We had a great weekend out at Scott Miller's Ranch in Sprague, WA hunting pheasants.A bunch of us loaded up and made the drive, arriving with lots of daylight to spare.
This is one of the cabins we all stayed in - very comfortable!
The birds were resting up in the flyway...They had a great bunch of birds - good size, fast, and long tails.
First up, we all shot skeet to get warmed up, and start the verbal abuse on eachother!Some of us, like this gal, were flawless and made the old guys look bad.
Sure enough, when we hit the field, she nailed her first bird, first shot.Even in the rain and cold.
Funny thing about hunting - you don't notice the cold much when the shooting starts! After the shooting starts, though, you can blame it on the cold. Ha!
The bird dogs we used were very impressive - great, patient pointers that ran and RAN, finding the birds...Look at that point! The bird didn't budge.
The facilities at the Miller Ranch were outstanding - a great area to clean the birds.
Even in the wet and cold, the leaves and country were spectacular - just look at those fall colors.
It was tough trying to hunt when there were so many photo opportunities...
These were some more fall colors we kept seeing - all over!
Another nice amenity was the 'clubhouse', for pool and cards.It did get alittle loud and rowdy, though.
The flushing dogs were also great - and didn't lose a bird.
Lots of fun, and alot of 'firsts', as in 'first pheasant'.Here was a long shot that flushed behind the bright tree and flew off into the field - sniper here got it out at 70 yards away!
It took a while for the dogs to run it back up to us...
And on the way back up they found a porcupine!Ouch!
The poor dog had it all over inside its mouth, too.
It is another indicator of the quality of these dogs - hardly a flinch or yelp when they held him and pulled the quills...... even when they were under the tongue or the roof of the mouth!
Great dogs to hunt with, even if they use bad judgement with the pine-pig.
With all of the shooting, some were reluctant to surrender for the long ride home, but all good things end.A fantastic trip and great hunt. Lots of good times and memories.
