Long Hollow Setters

I would like to take a minute to recognize 3 new members of our family .......In my life Bird Hunting is not just a "sport" or "hobby" or "past time" ; It is a way of life......And I would like to say thank you to Brad Mccardle, Tim Powell, and Jim Cleary for their hospitality and for their Love of Dogs and Birds........:)

I have just returned home from one of the most memorable bird hunting adventures of my life........As Josh and I set out on the open road from Central Washington to Central Montana; We had not a care in the world and  nothing but the potential of an epic adventure at our finger tips.  So we drove through the night to be there in time to turn some dogs loose and hit the field early the following morning.

As the sun rose on the wheat stubble and began to melt the frost that blanketed the wind shield of my broke down truck near mild marker 17, between Great Falls and Lewistown;  Josh and I slowly woke our tired and shivering bodies to the sound of the dogs moving around in the dog trailer and Hungarian Partridge cherping in the distance. 

Needless to say we did not quite make it to our destination and we did not get the early start that we had hoped for.  But after a few hours of unexpected delays, we were never so happy to see Brad pull up with our ride and the tow truck arrive in order to get us into Lewistown for some morning coffee and some very expensive diagnostic work on my truck. 

After we wore off the chill from the cold morning and got the dog trailer hooked up to Brad's Suburban we were finally off to our first destination in pursuit of Hungarian Partridge.

"Tiegen" proved to live up to the hype as Josh approached the first covey find of the morning just 10 minutes out of the truck.  And with 8 month old "Roxy" proving to have some backing instinct, the three of us Brad Mccardle, Josh Wolff and my self were all able to take a bird from the first covey rise of the day. 

After 4 great covey finds including 5 shot birds and a ton of good dog work, in just 1 hour we were back at the truck to meet up with Tim Powell with "Luke" and Jim Cleary with "River". 

The remainder of the day we spent together and I enjoyed hunting with three world class English Setters and was able to spend some great time in the field with some good guys and true sportsman. 

Jim Cleary and "River" from Bozeman Montana..........

Tim Powell and "Luke" from Emigrant Montana.........

Brad Mccardle and "Tiegen" from Lewistown Montana.........

Hungarian Partridge........

Three tired dogs........Luke - Tiegen - River

Day two we traveled north to hunt a mixed bag of Hungarian Partridge, Sharptail Grouse, and Pheasants.  We were able to take advantage of the less aggressive terrain in order to give a couple of puppies some much needed down time and it proved to be a great opporuntiy for them all. 

Sharptail Grouse..........

River with his best covey find of the day........As Jim enjoyed taking pictures of his dog; I wheeled around the top of the ridge but the covey had already moved quite a bit.  After one very good relocation River pinned the covey down in a small patch of sage and as the small covey of Huns lifted I was able to pick one single that peeled away from the covey for a successful shot and retrieve.........

Here is Jim moving to the front of Tiegen after one of his many covey finds.  Tiegen proved to be right home on his turf and in his element as he seemed to go from covey to coevey and ridge to ridge with intelligence and class........

If you look real careful you will see River way out to the right on point and Tiegen on point to the left with Luke backing.......