Not just for the birds
A week later, the withdrawal symptoms have begun. Peat's evening hotlaps have intensified. Angus seems more lost than his age and illness can explain, insisting on some daily me-time around dusk to see if any game birds have interloped on our plot. Leslie made the video. I'm having more meltdowns than usual, at least in …
I live for this moment. This sequence. My dogs look like they're onto birds. I sense it from subtle nuances and have learned from training and experience how to read their body language. If I'm hunting with just one dog all my focus is on that one dog. If both of my dogs are in …
The week started off bad. The week also ended with many firsts. Tuesday started with Angus throwing up his morning kibble in the backyard. Later on, he refused a dog treat from the treat jar. This was a first time in his life that he's ever not wanted one of those multi-colored square snaps treats. …
It is early, and we are feeling it. It's on. Unusually cool weather for the opening weekend of chukar season made things more comfortable than normal, if "comfortable" is even legal to use in describing anything related to chukar hunting. Waterdogs We took the boat out on one of the many nearby reservoirs and found …
I admit it, I'm a sucker for trying to take a good shot or even a bad shot. A snapshot, that is. I always swear I'll leave my camera or phone tucked away while I'm hunting but end up breaking my own rule. Bob even went out a couple of times without his gun and …
The culture of chukar hunting in our neck of the woods is pretty evident all-year-around. Go to one of our fall 8-man home football games or a local cross country meet and you'll see your share of Chukar Culture hats on the sidelines. We're wearing them, parents are wearing them, the out-of town Virginians who …
When Peat was 7-months-old, we took him hunting with Angus to a place where his day of hunting lasted exactly 15 seconds. Upon arriving to our hunting destination, we let both dogs out of the pickup and before we knew what was happening we saw Peat streaking a 200-yard beeline to a covey of Huns …
We all have our stories about how bringing a dog into our lives changed it, enriched it, or sometimes made it more complicated. We have our own tale going back to the beginning of Chukar Culture and where it all got started with this one particular Brittany named Angus who is now 12-years old. Looking …
The landscapes where the birds live dictate where you'll hunt chukar in the West. Terrain covered in sagebrush, bunch grass, scree veins, and rocky talus outcroppings high up in the clouds is typical in this part of Idaho. You'll encounter steep traverses and sidehilling that make you wish you had tightened your boot laces tighter. …
"Range after range of mountains. Year after year after year. I am still in love." - Gary Snyder Spring break this year, we drove across the West and past many, many mountain ranges in Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Montana. I didn't dare sleep in the car or stare at my phone while being a …