Firelight SettersI was fortunate enough to again spend a month of early hunting season in Montana. Always an adventure, hunting this year was dogged by alternating heat and rain. Never saw so many rainy days in such a dry place. Sharptail grouse were spotty but Hungarian partridge were good as were pheasants. I had 4 setters with me and most of the time I run 1 or 2 of them with a couple of my partner’s Fr Brits.
Sally was my go-to dog, always a pleasure to hunt with.
In MT we usually don’t hunt pheasants in typical phez habitat, we hunt crazy wild ones that we call “bad lands phez.”
Storm is my biggest runner which comes in useful in this country. Here I found her just over the edge, backing one of Mike’s FBs even though he is in the next draw over from us. A GPS collar is helpful in this terrain.
Huns and my new little 28 ga that I love
My 2 youngsters, Kate and Flint, are 10 months old and learned some early lessons up there. Flint had a nice run with multiple sharptail that put it together for him and I was able to drop a bird over his first solid point.
Even lessons like learning how to check in to take water rations are important up there. Here Kate learns from Belle the FB.
I am headed to Minnesota next week for some ruffed grouse and woodcock hunting; they are my roots and I look forward to the rich smell and feel of the woods. We will then be hunting quail and pheasant in Nebraska and Kansas starting in a couple of weeks until the end of January. My favorite time of year!
Cheers
Lynn Dee