Dogs and Boys

I know this is supposed to be about dog's and chukars hunting but I've been having such a fun Spring with my grandson I thought I'd share a little of the excitement. Don't for a minute think that Jake was forgotten, except for our turkey hunts he was with us leading the way.

I've always said that if you want to stay as youthful as possible, get a bird dog and exercise it like it deserves and you'll stay in the best possible shape you can without going to the gym. Now, I have to add 11 year old boys to the equation. Conner, my 11 year old grandson, is becoming my second challenge to keep up with in the mountains. He, Jake and I have been doing quite a bit of walking this Spring.

Having a young hunter along reminds me of the keen senses I use to think I had. While working Jake one day, Conner told me he heard a rattler buzzing. I never heard it but finally found a couple in the crack of the rocks trying to keep warm.

We snapped a few pictures and than were off to find Jake looking for chukars. Conner has no problems keeping up on the hill but hasn't had to pack a gun yet. We discussed how that extra 6 1/2 pounds of shotgun and vest full of shells seems pretty heavy on the hill but he figured he could handle it. As Jake locked in on a pair of chukars, we discussed how he'd approach the dog and make the flush for a safe shot. He shot a limit of quail over Riley last year so I know he can shoot under the pressure of flushing birds. We've been on three of those training hikes together and he has not fallen behind once.

Conner even takes some time to help rescue goslings once in a while. This one was trapped away from the pond by a pointing dog. Yes, the same dog we follow on the hill.

Most of April had us chasing turkeys. With the youth season opening a week earlier than general season Conner got to score first. With him playing baseball on Saturdays it left him only Sundays for hunting, so I got two birds before he finished off our two birds each. Although all four birds had great stories, number four was the best.

Conner and I started walking at 4 in the morning to get to our hunting location. It was a steep area and takes about 1 1/2 hour to get to. The bird were already gobbling from the roost and we set up as close as we could. I placed the decoy and than got behind Conner in the sage brush. The birds flew down and gobbled away from us while Conner relaxed a little.

After a while they gave us notice with a gobble that they were returning to my calls. Conner sat back up and it wasn't long before he said that he saw the bird strutting. I was in a poor location and couldn't see the bird. I finally saw two birds twenty yards away at full strut and we could hear another bird spitting and drumming behind us. I told Conner to take one of the two birds I could see in strut and he said the one he could see was huge. I finally leaned enough to see his bird and told him to go ahead and shoot it. At the report of the shotgun (my 12 gauge with 3 inch magnums) Conner rolled back into the brush. I watched his bird fall and flop a couple of times and than disappear over the ridge. Conner gathered himself before I could get up and ran over the ridge. By the time I got to him he had that discouraged look on his face and said he saw the bird fly across the draw. He was sure it was the one he hit. We talked the situation over and decided to spend some time looking for it with no success. By the time we finally gave up the search it was almost noon. We had left the decoy where we started and had to go back and pick it up. As Conner walked over to pick up the decoy I jumped a crippled bird about twenty yards from where Conner had shot. Conner had chased the wrong bird and the one he shot had burrowed down into a sage brush. I yelled at Conner and he raced over to grab the shotgun from me but by then the bird had run over the ridge. Conner got one quick glimpse of which direction he went and the search was on again. Once again we had no success finding the bird. It's now 2 o'clock and Conner suggest we hike out, get Jake and come back and see if he could find the bird. I must admit I was dog tired and didn't really want to, but I'll be damned if I wouldn't give it everything I could if he was so willing to do the right thing. My biggest problem was getting him home on time to get his homework done. We both promised mom we would get it done.

While  looking for the bird earlier, Conner found a winter killed five point bull and he insisted that we pack it out on the way down. So, to make a long story short, out went the elk and in came Jake. We didn't bring a gun this time because it is illegal to hunt turkey with a dog and I was amazed at how much better I felt being able to swing my arms while hiking. We got Jake onto the last spot we saw the bird and within no time at all he was pointing a turkey which had given up his fight to live. I took the four fans on our trip to Brownlee this weekend hoping to get a good picture of Conner and I together but we were having so much fun we forgot the picture until we were heading home, so we took a quick road picture in the wind.

A few other notables from the last month or so. A picture of the green mountains you'll find everywhere this year. Lot's of cheat for the birds and  plants for the insects. Let's hope it stays this way for a while.

A bull elk I would be keeping an eye on if I was still chasing them. I've never seen a bull with tines this long on the 3rd day of May. I'm thinking he's gonna be a good one.

As I mentioned, Jake is always with us, so I was amazed that this first bear stood there at 30 yards while I took pictures and Jake was at whoa.

We found a few other bear enjoying the green grass and doing some grubbing but never got as close as to our first one.

The most amazing thing of the spring so far is that Conner got me to do some fishing. He had me fishing for small mouth bass at Brownlee for about ten hours in the three days we were there. Our largest fish was 4lbs. and 4 ounces. With several over two pounds. I haven't fished that much in the last ten years totaled. I have a feeling a lot of my weekends during the chukar season might involve a new hunting partner for Jake and Me.

I might add that it's not going to slow down for quite a while. Grandson #2 will be next in line for me. That is if I can get him off the tractor. While Conner can tell you each and every duck on the pond, Mac can name every tractor and implement and their purpose. One is going to keep me working and one keep me hiking.

Challenge to all chukars.

This pair of geese challenges all chukars to the most babies n a brood.

Wow!

I was looking at another site today and saw some facts that might interest chukar hunters. It was a survey of upland bird success in Oregon. It looked like just about everything was down last year, but I just wrote down a few notes from the chukar counts.

To my recollection, the survey was a phone survey of upland hunters. I have to agree with the surveys results in the fact that it was the worst year for me since I have been keeping records. But I was amazed at how poor it evidently was.

The total chukar harvest was down 44.8 % from 2012 which was the second lowest chukar harvest year between the years of 1993 and 2013. I hunted equally as much in Idaho as I did in Oregon and I'm sure the numbers probably are similar.

There were 22,826 chukar harvested in 2013 compared to the high of 221,418 in 2005 and an average of 85,619 birds per year between 1993 and 2013. I have to say that the Oregon stats mirror my stats as far as year by year success goes.

What shocked me the most was bird numbers compared to days hunted. In most of Oregon birds per day was less than one. Malheur county was slightly over one. With those kind of numbers it can't get much worse.

I am a little luckier than most and have been fortunate to have higher chukar harvest days than the average. In fact, many of the people on this site and many of my friends have far better days than the average. I have to wonder how much higher the stats would be if the question was number of birds shot at instead of harvested. I just can't imagine it being that bad.

I like to be an optimist. So if those statistics resemble what you saw last year and you still enjoyed being out there following your dog think of how much more fun it's going to be this year. The chukars are bound to have a rebound this year. The Spring is shaping up to be a great bird producer and if the weather cooperates for 45 more days or so the bird numbers might double or better. For me that's a recipe for a lot of fun times on the hill.

149 days

It's 149 days until the chukar opener in Idaho, but who's counting.? I've decided that nobody loves chukar more than I do. Everyday Jake and I aren't on the mountain I'm looking for some kind of new entry about chukar hunting in the internet. It's pretty dull theses days. I get  about two views a day this time of the year compared to 25 or more during the chukar season. If I post the words "chukar count" all the sudden it jumps to over 100. Chukar hunting to most is just a fill in season. It hasn't always been this way, but I now would rather spend a day chasing chukars than hunting a big trophy bull elk. If I could find something to say, I would post everyday Jake and I go on the mountain but that would become pretty darn boring to most.

But, like everyone else, I need to find different ways to pass the time until bird season opens. Having a outdoor grandson helps a bunch. Conner not only goes on hikes with Jake and me, he also likes to challenge me to a rock chuck shoot or show me how to down a gobbler.

He then likes challenge me on being first to get back to the truck a mile away while he packs the bird. He might have been a short hair in his former life the way he can traverse the hills at 11 years old.

But I got the last laugh on him. A few days after he shot his turkey, I took advantage of him being at school and took my own little hunt. It took me a lot longer than it did him but I finally got a bird at 11:35. Conner had his shortly before 7:00. But I think mine was bigger. (So I tell him.)

I have to admit to the excitement of calling a big Tom in. Hearing him gobble time and time again, sometimes getting closer and than getting farther again, is nerve racking. Trying to make the right decisions of moving or staying put is a challenge in itself. Move at the wrong time and you're busted. You finally know he's close enough by his spitting and drumming sounds, but still can't get a shot. It seems like forever that the bird has been within range but he never presents a shot. Your barrel moves ever so slow towards your target, because you know from past experience that any fast movement will alert the turkey and he'll be gone in a flash. At the shot, the bird goes down. You feel the rush of adrenaline rush back through your body as the bird flops around on the ground. It's almost hard to stand up to retrieve your bird because you've been sitting in this cramped position for so long, but you finally do and walk to your trophy. As you pick up the turkey and admire the trophy you appreciate the accomplishment of your success because of your past many failures.

Even at that, my mind had many flashbacks to chukar hunting. I located this turkey area while chukar hunting. It's 3 miles back into this area and seems straight up most of the way. In fact, while walking in I had the crap scared out of me by a flushing chukar in the dark. His chukar cursing left me even shorter of breath than the hill had already done. As the light started gathering over the mountain I heard the first gobble and then several other birds gobbled back to him. Wow! Here we go. I found a likely ambush spot and set with my back up against the tallest sage I could find and began my calling. Suddenly I heard a sound that seemed to drown out the turkeys gobble. Chuk, Chuk, Chuk, Chuk, Chukar. It couldn't be more than 50 yards away with another one calling from the other side of the draw. My mind suddenly went to thinking "hey there's some breeders for the coming season."  I started visualizing Tucker, Dakota, Riley and Jake running these mountains as they all have many times before. I could see each of them locked on birds. I even wished for just one moment I could have all four honoring each other on this magnificent mountain.

After the hunt was over, I was even more excited to bump three pair of chukar on the way back to my truck. I'm not often in chukar country without a dog and once again my mind wandered to the many points of previous canine friends. As I traversed down the hill, I noticed the green grass and many colors of flowers surrounding me on the hill. The spring is a beautiful time of the year, but I have to admit to yearning for fall season when this same mountain looks dry and full of chukars.

That is where my true heart belongs. I'll never forget any trip onto the mountain whether spring or fall, but my heart has a urge to be there with my dogs and other companions while the chukars are singing their song and throwing out scents that thrill my dog. With that scent, Jake will be thrilling me with the many points I hope to see in the future. Points that thrill me in the same way that the monarch bull elk use to.

Oh, did I mention I got a turkey?

They're back

Well it's that beautiful time of the year again. Everything is changing colors and the temperatures are perfect for being outdoors. But there are still things out there that make the spring transition a little uncomfortable for dog owners. One of those things are ticks. I pulled two off Jake yesterday after our great outing the day before. Over the years I have gotten used to pulling ticks off my boys and treat them with bio spot during the tick season to repel most ticks and kill the ones that dig in for a mouth full. It's still is something I'd rather do without.

The second thing is snakes. Yes, they're coming out of their dens and warming up for their long journeys. They are a little slow yet but still not fun to see.

Snakes are another nasty thing that I have gotten used to over the years but could do without when it comes to my pups. Hopefully I'll find a bull snake in the next two months and make sure that Jake's snake training took last June but if I don't find a cooperative one we'll be back at the snake avoidance to make sure Jake understands what the business end of a rattler can do.

Meanwhile Jake and I will continue to be on the hill doing what we love and hoping to avoid ticks and snakes. 

Since Barb isn't editing this I'll sneak in a picture of a few days ago. Here's Jake telling me to turn around.

Here's what he was pointing.

Fun, huh!

Barb says "No More"

After my outing today, I was looking through the days pictures and was excited to finally get a bird in the picture with Jake. I've been able to get each of my dogs in the past on point on wild birds where you could see the dog on point and the birds still holding. I wasn't sure I got the bird in the pictures until I got home and with enthusiasm I told Barb, "oh boy, come look at this." She pretended to be excited but I definitly got the feeling of "big deal."

Like most chukar hunters, I don't have much smarts. So I need an editor to correct my spelling and punctuations. Barb is mine and when I asked her to edit this blog she said she would,  but after this, no more pictures of Jake on point. People are getting tired of it. So I agreed to quit posting so much unless I have something more exciting to post about. Maybe seeing a bunch of baby chukars this summer might be acceptable.

Anyhow , she gave me the okay for these pictures. I'll keep it short.

We were out scouting for turkey when my Astro said Jake was on point 107 yards away. I located him and could tell by his point that he was making eye contact with a bird and by the area we were in it was probably a grouse. I couldn't see a bird but took the picture.

I looked for a bird but couldn't see it. I moved over behind Jake and zoomed in hoping that maybe I might find the bird. I still couldn't see one but after I got home I finally saw what was keeping Jake so intense.

Still not knowing where the bird was I moved in for the flush and actually snapped a picture quick enough to get both Jake and the grouse at the same time. You can see the grouse wings even though the tree is blocking the body.

I told my editor, "I probably would have got that grouse", and her final response was, "I doubt it."

Another day on the mountain

Jake and I have been scouring a lot of new country the last two weeks looking for birds. Any kind of game bird that wants to be pointed was fine with us. Thanks to Jake, we had some good luck. He found numerous chukars, huns, quail, and even a turkey to point. Most of the points were pretty darn good but for the third time now I deleted over 50 pictures from my camera and the computer. I have lost over 150 pictures of wildlife and dogs this past year with just one push of a button. Sadly, I don't know which button it was or how I did it. Barb has promised to teach me how to keep this from happening in the future. Trust me, Jake had some impressive stuff the last two weeks.

Today, Jake and I decided to go a little higher and scout out some turkey country and I figured I had better post the pictures before I lose them too. Although you can't hunt turkeys with dogs, I do my scouting with them because it's great exercise for both of us and a dog flushing the birds doesn't hurt your chances for calling them when the season opens. A lot of my turkey areas are also on the edge of chukar habitat, so we usually have a dual purpose to be on the mountain.

We didn't find any chukars or huns today but Jake found a small covey of quail. I tried to get a shot of Jake pointing as the birds flushed but was lucky to catch the back end of two quail as they flew off. I was sure Jake was centered there.

He was deadly on the grouse though. He had two points in the thick stuff, that I couldn't fight my way through without busting the birds. By the sound of them flying and their location I have to assume they were rough grouse. The third bird cooperated a little better. After weaving through the brush I got to Jake and his tree point.

I got another angle

and then took a close up of our feathered friend.

Since the bird was giving me plenty of time, I surveyed the situation as if it were hunting season and realized that if it were hunting season the only way to harvest that bird would have been to shoot it out of the tree. I think I'll stick to chukars and huns.

Although we didn't find any turkeys we did find enough sign to make a return visit. We did however have another exciting observation. Although we never saw this guy, he or she was on the mountain with us. These tracks were made earlier in the day.

My pocket knife is four inches long. The track was four inches wide and five inches long, not making it the largest wolf around, but big enough.

Jake even acted as if he wasn't to pleased about what he was smelling at times. He soon showed me why the wolf had chosen this area to travel.

We checked the area over, trying to surmise what might have happened. It was quite obvious that a wolf had been on the carcass but there was no sign of a struggle. It might have been a winter kill or possibly the wolf took it down earlier. Either way it's what nature produces. One thing that was very obvious is, the wolf was enjoying the spoils.

It seems like every day on the hill with Jake brings a new adventure. Sure wish Riley could have been here to enjoy it with us.

Between spring rains

It's a long time before the chukar opener, but there's still a lot of fun to be had on the mountain this time of the year.  First you have to be able to avoid some of these spring down pours. Being retired makes timing for that a little easier for me and gives me some pretty awesome times up there.

I know Matt Hutt and his PP Jack have been getting out on some training missions, with some success I might add, but most of the hunters haven't put their boots on since January 31st. Most hunters quit quite a while before that because the birds were harder to find. That's alright because there are lot's of other things to do outdoors besides chasing birds. But, what about your dog? Do you sometimes wonder why your dog doesn't find birds except on those years when the bird numbers are up and blame those who keep hunting them when the numbers seem down for taking too many birds? I'm not standing on a soap box right now, just defending the position I took with a good friend of mine over a cup of coffee a few days ago.

Several years back, this friend introduced his brit to chukar hunting. It was the best bird year I have ever seen. He had great success that year and was hooked, so he said. The next year wasn't quite as good and it didn't take long before he decided to kennel his dog while he fished for steelhead. The fish count was high. I understand how sportsmen feel and how many opportunities we have to be outdoors doing something different in Idaho. I just hope that ? understands that people like myself, who dedicates his or her time to one particular activity, aren't being selfish because he didn't see enough birds to keep hunting them. If the bird numbers seem down, it's because of Mother Nature, not the dedicated hunter that relentlessly chases his hounds.

With that being said, today I had another great opportunity to enjoy the outdoors with Jake while ? was on his way to Riggins for some fish. What made the day even better, was, a good friend of mine, John Carter, went on a business trip to Chicago and left his GSP, Neka, with me for a few days. As I mentioned, it wasn't raining so we took the opportunity to head up on the hill. Although I have had the good fortune to hunt around Neka, I have never been able to hunt behind her, nor has Jake. So I didn't really know what to expect.

First off, these two dogs spent the whole night last night playing grab ass and again this morning but, as soon as I put the collars on them and hit the mountain they were nothing but serious. To make it worse was after about five minutes Neka busted a small covey of quail, sending her into intense hunting mode and covering the ground like a grey hound. The astro's came in very handy today, having the two dogs three hundred yards to each side of me at times. I knew that was about the far end of Jake's range but wasn't sure about Neka, but was pleased to see her return with a quick whistle from me. From that point I was just interested in honoring from both dogs.

Our first chance came with this precarious point by Jake.

I zoomed back, as Neka approached Jake's point.

 I was a little disappointed as she didn't seem to acknowledge Jake's point and then the bird flushed. If you look hard you can see the bird taking off from the sage above them.

It's hard to know why she didn't back or if she even saw Jake. That's what's so much fun about being out with the dogs hunting and observing them. Trying to figure out what makes it work. Learning experience number one was gone with that pair of chukar.

The great thing about huns and chukars pairing up (every bird we saw today was paired) is that they try to get distance between each others pair. So, instead of finding a covey every half hour or so, you find a pair. It wasn't too long and Jake was caught honoring Neka but the birds flushed while I was moving into position to take the picture. Shortly after that my astro says both dogs on point. I was excited to see what was over the horizon. Neka has it figured out with a great honor.

Both dogs held well to my flush. But, just like with the gun, I was behind with the camera.

Throughout the day I never had another honor by Jake but had a couple by Neka, including a sitting honor.

The dogs put in 38 miles between the two of them and I had five fun filled miles, with points like this one from Neka,

 and this one of Jake.

I try and get in front of my dogs when shooting a gun or camera. Taking my time and trying to be calm helps the dog hold the birds. As I looked back at the series of pictures of Jake on this point I noticed in the background another hobby I like doing this time of the year. Finding sheds. I didn't see this one while I was on the hill but it is obvious in the above picture and this one.

Jake and I have been out at least 8 times since the season end and again with Neka today. Both dogs are laying here pretty tired right now, but with luck we'll be back out somewhere Friday for one last jaunt together before John retrieves Neka. It's such a great time to be out there if the rain allows and it's not harming the birds at all right now. We usually give them a break about the 15th of April to start nesting and laying eggs and hope that Mother Nature cooperates for the next three months. My friend who is up fishing right now might not think I'm doing the right thing, but Jake thinks I'm the best.

State of the Chukar address

Even with the bird season ending 11 days ago, I find myself walking the mountains with Jake on these good weather days. With a camera in hand, instead of a shotgun, we search for chukars that eluded us during the season. The bird numbers seemed down some to me this year and I was curious to see how this years after- season numbers compare to past February bird numbers. I have three different spots I go to each February and do a bird count along with taking some pictures of Jake, who never disappoints me with his thirst to find birds.

This is the State of the Chukar address instead of the State of the Union we had last month and hopefully a little more honest. Surprisingly, I saw more birds today than any of the past five years in this area in the month of February. All the birds, including huns, were in coveys. The coveys were no bigger than in the past, but I saw more coveys. Usually some of the huns are pairing up in February. But I found no pairs, but three coveys of five or more birds. The smallest covey of chukar I found was seven.

 I hunted this same area on the 30th day of December and saw half the number of birds that I found today, but there was 3 inches of new snow that day. As usual, I didn't see a bird for the first hour and a half. In fact, I didn't see a deer, coyote, or any other animal. The hills seemed almost dead without any movements or sounds. Finally, my Astro beeped that Jake was on point 163 yards away. I followed the compass to Jake and flushed a covey of 7 chukars.

From that point on we found chukar and hun droppings scattered almost everywhere. Jake had at least 10 points in the next hour and a half and 8 of them were definitely different coveys.

So, what does this mean to us chukar hunters? Probably not a damn thing, but just like our president does, I'll make up my own ideas as if they were the gospel truth. First off, there seem to be as many birds out there for breeding purposes as in the past. Probably because of the lack of participating by most bird hunters. Many of my friends who hunt chukars a dozen or more times a year only got out once or twice because they saw few birds and heard about the low numbers. They spent a little more time duck hunting and fishing. I'm sure many others decided it was too hard of work for too few birds, also proving that hunters self regulate hunting hours on low bird number years. Second,by the birds I got at the end of the season and the look of the birds I saw today, the birds are going into the spring in pretty good shape. Third, the grass is already green in many places which will help the birds get the nutrition they need for nesting success.

Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and start putting more moisture on the ground in the next few months and then taper off into the summer. If we can keep some decent green up during the summer, the insects will flourish and so will the chukar/hun chicks. We have a good base for a decent season next year, if mother nature cooperates.

Thank you for reading and God Bless Chukar Hunters and their Dogs.

Jake's first year

The 2013 bird season was a challenge to say the least. The challenge started the day I lost Riley, who besides being a great friend, was supposed to train Jake to the art of hunting chukar. It's been well over thirty years since I have had only one dog and I've always been able to count on my older dog to do my training for me Luckily, Riley got some spring training in with Jake, making my hunting season training pretty easy.

It's been so long since I had only one dog I'd forgot how much work it could be. Having two dogs should be more work than only having one, except in the case of upland dogs. For the most part, they are pretty high maintenance. Especially when it comes to there energy level. In the past, my boys always entertained each other and burned a lot of their energy chasing each other around or other dog games. Jake and Riley played a lot of the dog games until Riley broke his leg. Riley was then sentenced to a ten by ten room and I was in charge of entertaining Jake. That wasn't too much of a problem because I love any excuse to be in the hills. But it became a problem when I was confined because of my knee replacement. Jake still needed that play time and was constantly reminding me of that. Either get outside with me or I'll see what kind of trouble I can get into. For me, that was a good thing. I had to get outside with him at first with crutches and later with a cane. Jake helped me in my rehabilitation. In my opinion, it's harder to have one dog than it is two or three.

The last day of hunting season was yesterday, but Jake doesn't understand that. He still thinks we need to get out and burn some calories. So at least three times a week I'll try and find some mountain to climb with him. We'll spend a lot of time scouting and training to be a little better. I have to admit that Jake has been a fantastic trainee and for the most part gets it done without any of my help.

Jake turned 1 year old Jan. 15th and he had a great first year, even though it was shortened by my knee replacement. Even during that time we got out on some short hunts. We took up quail hunting one day because the terrain was less steep. Jake did very well on quail at first, with several great points. But, it wasn't long before he decided they were more fun to chase out of the trees and brush than pointing. From that point on, we would only go to quail spots for one or two points and then vacate before he started chasing again. Jake didn't really care to have quail in his mouth and I had to encourage him to get the bird all the way to me.

But, on chukars and huns he had it figured out. Early in his hunting career, Jake would break early on his points, but soon figured out that if he held point and let me flush the birds, it usually meant a bird in the mouth. He had well over 100 points on chukar and huns this year and I'd have to say he held 90% of them for me to flush. Jake loves to retrieve and understands what dead bird means. Sometimes he's watching a bird fly off that I'm not shooting at and with my help will relentlessly search for a dead bird. Jake's retrieving needs a little polishing. Sometimes he likes to drop the bird five or six feet from me and other times wants to parade along the side of me with his trophy. If he never does any better than that I'll be satisfied but we'll work on it anyhow.

Like most hunting dogs, his point is sometimes flawless, with a perfectly straight back and tale and head high. But at times he'll get caught between strides and his point isn't perfect but I get the idea anyhow. I think he might rival Tucker, who had one of the most majestic points in a dog I've ever owned.

Jake is the most playful dog I have ever owned. I guess that is because he is a single dog and play is one way of spending some energy. He loves playing with the other dogs, but when it comes to hunting his play stops. He has one thought on his mind and that is finding birds. His normal range is about 250 yards but once this year was on point at 477 yards which for me is a little long, since most of the country we hunt is so steep. The most miles he covered in one day this year was 33, and it was in steep country, and was ready to go again on the next day.

Two days ago we had our last hunt of the season. It was my first full day hunt since my operation and Jake's first day out in fresh snow. He adapted well and although we didn't find a lot of birds he held his points great for this slow poke to get to him. I wasn't sure about this point until he hadn't moved for two or three minutes and than i decided I'd better get up there.

Sure enough there were four birds for me to shoot at, which I proceeded to empty both barrels without seeing a feather move. Jake watched them fly off and got busy finding more birds. I figured my poor shooting was due to the camera hanging on my arm and decided maybe I should worry more about getting the birds and than taking pictures for Jake's sake. It didn't help a lot although we ended up with a couple of retrieves before the day was over. 

 In summary I'd have to say Jake had a great first year and when it is all said and done he's either going to make an old man out of me or a young man. I guess that is going to depend on my attitude for the next 10 years or so.

As far as the birds go for the year, I have to admit to seeing fewer birds this year than any since I began hunting chukars way back when. It might have been because Jake hasn't acquired the skills to locate birds yet or maybe it was just an off year. Even at that, we always found a good reason to be out chasing them and knew that there were more birds just over that mountain which we didn't have time to get to on that day. With Jake having one more year of maturity and the birds having a good hatch, I'm sure looking forward to opening day 2014.