204Ruger

Have been doing more upland bird hunting in the past few years. Mostly because I've finally got a really good bird dog, "Clark" a ten year old German Wirehaired Pointer. He's made me a better hunter! We usually go for chukar on public ground, but make a few trips every winter to a hunt club where I buy some pheasants. Huge difference between the hunts! The chukar are wild and usually on very steep, tough country. The pheasants are pen raised, well fed, and I "hunt" them on fairly tame terrain here in central Washington. Everywhere I hunt, I'm required to use non-toxic shot.

I praise ol' Clarkie, and give him a little scoobie snack when he brings me a bird. He knows I'm carrying snacks & water him. Keeps him coming back to me!


He was locked-on a pheasant that was hiding in thick brush. I took time to snap a photo, then flushed and shot the bird!


Older 12 ga Browning Citori. Finally got a pretty over & under last year. I think it's about 30 years old, but lightly used:


Where I usually hunt pheasant:


Hunting chukar in steep country. I usually carry my 12 gauge Beretta 390 aka "Big Ugly." I shoot that gun better than any other shotgun!






And my favorite photo of our hunts, my youngest son, the ol' 20 gauge side by side, Clark and a pheasant:


Yup, will be getting out again soon. I can be in decent chukar hunting only a few miles from home.

Regards, Guy

Nice pics. the 390 is my favorite shotgun gonna spank some mallards with it tomorrow

My son John, our ten year old German Wirehaired Pointer Clark, and I enjoyed a nice, relaxed hunt at the Cooke Canyon Hunt Club, near Ellensburg Washington this morning. Clark enjoyed the easy hunt as much as we did. He found the six birds, dutifully pointed each one, then retrieved each one. I bought hens this time. It's not a demanding hunt, just a fun one.

Clark pointing a hen between two bushes:


My son and Clark heading out after another bird:


John with a bird, and his nearly 50 year old 20 gauge Ithaca (SKB) double. That gun was a present to me from Dad back in 1969. It still looks good and works great!


Some old "guy" and his Browning 12 gauge, with a bird he might have hit. Unless the young fellow with the 20 gauge shot it first! I'll never tell...


Guy

Great pics, Guy and it appears Clark is working out quite well too. It's pure joy to watch a good bird dog work.

Looks like a very good time indeed! Thanks for sharing.

Great photos, very nice dog and birds. Used to hunt the Vale/Ontario area of Oregon for pheasant, chukar and huns and had some fine hunts in the hills and beet fields. Your area looks similar. Enjoy, nothing better than hunting over a good dog. Bill K

Sadly, ol' Clark passed of cancer a few months after those photos. He'd been slowing down, but the vet couldn't find anything wrong with him until it was too late. I miss that dog.

Guy

Know how that goes, my black lab "Cindy" was a great hunter, but health caught up too her also, but then again she was 14 yrs, which did not aid her.
We do miss our dogs and companions. But then there will be others.

However... An opportunity to "rescue" a young German Wirehaired Pointer named Maverick came along.

Whoo Boy! He's a wild one. I've had my hands full with this good boy. Same breed as Clark, but with a completely different coat. He's also more muscular. And did I mention that he's a wild one? So, off to obedience school we went - that helped tremendously. He gets a walk almost every day, it's good for both of us.

So far I've done his hunt training - but am contemplating going to a professional trainer to iron out some rough spots with his performance. His prey drive is INTENSE. He loves to hunt, he's just kinda scatter-brained about it. What a nose though... My goodness. At first he wasn't much on retrieve. He'd watch the bird fall, run to it and pounce on it holding it for me. That was fine the first season, but I wanted better, so this past summer we worked a fair bit on retrieving - and by golly he enjoys it and is good at it now. All in all, for starting out pretty rough, he's become a good buddy and a decent hunter. I think he has more potential though - and maybe I'll spring for the professional hunt training...







He's helped me get three new hunters started this year - all on pheasants. He's doing well for being a wild child.

Guy

Youngest son has two of the Wired hair's. Good dogs, he did start them off with professional training for the dog and himself. Makes a big difference. He lives in the Vacaville, Ca area and has a lot of places to hunt birds.

Ya, that Sacramento Valley, the hills, and the Sacramento River Delta all offer good bird hunting. Or at least they did when I lived in California.

Guy

They still are, but there are also a lot more private land and gun clubs properties. But he has access to some and also joined a couple clubs. Bill K