If a dog goes on point or keeps moving away from where you are, take note…
Once Mike and I were hunting a huge field where soybeans had been grown but had been harvested. OK, I was hunting and Mike was dragging along behind. He needs to keep up, hunting is a marathon for me and I need to GO! Whatever is he doing back there?
Regardless, Mike believed there were California quail around this field and hidden in the brush and briars along the edges. Yes, most birds trot into dense cover and hide there. This time, however, the flock of quail had been caught by surprise and were trying to hide in the 3-inch tall stubble. I could smell and see them. Mike, however, stayed focused on the brush. He would call me over, and try to send me in. Guess he wanted me to be scratched by briars. I would turn and run to where I knew the quail were. Trust me, trust your dog. Mike, however, needs more training, har har!
So, as we neared to end of the field the quail panicked and stood still. I went on point. This is a clue I have trained Mike to understand, so this time he left the briars and came to me. Then, as he was trying to read my very clear dog-on-point message, quail rocketed into the air. Luckily Mike was prepared. He had remembered his shotgun and shotshells, had loaded some shotshells into the shotgun and made other preparations to shoot. I was soon amazed because when he shot, a California quail dropped on the ground. OK, the other shot from his shotgun went into what I think is hunting’s black hole. Nothing happened after that one.
Now, I did go into the briars and retrieve the quail. Mike was happy, and I added another species to my resume. Those other quail did what quail do best, they disappeared. Much like my understanding of Hungarian partridges. Where you see them is not where they are, for once you go there you find a void. Some of these birds may have cloaking machines. This needs to be investigated and I have applied for a $327 million government grant to investigate this disappearing bird strategy, har har!
Anyway, if a dog goes on point or keeps moving away from where you are, take note — the bird you seek is probably over HERE and NOT over there where you are. Maybe dogs need to train hoomans to come on command, har har! —Cameron
M. Forster once wrote, “I suggest that the only books that influence us are those for which we are ready, and which have gone a little farther down our particular path than we have gone ourselves.” This entry into the Gene Hill sporting collection takes you even further down the trail of the sporting life. He is your honorary guide to a world where bird dogs, fly rods, and shotguns are more than mere objects, they evoke memories of special times and places spent afield.
Gene’s passion for the details of human experience is as much his hallmark as his thick mustache and love of Labs. In “Special Spots,” his attention to details is plainly evident as he describes a river as a place “. . . where I could lay me down and listen to the water and think about where it came from, how it turned, and curved and hushed itself and sometimes laughed or argued.” Buy Now
