The hunting preserve is sometimes close enough to the real thing. The dogs certainly love the day, and that really is the point, if you will forgive the pun. The wild bird season is over now; not nearly enough time in the field for either puppies or hunters, so this is a lovely morning in a 20 mph batting cage hitting nothing but home runs! These pictures are from two hunts, one at The Bluffs and the other at Kiowa Creek Sporting Club, both in Colorado.
Henry is two years old now, and we look forward to his 3rd season. God willing, it will be another wonderful time of wandering the Great Plains and stumbling through the desert with hardly a care.
We ended our bird hunting season with a three-day Arizona Mearns hunt with the great guys at Double Aero Guides and then two days on our own on New Mexico public land. This season seems to have ended about the time it began. We had hoped to return to Wyoming, but it was ridiculously cold for weeks and weeks. So down to the warmth of Arizona we went, only to find snow and freezing temps! But it was no problem; the dogs loved it and we had a great hunt. The best quail hunt in years. I hope you enjoy the pictures.
The focus this year is hunting western public land. Vast sections of BLM land, national grasslands, and state hunter walk-in access provide abundant opportunities. So far, we have found tolerable pressure, encountering few other hunters, and bird numbers have been acceptable. I hope you enjoy these pictures from our October hunts. If you are interested, these hunting spots are all about 125 miles southeast of Houston. Hope we see you there! 🙂
Henry is ready for his second season. The summer of chasing balls is over, and now only a short wait for the seasons to open and for the weather to cooperate. Henry forgot to stop growing and is now over 75 lbs. But his conformation is excellent, and he knows what to do in the field. We have high hopes for a memorable season.
Henry showing good form! This boy has a great nose.
The joy of bird hunting is found in our dogs. We learn to work together, training the finer points, and enjoying their miraculous bird hunting instinct. Here is Henry on his last hunting morning of the season. It was a great first season for him and he dramatically exceeded our expectations. I hope you enjoy these pictures of the handsome pointers we had the privilege to hunt with this season.
Please pray for the many hundreds of Colorado families who lost their homes last night that they might find comfort. Thank God and be grateful for what you have on this last day of 2021.
A new year holds fresh promise and hope for less fire, fewer murderous maniacs, a conquered virus, and a resurgence of sanity and common sense. We’ll see.
This is Henry at one week on 1/5/2021. Born Xander at the great Deutsch Kurzhaar (GSP) breeder Vom Gansehimmel in North Dakota. It has been a great pleasure to watch him grow from a mischievous puppy to a legitimate bird dog (but still full of mischief!).
Undoubtedly, one of the great joys is to see your dog grow into what he was bred and born to do. I hope you enjoy these pictures of a transformed dog on his first wild bird hunts.
Henry is 7 months old now, with about a month until the hunting seasons begin. Chris and his sweet black lab, Ryder, joined us for a training session on a perfect Colorado Sunday morning. I hope you enjoy the pictures of these beautiful bird dogs!
Our first day in the training field with Chukar was bird-dog nirvana. The two objectives were to see a first point and to introduce Henry to gunfire. Both were achieved on this perfect Saturday morning. This morning was truly a slice of heaven . . . maybe not so much for the birds! I hope you enjoy these pictures of the day.
I hope you had a terrific 4th! Fantastic weather in Denver over this 3-day weekend prompted us to visit the off-leash dog park in Chatfield State Park a couple of times. This park is awesome, with 75 acres of varied terrain along with some sizable ponds. It is for sure Henry’s favorite place to be, at least until he discovers the upland bird hunting country.
Deutsch Kurzhaar (GSP) Henry is a week away from 6 months old. He is still very much a puppy, but in many ways we see the awesome bird dog that he is going to be. I hope you enjoy these pictures of his progress.
Our Deutsch Kurzhaar (German Shorthair), Henry, reached 4 months a few days ago. He is growing fast and has a wonderful demeaner. He takes life in stride. His training is going well. He knows wait, whoa, here, sit, off, leave it, no, and NO! DAMN IT! If a treat is involved he will actually execute these commands, unless he is in the coup shaking one of the hens like a rag doll. He is a good boy and I can’t wait to get him on game birds. Soon, I hope.
Henry is just over three months old and is doing great. He is completely assimilated into the family and is such a wonderfully biddable dog. We think he is super intelligent, mainly because he likes to watch TV and has learned a few commands. Our only issue is that when we think he is finally house-broken, he will piss on the carpet. I am sure in a week or so, he will cross that finish line! Here are some new pics of him. We will be glad we captured some of his puppy days because he is growing fast! 31 pounds today. I hope you enjoy these pictures.
Hey everyone, today is my 3 month birthday! It has been a crazy 90 days. About a month ago, I was transferred to a new family. My suspicion is that there was a cash transaction involved, but surely not. I refuse to believe that my mother would allow such a thing as trafficking in puppy flesh. But I don’t know; I can’t seem to shake that feeling. I do believe my new overlords are decent people. They are moderately intelligent but inconsistent and naïve in how they try to manage me. Their attempt at potty training has been hilarious! Once they think they finally have me trained and celebrate my “getting it,” I like to drop a pint of puppy urine on the carpet. They absolutely lose their minds! Just a week or two more, and then I will make them proud. Of course, I know what they want; I always have.
And I hesitate to mention this, but they smell. Not overly offensive, just different. As long as they keep feeding me, I am sure I will get used to it. Also, the male, who is clearly junior to the Alpha Mrs. Birdhunter, is a bit over the top with the picture taking. It is a minor annoyance because he swears we are going to do all kinds of bird hunting – many states, many species, all wild birds, top-notch accommodations, etc., etc. If that happens then we are good. If this is one of those “two preserve hunts a year” homes, then I am outta here.
Then there is my 70+-year-old curmudgeon Chihuahua stepbrother Jack. That’s him in the picture below on the left. Mexican Jack, as I like to call him, is generally pretty fractious. It doesn’t help that I am only about three and a half, but clearly, I irritate him to no end.
This is Henry, our 10-week old Deutsch Kurzhaar (DK is German for German Shorthair Pointer). If you haven’t read the earlier post on these dogs, you can read it here. Henry came from the fine folks at Vom Gansehimmel in North Dakota. After 2 weeks with him, it is clear that he has the potential to be an outstanding bird dog. It is also clear that I forgot the exercise in patience and constant, diligent oversight that a puppy demands. Right now, in our house, one character is being shaped while the other is being tested! He is the sweetest little guy, but he will playfully rip your face off without a thought. Cute puppy stuff! Not to sound proud, but he is a strikingly handsome dog. I hope you enjoy these pictures!
We are leaving behind a tough year. You all know what happened, so I won’t go into that here, except to say the low point was the departure of my dear hunting buddy Tex. A sweet giant of a dog, he almost made it 9 years. Tex had a great life. He hunted in 9 states, was provided with $9,000 worth of knees, and was a much-beloved member of our family. He gave us great joy, and he enjoyed life to the end. His nub of a tail wagged all the time, even when we took him for that last terrible visit to the vet. We miss him very much.
The last picture of our sweet boy Tex.
So now we move on, and thankfully our bird hunting future looks very bright! Two elements warrant this optimism.
My friend showed up for a morning of bird dog training with this sweet 16-gauge Fox Sterlingworth. This is a very clean, original gun, circa 1924, and is a real pleasure to shoot. Though I have admired them for many years, this was my first opportunity to shoot a Fox.
This was our second year to hunt with the great guys of West Texas Quail Outfitters. It is a terrific hunt in the most beautiful place on earth! This was our last planned hunt for the 2019-2020 season. It is sad to see the season end. The birds were a challenge from Wyoming to Arizona to Texas, but we had a great time doing all we could to find them! I hope you enjoy these pictures of the hunt.
A pair of scaled quail, taken by the good old Armas Garbi
Birdhunter 