I have been wanting to post this for a while. Better late than never….

Myself, Shane, Darrin, and our kids headed out for a fun Pheasant Opener. Thanks for coming along Gentlemen (and Ladies), I enjoyed the day. A day to remember for sure.

We rolled into our spot at about 7:30 the temperature reading on Shane’s truck read 26 degrees.

The kids were ready.

Not sure if Shane was.

First off we made our way through a field which in the “good ole days” would yield a limit of birds for 6 hunters in the first hour. I hoped we could at least find a couple of birds. Half way up the mile long stretch Cooper had retrieved a couple of Jack Rabbits for me, and Pointed a Two Point Buck from 10 yards. No real signs of Pheasants. Finally Shane flushed a hen. It was good to know that there was at least one bird around.

We hunted a good hour or more when Cooper went on point. I was excited as I worked towards him, finally I could see a Rooster laying low in the grass. I had all day to get ready. I worked in, flushed the bird, then proceeded to miss two shots at that bird. I am going to remember that miss for a long time. We had actually seen a Rooster! I hadn’t seen one on that property all year. A few minutes later Darrin and Hunter flushed another Rooster (and missed the shots). Shane and I worked through where that bird landed with no results. Darren and Hunter went through right after us and Darren was able to shoot the first Rooster of the day. I felt good because no matter what happened after that, we weren’t going to get skunked like I did last year.

A little while later Cooper went on a nice point again. Hootch came in a little tight and the bird flushed. I was a little ways back and I thought it was a hen Shane said it was a rooster so he and Haley went to chase that bird and see if they could get another chance at it. Hootch was able to point that bird two more times but that bird was a smart one and was able to sneak around them and flushed out of range again.

While they were trying to work in to that bird again, Camryn and I worked through another nice piece of cover. Cooper slammed into a nice point. I asked Camryn to watch closely and stay put while I went in for the flush. I flushed a nice rooster that cackled loudly as it took flight. Cooper held solid through the flush. I took aim and fired. This time I connected. From behind me I heard Camryn yell “woohoo” as she watched the bird hit the ground. Cooper made a nice retrieve to hand.

Camryn and the Rooster. She wasn’t too sure about holding that big ol’ bird.

It was a good day. Everyone got a bird or two. I look forward to the pheasant hunt every year. What a treat it was to share it with my daughter and some good friends.

I got up early on Saturday to make the 2.5 hour drive to my favorite spot. Camryn, my 6 year old had decided that she wanted to come along. After hitting the Wal Mart in Payson for some supplies we were running a little late. It was getting light and I could hear shots from the parking lot. We still had another hour to drive.

When we got near my spot, I noticed some turkeys (I really need to draw a tag for this area.). I would have put the stalk on for some better pictures, but I wanted to get hunting.

Then we pulled up to my spot. It is not on my Dad’s property, but I know who owns it. I have hunted that spot for the last few years on the opener. It is some cedar trees that are next to a retention pond that my Dad built for his irrigation system. Great spot for Doves. To my dismay, there were already three trucks there with about 8 hunters. I talked briefly to one of them. He said “We’ve been hunting this spot for 14 years.” – Yeah right. I left them alone and went to try some other spots.

Camryn and I ended up wandering around the trees on my Dad’s property. Exploring and taking pictures.

Finally I saw one dove in a tree. I was able to get close enough for a shot just as it took off. Spooner retrieved his first wild bird nicely. Not to hand, but I was glad that he would retrieve a dove.

Meanwhile I could hear those guys back at my spot. Shot after shot rang out. We didn’t see another bird. Camryn and I walked around a lot. She likes exploring as much as I do.

We hiked over to the spring that ends up as the irrigation water for my Dad’s place. It had been a long time since I hiked up to the source. Camryn hadn’t been there yet and I thought it would be fun for her.

This is where it comes out of the ground. There is a muddy area just above it. I could see that it had been used recently as an Elk wallow.

Camryn and Spooner above the Spring.

On the way back down from the spring, Camryn said she saw an animal. She wasn’t sure what it was but it was grey and it looked like a wolf or “woof” as she called it only smaller. I missed it, but I guess she must have seen her first coyote.

By this time it was only about noon. We headed into town for some lunch, and explored the Territorial Capitol in Fillmore. Camryn was still having a good time with “her old man”. I can’t believe she already calls me that. We headed back out and found my spot empty. We took a short nap under a tree. Then took a look at the watch. It was only 3pm. I figured we could wait around till dark for another chance at birds. Camryn wanted to head home. Reluctantly I gave in.

About half way home I called Caleb to see how his hunt was going out in the west desert. He said there was plenty of birds and that I should come out.

You want to do what?

Caleb gave me his GPS coordinates and we changed course. We arrived to meet Caleb and Tyson with about 2 hours of daylight left. Plenty of time to exchange stories about the days events. Tyson had shot his first 3 doves that morning. Caleb had a few in the bag too.

Just as the sun began to set, the birds started coming into the watering hole Caleb had picked out. Caleb and Tyson put a couple more in the bag. I missed some easy shots. Camryn was a trooper and hung out with the boys despite being tired.

I have shot training birds over Spooner several times. He never showed any signs of being gunshy. The thought never entered my mind to worry about him. After the second or third round of 3 of us blasting our shoguns at the same time, Spooner took off back to the Jeep. He glued himself to a tire under the rig. I am very sad and concerned about this. I plan to go back to square one introducing gunfire. I hope there wasn’t permanant damage done.

We left at dark and I hurried out of there. My wife wasn’t too happy about the side trip on the way home, so I tried to hurry. We got home around 9:30pm. It was a long day. 500 miles round trip for one dove. But you know what….

….. It’s not always about the birds.

Looks like it should be a good year for Doves. I have been seeing them everywhere. Hopefully we’ll get a few. Just a couple more weeks.

Here’s a picture of Cooper doing his best Gene Simmons impression after retrieving a dove on a previous hunt.

A very nice example of a Sage Grouse struttin’ his stuff. The hunt is getting closer.

SageGrouseHoDaddy, originally uploaded by Steven Ford /snowbasinbumps.

I snapped this picture in the yard this afternoon. The California Quail, or Valley Quail as it is also known.

Today I had the great opportunity came up to help with Sage Grouse Counts. What a great time all in the name of research. These counts are done in areas not currently opened to Sage Grouse Hunting within the state of Utah. Efforts are being made to increase the populations. We were under the direction of a biologist and this was a project being worked on by Utah State University. Hopefully through these efforts, Sage Grouse hunting will be expanded to other areas of our State in the coming years.

My alarm went of at 2:30 this morning. Wow that was early. My adventurous 7 year old daughter Camryn agreed to come along with me. We were loaded up with all three dogs and on the road by 3:30. We made good time and were at the rendezvous point at sunrise.

We were led out to the areas we were to work through. And we got started.

Camryn was a trooper. She walked….

…and walked.

The dogs did great. It was hot. We took lots of breaks and had plenty of water. Any shady spot will do…

The highlight of the day was when we did find some birds. Cooper was out 100 yards running with the wind. He hit scent and spun an instant 180. Locked up solid. It was a beautiful sight to behold. I got about half way to him and the birds flushed wild. Cooper held solid through the flush. And he stayed there till I released him. 7 Sage Grouse. That was our count for the day. I kept holding the camera to get “just a bit closer”. Missed the shot. Still that little bit of great bird work made the whole trip worthwhile.

We traveled through hostile territory on the way out.

It was a lonely ride home.