2020 Hunting Highlights
2020 Proved itself to be another great hunting season with many miles traveled, many hours spent in the field, and many memories made. I will forever cherish these times, and it seems like just yesterday my oldest son (far bottom pictures) was my daughter's age (top video). The truth is that life goes by way too quickly, and it's so important to make the most of that time the good Lord has blessed us with. Take the time to get out doing what you love spending time with the people you love! One of the biggest highlights of the 2020 season was my daughter Gracyn's first pheasant. The best part is that it was all caught on the go-pro! Gracyn bagged her first pheasant at 11 years old, and I can't say how fulfilling it is to see that smile on her face! Another first from our weekend trip to Pierre, SD was my nephew Kole's first bird as well (see the last video).
2019 Pierre, SD Trip
The birds are back in town. South Dakota was once again a memorable trip. We always look forward to the gift of being able to spend time in the field together and making memories. This is a trip we anticipate every year, because we know it's going to be filled with a lot of laughter. Finding a lot of birds, is just an added bonus!
2016 Pierre Pheasant Hunting (Fall)
All in all Pierre pheasant hunting extravaganza was a success. Any time you don't have to work, you've got great company, and even better dogs life is good! We definitely had to work for the birds, but they were in abundance. With highs nearing 80 on our first day the birds were plenty wild, but we got to see some great dog work all weekend long! We only lost 2 birds all weekend which is pretty impressive considering some of the cover we were hunting. Had it not been for the dogs, there were probably 10-12 birds that would have gotten away. It was also Gunner's (below) first hunting experience so it was fun to see how he progressed throughout the weekend!
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| Gunner |
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| Gunner |
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| Gunner |
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| Gunner |
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| Austin and Mags |
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| Lilly |
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| Lilly |
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| Remi |
2016 Shed Hunting Season
All in all the 2016 shed season was a success. After not shed hunting for a few years, I forgot how addicting in can quickly become! I decided earlier in the fall it was time to get back into it so I began training the younger dogs the ins and outs of shed hunting. They picked up rather quickly, and not to mention it is a great activity for the dogs in the off-season. As a whole we found roughly 30 sheds this season, and the pictures shown here are from a day in late March where picked up 13 in one day. For Northwest Iowa that's a pretty good day! Most trips were short trips no more than a couple hours at a time. On this day Lilly picked up the other half of a set that is my largest to date. It was half of a set which I had found early in the season when there was still snow on the ground. It was probably my most memorable day I've ever had shed hunting, and the 150-160 (rough score) ten point set was definitely the icing on the cake!
2016 Pierre, SD Pheasant hunting trip (Day 2)
Day two was probably one of the most fun upland hunts I have ever been on. We bagged out with our limit of birds with plenty of daylight to spare. We pushed out a shelter belt with literally 500 plus birds in it which all flew into the CPR. Typically late in the season birds that have been pushed are wild. These birds held tight and we got to see the dogs work close on tight birds. There was a lot of pointing going on which was a ton of fun to see.
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| Me and Austin w/ "Lilly and Mags" Nothing beats a little father son bonding time doing what we love to do! |
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| Austin and "Mags" with their limit of bird (Mag is out of last years Punch x Remi Breeding) |
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| Brandon "Lulu" and Jeremy |
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| Lilly (Belle x Punch breeding) above and below |
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| Lilly scanning the skies as the birds were flying back into the field! |
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| Cooper (Belle x Lotto Breeding) Above and Below |
Day 2
Day 1 was a lot of work, but we got to see a lot of great action. The birds were plentiful, but extremely wild. It seemed like all the roosters wanted to get out ahead, but the hens were holding tight and in great abundance. We finished out a couple short of our limit, but getting to see the dog work was a great experience. Anytime you get to see plenty of the birds, and a lot of point (on hens) makes for a great day!
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| Lilly (Belle x Punch) Above and below |
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| Cooper (Belle x Lotto) |
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| Austin and "Mags" (Remi x Punch) |
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Nothing like a South Dakota sunset! Austin and "Mags"
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2015 "Flyway Highway" Trip- Watertown, SD
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| Lilly w/a couple of Mallards (Belle x Punch) |
A great weekend of Waterfowl hunting in Watertown, SD. We went out Saturday, November 7 and bagged 30 birds in a couple hours time. Not bad for having to find a spot at the last minute. The first 3 spots we tried hunting were already occupied so we ended up finding this "honey-hole" on a whim and it payed off. We didn't get set up until after shooting hours started, but it all worked out in the end.
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| Gracyn and Lilly showing off their ducks! |
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| Lilly on a retreive |
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| Cooper w/Mallards (Belle x Lotto) |
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| Gracyn looking good in the field |
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| Lilly with a water retrieve. |
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| Jeremy, Brandon, and Mia in the field anxiously awaiting a flock of ducks! |
This is one of my favorite things about the great outdoors! Spending time with my family and sharing these wonderful experiences with kids. The anticipation and excitement that went into Gracyn's first duck hunt was priceless. Getting to watch the dogs do what they do best and share that with family is something you can't put a pricetag on!
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| Dad and Gracyn! |
2014-2015 Pierre, SD
2013 Fall Waterfowl Hunting Watertown, SD
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| Mia w/her day's work |
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| Cooper (Belle x Lotto) |
2012 Pheasant Hunting Pierre, SD
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| We decided to take the kids out for some fun on the second day of the trip. They had a lot of fun watching from the pickup. |
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| This is one of my favorite pictures of my daughter Gracyn all geared up to go out and shoot a rooster with her pink BB gun. Dad ended up carrying her for a little while but then she rode around with Aunt Nicki while we did the real hunting. She was so excited for the trip! When I got home from school on friday, she had her pink BB gun and pink duffle bag waiting by the door asking when we were going to leave. She was a trooper. 10 hours on the road in 2 days time didn't phase her one bit. I'm not sure but I think she enjoyed swimming in the pool a little more than hunting, but I think in a few years she may be my next little hunting buddy!! |
November 2012 Left my nephew Chayce's first pheasant. The weather was in the mid 50's all weekend long. Birds were a little flighty, but the numbers were strong. Chayce not only shot 1 rooster this weekend, he was able to bag 3 pheasants in 3 days. Pretty impressive considering he's shooting a single shot 4-10 that is maybe 30 inches long. Not naming any names, but I think he shot one more bird than grandpa did all weekend!
We hunted 3 days in mid November and the number of birds was amazing. The dogs go a lot of work in and we were able to bag our limit all 3 days we hunted! We not only hunted but also did some walleye fishing with the weather being so nice. We were able to catch our limit of walleye each morning and then go out and shoot our limit of birds in the afternoon. It was a sportsman's dream vacation!
November 2011 Pierre, SD
Every fall we head out for our annual South Dakota Pheasant hunt! The trip is always amazing, and the amount of birds seen is quite a site. My brother's family has about 1000 acres of CRP that is all privately owned! We bagged our limit with 8 guys both days and the dogs were in prime form!! Who would have thought that late November in SD would have produced 50-60 degree weather!
The picture to the top is my son Austin and I with Belle (Left) and Mia (right my youngest female) Remi had to stay home because she was expecting. To the right is Me, my son, and my brother Jeremy with his two dogs. Gunner the black male is out of Belle's first litter, and the female Lou Lou is a sibling to Mia
This picture is of my nephew, Sawyer, and his first pheasant along with Mia and her first bird. The bird went up right in front of Mia and Sawyer knocked it down and Mia Made a great retrieve!!!
Gunner out behind the motel in Pierre on the river posing as the geese were swimming and flying overhead. He stood just long enough for the shot, and looked at us like where the heck are the guns and why aren't you shooting???
