5 days of heaven

The boys and I took five days and headed over to Oregon for the first time this year. What a wonderful trip. The weather was more than cooperative and the birds were obliging as well.
The first day found Riley and Dakota together on the mountain finding the birds. There was a slight drizzle, but not enough to make us uncomfortable. The camera stayed in the truck but I had plenty of opportunities for good camera shots. We had a great day and managed to get off the hill just before the skies let loose with the rain.

On the second day I went to a different location. The weather was perfect. I left Dakota in the camper and hunted Riley. He had an outstanding day. We found plenty of chukars and I had ample opportunities for camera work as well as gun work. Riley at age three has turned into a fantastic chukar dog.
When I returned to camp I was pleased to find Kirklan of idahouplandhunting.com waiting. Kirklan is quite a bird hunting guru so I was excited to pick his brain. We discussed dogs, birds, falconry and every other topic involved with the outdoors and retired for the third day of chasing chukars for me.

On day three I had both Dakota and Riley with me and Kirklan split in his own direction with Darko and Rader. That was the last I saw of him until he met me back at camp hours later. That guy covers some miles and elevation when he hunts chukars. Rader is a ground covering fool. Back at camp we discussed the days activities and laughed about his shooting. It seemed like the first 6 birds went down as designed after the shot. The seventh wasn't long afterwards. But the final bird of his limit was taking a toll on his allotment of 20 guage shells. I could laugh with him because I knew the feeling well.

Day four Kirklan and I went to a fourth area and had the same fortune with the birds. Kirklan admitted to shooting much better that day. It saves a lot of miles on the feet and dogs when you shoot well. I made the mistake of taking Dakota two days in a row and he suffered for it. 11 year old dogs need a break when it comes to chukar hunting. It was my only slow day on the hill. My old boy just wasn't covering the country like normal.

The fifth and final day for me was the fifth different place to hunt. The results were the same. Lots of birds making for lots of excitement. Kirklan and I said our goodbyes before we headed off in different directions. If I got back first I was hooking up the camper and headed home and if he got back first he was picking up and headed for central Oregon for some more chukar hunting and possibly mountain quail. The last time I saw him he was a speck on the hill even with the binoculars. That guy covers the mountain. I had Riley with me that day and he had an almost perfect day. My shooting wasn't perfect though. But it made for more enjoyable points. We still had a mile or so back to the truck after we filled our game vest which presented some photo opportunities.
The trip was as good as they get and the company of Kirklan topped it off. I hope his final three days are as good as the first three. Now I'm going to take three days to get some of my honey do's taken care of, watch the grand kids in sports and celebrate Barb and my 36th anniversary before getting back to the birds on the mountains. I hope everyone else out there is enjoying the outdoor activities as much as I am.