RE: So it begins Part 2
 

" HUNT ON" did you get the pic' s i sent??

RE: So it begins Part 2
 

I just got back last night from a chuckar and quail hunt in eastern Oregon. We had a good time. It was a little hard to find birds, but we found more than most of the other hunters there. We had a few adventures, like the wall tent catching on fire the first night. It was 15 degrees out and we fired up the wood stove. The waxed canvas wall tent was touching the stove pipe. When I noticed it was touching, I went over to move the canvas away. It flamed and the flames climbed to the top of the tent. All the water we had was frozen, but we were able to break the ice and put some water in a dog bowl to extinguish the flames. We decided to skip having a fire that night and nearly froze. The next night we where able to set up a more safe heating system. We ended up getting 11 chuckars and 7 quail. I lost 5 pounds pounding the hills chasing hunting dogs. I will get back to hunting my local birds this week, and probably go back over east before Christmas.

RE: So it begins Part 2
 

Big Lead - Sounds like high adventure down there...glad everyone was safe!

RE: So it begins Part 2
 

Thanks Seattle. I was a few seconds from opening the other end of the tent and pitching stuff out the other door. Makes for a good hunting story.
We went out yesterday in the local hills and managed to find a couple coveys of Mountain quail. They were very skittish, but with Raven and Ivy on the case we managed to cut them off and take 3 of them. That is pretty hard to do this late in the year. We also got one ruffed grouse. We plan on going out this afternoon before they shut up the Weyerhaeuser land for the year.

RE: So it begins Part 2
 

Well its been a while since I last posted. I went out on the afternoon of Dec. 7 and got a limit of ruffies before the good Private timberland hunting was over. I have'nt been able to find anymore birds on the public land near here. I am thinking about heading over toward the coast and giving it a go for Mountain quail and ruffed grouse. Everything is snowed in pretty good so I hope there is still a few birds around. We rarely get snow around here so its got to be kinda rough on them. I have been over to eastern Oregon for Chuckars and Quail a few more times. I get a few every time I go, but when you are by yourself hunting is quite a bit harder for Chuckars in my expeirience. I met some very nice fellows over there. We both showed up at the same hunting spot, and I offered to go down the road. They said, why don't you just hunt with us. They had a Griffon and a shorthair. I got my 2 dogs out and I hunted below the rimrock and they hunted above. After the hunt was over I got my cookstove out and made fried potatoes and bear finger steaks. They got a portable barbeque out and put some scallops, shrimp, baby tomatoes, onions, and elk backstrap on some skewers. We shared food and visited for a couple hours. All this 70 miles from the nearest resteraunt, gas station, or grocery store. It made the trip worth while. In a couple hours we got 6 birds between us. I went over just after Christmas and got a few more birds. I came home and spent a couple days then took off to eastern Oregon again for a couple of days. We got 14 chuckars and 5 quail on that trip. My heart longs to go back over. The roads are terrible right now, but its just a matter of time, I will say to heck with it, pack my guns and clothes, and just go on over. When the roads are like they are it takes me 8 hours to get to the nearest hunting spot, but who cares when you've got the fever.

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I just did a farm hunt for pheasant/chukar since the normal season is over in Utah and Idaho. paid for 10 pheasants shot 8- saw 60 at least but they were running way out 200-300yds. paid for 5 chukars-shot 6 as he let us since we were short on pheasants and alot of hunters don't get all their birds. and we had a bonus of cottontail rabbits. shot 12 between my dad and I in the last 20 minutes of the hunt!:D

This was my first farm hunt and I was pleased that I had to work about the same amount as I have had to on wild birds (Probably since he insisted on us using his dog which wasn't trained very well!)

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This is my last report for the 2003-04 bird season. I went over to eastern oregon about 2 weeks ago and we got 9 quail and 5 chuckars. Hunting was pretty good. We were picking up a new puppy for my friend, so our time was limited. My Lab was injured by a broken bottle hidden in the snow the first day we were there. She had to have numerous stiches in her pad.

RE: So it begins Part 2
 

Hit the post button a little soon. Sorry. Well anyway I went back over hunting for one last time this season. I went over on Tues. and came back on Thurs. I managed to harvest 6 chuckars on Tuesday afternoon. I went out on Wend. and got 5 more. My lab reinjured her paw on Wend afternoon. It seems the wound was not completely healed and it reopened. It must have been divine intervention or something, because I met a Veteranarian a couple hours before. We saw that he was not having much luck finding birds so we invited him to hunt with us. As luck would have it he had his kit with him. We were able to sew her pad back up that night in the motel room. I think the pads are about the most sensitive place to stick a needle. Well needless to say I owe him one. He hunted with us the next day and we took a few more birds apiece. Overall I got 13 chuckars. The fellow who went with me got 4. This was the best chuckar season for me so far. Altogether I think the totals were around 69 grouse, 50 mountain quail, 5 bandtailed pigeons, 5 pheasants, 3 geese, 7 ducks, 20 or so valley quail, and 43 chuckars. So it ends until Sep. 1st. then Part 3 will begin.