Hello everyone,
I thought I'd check out the forums and introduce myself. I live out in SW Wa, and really enjoy running my dogs and hunting over them.
I like to plink and shoot clay birds and am looking to add a lever action .38spc/.357 to my small collection (since it will run on the same ammo that my sidearm does.)
I write occasional hunting/dog related photo essays.
here is one you might enjoy.....
____________________________________________________________________________________________
it is fun to do something to commemorate the new year
i remember back in 76'
when the big fireworks display got loose down at the lake
someone knocked a mortar off its mark
it all went off at once
it was just another new years
but i'll never forget how the whole world rocked and lit up for a moment
back in 1999 a bunch of kids ran stark naked through our neighborhood
i laughed and yelled at them
told them they were all insane
as i hooked my boat up in the dark with frozen hands and snow falling
"crazy," i thought
not being able to see my own reflection in the glass on the truck with a skiff of snow on it
the night before driving 120 miles in the ice
with no studs
and enough boat behind the truck to push me
right off the bridge over mary's creek on hwy 30
mike met me in the little mill town and we loaded kodi up
kaden rode in his crate and everyone settled in after a growl and a rumble
mike is good about getting out when most folks are not able to
when some guys roll out of bed at noon on new years day
he is ready bright and early
kodi and kaden got into the bomber and we took off into the big river beyond
the boat sputtered before dawn
it is a bad feeling when the motor decides it is tired of the long muddy churn out in the middle of it all
we swore some and walked back and forth in the boat and it wheezed some more
we yelled at the dogs and walked back and forth some more\
the boat kept running and after we made a few adjustments and nursed the primer bulb
somehow it responded
resurrected
we beached the bomber and dropped off our gear
and boosted a solitary river otter out of the spot just a few yards away
sent him burning out in the sand
swimming away like a torpedo into the muddy river water
the dogs wanted to pursue
but we had work to do
mike likes to come up with a plan for deploying the decoys
i like to drag them out and drop the anchors
give them a little slack
after many years of hunting with mike
i have learned to listen to his plan
then i nod in agreement
then i get back in the boat and drag the anchors out and drop them where they fall best
let gravity pull on 60 lbs of window sash weights
the muddy currents bow the string
sometimes i hit the mark he had in mind
sometimes i am off by a country mile
most times i suppose the difference is split
alas
we get our birds
mike and kodi like smoked duck
so they smoked this one
kodi made a great fetch and took a long swim
we had more bluebills working the spread and did our best to knock them down
the red dog wanted to give it a go too
mike was able to drop a nice drake to help with the process
the boy was off like a 60 lb rocket
the red dog is good at tactics that some folks would call "submersive"
he was pretty fired up to get his first big bluebill of the new year
i asked him how it felt to get out there and get a nose full?
he closed his eyes and sat for a moment and seemed satisfied in the sun
he had steam rising up from his rusty red coat
water drops dappled in sun shining so that it illuminated him
for just a moment
he seemed to be so comfortable and so right
i just let him feel it
kodi wondered what was going on and why the red dog would be in such a trance?
it was good to see the red dog pick up a few pointers from kodi
like watching a youngster learn from an old pro
me and the red dog have only had about a year together since he rescued me
i could see him focus and learn by watching kodi work birds with mike
kodi even offered to show the red dog how to properly fetch old growth
mike promised to do more fishing this year
the red dog wanted to see what might be swimming at the other end
we told the red dog that "sometimes all fishing is, is waving a stick by the waters edge."
the birds shut off and i had a chance to take the red dog for an exploratory mission along the edge of the river
up along railroad tracks and through blowdowns and debris
we tried some jump shooting on the marge of the big river and busted a troop of coots and a pair of mallards
i was going to blast the coots but just before i fired the red dog took note of something to the side and told me to wait
the coots were on to us and i didn't want to miss a chance at 5 coots in a single shot
"kaden, what are you seeing over there?" i asked.
he said, "hang on a second, i'll have to show you"
he bolted across the canal and i heard a hen mallard quack
up she popped with her drake
i shot my 2 shots and killed the hen
the drake somehow managed to duck under the mud berm at just the right moment and flew away
then the red dog busted about 30 coot and chased them right out
i tried to reload and
i fumbled with my shells
i wasn't paying attention to where i was walking and was careless for a moment trying to reload
broke the breech on the gun and slipped and tripped into the water
only about 2 ft deep but a true baptism
stood up and shook off and promptly missed another bird
the red dog came back and brought me my hen and asked why i looked so wet?
we walked back to our spot
i held up the trophy and mike was shaking out his gear and wringing stuff out
"well, i took a swim," he said
"kodi got hooked in the lines just fore of his hind legs and couldn't bust out of it. he started to get tired so i got him free, but took a little more water on that i was hoping to."
"so you took a swim too?"
mike said, "yup."
we had more birds work through and kodi got hung again for a moment
we all ran to the lines to help
hunting in longlines can be dangerous
a young dog is capable of whirlies and contortions that allow them to free themselves from the tangle
but not experienced enough to avoid tangles along the way
a mature dog can avoid the tangles and snags in the lines
but once hung
doesn't have the wiggles in the hips to free itself
so
i reckon dogs are a lot like people
the longlines are akin to life
the red dog was glad that kodi made it back and offered to help with the bird
the red dog was even more excited when mike got the first sawbill of the new year
the first official entry in this years Pacific NW sawbill derby
everyone got some birds
everyone got a chance to swim on new years day
I thought I'd check out the forums and introduce myself. I live out in SW Wa, and really enjoy running my dogs and hunting over them.
I like to plink and shoot clay birds and am looking to add a lever action .38spc/.357 to my small collection (since it will run on the same ammo that my sidearm does.)
I write occasional hunting/dog related photo essays.
here is one you might enjoy.....
____________________________________________________________________________________________
it is fun to do something to commemorate the new year
i remember back in 76'
when the big fireworks display got loose down at the lake
someone knocked a mortar off its mark
it all went off at once
it was just another new years
but i'll never forget how the whole world rocked and lit up for a moment
back in 1999 a bunch of kids ran stark naked through our neighborhood
i laughed and yelled at them
told them they were all insane
as i hooked my boat up in the dark with frozen hands and snow falling
"crazy," i thought
not being able to see my own reflection in the glass on the truck with a skiff of snow on it
the night before driving 120 miles in the ice
with no studs
and enough boat behind the truck to push me
right off the bridge over mary's creek on hwy 30
mike met me in the little mill town and we loaded kodi up
kaden rode in his crate and everyone settled in after a growl and a rumble
mike is good about getting out when most folks are not able to
when some guys roll out of bed at noon on new years day
he is ready bright and early
kodi and kaden got into the bomber and we took off into the big river beyond
the boat sputtered before dawn
it is a bad feeling when the motor decides it is tired of the long muddy churn out in the middle of it all
we swore some and walked back and forth in the boat and it wheezed some more
we yelled at the dogs and walked back and forth some more\
the boat kept running and after we made a few adjustments and nursed the primer bulb
somehow it responded
resurrected
we beached the bomber and dropped off our gear
and boosted a solitary river otter out of the spot just a few yards away
sent him burning out in the sand
swimming away like a torpedo into the muddy river water
the dogs wanted to pursue
but we had work to do
mike likes to come up with a plan for deploying the decoys
i like to drag them out and drop the anchors
give them a little slack
after many years of hunting with mike
i have learned to listen to his plan
then i nod in agreement
then i get back in the boat and drag the anchors out and drop them where they fall best
let gravity pull on 60 lbs of window sash weights
the muddy currents bow the string
sometimes i hit the mark he had in mind
sometimes i am off by a country mile
most times i suppose the difference is split
alas
we get our birds
mike and kodi like smoked duck
so they smoked this one
kodi made a great fetch and took a long swim
we had more bluebills working the spread and did our best to knock them down
the red dog wanted to give it a go too
mike was able to drop a nice drake to help with the process
the boy was off like a 60 lb rocket
the red dog is good at tactics that some folks would call "submersive"
he was pretty fired up to get his first big bluebill of the new year
i asked him how it felt to get out there and get a nose full?
he closed his eyes and sat for a moment and seemed satisfied in the sun
he had steam rising up from his rusty red coat
water drops dappled in sun shining so that it illuminated him
for just a moment
he seemed to be so comfortable and so right
i just let him feel it
kodi wondered what was going on and why the red dog would be in such a trance?
it was good to see the red dog pick up a few pointers from kodi
like watching a youngster learn from an old pro
me and the red dog have only had about a year together since he rescued me
i could see him focus and learn by watching kodi work birds with mike
kodi even offered to show the red dog how to properly fetch old growth
mike promised to do more fishing this year
the red dog wanted to see what might be swimming at the other end
we told the red dog that "sometimes all fishing is, is waving a stick by the waters edge."
the birds shut off and i had a chance to take the red dog for an exploratory mission along the edge of the river
up along railroad tracks and through blowdowns and debris
we tried some jump shooting on the marge of the big river and busted a troop of coots and a pair of mallards
i was going to blast the coots but just before i fired the red dog took note of something to the side and told me to wait
the coots were on to us and i didn't want to miss a chance at 5 coots in a single shot
"kaden, what are you seeing over there?" i asked.
he said, "hang on a second, i'll have to show you"
he bolted across the canal and i heard a hen mallard quack
up she popped with her drake
i shot my 2 shots and killed the hen
the drake somehow managed to duck under the mud berm at just the right moment and flew away
then the red dog busted about 30 coot and chased them right out
i tried to reload and
i fumbled with my shells
i wasn't paying attention to where i was walking and was careless for a moment trying to reload
broke the breech on the gun and slipped and tripped into the water
only about 2 ft deep but a true baptism
stood up and shook off and promptly missed another bird
the red dog came back and brought me my hen and asked why i looked so wet?
we walked back to our spot
i held up the trophy and mike was shaking out his gear and wringing stuff out
"well, i took a swim," he said
"kodi got hooked in the lines just fore of his hind legs and couldn't bust out of it. he started to get tired so i got him free, but took a little more water on that i was hoping to."
"so you took a swim too?"
mike said, "yup."
we had more birds work through and kodi got hung again for a moment
we all ran to the lines to help
hunting in longlines can be dangerous
a young dog is capable of whirlies and contortions that allow them to free themselves from the tangle
but not experienced enough to avoid tangles along the way
a mature dog can avoid the tangles and snags in the lines
but once hung
doesn't have the wiggles in the hips to free itself
so
i reckon dogs are a lot like people
the longlines are akin to life
the red dog was glad that kodi made it back and offered to help with the bird
the red dog was even more excited when mike got the first sawbill of the new year
the first official entry in this years Pacific NW sawbill derby
everyone got some birds
everyone got a chance to swim on new years day
