Lucky
Dolly.
I, sometimes, guide at Bird Fever, Richmond, Missouri but I seldom put it in my blog because the blog is about hunting wild birds on public land. But, yesterday Dolly made a retrieve that was unique. The web site for Bird Fever is http://www.birdfeverhunting.com/
I was guiding a father and son. The son was 11 years old but would be 12 next month. I asked him his age and later, Keith who owns Bird Fever, asked and each time he made sure we knew he would be 12 next month. The father and son, neither, had much experience hunting but they were having a good time. The temperature was in the upper 60’s with almost no wind so it was hard for the dogs but they were pointing birds. We had several birds in the bag but the young man was hot and tired from walking through the tall grass.
His dad decided that he had had enough so we headed to the truck. We were about 50 yards from the truck when I checked my Garmin GPS and it showed Dolly on point about 60 yards south of us so we started to her. When we got there she had a chukar pointed. I went into the brush and chased it out where the father and son would have a shot. They both shot but it looked as though they had missed but the father said he saw where it went down so we followed the bird.
When we got into the area first Lucky then Dolly would point with the other backing so I figured the bird was running. We spent about 15 minutes in that area without pinning the bird down so we headed back to the truck. I checked the GPS and it showed Dolly on point about 50 yards away so back we go. We got to the area and the GPS showed her on point about 20 yards away. We went to that area and the GPS showed her on point back the other way so we retraced our steps. Sometimes, when a dog is trailing or moving real slow the GPS will show them on point but the yardage changes. I like this feature because a lot of times the birds are moving and I want to know that they are running in front of the dog. If I get there in time I may get a shot.
Dolly was moving up and down a draw with a small creek running through it. Both dogs were hot and tired from 3 hours of tall weeds and hot temperatures so I wasn’t sure if Dolly was pointing or just going up and down the creek real slow. We got back to the truck and I watered Lucky and put him in his box. The father and son unloaded their guns and we were discussing the hunt and life in general. I waited on Dolly but she wasn’t around so I checked the GPS. It showed her on point 97 yards away. I had walked to her several times as she pointed in that area and I still thought she was trailing a running bird that wouldn’t stop. I called her then went back to talking. I checked the GPS and she was coming in. The almost 12 year old said, “she’s got the bird”. I looked and she had a chukar and was proudly bringing it in.
People who have not hunted much and haven’t hunted with a dog don’t understand what our dogs really do for us but Dolly really impressed them with this retrieve. And for the 11 year old, that will be 12 next month, that will probably be a retrieve he will never forget.