Fur and Feather ...

[R.J.]

Got an invite from one of the young lads at work .... We are always swapping hunt stories at work and he said

" Wont be huge flocks , but I have a spot were I gaurantee we will see a couple of ducks in the morning , and there are rabbits around as well "

Thought I'd give the Pheasants a rest for a change , and watch a Saturday Morning sunrise with a couple of co-workers ...

Court P. set us up along a small creek draw ... with a small compliment of decoys ...



The sunrise was fairly dull compared to most mornings but did provide some color later on ...



Court noticed a Drake mallard set in further down .... Kyle K. headed down to check it out ... put his Remignton 870 pump through the paces , and got a nice " Mallard Double " as a Hen and Drake tried a suicide run towards him along the creek ....



A few minuets later , Court spied a duck on a recon run over our position and called him in .... I tried to get a fly by picture on the first run , but couldn't focus quick enough and he flew off around us ..... Court pulled him back with some beauty calling ....



And I closed the deal on a chubby Black Duck with a load of Steel 4's , out of my full choked Hatsun Escourt semi , as he decoyed right into the spread ...



Nothing else was flying so we packed up and headed back across the creek bridge to the trucks parked at the farm ... Court and Kyle carry the gear and birds .... After all , I'm the older of the three and I'm handling the camera !







We switched over to our Blaze Orange and set up a plan for some cotton tails ...



Plan was to run my Springer " Sally " thru some hillside swails and creek flat tangled cover ....





The next half hour was fun ..... watching the dog dig thru the cover .. Court scored the first Cotton tail with his Browning BPS ...



Sally got cut up and covered in burrs , pushing the tangled cover .... I didn't get a good picture of her since she was moving too fast , but she looked similar to this shot from last week when she was rousting Pheasants !



I missed a runner earlier , but redeemed myself on this chubby cotton tail later with a load of lead shot # 5's ...



We moved 6 cotton tails total ... passed on 3 that were not good shot opportunities ... shot at 3 that were and grounded 2 ...

Headed back to the farm .... called Tom P. to meet us , and hold a spot in line at the local breakfast joint ...

I cant think of better way to spend a Saturday morning , than a few hours in the field " watching the nature channel " .... Picking up some beauty " Fur and Feather " .... Then wrapping it up with the boys and a bull session over breakfast ! ...

[Ben S.]

Thanks once again RJ.

[wabi]

Sounds like a great way to spend the morning.
Now I know why we use short-hair breeds for rabbits! Sally looks like she found every burr in the cover. You should have put Spike in there after them!

[Doe Master]

Thank you RJ for the great commentary and pictures .Congrats.

[VixChix]

Great photos, as always, and great narration.

Poor Sally! I'll bet the kind of one-on-one time that she got after picking up all those burrs wasn't her favourite kind.

There's an equine spray-on product called "Show Sheen", by Absorbine. You spray it on and let it sit for 10 or 15 minutes, it makes the burrs pull out easier. It coats the hairs and makes them slick. If used before contact with burrs it would reduce the quantities that cling to the coat. Check for it at TSC or Brubachers in Wallenstein.

Watch for those nasty burrs around the eyes - it only takes one little fly-away hook to cause damage.

[chris4570]

Great pics RJ!! Looks like you guys had a good day. Sally is one tough cookie!!!

[R.J.]

Thanks all ! ... Yep , my favorite way to spend a Saturday morning ( well one of my favorite ways )

And yep .... the short coat breeds are low maintenance when it comes to burrs !

"Show Sheen" ... eh ... Thanks , I'll try some ... You are right , she loves the comb out part of the deal !

It always amazes me how hard a dog that loves to hunt , works even in difficult cover ... She is 11 years old now , beats her self up working hard to bring game to the gun each time we are out ...

I've had many field dogs make it to 13 years ( but they all eventually succumb to sport related injuries ) .... it brings me a heavy heart when I look at Sally curlled up on the couch beside me after a hunt , and think I will only have a couple more seasons with her ...

[Big John]

Excellent shots RJ.
Sally rules the woods!
Those are some nice Mallards as well. And gotta love those bunnies too!

[matt_mcco]

nice pics R.J.just wondering how you like your hatsun semi I was thinking about getting one for turkey hunting in the spring but i heard that the recoil was really bad on them compared to other semis

[R.J.]

Thanks again .... As for the Hatsun Escort Semi ... I picked it up at Bass Pro when they had them on sale for $299 CDN ! ( can't beat that price ) ( a fraction of the price of other semi's I own )

So far I've ran light loads , magnum heavy loads , slugs , and heavy steel thru it , and have had no problems .... taken Ducks , Geese , Pheasants , and Rabbits with it in all kinds of cold and rainy weather ....

If they come on sale again at that price I'll pick up another .... For that price you dont mind slapping a home made winter camo paint job on it ...

It came with multiple stock shim's and removeable chokes .... haven't had a jam-up yet with any of the loads I have cycled thru it ...

[matt_mcco]

yah i was thinking it would be a cheaper enter level semi i was looking at there camo gun but would love to see a pic of yours all painted up thanks

[Charlie Booze]

Thanks for the Greats pic's.

[raydaughety]

I'd like to see a picture of it as well R.J.

[R.J.]

It's been a great gun so far ... if they come on sale again I'll pick up another and do a winter camo job on this one ... here are a couple of pictures of it from this season ...