September came around and it was time to once again make the trek to the Prairie Pothole country. Sharptail season had become our most anticipated season of the fall as Setter's and Sharptail hunting just seemed to go together. From the terrain they occupied to the covey's they'ed burst from with that signature chuckle. Big open spaces making it a pursuit most hunter's didn't bother with to any degree but instead were just happy to stumble across birds while Pheasant hunting or walking to and from the duck blind. Except for opening weekend traffic we'd hardly see anyone else during the week. That was all fine with us.
Opening morning came and I had chosen to start "West of The Old Windmill" again with Tom and Phil heading east 8 miles. We made our way to our spot on a clear crisp morning with a few clouds not many. But the important thing was little to no wind. The Sharptail always seemed to be spookier with wind why I don't know. I was just about ready to let the Setter's out when a truck came down the section line road. As it came closer I spotted the Minnesota license plates. Hunter's. I left the Setter's in the Jeep and went over to talk to these guys who had stopped and rolled down the window. After introductions they asked where I was going to hunt. This was about 1000 acres of varied cover as I've described before with a beautiful portion of natural prairie in the middle. I had hunted it every opening morning since I'd come out here and never run into anyone but these guys obviously knew about it as well. When I described that I was basically going to hunt the whole area they said "You're gonna what?" 'Go where?" I repeated. I've got 3 Setter's. I'm going to put them all on the ground head east loop back to the northwest hunt that prairie then go into the alfalfa to the west of it then cross the section line road and hunt to the south to that pasture fence then come back east to this spot. "You mean all of this?." I said "Yeah " Well they talked a few seconds about some other spot and said good luck then headed off a little miffed obviously but after that morning I never saw them again. I learned a lesson that morning to get out early and claim your spot if you really wanted to make a tradition out of it. And so I did.
This had held us up for a few minutes but for the Setter's seeing me ready to go hunting it was torture. They were ready to go! I let them out and was going to head east when after taking care of his business Beau with head raised into the air starts moving to the west in the prairie grass. About 40 yards in he strikes a pose taking in the scent on the gentle breeze. I head over and the other two dog's follow then freeze up as they see Beau assuming the position. I got halfway to him when a lone mature Sharptail takes flight to the west. I make a quick shot as the bird tumbles to the ground with all 3 dog's converging on it with Molly making the retrieve. Amazing how that bird had held through all that noise from vehicles and our voices as spooky as Sharptail can be. I just loved seeing Beau with that head held high just moving ever so gently to the point. It was a long shot but I'd learned to get used to that with these birds. We continued on going back to the East and resumed our original route but didn't get into birds until we were back to the prairie with the dog's working along the fence line headed north. This was a cat and mouse game with the birds flushing wild 150 yards ahead at the end of the field. There must have been at least 20 or more that headed to the west. Finally we came to the alfalfa on the other side of the prairie and I decided to work the short cover in gently rolling hills. The dog's were casting quite far out and had gone over a rise out of site. When I got to the top I saw them all on point spread out being focused on the same area of slightly taller alfalfa. They were 75 yards out and I didn't take but a couple more steps and another covey took flight to the south this time. Pretty picture though. We worked the rest of this large area with a couple more birds flushing wild then crossed the section line and worked some more alfalfa. The dog's fanned out and Mick picked up scent first working back and forth toward a rock pile in the field. It seemed like birds were moving in here as the other dog's were tracking as well. Mick finally came on point twenty yards off the edge of a soybean field. I walked right up to him going ever so slowly. Nothing. Then I walked ahead back and forth. Nothing. He was holding steady. I walked back towards him and a bird flushed between us. I shot and missed then more birds flushed at the edge of the soybean field behind me. I turned with one shell left and brought down a bird falling into the soybeans. Mick helped locate the bird and we took a moment as always taking in the beauty of this place and giving the Setter's a break.
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| Mick taking a break West of The Windmill |
We made our way back toward the Jeep and once we were on the section line road about a hundred yards away my eye's caught sight of a shiny stone in an unusual color of brown lying in the dirt. About the size of a nickel I bent down and picked it up as it just seemed to be calling me as my eyes came to focus on it. I examined it and thought probably just some common type of stone but it looked different so in my pocket it went as a symbol of good luck and a reminder of this special place. Year's later I still have it and carry it occasionally. Maybe to off set the times I loose my hat! Verrrry bad luck. Or to ward off the evil spirits that cause me to fall in badger holes or make me forget to reload my gun!
So with one more bird to go for the day and a lucky rock in my pocket I decided to head east a few miles to hunt a section of pasture with rolling hills,lots of low cover, and water. This was pretty open cover and we covered quite a bit of ground quickly. The dog's picked up scent and began pointing and creeping. Testing the wind. Beau was in the lead again with that head in the air catching scent who knows how far ahead. Once again we had birds moving. Probably feeding as they walked along eating grasshopper's and feeding on the prairie flower's. I was behind Molly bout 30 yards watching Beau who was 30 to 40 yards ahead of her. He had just been stopping then testing the wind and finally remained on point head held high We were in kind of a bowl with a small ridge around us. Molly had also gone on point in front of me but seeing Beau ahead I thought she was pointing scent he had already walked by so I walked ahead of her right in Beau's direction. I got half way there when a large group of birds flushed wild out of my range. They just kept bursting from the cover. Unusual for early season to be bunched up like that but there were at least 30 birds. I turned around and Molly was still locked up tight in the same spot. I thought this was a false point and made no hurry to get there. Wrong. A single bird flushed and again due to my misreading the situation I wasn't in position. I felt really bad Molly had done such a good job of holding that bird. I will never forget that moment. But with multiple dog's I sometimes have to make a choice as to which dog to follow. On this morning I had been wrong. However not 15 minutes later Molly after all the dog's had once again been working moving birds came on point at the base of a small rise around some rock's. A single bird flew high and back west. I shot this bird for her glad to have redeemed myself as she had done so well on this run. I let her hold the bird as we sat there for a few moments thinking about what had just happened as I ran my thumb and forefinger over our "lucky rock".
I was pretty happy with my Ruger Gold Label and since it also was able to shoot steel I carried it as I hunted waterfowl production area's as well. We explored many of these area's on this trip as we continued working on new area's to hunt. I was having experiences with the Setter's I never dreamed I would have. To think that you could have so many of these moments if you wanted to had a profound effect on me. I remember talking to someone about my experiences one evening while having a drink after work. This guy said" Yeah I never hunted. I guess I'm just not into the Hobby thing". I didn't bother telling him that it wasn't just a passing fancy. It was a way of life for me. It was the way I wanted to paint the canvas of my life. A conscious decision to have the experiences that made me feel alive and inspired. And I wanted it to take up more and more of the picture.
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