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<  16ga. General Discussion  ~  Nebraska part two: pheasant and bobwhites
WyoChukar
PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2018 8:55 pm  Reply with quote



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

My arrival in good pheasant and bobwhite quail country started off quite well. The afternoon weather remained just dry enough to be enjoyable and I acted on a good tip for both species.

Rusty and I were into birds quickly as occasional stray flakes of snow mingled with what threatened to be sunshine but never really was. I knew tomorrow would be a different story, but hoped otherwise. When I settled in for bed that night, conditions were still fairly dry.

When I woke up momentarily around midnight, rain was droning against the camper, ugh. When I woke up near dawn, this had gone silent. I could only hear the wind that was lightly shaking the camper, then I poked my head out for a look. That wind was packing snow, the wet nasty kind. More trekking around looking through water spots was in my immediate future. A little lens blower tool helped though.

Apparel for the day consisted of a rain coat that was missing the hood (back home, oops) and a pair of pants I had made from a set of waist high "breathable" waders. I took a camouflage cap and worked copious amounts of Sno-seal into it before setting out for the day. The gun cleaning kit was relocated to the truck. My Lefever 16 would be getting much moisture exposure.

I actually dreaded hunting in the conditions. I dreaded sitting in the camper all day while know birds were waiting, even more. Just getting around the area turned into a chore as every non paved/ non gravel road turned to serious mud. To ease travel and prevent damage to the mud roads, which by the way were just about all of them, I drove around with greatly reduced air pressure in the tires.

Even with the major increase in flotation, 4x4 was often required for good steering/ directional control. I witnessed local hunters not using the advantage of low tire pressure and it was "ditch to ditch" for most of them. I gave them a lot of room. I suppose they wondered how I could actually get my rig to go where I pointed it. My tires never saw full inflation again until it was time too hook onto the camper, which was parked where I wouldn't need to tug it through mud. It was just plain old wet. However, just like in the sandhills, birds were present and waiting for Mr. Rusty to show me their whereabouts.

That day was a trial to say the least, but we found over 30 pheasants and a BIG covey of bobs, so triumph moments sprinkled throughout the day brought some joy to the taunting conditions.

That night things turned cold. I was hoping the ground would freeze. Its almost did, but not quite. At least with highs in the 20's on Sunday, the still falling snow stopped sticking to my glasses and I wasn't being soaked. Yesterday's wet stuff had soaked into the ground and the new stuff was nice and fluffy. Rusty was birdy right out of the chute and plenty of fresh pheasant tracks that were not yet covered in the falling and blowing snow showed me why. This looked good.

It was, right up until the first rooster came erupted. Just enough moisture, now frozen, from the previous day remained in the safety slide to deny my chance. Agony! Borderline rage was more like it. I worked real hard at the slide and it would move with enough force, but not in any manner suitable for hunting. Back to the truck. I could either grab the Ithaca or thaw the Lefever. I really prefer the "L" for quail. The gunsmith screwdriver set was in the cab so I removed the side plates and put the action and stock in front of the auxiliary heater I had recently built. This would thaw things and also heat a can of WD-40 (briefly). That "WD" literally stands for "water displacer" in case anyone is wondering.

This auxiliary heater; it is kind of overkill, I could make coffee with the little beast. Its will blow loose napkins around the cab. It did thaw and dry the gun post haste though and a light shot of warmed WD solved my problem so that the next rooster of the day didn't fare so well. Two new coveys of quail rewarded our wanderings as well. They were right where they should be: holed up along milo and corn fields in brush and shelter belts. Yes, I mowed my share of woody vegetation each day.

The next couple days stayed dark but dry and I was having a lot more fun. The roads even froze up for two days. The second to final day included two hours of glorious sunshine and our final day dawned bright and clear! Suddenly, I hated the idea of leaving for reasons of retaining gainful employment. It's amazing what a little sun can do for the spirit. By now I was enjoying some water fowling too...

Clouds rolled back in just enough that the sunset I was treated to while breaking camp was gorgeous. I pondered cooking one more quail dinner before leaving, but it looked as though I was to be towing in snow at some point during the night and really needed to get through the small storm waiting ahead before finding a place to call it a night. I needed to get moving. Cold cereal and hot coffee got the nod. I tipped my hat, said good bye, and turned the key.

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hiplainsdrifter
PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2018 9:42 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 09 Jan 2017
Posts: 50

Gorgeous birds.
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WyoChukar
PostPosted: Sun Dec 09, 2018 10:18 pm  Reply with quote



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

Thank you. Here's one that I forgot to add, one that features some more gorgeous birds.

[[URL=http://www.jpgbox.com/page/55673_1000x667/] [/URL]][/img]

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fourtrax
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 7:38 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 04 Jun 2009
Posts: 827
Location: N. Shore, mn

Excellent post.
Great trip and pix.
You have a real good hunting buddy dog there.

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T-Bone
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 8:19 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 31 May 2009
Posts: 153
Location: Orofino, Idaho

Rusty is way too cool of a bird dog and friend. Thanks for sharing your adventures with him.

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Dogchaser37
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 8:28 am  Reply with quote
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Joined: 08 Aug 2011
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Location: Central CT

Great job as always.

I left Nebraska a day before that snow hit.......I really wanted to stay but (sorry for swearing in front of you retired folks) my J-O-B wanted me back on Monday!!

You certainly got into more quail than I did.

Great stuff Wyo.

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Savage16
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 12:33 pm  Reply with quote
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That one rooster looks to have really long tail feathers. Did you measure them? another great trip for you and rusty except for the weather. Sounds kinda like the weather we had in deer camp a month ago in northern MN.

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rudyc
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 1:19 pm  Reply with quote
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Great pictures again!
You sure have a wonderful hunting partner.

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WyoChukar
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 5:41 pm  Reply with quote



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

That rooster was definitely a trophy. We had to go to the shelter belt for a rematch after he flushed from the far side of some brush I couldn't strain shot through, and believe me I tried! I sent Rusty inside and then guarded the edge while following along behind. I actually saw the dirty bugger doubling back and running for the edge so I charged him. With a dog closing from inside and me from outside, he was forced to fly. Buffered 5's got the better of him once he was clear of the junipers and hurtling downrange. I didn't measure the tail, but it was much longer than the others for sure.

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4setters
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 6:36 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 19 Nov 2013
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Location: NW Arkansas

Thanks for the wonderful pictures and writeup. The snow that is in the Carolinas now missed my brother and I in SW Kansas last week. We hunted the Cimarron National Grassland mostly, with a little nearby WIHA. Unlike you, I didn't come back with a single picture. So, you'll just have to believe me when I say we did fairly well on 3 of the 4 days we hunted (poor hunt was on very warm, windy day), finding 4-7 coveys of bobs a day and a few pheasants on WIHA ground. Home with 23 bobs and 3 pheasants.


The main conclusion we came to was that folks loose coordination as they age. We missed a good number of birds that we should have killed, including a couple of pheasants!


Finally got my new A5 on pheasants. In my opinion, it is a very good pheasant gun, and a fair quail gun (too long, too light, too slow to respond to zig-zagging quail due to length--prefer my Citori on quail). I'm sure some will disagree with that summary, but we all have our opinions and preferences!


Unfortunately, no blue quail. Maybe next time, Lord willing.

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airmedic1
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 6:43 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 23 Feb 2008
Posts: 191
Location: Nebraska (It’s not for everyone)

What part of Nebraska, not an exact location but the general area. I have a cabin at the west end of the big lake.
AM

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WyoChukar
PostPosted: Tue Dec 11, 2018 8:05 am  Reply with quote



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

I shot ducks in front of that cabin. Just kidding. I guess you are talking about L & C. I had a great uncle who lived on the west end of that. I was in the south central region of Nebraska where hunting pressure wasn't too bad, except on weekends.

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Pine Creek/Dave
PostPosted: Tue Dec 11, 2018 9:32 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Mar 2017
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Location: Endless Mountains of Pa

WyoChukar,

The picture of rusty under the tree with the birds and gun is a keeper, thanks much for the story and I also loved the Article in the Jan/Feb SSM! Congrats.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

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