You Have Come a Long Way Baby!

Well It is quite possible that Hell had a cold front come through and there may be some signs of ice, because my wife, the love of my life, just went hunting today. She just didn't go, she went and killed. She held a gun, aimed to the sky at the magnificent beast that took to flight and not once but twice slain the mighty pheasant from the air.

The day started out with great anticipation. Michele and her two close friends Martha and Mindi have been preparing for the DFG Feather River Wildlife Area Women's hunt for a month now. They have all gone out periodically and reluctantly to practice with their weapons. On this day they where ready.

Saturday, November 1rst 2008, was an absolute crummy day to go pheasant hunting. The wind was blowing, the rain was pouring, and the air was cold. The women still made themselves look as cute as they could be while trying to stay warm and dry. After a quick safety orientation the girls took to the field, dogs and husbands in tow.

Because Mindi was busy being a celebrity and interviewing for the local media the girls did get separated to different fields. Oh the cost of being famous. Michele and Martha began their hunt making a sweep down the side of lot V for the pheasant. It wasn't very long before the dogs had cornered several pheasants in a bush. Each of the girls were ready for the first flight. Out of the shrubbery exploded the birds, and the shotguns blasted to the sky with only laughter as the ladies smiled at each other after they had shot holes in the clouds all around the birds. Since these were the first birds of the day a miss was good to get out of the way.

It wasn't long before the dogs had found another set of roosters for the huntresses. While one of the birds made a swift getaway on foot the other took to flight towards Michele. That was a mistake for that cock. My wife was not about to miss again! She very quickly fired a shot and dropped the beast in front of her. At that moment Michele is now a HUNTER! She has the taste of blood and is now is thirsty for more. (yeah, your right, I am stretching greatly about her taste, but one could dream)

Very quickly after that first bird was down, the hunting came easy. With a great help of Max (Martha and Ricks tri-pod pointing machine) Martha Got her white pheasant and again one wily rooster that hid in a very thick tree stump. After only an hour and a half in the field Michele shot and finished their limit with a great left to right shot on a giant Ring Neck Pheasant.

The day was complete. Birds were in the bags and the dogs were happy. We were all soaked and very cold. Smiles were from ear to ear, and the stories were ready to be told. All were a success. Mindi had cleaned up with a limit of her own as well! The three women were all great hunters this day. I am so proud of my wife and I had one of my most fun hunting days without even pulling a trigger.

Congratulations Michele, I love you so much!

Butte Meadows Bucks!!!!

Well another C4 Deer season has come and gone. And what a season it was. We had brought 6 tags into the Stronghold this year and we all had some high hopes after a mediocre year last year. The great hunters this year included Brian Russel, Jim Strong, Gary Davis, Chad (me), and guest appearances from Malinda Russel, and Will Murphy.

Upon opening day there were many deer seen by all except Gary. Will and I gave the Doe Hill at the transfer a hard try with the few blinds that were built there. We saw a lot of doe and fawns. On Sunday we saw 3 spikes. One of them had spikes at least a foot high. This began to be a common theme throughout the rest of the season.

It seemed that every day that we would go out and then there would be another set of spikes running by. By the end of the season we probably saw over 25 spikes.

The First tag was filled by our first guest star "Malinda" with a cute little forky we call Skippy! In week 2 Gary filled his tag with a good looking 3 point that was running with a monster. Monster is still a monster because he is still running. The 3 point stopped. End of story. In the final week Brian filled his tag. With a Pretty good looking Buck much better than the first shot by "Malinda". Then came Sunday...The big day. It has been a long time since a Buck like this one has been taken. An absolute Monster stepped out on the side of doe hill and Gary happened to have his jeep there. The Stronghold once again had an absolute monster buck hanging!

So 4 out of 6 tags filled...Pretty good. Especially for California! Next year is only going to be better. We are hoping that all those spikes will grow an extra point or 3 for next season.

2008-09' Waterfowl Season is Here!!!

Well it is finally back. The duck season is upon us! Those that know me best know that one of my favorite things to do in life is to get up at 3 AM drive 45 minutes to stand in line for a half an hour to race out to get the best place to stand waste deep in freezing cold water all the while throwing plastic representations of waterfowl all around me and then blow through a plastic tube making farting noises trying to fool some sort of duck into thinking that the two flatulent noises coming from those weeds are others of its kind and he should come on down and party with the rest of em'. Needless to say I love it!

So Sunday October 19th was our big day for the new season. Will Murphy and I loaded up the decoys and Jakers the Black lab in the truck and began the trip to Gray Lodge. Being that it is opening weekend we new that it was going to be very crowded. We wound up getting numbers 194 and 195 I would assume that we were close to the 350th or so persons let out on the refuge. This was going to be a little tight. We went out to parking lot 7 and proceeded to head north on the refuge. Although there were 3 or 4 groups near us we were able to settle into a decent spot. The early morning shoot came a little early. I think that the hunters surrounding us watches might have been a little fast! The flight was not that great but there were birds in the air! Jakers (the black lab) was getting so anxious to get out and get something. All those gun shots around us usually meant work to be done. He held is ground and finally was rewarded.

Our First bird came in and we dropped him with one shot! Now it was Jakers turn to shine. Since this was Jakers first bird I wasn't expecting much. I was surprised that with only a little direction he picked up that first duck and brought it right back to the blind and dropped it right there. He was ready for more. I only wish we were too.

A short time later another set of ducks came in. We missed. Jakers was beginning to become very aware of the birds flying around him. He's got it!

Will later dropped another and gave Jakers a chance to do a blind retrieve in the weeds. It took awhile, and more direction, but he eventually found that duck too!

I think we all learned a lot on this trip. We got a chance to learn some new spots...as well as new tactics with the dog. As far as Jakers goes, it was a great step to his new role as a hunting dog! Now we owe it to him not to miss so much.