Is any body having fun yet?
 

Because of some family issues I have only 4 days of bird hunting in this year[:'(]. Two day in WY, two sharptails, low bird counts I was lucky;). One day in KS, two roosters, was supposed to be there for three days had to come home[&o]. One day in CO, missed some quail[operator error][:@] and did get two roosters:D. And I have had great dog work. So I am having fun.
Gselkhunter

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

One week in Montana with good success and good dog work, watched two 6 month olds figure it out:D Worst part was coming back to KY[:@]
4 days in Nebraska dodging rain[:o] but hit a trifecta one dayand took my Chessie on that trip:D She hunted well with shorthairs.
Back in Kentucky and there just aren't many quail[&o] didn't even get out to search for woodcock the way I wanted. The wife is Prego and nesting. I can't even say "bird" around the house because she'll lose it[:o] Without a small miracle I won't be leaving Ky to hunt anymore this season:( Have to disguise it as a business trip...:eek: But if its all over it has been a good year for this Ky boy. Three species in MT although not in one day and three species in NE is a first for me in one season. My buddies shorthairs keep getting better every year and my ole duck dog has turned out to be at age 9 one hell of an upland companion. I'm having fun but I wish I lived a little closer to bird country.

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Sounds good to me! What a name Ditch Parrot, I love it. And I too am always bummed when the season has to end[:o]. But that time isn't here for me:D. I have until mid Jan. to hunt Colo. and end of Jan. to hunt Kansas;). I am probably going to hit Colo. tomorrow and Kansas next week:). I want to make my dogs so tired they sleep til I have the new pup trained, good luck I know. My GSPs have been good so far. Good luck with the new one, maybe it will be born with an O/U and a pup and your wife will get the hint;). My little one is 17months and my wife doesn't want him out in the cold, so I have not had him in the pack hunting yet. I need a good weekend to do that. Hope it is soon I need to break him in, and her. Thanks for the report Roost em 1st.
Gselkhunter

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Rooster limits in Iowa and Nebraska on 4 consecutive days-2 and 2. Dropped one grouse and due to operator error missed another one. It was good.

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Duck- Great to hear you had some good hunts;)

ELK- Good point on the terminology. It is changed.

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

The Ditch Parrots lived to their name yesteday! They would run to the road[highway] and jump up when a car was there so you couldn't shoot them. Now that just isn't fair! My dogs were not happy[:@]. Eastern Colo. was warm, dry and windy yesterday, the dogs had a hard day[:'(]. We[3 of us] got one ditch parrot[I really do like this name!]. He was a crosser for me and a straight away for Dan, poor sucker never had a chance. Had another point on a ditch parrot and a serious melt down, malfuction and operator error[:@][:'(][:o], needless to say this bird has a charmed life. But we had fun anyway. Think we better go back to the sporting clay range for a refresher class:eek:.
Gselkhunter

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Sounds like you found one of those kevlar clad cocks. Had my fair share of encounters with them this year. One bird literally danced in the air with wads of #6's as a partner. 3 guys hit the bird and the thing was still alive when it was retrieved[:o]Those birds can be tough sometimes. How are the dogs doing elk? Had that pup on any trips? My buddy is selling a couple of started dogs this week and next and wants me to go in on a pup from Blue Dawn Kennels to get some more Blue max stock in the kennel. Pricey pups but man they hunt well. Took some 14 week olds down to the quail field last evening and that was about as much fun as I've had in a while:)

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

I have a couple of great GSPs, Emily is 8, she is still a field trial girl, give that child a Rimadyl and your legs are in trouble[:o]. Gertie is 3 now and a great foot hunting girl, can't have a much better nose;). Now Leyna is the new pup, what a girl. At 13 weeks she has her name, no, kennel, and come. I have had her 4 weeks. The best part she likes birds:D! So my dogs are good. Hope to get them out on Sunday. Hope that bird that got away on Sat. didn't breed to many, makes life hard. Roost em sounds like you are having a great time to:). Are you go to buy one of those pricey pups? I let you know how Sunday goes. I am taking my son with me:D, so it will be a good day even if the Ditch Parrots win.
Gselkhunter

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

The jury is out on the pup purchase still.There are 11 I mean 9 GSP in the kennel to date, 2 sold yesterday 1 pup and 1 started, but after Texas there may be only 4[:o]My buddy gets nervous when he has less than double digits to feed but now is the time to off them. Hope your trip Sunday goes well. How old is your son? I have a 3 yr old son who I can't wait to get out that is if he is inclined.
Since this thread is about fun I'll add that I'm planning a grouse/quail trip for next week and can't wait. I've never hunted the ruffies here in Ky or anywhere for that matter so I'm getting excited.

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

All this talk about puppies is making me crazy. My two GSP's are 11 and 9. The 11 year old is now too old. The 9 year old, Hans, is slowing down now after climbing hills all day.

We had 5 chukars 2 weekends ago here in Washinton State. My long shots really surprise me. I have a Browning Featherlight Citori 12 ga with 26 inch barrels. I use 7-1/2 high brass shot. I use a modified choke on my first barrel and full choke on the second.
I had trouble keeping up with my Hans on the 3rd bird. He was fast on a covey. I walked in the general direction of his travel. After about 100 yds I found him a litlle up on my left( on a big covey of 10 birds) The covey got up a little early and I hit one bird that was at about 20 yds and very high up. Fun??? Oh Yeah!!!!

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Roost em, I have never hunted Ruffs either, have a great time. Keaton is 9 now and a card carring hunter;), oh what joy;). Don't wait on the little guy. I have a kelty pack that I carried Keaton in from about 1yr to 4 yrs old. Now with Benjamin at 18 months old I will use it again. If the weather does what it is suppose to do Benjamin will get out with Keaton and I:). Hans1031, great you are having a good time too. I hate to tell you this, buy a new pup! It is time and boy are they fun.
Gselkhunter

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Hans1031, I have to do something bad on this puppy thing. Go to:
www.gspclubofwa.org/breeder's%20list.htm
Gselkhunter

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Walker my 3yr old son is 44lbs. I have a Kelty, actually just loaned it to my bro-in-law, for their boy. At any rate I'm not a weakling but I don't know if I can lug Walker around too efficiently.[&:] He likes to run the dogs and has been along for some quail shooting in the training field several times. :) His favorite is to pull the cord for the clay thrower:D Ask him what to do with deer and he replies "1st you shoot it then clean it then freeze it then you eat it!" Ask him what kind of birds to hunt and you get 1 of 2 possible answers "Roosters!" or "Quails!". Hopefully I'll be able to introduce Ruffed Grouse to his vocabulary. ;) I can already hear him say it "WUFFD GWOUSTH...That's a hard one daddy".
Hans hate to say it but Elk makes a good point... you need to get a pup for the 9 year old to train. Sounds like your having a good time though....[chukkar]one more bird for me to chase before this life comes to a close... the wife will love to hear that
Iknow you've seen this but I figured we needed a pic of some fun...and this is the only one small enough for me to post.[:@]

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Gselkhunter-
Merciless with that breeder link. I love it!:D

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

and another one When it was a fun day;)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...t/IMG_0076.jpg

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

I do what I can;)!
Gselkhunter

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Thanks for the link roost em but the site asks for a password?

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Roost em, My boy was about that heavy when I quit carring him. I did it for as long as I could. I didn't want to go with out him. He also like to pull the cord or push the button at the sporting clays course. But the big deal for Keaton, was first bird of the day hunting was his:D. He would hold that bird all day:). Of course now he is a card carring hunter, so I have to pull for him:D, but he carries his own birds;). I am in heaven:D.
Gselkhunter

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Hans- Excuse my bad link. Check it again. That shot is from Oct in Montana. Max is 28 mos. old.

gselkhunter- Great idea with the first bird being for your son;) I'll try it next time I take Walker to the training field.

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Hans- Here are some pups that went to MT.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...tyledge027.jpg

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...Montana020.jpg

gselkhunter- These boys were having fun!

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Had another fabuluous weekend last weekend-got to hunt pheasant and duck in Nebraska. Limited on pheasant in the afternoon both days but they were wild. Hit enough ducks and left a bunch for others down south to enjoy.

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Well the weekend came and went, and I never got to the field. A friend called and asked us if we wanted a dinning room set. Well the wife couldn't say yes fast enough, so I was grounded[:@]. The bright side is it was hot and dry, would have been a hard weekend for the dogs[:o]. But now it is done so next weekend there is nothing in the way. Snow on Thursday, hunt on Sat. & Sun:D. I am stoked.
Gselkhunter

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Duck- Glad to hear someone is having fun. Nebraska is always one of my favorite places, but have probably made the only trip possible already this year. Which part of the state do you favor?

Elk- Your wife may have the same disease as mine. How do they always know how to throw a wrench in the works? Good luck this weekend.

I may do some duckin tomorrow on the river. Not too many ducks yet but the temp is dropping and should freeze all the ponds. Thursday is grouse day but the GSp I was going to hunt has been hijacked to Texas, so the ole duck girl Susie will make the trip with me. Should be fun.

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Had my Christmas hunt with my son and a friend at Quail Run. That is our local club[sporting clay & planted bird fields]. Keaton shot the first Ditch Parrot of the day, proud pop:D. We got great work out of Bill's dogs and mine, great day:).
Gselkhunter

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

I can't get enough. I am even taking days off work next week realizing the season ends too fast if you take out the days for Christmas. I have limited out 2 weekends in a row in Eastern Colorado on public land, that has never hapened in the 3 years I have been in Colorado, may have been my year to finaly be the one who found the spots. For me and my dogs it doesn't get much better than that. My puppy found her first wild bird last weekend, a rooster that I dropped on the second shot, I don't know who was the proudest me or her, you should have seen the smile on her face and mine as she brought it back, she has played this game with planted birds on a hunt club we belong to, but what a sight for her first wild bird. It somewhat stunned the older dogs, they redeemed themselves nicely for missing the bird the pup put up. Man I love bird hunting!!!!!!

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

It is a very good life style. When you can go out with the dogs and kids and have a great time, OH man;). After Christmas is when it all starts!
Gselkhunter

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Merry Christmas to all. Hope the season finds everyone in good spirit and fellowship.

Gselkhunter- Hope your father is doing alright.

i still didn't get the grouse trip in but have had some good days on the river with the mallards. Wiped everyone's eye in the boat on a greenhead today. Really strained the barrell on the 870 but dropped him. My dog did as well on some cripples. Having fun Hope everyone else is too. If you get too jolly over the weekend make sure you have a safe ride.

Roost em

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Done for the year-24 Pheasants, 10 quail, 4 grouse.

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Everyday's Saturday here in S. America for me!;) And the wing shooting on doves and pigeons promises to be really interesting.

I hunted last weekend for a bird called "ala blanca" or white wing by the locals. It does indeed look much like the White-Wing doves of Mexico and Texas, but is much larger.....about 3 times the body-weight size I'd estimate. The coloration is different as well and the wingspan is about 20 inches! The bird is actually a Bare-eyed Pigeon. Males display a large ring of bare, blue-colored flesh around the eye....sort of like they're wearing goggles.

Also saw some Crested Quail, the local version of our Bobwhite but did not have the opportunity to harvest any.

El Gringo

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

El Gringo, How's the shoulder? A friend of mine went down and had the time of his life. Said he has never been taken care of like that. And the shooting never ends. But he could hardly move his arms when he got back, gee I felt so bad for him. You want to talk about fun, I have Beretta686 coming out from Jersey next week to Ditch Parrot hunt for 4 days. Sould make for a great story;). A Jersey boy in KS with a CO boy, I have the dogs, he is pumped up, the weather is suppose to be good, oh lord help him:D! He may never be the same;).
Gselkhunter

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Gselkhunter,

I had to laugh at your comment about the shoulder, except in my case, my left cheek bone was also involved.

Since I haven't yet imported my own shotguns and rifles, I had to buy a locally-made (the only thing affordable) single shot in 16 gauge. I usually shoot a 20 gauge. Much as I expected, the thing fires about 60 or 70% of the time I pull the trigger! After last weekend's hunt, I brought it back to the shop. It's supposedly fixed now.........we'll see.

These white wings often arrive in large flocks from fairly high above and then dive bomb the roosting or watering areas. At times, I ended up looking like a pretzel trying to maneuver for a shot all-the-while fighting the gun as well. Little by little I'll get the kinks worked out and when I eventually get my own arms imported and have a trained dog with me, I should be deadly.;)

Ditch parrots? LOL! You guys are going to have a blast. BTW, I drove through eastern Kansas, S. Dakota, and N. Dakota back in late October on my way up to Manitoba for a white-tailed deer hunt. I must say that I was quite surprised at the beauty of the countryside in those 3 states, especially Kansas and S. Dakota. I guess I had always been under the impression that they were flat as a board, but they're anything but! And the neatness of the farms and farm houses was really striking.

Take care of Beretta686......definitely post a story or two and perhaps even some pics!

El Gringo

Wow! Just realized I left out Nebraska. Sorry about that. Yet another overlooked jewel in 'fly-over' country.;)

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

El Gringo, Ditch Parrot= Rooster Pheasant, this is the adopted name by Roost em 1st, isn't it great!
Gselkhunter

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Two months ago I posted a question about pheasant hunting & a few of you good ole boys replied. THANK YOU. A special thanks to my new friend Gselkhunter. I'm flying out to Co. on 12/29 to meet him & his family. Then its off to Kansas for a 4 day Pheasant/Quail hunt.This will be my first hunt in the mid-west & I can' wait. With all the bad happening in this world its nice to know there are still good people willing to help you out. Check back after 1/10/05 to see the pictures & here some stories.
SHOOT STRAIGHT-BE SAFE- & GOOD HUNTING

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Good luck Beretta!!!! You guys be sure to come back with a few limits and hopefully some good stories and pics as well.

;)

El Gringo

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Boy am I jealous! What a way to kick off 2005. Hope the weather is great.

What part of KS? I am missing a NE trip 1/14/05. [:@]

686- Warning! You are about to become an addict for which I pray there is no cure except to hunt wild birds.

BE SAFE and SHOOT WELL.

The ditch parrots don't stand a chance with gselk's spotted death seeking them out!

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Roost em, Hope you had a great Christmas! I don't wish to make this harder on you;), but the weather is going to be perfect:D. We will be in the WaKeeney and Hill City area. The reports from friends has been ok. We are only going to have 4 days[:o], but 686 will get a full load. I am bringing extra shells. I am going to start with the 28ga;), to give 686 a break. But the dogs are going nuts, they saw me packing[:@], that means that waiting 3 days will make them crazy. They run faster when they get like that, oh lord help us.
Gselkhunter

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Gselk- A little more salt please;) The wound is still fresh. I also prefer my sxs 28 for pheasant:) Really makes the boys look when they miss with their 12's and the 28 drops em at 45 yds[:o] You shooting 4's or 6's. i put 4's in the 2nd chamber. Found a place that sells em under $8 a box:D Good luck. Taking the pup?

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Roost em I can put anything I want in them, I reload. And when you pay about $8 dollars a box, I reload them for $2.75 a box:D. Is that enough salt;)? I wait for a sale and buy a couple of flats of 8s and shoot them at the range. Then Reload! I pick up 686 in about 7 hours, feed him, let him meet the girls, put him to bed, then off to WaKeeney at 2am. We will be hunting at first light. Now I have to make the hard choice, Quail, Parrots or P Chickens first[A little more salt:D], HMMMMMMM!
Gselkhunter

RE: Is any body having fun yet?
 

Who sent the Ditch Parrots the track shoes[:'(]? From the time 686 and I hit the field, run and fly 100yds out was the game[:o]. Temp was in the high 50s and the dust plugged up the dogs noses and ours[:@]. They have not seen rain or snow since Oct[:o].We hit 4 counties and got our butts kicked. I got a pair of quail the first day and was done[:@] My dogs worked hard and all the points were hens[:'(]! Roost em I am out of salt[:@]. We walked as many miles as you can in a day and came up empty[:o]. 686 is a great guy, we had a good time and I am sure he will give you a report soon.
Gselkhunter