Met my oldest and youngest brother for the first of our two yearly phez/grouse hunts. Hunted half a day last Wednesday (11th) under horrendous conditions - 40 MPH winds gusting higher, light rain mixed with sleet. The next day was 30 MPH winds but at least it was sunny. I had an appointment with the vet in Tyler for my old Lab and had just enough time to work a small WMA. Old Chaz put up a number of birds but conditions and distance made shooting difficult. My oldest brother and I were on one side of the road and my youngest on the opposite. Chaz put up a rooster which I shot at and thought I missed. I mentioned to my oldest brother that it was just as well I missed considering the very wet cattails it would have dropped into and the difficult scenting conditions. Got back to the car and my youngest asked "who shot?" I told him I did and he said "you got a bird." One of those where the bird cruised a couple hundred yard and then dropped dead right near him. Took Chaz to the vet who determined he had arthritis and I now had to make the decision to limit his time in the field. We ended the day with five birds; me 2 (plus one lost where the dogs could not catch the scent in the windy conditions), youngest brother 2, oldest brother 1. Friday was sunny and warmer but still windy. Three birds that day; none for me. Saturday was beautiful; light winds 63 deg. The first WIA we wanted to hit was already occupied so we tried another and each dropped a bird in it - with my youngest brother's lab making a fantastic retrieve on a runner I had hit. Youngest brother got one more bird and that was it for the first hunt. Lots of work to get the birds, but great exercise and time spent with family.
first bird. Oscar, the 8 mo poodle had no idea what he was doing out there, but was enthusiastic about fetching the bird and gentle about it.
the Saturday morning bird - Abbie the lab did great on all three birds - old Chaz sat out this field
3 brothers
Oscar getting a bit of practice on the real thing
