Sunny winter day

I don’t know how it could get much better than today. It was one of those hunts just for the exercise. Tomorrow’s the day with the back doctor, so I decided to get the dogs out and go as far as we could. The sun was shining and the temperature was 27 degrees with a slight breeze. The only question was whether I was man enough to get to where I could hear chukars talking right out of the truck.

It really didn’t look that bad, but as I followed the trails up the hill there was more frozen ground and snow than I figured I would encounter. Thank the animals for the trails I used to gain elevation.

I don’t think I could have made it as high as I needed to go without them.

Along the way I found evidence of other animals that had been on the trails. Like this lion track.

And the many chukar tracks confirming what my ears were hearing.

Of course the boys didn’t care to stay on the trails and were often off a couple hundred yards looking for chukars. Like this point by Grady with an honor by Jake. You have to look real hard to see Grady to the left of the bush but they held tight while I slowly got to them.

Every once in a while I get a good surprise from Jake. He usually doesn’t range as far as Grady, and on this point I came over the ridge to see his head behind this bush. He was locked tight and we got the bird before the Alpha even said he had treed his quarry. I like those moments because they save me a lot of steps.

If there was anything wrong with the day, it had to be that the chukar scent carried so far with the breeze. There were several points where the birds were 100 yards away and they flushed out of range. Usually when Grady’s point is with a low tail they are off a way.

When the tail is flat with the back the birds are right there. Like this long distance point. Grady is on the ridge with Jake honoring about 20 yards back. He’s right behind the brush.

I moved in closer and took this picture before readying for the shot. He’s pretty intense.

We just had an almost perfect day. The dogs found bird after bird and kept me moving off the trails.

And I did my part.

The boys love to retrieve chukars back to me.

We even had a point on a covey of quail as we got close to the truck. We don’t often shoot quail but I decided to give it a try to make sure I could even hit one. You know what they say about the blind squirrel. That tale fits me.

The cold is supposed to be back for a few days and I’ll be laid up by the fireplace for those days but what a great treat the dogs gave me today.

I hope your days go as well as this one was. Good luck and enjoy those great dogs.