Feb. 16 Hunting
A couple of weeks ago I reported that with the bird season
over until Spring Turkey season, it was
time to dust off the tying vices, patch your leaky waders, and go test your new
Christmas fly rod on the river. The only
hunting left was for bunnies. Most of
you probably don’t want your prized pointers running rabbits. Your dogs are probably bored and feeling
jilted and wondering why they don’t get another day in the field.
Just to remind you, there are a couple of local bird options
still open. Preserve hunts may not be every
hunter’s cup of tea, but after doing two different preserve hunts with my
Griffons last week, my thoughts are that they do fill a void and serve a
purpose. O.K. you have not hiked a
thousand feet up a rocky sage covered mountain to a covey of chukar and a
creeping dog to kill only the laggard bird while the rest of the covey flies
across an impossible canyon leaving you with the decision as to continue up the
ridge or chase the covey down and then back up again. You do get to dig into your wallet and write
a check for the released pheasants and the privilege of walking the farmer’s
fields. Defray the cost and share it
with a couple of friends or, if you are feeling flush, treat a hunter in
need. There is also the possibility that
you will encounter birds that have been in the field for a while and have
learned the ropes. The canned hunt is
not as easy as it sounds. They really
are not faux pheasant. They run, most
fly very well and far, best of all they must smell really good because the dogs
love to find them! My young Griffon,
Tucker, had three knock dead points in a ditch row running through corn stubble
in a few inches of snow last week. I was
on top of every point and could not see the bird. The flushes were great, Tucker was rewarded,
and I decided to keep my wild dog after all.
The next day Tucker’s dad, Max, locked up in a wheat field with a big
wind in his nose. He crept about thirty
feet, but locked several more times. Max
finally stopped the bird while my hunting partner closed from about eighty
yards and made a fine shot in the blustery wind. The old dog was pretty proud and trotted by
his son, Tucker, head high, as if to say, “That’s how it’s done kid.” Hey, you make them work for miles over
barren ground some days. Give your dog a
treat. Susanne calls it an Easter egg
hunt for the puppies. It is a bit more
than that, but you know there will be something out there, go find it!
If you are interested in a guided bird hunt or if you just
want to do it yourself give us a call at the shop and we will help set you
up. 208-726-1706.
The Ca Bull Elk Ranch has some great birds. They fly very well. They also have some exotic black pheasant,
and are big birds. They would like some
of you to join them at their new property at the end of Burmah Road. Gail and Cal are in the process of moving
their birds and elk to their new ranch and would like to have you help ease
that burden.
Jeff and Julie Ward’s Seven Mile Ranch in Shoshone has some
of the best pheasant covers you can imagine.
He has two hundred pheasant left before the preserve season ends April
15. Flushing dogs are great for the
willow covers and pointers in his habitat fields of 16 inch tall wheat.
Oh, and another plus, the birds are tasty and tender. I can provide recipes.
Don’t wait until next year.
It is just too far away for both you and your dogs.
Keep the wind in their
noses and the sun at your back,
Scott Schnebly/Lost River Outfitters
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