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1 members (Southern Sport),
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Joined: Oct 2009
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Sidelock
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OP
Sidelock
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 6,469 Likes: 386 |
All teasing of Mike's predisposition for disorientation aside, he's a great hunting companion and fantastic personal photographer. Whenever I would say "Hey Mike, take a picture of this!" he's already taken it. As far as Cocoa the AWS goes.....not much of a hunter but a HELL of a retriever! Very glad she was along.
Last edited by canvasback; 10/30/18 08:31 PM.
The world cries out for such: he is needed & needed badly- the man who can carry a message to Garcia
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 582
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 582 |
Tolerance: the abolition of absolutes
Consistency is the currency of credibility
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 582
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 582 |
As far as Cocoa the AWS goes.....not much of a hunter but a HELL of a retriever! Very glad she was along. Very true, though she did point a quail for you. Will be a good place for Scout next year. Steve knew the area of course, and had a lot more info to share.
Tolerance: the abolition of absolutes
Consistency is the currency of credibility
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Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 4,076 Likes: 441
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 4,076 Likes: 441 |
Mike, gorgeous birds and pooch...
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 582
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 582 |
Thanks Gil. James has a posed pic I hope he posts- a "French theme."
Mike
Tolerance: the abolition of absolutes
Consistency is the currency of credibility
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 6,469 Likes: 386
Sidelock
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OP
Sidelock
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 6,469 Likes: 386 |
Mike, we forgot to take the pic of the four Ideals!!
The world cries out for such: he is needed & needed badly- the man who can carry a message to Garcia
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 6,670 Likes: 372
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 6,670 Likes: 372 |
Beautiful photos! I'd love to hunt there someday, wherever in NE that happens to be.
. Brent, Valentine National Wildlife Refuge and McKelvie National Forest in the Sandhills of North Central Nebraska. Be careful with seasons and species: ducks can only be hunted in certain areas of Valentine, and snipe cannot be hunted on state managed areas. All of Valentine is notox. Lead ok in McKelvie, but of course not for waterfowl. Thanks! I'm halfway to having a plan in the box. the weekend before Thanksgiving is looking like the best bet. It's a little too far for a 1-day event on my birthday next week. I've never killed a sharptail. I'm not even sure I've SEEN a sharpie. So, I've got to have one. Bag limits and seasons are looking a little complicated but I'll get them figured out and I may have a Nebraska resident as guide.
_________ BrentD, (Professor - just for Stan)
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 331 Likes: 1
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 331 Likes: 1 |
Since Mike asked for it...
It was in the mid-1970s and I was hunting the Valentine Refuge with a good friend. We had gotten about a mile and a half back into the hills separated by 150 yards or so when a huge fog bank rolled in. I hollered and blew my whistle but the fog shut every noise down. I could only see about 25 yards and had no idea what my directions were. I had my compass, an insistant gift from my Dad, on a lanyard around my neck. I knew that if I went straight south I would hit the two track east of the truck. I took a bearing on a yucca 20 yards away, got there totally turned around, took another bearing, rinse, repeat, rinse repeat, et al. And then I hit the two track, turned west found the truck, honked the horn to signal my buddy and heard him say, from 20 yards away, "I'm right here." I couldn't see him at all. Fortunately, we both had followed the same plan; me on the east side of the ridge, he on the west. I never leave the truck without a compass, not for forty years.
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 582
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 582 |
Get altitude- they will start bunching up as the season gets later. You will probably have more success in McKelvie. If it is cold and/or windy, they will be in the natural bowls near the "military crest," just below the ridgeline. If it is still warm, they like to hang out on the North slope of the big East/West ridges. You will have to "pop up" from behind cover to get them, as it is near impossible to get in shooting range if they see you. Dogs are useful to retrieve, but of little help to find, as they typically will NOT hold for a point. You need to drive in on the two track at McKelvie for a mile or two. Four wheel drive with good ground clearance recommended. Once more- get altitude! Look for the biggest ridges, and then get just shy of the top. Once you get your altitude, be loathe to lose it. The first ascent of a big ridge will make your legs and lungs scream. Take a path that has you following a winding route to keep your altitude: you will quickly acquire a palpable disdain for going up and down- especially the up. As my mentor told me, the Sandhill sharpies are easier to kill than they are to hit. I was running an ounce of 9's out of .005 and .015. That is of course smaller shot than conventional wisdom, but as I bagged four turkeys this spring with that load, it made sense to use it on sharpies. As a wise man once said, "pattern fails before penetration." If I did my part, that load was devastating on sharpies. PM me if I can be of any other assistance, including lodging in the area. Mike Beautiful photos! I'd love to hunt there someday, wherever in NE that happens to be.
. Brent, Valentine National Wildlife Refuge and McKelvie National Forest in the Sandhills of North Central Nebraska. Be careful with seasons and species: ducks can only be hunted in certain areas of Valentine, and snipe cannot be hunted on state managed areas. All of Valentine is notox. Lead ok in McKelvie, but of course not for waterfowl. Thanks! I'm halfway to having a plan in the box. the weekend before Thanksgiving is looking like the best bet. It's a little too far for a 1-day event on my birthday next week. I've never killed a sharptail. I'm not even sure I've SEEN a sharpie. So, I've got to have one. Bag limits and seasons are looking a little complicated but I'll get them figured out and I may have a Nebraska resident as guide.
Tolerance: the abolition of absolutes
Consistency is the currency of credibility
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 6,670 Likes: 372
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 6,670 Likes: 372 |
Mike, thanks for the comments. I understand the notion of never giving up hard-won elevation only to have to regain it. I'm a pretty good walker though. Just got back from 6 long days of walking up mule deer in Wyoming.
I've got a dog and if Mark comes, I'll have 2 more. Mine's a golden and he will stick close and find birds if they let me get close. If not, he can find and retrieve them. Mark's got a brace of griffons that point, retrieve and have considerable prairie grouse experience.
I love the Sand Hills in the early spring. Might be brutal weather in the fall, but if not, it should be beautiful then too.
_________ BrentD, (Professor - just for Stan)
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