First upland hunt of the year. Today we were exploring places we have never been. That is a favorite way to roll for me. Moon is the young dog. He is in his second season. He just turned two and I like the way he runs. He got the first drop of the day. I put him on the ground in a big piece of native prairie. First two points were separate hens. He stayed with it and got on another bird that was running. He stuck with it for about 3/4 of a mile till he got him in some switch grass and got the rooster to sit. I was able to roll him on the flush when I got there with the twenty and Moon is on the board with a big pretty long spurred [censored].

Next drop was Cricket. At 7 years old he is seasoned and a pleasure to walk behind. Moon hunts all the cover. Cricket reads the cover and drifts from high percentage to high percentage cover. As luck would have it, Crickets first two points were both big pretty long tailed roosters and we were done. The days where everything comes together it seems easy.

Makes me miss that country terribly. Great pictures. Well done.

Thanks for the report!

I am jealous. What state are you in?

Nice! Taking my PP to SD in a month, can't wait.

Still exploring with the dogs. I should take more pictures but I seldom do. Moon, the 2 year old is in his second season. He opens up and goes big in big country. Moon is getting a lot of birds pointed for me. He still makes some young young dog mistakes handling runners but he is coming on. I like him. I have shot Pheasant, sharpies, and Huns off his points this week. This is his first sharp tail grouse this year.

Cricket is level headed when he gets on a runner. He seems to read the cover and know just how much pressure he can put on a runner. We were down in a big coulee out of the wind. Cricket pointed this bird 8 times, with the bird repeatedly running out from under his points, and Cricket keeping the wind on him and relocating on his own. The show covered about a 1/2 mile before he got the wily long spurred veteran to hold. I never tire of watching that dance between the dog and the bird. I was able to grass the bird on the flush with the twenty. When Cricket delivered this long spurred rooster to hand, I was struck by the beauty of God’s handiwork on this bird. I am blessed.

Damn Im jelly smokey, I’m sitting out Pheasant season this year since my hound torn his other ACL.

You’re living the dream! Glad the pup is working out. Nothing better than seeing all of the work pay off. Enjoy it!

I have some dogs that would love to be there.

The young one showed out this morning.

SWEET!

Great picture.

Pheasant in the field yesterday evening!

Hunted grouse today. Shot a limit and picked up an out of place rooster.

What a trip !! Thanks for the pictures

Not sure where you’re hunting but looks awesome. Getting me excited to hit South Dakota this weekend.

You should get some nice cool weather! No particular location for us. My longtime hunting buddy and I are freelancing in multiple states. Bouncing around with four dogs exploring remote places we have never been. We plan to stay another week.

This picture is low quality but this what a fun day. My longtime hunting buddy runs GSP’s. One of the dogs he has along is a very nice 8 month old pup. My buddy knocked down his pups first Hun out of a covey it had pointed. Huns are runners. They are often in low diffuse cover where see the dog coming. Hence they dog needs to point first scent from distance. They have a penchant for flushing long so you need to be gassed up and ready to go when you walk in on them. Great game birds and a talented young pup that is fun to watch.
Moon got is a pile of pheasants in a big tall grass prairie. His first point was a late hatch rooster with its plumage just starting to change. Moon relocated 3 times before it held. Clucking on the flush gave him away. About 400 yards further Moon locked up again. When I got there he was corkscrewed low and tight. On the flush pheasant went every which way. I was right amongst them and was lucky enough to scratch a couple.
To top it all off my hunting buddy made a Pheasant Alfredo to die for. A good hunting buddy is something to treasure.

On my way home now Bobo. We had a good time. Sorry to hear your bird dog is nicked up. That is no good. Hope the ol’ boy makes a full recovery.

Safe travels and hope y’all are getting into them sir. Most of South Dakota got socked with a pretty good snow storm. A good bit of Nebraska was catching it too. The plows were out but some long stretches of highway were treacherous.

Yep.. got to the lodge after a two hour drive through the snow and ice. Was a bit dicey at times and made for some nippy walks the next day or two. But found plenty of birds and had a great time Pic's posted in the photo section.

Great thread ! Best of luck.

Never a boring day with pheasants in South Dakota. My Labs are jealous, and giving me the stink eye.
Craving some Pheasant Pot Pie myself. Always welcome the encouragement. Thanks for sharing the fun.

Great post! Thanks for sharing.