The first week of September much anticipated all year finally came.The 2005 season held much promise for the Setter's and I as we once again made the trek west for the opening of the Sharptail season. We would be joining our friend's Tom and Phil along with their dog's for another week walking the hills and plains of the Prairie Pothole region.
Anytime you hunt a new area let alone a species you haven't hunted before there's always a learning curve despite what you may have read or heard from someone. In the case of Sharptail hunting I had read book's and articles as well as any information I could glean from the Fish and Game website. I reviewed the species distribution maps and the harvest data from previous year's as well. Having spent time walking a lot of miles out here last season I had a pretty good idea of how to identify and locate the cover these birds used at different times of the year. Last September we had some very warm day's where we could only hunt till about 10 or 11a.m. due to the heat then again about an hour before sundown if we still hadn't gotten our birds for the day. We used the time in between to search for areas to hunt in coming days some of which held bird's and some didn't. It is possible to come into an area blind so to speak and find birds but in the case of Sharptail once the birds are moved a couple of times they'll simply relocate so it's not smart to keep hunting the same birds. That's why you've got to be prepared to cover a lot of ground in different area's.
We developed code names for certain spots that were known haunts for these birds such as " The Honey Hole" "The Old Windmill" "The Tree Rows" or " The Beer Drinker's" to name a few. Then you speak in term's of east of or west of such and such so we'd know where the event's of the day had taken place or where each other was planning on going. We found the local's had a whole different way of describing the countryside usually based on whose farm it was or used to be the people and names of which we weren't yet familiar with. So if we were talking about someplace with these people they'd look at us kind of funny and say" Oh you mean so and so's place". And so it would go.
Now I've done a lot of hunting but never covered as much ground as I did when I started hunting Sharptail. The bottom line is these bird's will be where they are. This is big country and you've got to find where they're at! The first thing I learned is that having proper socks and boots that fit well is critical. This is not a game to play with sore feet! I came prepared this year with some thick wool sock's and 3 pairs of boot's. One pair of rubber calf height for walking in wet grass if it rained. Two pair of leather boots so I could rotate them one pair being custom made to fit. Later on when using Garmin GPS Tracking Collar's on the Setter's I would find after a full day of hunting they would go around twenty miles with myself covering 8 to 10. So you can see why I made the investment in custom made boots! Then if we'd go up to the bar in the evening to have a cold beer with Willie and his wife I'd walk over through the alley to main Street in my house slipper's to give my feet a break as well!
Most of the wild game I soon discovered I had eaten in my life was over cooked. I remember the Pheasants and Ruffed Grouse my mother cooked as a kid that my Dad and I would bring home were always very dry. The thinking seemed to be that you had to cook the Bejesus out of anything wild just to be safe. It's ironic that just the opposite was actually true that being all the processed crap from the grocery store was what was killing us! Well last year our friend Dennis visited while we were there and gave us a lesson on how to cook Sharptail. Medium rare on low heat! What a wake up call this was when applied to Pheasant as well. So now knowing the birds we worked so hard to find were such a culinary delicacy we held them in even higher regard. And I must add we enjoyed the drinks, conversation and storytelling Dennis provided as well!
There was one more lesson we had learned from year to year. There are two very small towns in this area only ten miles apart yet with distinctly different personalities. These were our options if we chose to have dinner out for the evening or meet our friends for drinks. I would simply say that one was much more friendly and open than the other. We were welcomed by nice people we met in both towns but the mood was distinctly different from one to the other. Puzzling. It didn't take us long to figure out where we were most welcome! So the go to place for us anyway was about ten miles away. We were called by name welcomed with a smile and the principal owner's always came to the table to talk. The mood here was upbeat and filled with people drawn to the positive fun loving attitude of this tiny community.
Opening morning came. We had a good weather forecast for the week without warm temperatures and only mild winds. I had chosen a favorite piece of ground west of the "Old Windmill". The entire area if I had to hunt it all was over a 1000 acres. This was a mixture of pasture with lots of buffalo berries and clumps of little blue stem grass as well as alfalfa and 320 acres of natural prairie. This was bordered by various crop fields of wheat,soybeans and corn. There were also several small sloughs throughout the area with water as well. Being a large area I ran all 3 Setter's and was carrying my Dad's 20 gauge sxs. I had switched from wearing a game vest to just a simple Shoulder bag not wanting the bulk and weight of too much clothing. Still being a little cool in the morning's I'd wear a long sleeve vented nylon shirt and a leather vest over it. I liked going light and knew it wouldn't take long following the Setter's for me to start generating some heat. Knowing the Setter's would be ready to stretch their leg's I heeled them up the section line road and crossed into a short cut alfalfa field. My rationale was there would be less chance of birds being here so if they ran a bit big to begin with no harm done. I was right. They took off glad be be hunting once again and made some big casts about the field then halfway down the quarter mile length of the field they all started zigzagging about tracking scent. I thought we had probably had some birds that had been out feeding earlier in the short cover. The dog's disappeared over a small rise so I picked up my pace and when I got to the top saw them all locked up around a depression in the field with longer grass. I was about 50 yards away and moved in as fast as I dare getting about 15 yards closer when a covey of a dozen or more birds flushed to the west towards the section of prairie. I swung on the bird closest and managed to tip it over breaking a wing. Molly was the first dog to reach the bird and quickly put the Kibosh on it! This was to become her specialty having more prey drive than the males. An unexpected moment but a beautiful sight out in the open cover with all 3 Setter's holding a covey of Sharptail. We continued to the west edge of the alfalfa and crossed into a small area of pasture with thicker cover. The wind was out of the northwest as we crossed this area with the Setter's getting birdy again on the edge where it met the prairie. Beau was in the lead as we crossed the fence and the dog's started circling about and trying to determine the direction these birds had taken. We moved north along the edge. This area had numerous small rises and hills making it desired Sharptail cover as they like the advantage high spots give them. Beau started slowing up and had his nose high and into the wind. The other Setter's followed his lead strung out behind and along side him. I moved up and waited for him to decide if he would remain rigid or move. I suspected these birds were still moving as Beau would move ahead ever so slowly and then stop testing the wind seeing what it would tell him. He was locked up finally on a little knoll with some exposed rocks about. Since his head was high in the air and into the wind I didn't really know how far off these birds might be as Mick was on his left slightly behind him and Molly further behind Beau. I walked ahead ready for a long shot ahead when suddenly two birds burst forth off the front of the knoll to the right! This was a surprise so I had to swing around slightly and fired my first shot and missed but connected on the second. Molly once again being closest made the recovery on this bird. As I was walking in Molly's direction I then heard more birds flushing and turned around to see another group of birds taking flight up ahead. After each bird shot I always put the dog's on down command after praising them to get them settled before we continue. This was starting out to be a beautiful morning! We must have had birds moving ahead and these two were holding tight behind the rest but I got the shot due to how Beau handled the moving birds careful not to push them. Great job!
We worked the back side of this area bordering wheat stubble and worked around two large hills in the prairie. Once again with Beau in the lead I had a point. He was right on top of the knoll like a statue against a clear blue morning sky. I made my way up the side of the hill getting almost to the top when I heard the familiar chuckle from the pair of Sharptail as they bolted far ahead out of range. The dog's moved on searching out the spot the birds had flushed from and then worked around the bottom of this area quite a while not in exactly the spot I expected there to be birds. However Mick's motto is "No Bird Left Behind". My patience was waning when I lost sight of Mick. It took me a couple minutes remembering the last spot I had seen him when I found him behind me 50 yards on point in heavy grass. I moved right up to him thinking this looks like a Pheasant situation. I kicked the grass. Nothing. Moved around looking. Nothing. Came back to see where Mick was focused and kicked once again. A plump mature Sharptail rocketed straight away chuckling as it went after I fired both barrels missing. A total failure!
I felt bad for Mick but gave him a scratch behind the ears and thanked him for his due diligence despite being Sharptailed myself. I gathered up the Pup's and took a break before we headed south to the section line road.
On the way the Setter's were casting about and became birdy again several times without being able to pin down birds. I was getting a workout as the temperature eased up as I kept pace with the pups every time they came on scent. Great exercise! Birds had flushed wild in singles and doubles as we approached the end of this section of prairie when I noticed Molly was on point a hundred yards from the end. I caught up and walked ahead approaching her. Nothing. walked ahead of her. Nothing. I released her and she worked ahead again and came on point again slightly to the east. Same scenario. This bird was moving in here. I walked around again and nothing. Molly continued working the area and once again pointed. She happens to be the best dog on tracking ground scent mostly I believe because she's shorter in stature. I was anxious to get one more chance to redeem myself! I did as I approached and a Sharptail took flight to the east straight away and came down with one report from the gun. I was glad to have shot this bird for Molly as she had worked it all the way and recovered it as well!
After celebrating the moment it was time to get these pup's into some water so we headed the third of a mile or so back to a small slough and I let the Setter's lounge in the cold water for awhile before we made our way to the Jeep.
For the next several year's this run became a tradition on opening morning due to the section of natural prairie we loved to walk through that just exemplified the space that these prairie birds make their home. Surviving harsh winters year to year and then going through their ritual mating dance on the surrounding hill tops in the spring then raising broods in the safety of the surrounding cover. An experience I truly considered a great privilege for myself and the Setter's.
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