Optimism has arrived with spring, in more ways than one. Chukar sounds have returned to the reservoirs in Hells Canyon, after last year's spring silence along most of the shorelines we surveyed. The mild winter and easy spring conditions make finger-crossing less necessary than last year at this time. My mom follows a bird photographer's …
Finding Things
Found my radio. Three days later after a Pretty good snowfall. "After I shot the cock and took him from Nora's mouth, I looked at him a little longer than is probably usual, reached blindly and settled him down with the other quail in the game bag hanging from the back of my vest. But …
Losing Stuff
So much of bird hunting is about loss. Take yesterday, for example. In the truck, on the icy road to our destination, I lost traction a couple of times. On the hunt, I lost track of Leslie periodically, as well as the friends we hunted with. Peat, whose pad has healed nicely thanks to the …
Booty
After Peat's pad debacle, and the post that generated more comments than any other post on this blog, along with a boatload of very helpful recommendations and suggestions, I'm writing to report on a successful first try of one of the recommended products (thanks, Jeff): 1000 Cordura booties from dogbooties.com. At only $3 each (yes, …
Pad Problem
Peat's right rear pad has been bugging him for a while now, and I thought I'd see if I could get a boot on it so we could look for birds today since hell hasn't frozen over yet. Leslie decided to video the experience (see below). Obviously, the boot was a no-go. I'm not sure …
I’ve Been Cast
Surprised this week by the good folks at Project Upland: they asked if I'd be willing to be interviewed for their podcast series. I was happy to oblige, and really enjoyed talking with the host Nick Larson. This was the second interview I've granted in my short life; the first was in 1978, when a …
Leslie Bags Her First Chukar
They said it couldn't be done. They said it was impossible. They said, well, they said lots of things I can't repeat. But the one thing they didn't say was, "She'll never give up because she's as stubborn as an Appalachian mule." So today, Leslie proved them all right and wrong and bagged her first …
A Little Culture: Let My Horse Bring Me Home
This post might seem off-track to some readers, and for that I apologize. But one of the reasons I changed the name of this blog earlier this year is because I wanted it to be more about the culture surrounding my favorite pastime than solely about chasing chukar. Where we live, our "setting," is a …
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Checking In
It's been a while since I posted, so I thought I'd check in and say that we're still hitting it hard. We've tried lots of new places this season, and revisited some old ones, with mixed results. Last week I hunted four days in a row for the first time ever. Angus had to sit …
Eberlestock Mini-Me Minimalist Bird Hunting Hydration Pack
If you count calories, weigh your gear, track your vertical, get weepy at the word "minimalism," or fancy a lightweight pack/vest for chasing chukar, the Eberlestock Mini-Me might be worth a look. Leslie has donned it exclusively for her debut season as a hunter, and - as far as I can tell from her notes …
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