Friday, December 5, 2008

Field Day

Tess got her first day of pheasant hunting the day before Thanksgiving. And then we went the day after Thanksgiving. Indiana has put-and-take hunts where you pay to hunt on state land, and they release two birds per hunter.

Tess didn't do too bad for her first hunt. She did well with the other dogs in our party, an 11-month old GSP(Cassie) and Hook, a 6 year old GSP. But being only 13 months old herself, she did well. I was afraid she might get scared of the gunshots, but it was the opposite: she got really excited and looked to the sky every time she heard a shot. Thanks to Hook, everybody in the hunting party got their limit of birds.
On Friday, she did a little better. At one point we were going through a wooded patch and she went on point. There was a hen in the leaves and it blended in so well I didn't see it at first. That was my second bird for the day. The first came when my brother's dog Chip, an english setter, and Tess double teamed a rooster. After the bird went down, Chip was all over it on the retrieve....however Tess was right there and Chip got mad and didn't want to give me the bird.


Jenni was along on Friday and was taking pictures. Here's a pic of Hook's dad getting ready to put my first bird in my game pouch(I'm on the right), with Tess looking on.
And here's a pic after the hunt of me and Tess:

We will be going out tomorrow to do what's called clean-up, looking for released birds that are still out there. My brother and Chip will be going also, hope the weather cooperates.

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