9/21 dove and 9/22 teal

[quackaddict]

My wife called me at about 5:40 yesterday afternoon when she got done with class to tell me that she was going to ride her horse. I decided I'd run out to my little honey hole 2 miles down the road to try to get an hours worth of dove killing in. Grabbed my scattergun and my pup and headed out. I couldn't hunt on my normal tank bank because a Julio was sighting in his muzzleloader on the bank, so I set up by 2 dead trees about 100 yards south of my normal spot. Put some decoys in the trees and the mojo in between the two. The setup turned out to be better than a pile of bird seed. I had enough time to load my gun and tie the pup off to the bush I was hunkered down by(she started breaking last hunt) before the birds started coming in. Almost every bird I killed came floating in like a pintail, and most were in groups of 4-8 birds. I had 2 or 3 doubles and my first ever triple. I hunted this place this past weekend and the birds just weren't there like normal, so we must have gotten a fresh push of birds since Sunday. Killed my 15 birds in a hair under 45 minutes.



I made a trip to the Rio yesterday morning to cut a path through the salt cedar to get on the river so I could hunt this morning. Found about 50-ish teal in various sized groups. Went back this morning and go to the river right at shooting time to see some groups flying up and down the river and out to feed in what flooded alfalfa fields they could find(crops are flood irrigated out here). Finally got settled in and watched some Mexican mallards and groups of teal buzz across the river and trade back between pastures and Pecan orchards(they are flood irrigated as well). Finally had a good sized group buzz my mighty spread and doubled, picking up a Blue-wing and a Green-wing. Had several singles put the slip on me over the next hour and had a few groups think about coming my way only to peel off about 100 yards out. Had one more group buzz me, shot a bird twice, and he did the whole "headed for the ground like I'm dead and then decided he wasn't dead" thing. Decided to move down the river about 100 yards to another spot where birds were crossing and working earlier in the morning. Got set up again and had a large group of about 25 Mexican mallards work my spread...that was nice. Had a single come out of nowhere and plop in the spread, so I added another BWT to the bag. Saw a pair of ducks come out of the Pecan orchard in front of me that weren't Messican mallards, and weren't teal..."bleep" wood ducks. I haven't seen many of those in the last few years, so it was a welcome scene. Birds stopped moving around, so I grabbed by fakes and headed back to get the rest of my things. Got it all packed up and started back to the car to have a group come screaming up the river towards me. I couldn't stand it, so I added #4 to the strap.

Massive spread


Almost the finished product. I added #4 after this photo

[JWP58]

Lucky!!!

I went out this morning and didnt see a single dove...in gun range. I shouldve done more scouting at the public spot i was hunting.

[birddog1968]

Nice pics, black dogs with white muzzles RULE!

[quackaddict]

Nice pics, black dogs with white muzzles RULE!

That's a true story...He'll probably be the last one I ever have, so I'm trying to get some good photos to remember him by.

[birddog1968]

I went 8 months without a lab after my last one died, just wasn't the same without one.....They get old too darn fast !

Took this yesterday- Don't ya love how they are always on the lookout for the next bird?

[quackaddict]

That's a great photo birddog.

I love mine to death, but I really love Chessie's(and I've never been a lab guy...more spaniels and Chessie's) so I don't know what I'll do when he's gone. It'll rip my heart out when he leaves me though.