Photos from our last day of the trip.
We hunted a large grassy, waterway slough system that ran 1.5 miles laying between a sunflower field on one side and oat stubble planted back to wheat on the other. Dog went on point in the heavy cover, I went ahead to flush and a couple of hens went up close and then a Rooster snuck out low going straight away further out. I fired once and the rooster flew on a short distance and then pitched down into the thick waist tall cover. Spud ran immediately to the mark and began hunting for the Rooster. I saw it flap up a couple of times and then out came Spud running with the Rooster (which of course had lost its tail in the melee). Bird one in the bag.
Hunted on and then up a side waterway which ran up to the edge of the sunflower field. There is a pond there ringed by heavy tall cattail cover. Spud went on point in the cattails and I waded in to flush. A rooster went up in gimme range and my brain registered "don't blow it up". I over compensated and when I shot I hit the rooster with the fringe of my pattern, dropping into the 5 foot tall cattails still alive. Spud released to the fall and began rattling around in the cattails. Wasn't too long and he came out carrying the second live cripple recovery of the day.
We hunted on looking for a 3rd rooster. Spud went on point in a large thick patch of Kochia weeds. I waded ahead to flush. Nothing flushed, Spud remained on point. I continued my attempts with a growing fear it might be a porcupine. I was just about ready to back out and call Spud out when a big gaudy rooster busted up out of the weeds. Rolled that one.
Great dog work after the shot gave us a 3 shell limit of what could have just as easily been two lost birds and one in the bag. It is why I place so much emphasis of my dogs' early development on performance after the shot, as well as before.
