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WyoChukar
PostPosted: Mon Mar 05, 2018 6:24 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 16 Jul 2015
Posts: 2124
Location: Hudson,Wy

I'm kind of feeling a little out of place these days. Not on here mind you, but civilization in general. I guess it's just the bird hunter inside crying for release. Lately, idle time has been epidemic, it's part of my job. Today, for the want of exercise and basic restlessness, I spent some time walking around the wind blown town of Laramie, Wyoming, entertaining random thoughts, a dangerous endeavor for sure. Boy have things changed.

I miss the day when cars didn't have "separation anxiety" in the parking lot and when people actually drove them instead of texting their way from point A to point B. Yeah, in my short life I have seen an awful lot of changes, some expected and some startling. In between these thoughts, birds, guns, and dogs ruled my psyche, as well they should.

At day's end I stared out the window of a 3rd floor hotel room at mountains, small ones, and wondered if there are any grouse up there. Earlier today I strolled past a line up of brand new trucks with terrifying price tags. I wonder how people afford them. I suppose they can't, it's just an endless debt cycle driven by fear of breaking down or status. This made me think of the shotguns we discuss here. Some have grown pretty pricey too, but appear as bargains against this lot of new vehicles that rapidly depreciate. Maybe our shotgun fetish isn't so vain after all.

When I carry an old gun, or any bird gun, all of this fades out of mind. No longer do I feel trapped in the current era and its societal chaos. Nope, when I step forth through prairie or woodland, none of that stuff matters anymore. Rusty is of foremost importance, as are the birds he will find and the memories we will make that day. Such moments escape the bounds of linear time, days when old memories flourish in between the experiences that will become tomorrow's subject of nostalgia. The good Lord knows I have been fortunate enough to enjoy more bird/ dog time than a man is entitled to, even if I were to live a dozen lifetimes, and I am grateful.

But, now the "ordinary" slips up and unexpectedly reminds me just how precious those other days were. There are times we realize this while we are living them; all too often we don't and wish we had paid a little more attention. This is when that feeling of exile taps on the shoulder again, when thoughts of "do I really belong here" creep in. I suppose God put me where I am most useful and I accept that. As I said, I have been allowed a lot of time, where it counts.

Being away from my dog 11 days out of 14 makes me feel like a father away from his child. Funny how that works. What is it that makes a man feel so? It is too long between hunting seasons I suppose, even if the fishing is good. Rusty enjoys the outings too, but he doesn't exude the quivering anticipation that September reawakens in him. Neither do I, not quite.

Anybody else feeling a tad "lost" between seasons?

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skeettx
PostPosted: Mon Mar 05, 2018 6:33 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 15 Apr 2007
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Location: Amarillo, Texas

Yes

BUT

Putting away hunting gear, rebuilding duck boat motors, getting fishing stuff ready.

Buying a different gun and shooting it really helps to scratch an itch.

Mike


Last edited by skeettx on Sat Mar 10, 2018 8:41 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Chicago
PostPosted: Mon Mar 05, 2018 8:19 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 12 Aug 2007
Posts: 1376
Location: Northern Illinois

I know the feeling and upland bird hunting is my passion. I have a few others, cross country skiing, biking and hiking. I now live in a poor place for reliable cross country skiing, but these hobbies keep me occupied until a new season rolls around.

To help keep me in the fold I work my pups 12 months a year and I help friends train their dogs. I also get out scouting at least a couple of times a year. Throw in a gun project here and there and presto the new season rolls around. Every four or five years I get a pup and that keeps me completely in the fold for a couple of years.

I almost pulled the trigger on a new pup and that would have brought me out to your neck of the woods in mid April. The breeder in Island Park, Idaho had a female setter I really liked and I wanted a pup out of her. This was the last breeding and I almost talked myself into it even though I don’t need a third bird dog. I finally decided to wait. I lost my third dog last October at the age of 16 1/2 and she hunted right up until a week before she passed. My current pups are 4 and 7 so both are in their prime.

Good Hunting,
Mike
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16gaDavis
PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 7:08 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 24 Jun 2013
Posts: 2062
Location: canandaigua - western n.y. (formerly deerhunter)

WYO , you pretty well nailed this one . Last time I talked to Nick , we kinda lamented about being bird hunters as compared to Wild Bill when the old west ended . Awkward . Like ya don't fit anymore or are out of place . Can't stop doing it even though it's hard enough climbing the stairs a few times nowadays . Have to walk/workout during summer just to be able to cover the flatter land on the Rez ! CAN"T STOP DOING IT !! ... dog is sooo miserable when I'm away for more than a day . She's slept with me every nite we've been in the same place for 9 yrs now . Getting to be an old , slow Beagle . Decided not to let her run this winter as it's been kind of crappy and once she's loose , she won't give up till she's out of gas . She's been barely able to get out of the brush the last couple yrs , so we're semi retired . Once we get to camp this spring before turkeys , I'll let her rip when I can catch her early in the chases ... The views don't compare to out west , but they aren't bad either . nor are the Adirondacks ! still plenty to see !

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rudyc
PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 8:10 am  Reply with quote
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Well said "WyoChukar"

I'm thinking that there are a pile of us on this site site and others that feel the same way as you do.

But like Mike said--- Having other fun things to take your mind off of bird season will surely help.

I used to work with a fella that told me once that he hoped to have about 15 years of unfinished projects left when he left this world.

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WyoChukar
PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 8:40 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 16 Jul 2015
Posts: 2124
Location: Hudson,Wy

Oh believe me, I have some other pursuits that I am very passionate about. That said, I still think of bird hunting when I am out fly fishing, jigging walleyes, riding the fat tire bike, etc. However, I don't seem to ever think about those things when I am bird hunting. Probably not a coincidence.

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Riflemeister
PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 8:48 am  Reply with quote
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The local preserves close the last of March and then I'll be right there with you, WyoChukar. I know preserves are a poor substitute for wild bird hunting, but the dogs enjoy that and field trialing so much it's worth it. This summer will be trap and skeet league to continue working on my shooting and I'll be conditioning my two GSP's to ensure they're ready for our fall western bird odyssey. The 8 year old, Bode, tore his cruciate ligament before this last season started, underwent TPLO knee surgery, and then an extended recovery to allow his bones to reheal successfully. I finally got to hunt him yesterday and this morning there was no sign of stiffness or anything untoward, and I'm so grateful to all the vets that had a hand in getting my buddy back in the field.




Bode pointing a chukar on his first hunt in 6 months.

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Dogchaser37
PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 9:02 am  Reply with quote
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Location: Central CT

I remember fly fishing in the spring and hearing the ruffed grouse drumming.

I'm with you Wyo, I think of bird hunting all the time, but when I am bird hunting only think about bird hunting.

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Gran16
PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 10:33 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 08 Mar 2016
Posts: 120
Location: South Dakota

Yes for a couple months, even though the lost time might be shorter for me cause I enjoy fishing just as much. There is still plenty of time to let the mind wander. Being in my 20s makes it feel much more so as everybody except one person I hunt with and fish with for that matter is older then me, mostly my choice I guess. Still not many people my age enjoy the outdoors like I do. My neighbor for example walking around playing Pokémon go in the middle of deer season.
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UncleDanFan
PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 11:23 am  Reply with quote
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Location: The Great Northwet

I hear you. I remember going on a float trip on the Grande Ronde in eastern WA for steelhead, and I spent the whole time looking up at the cliffs hoping to spot some chukars. I realized then that for me, fishing is just something to do to pass the time until chukar season starts.

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AmericanMeet
PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 11:46 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 26 Apr 2010
Posts: 3172
Location: NCWa

When I was in high school the Beach Boys had a song, that has been resung by other artists, but I prefer the original: In My Room. Over the last 50+ years I have found that my room may be literally My Room, but it is also the big room of the mountainside that I share with Chukars, the woods where grouse live, the fields where quail and pheasant live; or for a few more years the wilderness areas inhabited by elk. When I'm In My Room, regardless as to which room it is, I'm at peace with the world.
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Dogchaser37
PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 12:23 pm  Reply with quote
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A crisp 30 degree day, a 10 -15 mph wind, light gray clouds, 4 inches of fresh snow, your favorite 16 over your arm and watching your dog glide along in a field of foxtail and brome grass.

I don't know about anyone else, but that is my serenity.

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UncleDanFan
PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 1:21 pm  Reply with quote
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Dogchaser37 wrote:
A crisp 30 degree day, a 10 -15 mph wind, light gray clouds, 4 inches of fresh snow, your favorite 16 over your arm and watching your dog glide along in a field of foxtail and brome grass.

I don't know about anyone else, but that is my serenity.


+1

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The man's prayer from the Red Green Show: "I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to. I guess."
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Dave In AZ
PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 4:00 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 13 Oct 2015
Posts: 348

Good writing, thx for the post, I enjoyed it.
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double vision
PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 6:20 pm  Reply with quote
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I had to take a day off work today and drive 100 miles or so into southern MN for a funeral. The whole way and back I was looking for bird habitat. Just how it is, 12 months a year. As we're walking into the church I'm eyeing a big patch of CRP type acreage on the edge of the tiny town, thinking about pheasants. During the funeral my mind kept thinking about another SxS purchase that I've been considering.

I'm pretty hopeless.
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