Dad's Double Barrel

The Schell Butte run December 2011 with Dad's Double Barrel

                                               
   As a kid I couldn't wait for the day I got to use Dad's gun the reason being it had two shots and mine just had one! I was convinced this was why he shot more birds than I did with my single shot 410. But the mantra was "You learn how to shoot by making the first shot count!". I carried that pea shooter for two year's dreaming of the day I could carry his gun. Finally at age 14 I was able to hunt on my own. Dad was off the hook not having to chaperon me every time I wanted to go after school when he had already put in a hard day's work on the job. I made countless memories carrying that gun while walking behind my bird dog a Brittany Spaniel named Ginger. A few year's before Dad passed away he gave me that gun some 40 year's later. It meant a lot to me and I was grateful to have it. It was a Stevens pre 1960 model 20 gauge SxS probably made in the early 40's. A common working man's gun nothing fancy except it had a single non selective trigger very rare on these guns and a double bead on the rib. Dad was a Grouse hunter coming from the U.P. of Michigan so the gun had seen it's share of briars and brushy cover over the year's but he had always kept it spotless and well oiled. I had it re-blued and the case coloring redone as well as a new stock made to my specifications. The gun was also choked Modified and full and I had it opened up to skeet and improved modified. It turned out beautiful. I shoot 4 different guns during the season in 12,16 and 20 gauge. All SxS's. Today I carried Dad's gun as the season is just about at an end and I wanted to reminisce a little as I walked behind the Setter's remembering what it was like to first carry this gun.
                                                      It was mid December 2011. Bird numbers year to year were down in our area by more than 50% due to three very tough winters and this year's wet hatching season. This was bad news for the hunter's who traveled and hunted in groups as there just was not the numbers for these types of hunter's to be successful. There was a lot of complaining in the local coffee shop's and bars about bird numbers on a daily basis. The majority of these hunter's use close working flushing dog's primarily Lab's and like I said hunt in groups. But this was a year where the number's were down significantly and in order to find birds you had to really cover some ground in all types of cover. This was not the normal strategy for most of these hunter's so the reports from the field were dismal at best. I would add also that the average age of most of the hunter's out there spending a week or two bird hunting was probably around 50 and getting older every year. So most of these guys were used to the easy day's when CRP acre's were at all time high's and bird numbers were much higher as well.
                                                      The Setter's and I started our scouting in August as soon as the young birds were able to fly well enough to easily escape when flushed. I have a number of area's I use to check the population's of both Pheasant and Grouse. So when our scouting indicated significantly lower number's I knew our strategy was going to have to be to cover a lot more ground and cover I normally may have not hunted before. I made sure I had options for new ground as well traveling outside my normal range and avoiding the area's I knew got a lot of pressure from the gang hunter's or "shit birds" as I call them. This strategy had worked very well all season but we really covered some ground every time we went out. It was so much fun though as this was really hunting as I like it. The Setter's were perfect for this mission of finding what I would call a needle in a hay stack on many days searching to find where the birds were at. Conditions that frustrated most hunter's were great for us as I had the type of crew in big running pointing dog's to find what ever birds were about in a given area. And that we did all season long! Day after day! The Setter's were in great shape and I had lost more weight this season due to how much ground we had to cover. So by Mid December I was thinking of what favorite runs I'd like to make before we closed the book on the season and headed for ski country.
                                                      I had decided to make a run in Schell Butte Township on this day. It's a difficult run to begin with and in my scouting had also indicated very low numbers of birds. As a result I hadn't hunted this area except for the first two weeks of Sharptail season making a run a mile south. This is a beautiful place to end the day as the view of the rolling hills to the west as the sun sets is breath taking. So knowing this would be the last time we'd make this run till next year I decided to carry Dad's 20 gauge SxS to make it special.
                                                     My plan was to run all three Setter's to the west through corn stubble bringing them back to the east eventually pushing any feeding birds into a waterway and valley bordered by wheat stubble to the north. It was mid afternoon with overcast skies and just enough snow to track birds as we came through a section of corn stubble. There were lots of fresh tracks as we started out with the Setter's working close to the fence line to the west. I was hoping for a point as we moved ahead but the birds just ran out into the field from what I could see. There was just enough snow to make it slippery walking as we covered the field coming back to the east without a point but the Setter's were working and I could tell we had birds moving the whole time. I had shot a Rooster over Beau before lunch and with Mick played out somewhat by covering the corn stubble I decided to make the run through the waterway with Molly. So upon coming back to the Jeep I watered all the pup's putting up Mick and Beau much to their dismay and headed east with Molly and Dad's 20 gauge SxS.
                                                      Molly and I crossed the fence and headed east down through this pastured waterway of short grass and a winding waterway bordered with some bushes and wheat stubble to the north uphill. We had gone a third of a mile with Molly working the grass bordering the waterway and casting about both sides when she began tracking across the open towards the wheat stubble. There were some bushes on the edge and she eased up towards them interested but no birds. I suspected we had maybe moved a bird across here and into the wheat. That was the strategy in covering the corn stubble towards this area. The birds in this area had so much cover making it hard with low numbers to be really successful here but again that's why we covered so much ground trying to move birds to obvious cover hoping to eventually pin down whatever birds were there. I picked up my pace closing the distance between Molly and myself as she continued to search along the edge of this cover.
                                                       75 yards ahead was a small area on the edge of the wheat stubble with some cattails in a depression of the field. This was 30 feet wide and about a hundred feet long running north to south. Molly got more excited as we approached and soon came on point on the east side of this cover. She was rigid looking into the cattails as I slowly moved by her to the west. Nothing. But she remained there so I walked about looking at her sight line and nothing. I released her and let her work about staying close to her as she worked the perimeter expecting a flush at any time. But nothing again. I then walked right down through this area with her working about obviously on a bird but there was just nothing there. Just when I was standing on the outside in the wheat stubble I noticed her on point in the exact same area she pointed to begin with. I thought OK this must be it and slowly approached her. I walked ahead ready for the flush when suddenly there came a Rooster bursting out straight away to the east across the open wheat stubble. I shouldered Dad's 20 gauge and fired bringing the Rooster down for Molly 30 feet away! We walked over to the bird and I congratulated Molly on a job well done as we recovered our prize. I looked at Dad's 20 gauge and smiled to myself for a moment having recreated a little of the magic I experienced as a kid with that gun so many year's before.
                                                     We still had plenty of time left so we continued east along the edge of the wheat stubble and Molly worked down to the waterway and cast about coming back south tracking up to the bushes bordering the wheat. She was into birds again and I lost sight of her for a few seconds as she went around the front of the bushes. When I didn't see her from the high side I was standing on I made the decision to follow her around front. Moving very cautiously I stepped out onto the frozen waterway so as to not make any noise. After moving ahead 30 yards I spotted her on point along the edge of the brush! I moved up as far as I could on the frozen waterway to not spook the birds then came behind Molly and moved into position to flush. I moved ahead of her slightly and the Rooster bolted upward fighting to get above the brush. It rose straight up before turning into the wind and I fired bringing it down on the frozen waterway. A beautiful shot! Molly was quickly to the bird and picked it up completing her task. What a great moment! We sat down on the edge of the bank and took a moment to catch our breath thankful for one last run with Dad's 20 gauge. Then it dawned on me as I sat there with Molly,the bird on the ground between us, I never did fire that second barrel!

The way we were December 2011. We covered a lot
of ground this season but always found birds.