Back From Bird Camp

The dogs and I got home from the camp last night, all of us tired and worn out. This trip was with a few friends of mine, where they took turns gunning (two at a time) while I handled the dogs. We had done this last year and they loved it so much they came back for more.

The birds were very hard to come by, as they have been all season. We were hitting some of the best looking coverts we'd ever seen only to find them bare. Chunk saved the day for us on the first day though when in the last covert we hunted, he had seven woodcock and two partridge finds. The setters found a few earlier in the day, but really had to work hard doing it, as we all did. That was the only day I believe, that we had a double digit flush rate.

The story for me though this trip was all about Chunk. He is really developing into quite the gun dog, boldly hitting coverts and covering them completely. He seems to have figured out that we are a team, both working toward a common goal. He displays an intuition I have not experienced before in a dog, where he seems to know what I want him to do and then does it before I tell him. He is just so darned fun to hunt with.

As usual, the food was great and the beverages plentiful. The guys really out did themselves with the meals they prepared. Only in a hunting camp can you spend all day covering several miles and still gain weight.

There is still plenty of season still to go. I love it.

First Day Afield

Beautiful Fall day in the woods today. Perfect temps, clear blue sky and the foliage just starting it's annual display. I ran Gunner first today and it wasn't long until his bell went silent. I moved up on his point, gun at the ready when a song bird flushed from some bushes in front of him. I lowered the gun as I explained to him that this wasn't what we were after and I could have sworn he gave me a look that said "only kidding". I cast him off again and he seemed to be taking things a little more seriously. He runs with a sense of joy, just loving being in the woods and sometimes I think he might be missing birds because he isn't paying attention. I can't fault him though because I am often guilty of the same thing. However, today he didn't miss a thing and it wasn't long before he locked up tight on a woodcock point. He held nice and steady and I couldn't have asked for better manners on a bird. Just to prove it wasn't a fluke he repeated the performance a little while later. Next up was Gally. She is the complete opposite of Gunner. She is all business right from the git go, with no lack of motion and none of it wasted. You know when she hits the ground that it's time to kick things up a gear. She stays within a comfortable range but when she considers an area covered, it's covered and time to move on. No pottering around with this girl. She had a couple of nice woodcock finds and one relocate on a running bird that she handled beautifully. I couldn't help but marvel at how far these Setters have come. It seems like only yesterday they were busting birds and chasing them over the hills to parts unknown. I could not be more pleased with how these dogs have turned out. Last but not least, it was Chunk's turn. This season I'm not actually hunting Chunk per se as we have begun the steadying process with him in preparation for next year's Hunt Tests and Field Trials. So being without someone to gun for us, the two of us headed out with only some water and a whistle. He handled very well, hit the coverts with enthusiasm and was just a delight to watch. Unfortunately we didn't find any birds but I did give him some remote hups which he accomplished admirable. I heeled him back toward the truck and on our way back I hupped him as another truck was approaching. The husband and wife who had also been hunting stopped to see (as they put it) if I was the one making all the racket over here. We laughed as I admitted that indeed I was the guilty party. We talked about their dogs, my dogs, the area in general and the beautiful day. They were suitably impressed that the entire time we talked, Chunk continued to stay hupped without reminder, while I tried to not look too overly proud. So that's the report on Day 1 afield for us. Tomorrow we'll head to the camp and see what's doing up there and maybe kick around a bird or two.