running his Gordon alongside Kea. The two did well together!

The thing about dogs and home coveys is that the dog figures out the birds long before the birds catch on. When the gate opens, Yuba runs a routine among brush piles and sometimes disappears to be found on point by an old dozer. The hunts are short, the coveys are big, and the dog is just a little smug, loving every moment of it.

Search

Search for:

Top Posts & Pages

Articles
Product Review: Ranger and Worker Vests by Hurtta
An Ounce of Prevention
Kudos
Contact
Pushing the Limits - Emphasizing the Hunt over Harvest and the Role of Social Media
Gear Reviews

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