Fun in the wilds

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DGFavor
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Fun in the wilds

Post by DGFavor » Fri Jan 05, 2007 12:33 am

Good week of hunting...and hunting...and hunting. We managed to find a few birds here and there but definitely not like it has been. It was darn frozen and slick out whether on horse or foot but we all managed to safely enjoy ourselves. The dogs are tired, the horses more so. Wish you coulda been there... :wink: Some highlights - sorry dial ups!

Around the corner it was a nailbiter but that's where the birds were:
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Some typical chukar country:
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Where chukars go to live in peace:
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Ridge riders - following a brace of dogs:
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It was him or me:
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Big Juan - nice, previously healthy chukar:
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No doubts!:
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Birds down, waiting for the OK:
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Yawallac
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Post by Yawallac » Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:56 am

Wow! Great pictures. The colors in that quail pic are incredible. Those birds are beautiful!

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Maverick
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Post by Maverick » Fri Jan 05, 2007 5:51 am

Great pictures again!!! Congrats on a successful hunt.

Mav....

rds7015

Post by rds7015 » Fri Jan 05, 2007 5:22 pm

Was looking at your pictures and suddely got sick. It was really bad. I looked close and still made me sicker. I was not out hunting with you.

I be it was great fun.
Jim S

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glk7243
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Post by glk7243 » Sat Jan 06, 2007 9:22 am

Nice pics Doug.
What is that funny colored shorthair with the long tail?
Gary

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Post by Wagonmaster » Sat Jan 06, 2007 11:27 am

What I want to know, Doug, is how do you eat all this stuff? What recipes? (We are into the not hunting and eating part of the year here, this weekend is the close of the season in ND and MN has been closed for a couple of weeks.)

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Post by DGFavor » Sat Jan 06, 2007 11:47 am

What is that funny colored shorthair with the long tail?
As long as I carry then clean all their birds, muck out the horsetrailers, and keep my over/under out of site when we come across their side/side peers, my high society pointer/setter buddies will let me go hunting with them. Apparently my dogs keep all the fleas and ticks off of theirs. :lol:

John, I'm not much of a cook so I pretty much stick to premade soup/stew mixes and a big pot. One pot usually keeps me in lunches for work for a few days. I had a friend from work go with us one day last week (we pawned all the birds off on him of course!) and he liked to soak 'em overnight in 7-Up then fry 'em up - said they're great that way. Might try that. Sounds simple - right up my alley!
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Dirtysteve
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Post by Dirtysteve » Tue Jan 09, 2007 10:17 am

Try this Chukar recipe, best one I have found yet. It will also work with other birds
Marinate, breast meat (cut in 1/2 or 4ths) in italian dressing over night. Wrap meat in bacon and push a toothpick in to hold together Sprinkle with brown sugar and broil for about 10 min. or until meat is done.
Don't over cook or the sugar will burn.
Best eatin you'll ever have !

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Wagonmaster
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Post by Wagonmaster » Tue Jan 09, 2007 10:22 am

Oooo, that sounds good. We could do that with pheasant or hun. We are always looking for truly good recipes to try out at camp. As the years have passed, less and less of the game ever makes it home.

We have also done a bunch of marinade and grill recipes, just made up things, using Italian seasoning and Italian dressing. Works great.

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Post by PntrRookie » Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:16 am

From a midwesterner..."Unfreakin believable!" May have to ask the wife for one of those trips for my 40th!

Nice...thanks for sharing!

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Post by DGFavor » Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:23 am

Geez, that sounds good Steve but about 4 too many steps for a bachelor guy with the pizza place on speed dial!! Broil em? Like in hot, bubbling water? :)
From a midwesterner..."Unfreakin believable!"
I've seen some awful beautiful country out your way too...any open space with wild birds is hard to beat! I went to the Reg. 12 ASD and Arizona Open SD trials a couple years ago and my initial impression was we were hunting in some deserted wasteland on the outskirts of the city. A few coveys of Gambles quail later and I was snapping photos of the beautiful place for my scrapbook!
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Lawdog
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Post by Lawdog » Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:40 am

Broil as in move the rack inside the oven to the top and set the temp on Broil.

You can also throw them on the bar-b-que but it is harder to do that with the brown sugar on them. It is a great recipe, thats how I usually cook my birds.
Even the people who dont like to eat game, like to eat this recipe.

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DGFavor
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Post by DGFavor » Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:42 am

Here's another for some perspective on the vastness or range the dogs can hunt in this country. I was over with those guys on the ridge while my dog hunted down the opposite ridge when he went on point - covey of chukars (bang-bang, no birds, @#!%#). It was a horse killer ride and when I looked back over where I'd come from I thought I'd take a picture to see if I could capture the image and distance.

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Dirtysteve
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Post by Dirtysteve » Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:43 am

about 4 too many steps for a bachelor guy with the pizza place on speed dial
I've been there myself, I used to make a mean bowl of top ramen noodles! :D
Last edited by Dirtysteve on Tue Jan 09, 2007 3:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

pameladallaire

Hunt

Post by pameladallaire » Tue Jan 09, 2007 10:53 pm

Absolutely beautiful pictures and scenery. :D

Pam

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glk7243
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Post by glk7243 » Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:02 pm

We put a piece of jalapeno in there before we wrap it up. If you like a little zest, all game birds are good like this.

Hey Doug,
I thought I was the only one that whiffed on those points that take a long time to get to.

Another simple method for the cullinary challenged.
Cut breast into thin strips, about 1/2 inch
Put flour and strips in a bag and coat real well ( ala shake and bake)
put 1/4 inch of vegetable oil in a pan or I use an electric skillet set @ 350. Turn over once brown, second side browns a lot quicker. Take out and put on paper towels to soak up excess oil. Season with your favorite whatever, garlic and lowrys is what we use.
Very easy, tasty, everyone wants more
Regards
Gary

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DGFavor
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Post by DGFavor » Wed Jan 10, 2007 3:16 am

Geez, Gary I can't shoot good and keep my dog broke worth beans. With the "trained" dogs, I'm trying to keep eyes on them and eyes on the birds and can't hit squat. I love taking out my 'ol dog Lily and my young dog Bugsy because we follow the "it flies it dies" rules and I seem to shoot OK.

I've cooked birds just like you describe and agree - pretty simple and tasty, especially forest grouse and chukars. I've got a buddy over there in Nampa that once a year puts on a get together and prepares a bunch of whatever wild game he's bagged that year. I think what you describe is exactly how he cooks up the birds and they don't last long - he's not real forthcoming with exactly how he cooks them. The other interesting thing about this guy is whatever new hunting spot you take him to - then becomes his spot and he gives ya' grief when he finds out you've been back out hunting "his spots". He's from Virginia where apparently if you knew the location of a covey of quail, you took it with you to your grave and never told anybody about it. :)

Oh yah, just say "no" to jalapeno's. I'm a born and raised 4 generation HellsCanyon Idaho boy and just don't have the genes for that sort of thing. I just about have to Life Flight myself to the Burn Unit with mild salsa.
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Post by Wagonmaster » Wed Jan 10, 2007 7:31 am

I worked a summer in the NM desert between High School and College just a year or two ago. My boss was an Isleta Pueblo Indian. We were staking mineral claims for a company. We lived out there all summer in a trailer.

His idea of breakfast was to take some dried red peppers, crumble them into a frying pan with a little lard, saute and eat. Sometimes he would put in some egg and scramble it all, sometimes just the pepper.

I never got that far, but he did get us into all kinds of good homemade stuff his wife would send out on weekends. It was "spicier" coming out in the arroyo in the afternoon than it was going in.

I have lutefisk genes, but it is possible to pick up bad habits. Nowadays, good SW food does not seem right to me unless I break out in little beads of sweat.

When my wife makes chili, I have some cayenne pills you can buy from Heart Foods as a food supplement, I open one up and dump it in. It is African cayenne, roughly 10 times hotter than the normal stuff. Ummm, good!

It is supposed to be good for your heart, cures heart disease overnight. I don't know about that, but it sure does taste good.

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glk7243
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Post by glk7243 » Wed Jan 10, 2007 9:14 pm

Hey Doug,
Dan likes it when you guys get your dogs unbroke.

It's going to be cold in the morning. I hope my shorthair don't freeze.
At least I won't get stuck in the mud.
Maybe I'll get one of thos ones you missed
Gary

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DGFavor
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Post by DGFavor » Wed Jan 10, 2007 10:27 pm

Dan likes it when you guys get your dogs unbroke.
Stitch has always been my own project but Dan gets to inherit all the bad habits I give the others. He's got Trixie in Arizona right now probably scratching his head wondering how I could screw her up so bad. For me hunting is all about fun - if they break, they break and we'll work on it later.

Good luck tomorrow. Hopefully the traction will hold - I thought we might be spending most of the night out in the hills last time I was over waiting for the road to freeze back up. There were several times coming out that it was toss up if the truck or the horse trailer was gonna get to the bottom of some muddy hills first.
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whoa on 'em
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Post by whoa on 'em » Sat Jan 13, 2007 2:07 am

Can the shorthairs run that big country as well as the pointers?
Were those pics taken in Idaho?

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DGFavor
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Post by DGFavor » Sat Jan 13, 2007 5:05 am

Can the shorthairs run that big country as well as the pointers?
Were those pics taken in Idaho?
I've got shorthairs, my buddy has pointers and his dad runs setters...you'd be hard pressed to see much difference in 'em.

Yah, Idaho mostly. Some Oregon.
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whoa on 'em
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Post by whoa on 'em » Sat Jan 13, 2007 5:53 pm

Looks like a beautiful hunt, is it realistic to hunt that open country and vast expanse by foot?

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DGFavor
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Post by DGFavor » Sat Jan 13, 2007 8:17 pm

Looks like a beautiful hunt, is it realistic to hunt that open country and vast expanse by foot?
Oh absolutely! A lot of the best chukar spots are probably only accessible by foot...& ropes. I love hunting 'em on foot, crawling around the rimrocks. I typically hunt my rangier dogs alone when I go on foot - I think it gets rid of the competitive drive they have when they are down with another dog. They are still a bear to keep up with - as I've said before, they hunt birds, I hunt them!

I love hunting my Trixie dog on foot - really relaxing, Sunday afternoon bird dog no matter how many other dogs are out with her.
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NVgsp
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Post by NVgsp » Tue Jan 16, 2007 5:31 pm

Doug-
I still think you are cheating by using those four legged creatures to carry you around. Man, its either walk your butt off, or simply repel out of a blackhawk! 8)

Finally got my Elite vest...hope to put some blood in it on Sat.
Chris

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Post by Emptypair » Fri Jan 19, 2007 8:39 am

That is some amazing country. I think of how hunting a mile of cover here in Wisconsin can take hours and the view is 50 yards in any direction. That's truly amazing!!!!! Thank you for sharing :)
Put some ground under the dogs...

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