Half-Day at the "Office"

 

Mike and I headed out for a short hunt yesterday. Not too aggressive of a hill and close to home was the ticket. 

As we pulled up there was this good sized group of mule deer that included a trophy buck. We both wished we would have had our scopes and scope cams for this big guy.

Mike doing his best to keep up with his"kids." Bodie was on another mission!

This was the first hunt for the 13 year old (yesterday) Ellie. She didn't get the birds today but she did keep out front all day long.

Annie seems to come my way during a part of each hunt which is fine by me.

Max is really making hunting fun for me. He is a distinctive pointer and covers lots of ground. He had a solid, tail to the sky point that I couldn't get the camera out in time as the birds flushed ahead of him.

Bodie was the star of the day as he pinned three birds in this rock slide ahead of Mike. He held them on point for over two hundred yards of walking for us over the hillside. Bodie was thirty five yards in from of Mike and the birds were farther ahead and didn't provide a shot.

We ran across some of the area's history when we came upon this old flume. Not sure of where it came from or terminated but it was a cool find.

Got a nice pic of Reno from the top. Always amazed at how much our town has spread out and changed.

Once Max had pointed the birds, he started back down and a single flushed about twenty yards in front of him giving me a twenty yard shot. Swing and a miss. Damn!

As always, Mike and I always seem to have something good to eat and drink at the end of the day. Thank the chef for those stuffed pork chops and the bartender for the Lagunitas!!

Mic

 

Big "game"

I got together with an old college track and field teammate for some scouting and a day of hunting. He drew a tag in an area close to town. We spotted over one hundred and 30 deer and 35-40 bucks. Nothing that would qualify for harvesting from this unit. He is putting the "Big Eye" to the test as we climb the steep mountains.
I spent so many years just chukar hunting that I hadn't been big game hunting mush until four years ago. Even though the stalking and climbing of big game hunting are remind one of the chukar hunt, big game hunting offers the opportunity to scout and just sit and watch. Part of that game is being able to recognize a harvest worthy animal from along distance.  I truly enjoy this aspect, even when I don't have rifle in my hand.

Not for the faint of heart. Much of the climb was like this until the very top of the mountains. So many necessary factors for survival exist here. High, steep mountain, abundance of feed, water, and cover make it a successful home to many mule deer.

The top offered spectacular meadows. Looked like Elk country. With the water, feed , and cover I want to check this out in the Summer. Got to hold animals!

Couldn't believe we could see some much from this vantage point. Time to dust off the big fly rods after this pic!

On the way down my mind shifted in "Chukar Gear." Fresh tracks headed up the hill. I decided to turn and follow them up again.

As the party grew , I got more excited to see them. I had almost forgotten what this outing was about!

It just kept getting better and better. I was headed back up the hill when I came to my senses. This is a deer scouting mission. Anyway, I left the tracks to continue looking for deer. I couldn't help but think of my next chukar hunt.

I had to wait awhile for my ride so I decided to warm up.
Mic

30 Years into The Beginning

As a reader of some many hunting and fishing blogs, I always have been honored to share in the experiences of those who burn their stories into a blog and post their common passions for outdoor sports on the web. Each its unique retelling of experiences in the field. These wonderful recounts of hunt trips, campfire stories and life in general did much more than just sharing of experiences. They served to build the interest into the sharing of the outdoors with those that are important to us in this life.  Chukar Brotherhood is just this from my perspective. As I attempt to do my part in sharing good hunting stories and photography, ultimately it is the friendships, even kinships, that have been developed over years in the field.

BRRRR!!! On top , I don't know how cold and windy it was but my camera was so cold that I could take very few pictures and it took a week for my ears to stop stinging.

Maximus and Jane were very willing partners in the intense cold and wind. We were about a mile from the water sources and the burned off areas carried no sign at all. These places were the warmest and friendliest places all day(with the exception of the fire.) They just didn't hold birds.

 Once we got more into the hillsides that had thicker cover and steeper(and much colder) Max started getting giggy!! He knew something was up and he wanted to know more! Since this is his first season in the field(16 mos.) I'm just getting used to know his birds in the area body language. He was stopping and starting but I noticed his tail was lower.

 We were much closer at this point but he wasn't satisfied yet! We headed towards that rocky wind-blown point in foreground.

 Just as we got to the ridge in front of the rock point, Max showed much more interest.(noticed his tail, I'm learning him.)

Now he said we were on them! He locked up , crept a bit , then locked up. His tail continued to be on the rise. This was the good news. The bad news as it turned out is that when Max was completely locked up over the steeper edge, my camera froze due to the cold. When the birds got up(30 ish) , I put pellets in one bird and missed the rest. I started shooting an 870 20 ga. that I'm not used too(my excuse.) Max's point was very distinctive completely obvious to the near point of earlier treks.

Lessons learned: 1)The birds seem to be more concerned with avoiding the wind than the cold. They were always tucked away on the steepest and the hillsides with the most cover.  2) Never shoot a gun for the first time on an actual hunt. 3) Keep your camera close to your body on super cold, windy days. 4) Never measure the quality of a hunt by the amount of game bagged. 5) Never forget to enjoy the campfire and the stories at the end of the day!

As we've gotten older we are starting to understand how much we appreciate a good fire, at the end of the day, almost as much as a good hunt! I hope this blog just helps to keep the interest in the sport and mostly the importance of sharing the experiences with friends and family.
Welcome all in the Brotherhood.

Mic