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Joined: 03 Jul 2005 Posts: 370 Location: Amarillo, Texas

Steve and I left Amarillo at 6:00AM Saturday. We drove to Liberal, Kansas, hunted on a half section of WIH/CRP just out of Liberal.
Dog Score: Beau - flushed 1 rooster, Brie pointed two hens.
People score: I missed the flushed rooster.

Drove to Hugoton, hunted on 3/4 section of WIH/CRP
Dog Score: Beau flushed two roosters. Brie pointed a hen. Miscellaneous hen flushes
People score: No shots

Met a local farmer at lunch in Hugoton. He took us to hunt corners around corn and also some unharvested corn rows.
Dog score: Beau flushed a rooster. Beau pointed a hen. - I put him up and we hunted the rest of the day with the farmer's setter.
The setter pointed a cock and a Bob white
We shot both of them
The setter flushed numerous hens and cocks - I felt better.

Sunday morning we hunted 3/4 of secton of WIH/CRP
Dog score: Brie pinned a rooster and Steve shot it. Brie fetched it to hand - I was PROUDShe tracked it and herded it for 100 yards and then pinned it up and pointed it at the edge of the CRP. Brie pointed a hen. Brie tracked and herded another rooster for fifty yards and then penned it up and pointed at the edge of the CRP (county road). We shot it. In another 20 minutes Beau dropped off in the bar ditch and out of sight. A hen flushed within a few yards of where he disappeared and still Beau was out of sight (small and no tail). We walked towards where the hen got up Beau was on point. Three more hens flushed and Beau took off after one of them. I took one step and a rooster flushed and we got it. Beau half ass fetched and then left it on top of deep puddle of water with a thin layer of ice. Brie finished the retrieve. We had several hen points and hen flushes after that. It was then about noon and we went to some WIH that was on pasture land - about 2-1/2 sections. Untill we went to the pasture land we had hunted on foot. At the pasture we kicked Beau out of truck and followed him - we stayed on the county road of course. Beau got birdy, we got out of the truck and followed him. A hen flushed, we went over a hill and Beau was at the bottom of the hill - very birdy. I called him in as it was time for us to head back to Amarillo. He wouldn't come and i walked down to him and yelled for him to come again. He started running towards me, stopped suddenly and a rooster flushed. I knocked it down. We hunted for it for 30 minutes and never found it and that was the end of the hunt.

Here is a picture of my friend Steve with Beau, Brie, and Dubya. Steve is the tall one.

Here is a picture of Beau and Dubya on point. Beau had come back to the CRP from hunting across the county road and went on point:

Here is a link to my photobucket site - you are welcome to browse around:

http://s98.photobucket.com/albums/l274/AmarilloMike/Jan06072007SteveKansas/

Best!

mike

It sure like a good time was had by all. Did you ever kill a Rooster with that old Prussian Hammer Double? Keep the photos coming.

Good work Mike! I hunted in that area a couple of times this season and we saw plenty of roosters, but the suckers were running and flushing wild. I expected to see a ton of snow on the ground there; they must have dodged the blizzards.

John

Joined: 03 Jul 2005 Posts: 370 Location: Amarillo, Texas

PGG I was afraid of the weather and I didn't take it - it is in such good shape it would be a shame to bang it up. I used the Parker VHE 16 one frame.

John they got the blizzard. We saw miles with every power pole snapped off and many scattered incidents of broken power poles. The ground was very very wet but it was very frozen most of the time. There were "ponds" scattered all over the fields. The Elkhart area still had a foot of snow on the ground and we didn't hunt there. We spent Saturday night at the "El Rancho" in Elkhart and talked to some hunters there who said the birds were flushing wild and maybe because the snow crunching sound was so loud. We decided to go back to the Hugoton area and hunt. Sunday it was 23 degrees and the wind was blowing 15 to 20. Neither Steve nor I nor the dogs overheated. You know what I mean about the dogs pinning or penning the birds - this is their first season to pheasant hunt very much and they flushed a bunch of pheasants early in the season. It seemed like Sunday they were getting the hang of it.

Mike

Mike, there is some decent quail hunting around Elkhart and all that snow on the ground could spell doom for the little guys. Hopefully there are sheltered areas where they can still reach food. The phez are strong birds and should fare okay.

We still have a couple of feet of snow on the ground south and east of Denver. Another snow event is forecast for this coming Thurs/Fri. Hopefully eastern CO and western KS will be spared.

John

Joined: 03 Jul 2005 Posts: 370 Location: Amarillo, Texas

I bet the quail in the Cimmarron National Grasslands are history. Damn shame.

Mike

Joined: 03 Jul 2005 Posts: 370 Location: Amarillo, Texas

This is what a fat dog looks like after a hard day and a half of hunting. Steve snapped this shot of Brie (and Beau's butt) after we loaded up the birds and the dogs in the Expedition:

Am watching the weather carefully; was going out to the Hill City area this weekend if the weather holds. Bro-in-law says there are still some birds alive out there Very Happy

! If weather doesn't hold, will be putting my end-of-season trip off for another week!!! Evil or Very Mad

Upside: master suite remodel is now finished, new floor in study now finished. If I don't head west this weekend, guest bedroom floor will be finished. Spring fishing outlook good!! Very Happy

Fin

Joined: 03 Jul 2005 Posts: 370 Location: Amarillo, Texas

Hi Fin:

Good luck on the weather. It seems to me 9 out of 10 times it is much better than the weather channel predicts. I hope you give us a report!

I got a report of good quail hunting in Southern New Mexico today - I am making arrangements to go there this weekend but not finalized.

Best,

Mike

Hey fin2

I am off to Russell this weekend (Fri-Tues) to hunt sat/sun/mon. I have been watching weather for 2 weeks and it has changed every day. Looks like the worst will miss the area - snow showers and COLD though on Saturday. My reports from friend/guide indicate hunting should be good and some geese have moved into area as possible bonus.

good luck....

Good luck to you too Mike in NM - where in NM (have shot quail around Roswell long ago - none that I shot tasted funny or glowed in the dark from the aliens....)

Joined: 03 Jul 2005 Posts: 370 Location: Amarillo, Texas

I was at the gunshop yesterday evening picking up a shotgun I bought. My intel is thirdhand - from the hunter to shop owner to me. But it is fresh. Hopefully I will have pictures of points and fat old ugly men and beautiful dead birds.

Thanks to the Rev Doc and Sixteen Doc and John and the same to youse guys.

Mike

Joined: 01 Sep 2006 Posts: 68 Location: MN

Good looking dogs. We can never take to many photo's