SD Hunt Report: Birds Galore, Part 2

Lynette and Charlie (and Kaycee) coming out of the Bone Draw (Dan Craven photo).

by Dan Craven

[This starts with a continuation of Dan and company’s Saturday hunt. If you missed it, part 1 is here.]

Farmers/ranchers out this way are moving towards “stripping headers” on their combines, which changes the game a bit in the agricultural fields. Strippers simply strip only the head off wheat or sorghum which leaves the vast majority of the plant still standing – ample cover for birds of all kinds.

The sorghum cover that remains is roughly 2 feet tall which offers no hard edges to push the pheasants towards. Grass in the draws simply leads to good cover in the harvested field. We’re finding that birds are simply running out of the draws (more often) and into the head-harvested wheat and sorghum. In other years we benefited from hard edges, supplied by the shorter cut on the combines. More challenge for the dogs this year….

The remainder of the day consists of two more short walks before we limit out on roosters right up by a feedlot in stands of kochia. My final shot of the day is while posting near the feedlot.

An old rooster passes high overhead and heads towards the farmstead. I lead the bird by roughly ten body lengths (at about 45 yards) and squeeze the trigger. The bird flies right into the string of #5s – I can hear the shot hitting the hard feathers. The rooster falls and bounces off round bales, dead as a doornail.

Tired dogs and tired people: We started at 10:00 a.m. and finished about 2:00. Good work for the dogs! I took a bunch of photos for the upcoming pheasant book today.

Sunday

10:00 a.m. – We’re going to hunt a small, quarter-mile-long draw that we haven’t hunted. We’re going to try to get Connor a bird here. These walks are tough for the shorter legs and body of a 10-year-old. But he might not have to walk as much here: The rancher said about 800 birds were in the adjacent milo field last week when he harvested it.

He and I walk into the wind as Charlie and Lynnette block the far end. In the first 50 yards, Lily is on point. A rooster busts out as we approach, and it swings Connor’s way. He doesn’t shoot – happened too quick for him.

Another point, another rooster which flushes at Connor’s feet. It wings past me and I drop it at 30 yards. Another comes out my way – another bird falls. While I retrieve it, Lily is on point again – Connor flushes it and misses a shot. He misses another one shortly thereafter and the walk is over – no dice but he had a blast on the walk. Fast action.

Two more deer and one mallard bust out of the kochia and small pothole right at the end of the walk. One of the deer is running fast and right at my boy until a last second change in angle takes him within 15 feet of a wide-eyed Connor.

One of dan's prairie chix (Dan Craven photo).

We walk the long draws through the milo where we started on Friday and experience more beautiful points by the dogs. I miss a nice rooster that Gus points, but shoot two prairie chickens on two separate points by Gus. Lynnette and Charlie get three nice roosters near a feedlot up by the ranch house. A productive short bird push.

Lily’s point of the trip comes on a large, grassy hillside as she senses some birds are running on her. She exhibits what dog owners call “blocking,” always a proud moment for any dog owner: Sensing a running bird she decides, instinctively, to do an end around and block the bird’s escape. As she cuts the bird off, it runs into her and freezes as she points/blocks its escape.

The dog is actually pointing back in the direction of the hunter (me) and the little rooster, flushes and is easily harvested. Small rooster aside, this was a proud moment for me.

About a third of the birds this year are very small and poorly feathered – a sure sign of failed early nesting and results of late June or July nesting success. The Dakotas flooded this spring, and with them millions of pheasant nests. As it dried out into summer, hens successfully re-nested and hunters all over the Dakotas are seeing these young birds. Better late than never.

2:30 p.m. – We decide enough is enough. The dogs are worn out – beat up, actually. We’re a couple birds short of our limits, but we’ve had plenty of action. The adult prairie chicken harvested earlier by me is as old a bird as I’ve ever seen. I should probably mount it.

We’ve got packing to do and want to end the trip with a nice evening with the family that has been kind enough to host us. More bird cleaning to do as well.

Heck of a trip. Dan, Connor, Lynette, and Gus and Lily. (Dan Craven photo)

Monday

We drive from Hayes up the west side of the Missouri River through Eagle Butte and Trail City (a ridiculous amount of birds in this area on the roadside!), through the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, and up to Mandan and Bismarck, ND where we get on I-94 heading east to Fargo. Then up MN Hwy #34 and right to our house in Walker, MN – 500 miles on the nose and safely home. A safe, successful trip was had by all.

I let Gus out at the house and he flushes two ruffed grouse about 20 yards behind our garage. Hmm. Maybe I better get the gun and take the dogs for a walk – after all, they’ve been in the car for 9 hours.

“Lynnette, would you hand me my double-barrel out of the truck there…?”

– End of part 2 of 2 –

Tags: Featured

Category: 2011-12 reports, Hunt reports, Pheasants, Prairie Chickens, SBH, SD