Over slept the alarm this morning and was 90 minutes late getting the kids to daycare. Finally stepped into the fields at Berlin Wildlife area about 9. An hour late want to bad I guess. Of course parking was near impossible to find. Felt bad for holding up my dad and my brother.

Bulleit took to the fields like a natural. Just amazing to watch him in his element. Last year he was a German Shorthaired Flusher. Great nose, but bumped every bird he found. Had to keep him close to get shots.

This year he still need his mandatory 30-45 minute run before he calmed down. But then something amazing happened. He got very 'birdy' and locked up entirely. Finally ON POINT. I walked up, flushed the bird, and promptly missed with both shots.

All told we got about 6-7 great points and flushes. Ended up in a group of about 9 at one point. One gentleman just exited the Army on October 13th. It was his first pheasant hunt. He ended up shooting one of the pointed flushes. Unfortunately I pulled the trigger a split second after him, and shot his dead bird. I was happy to hand it over. With the larger group Bulleit pointed an area that we literally just walked over. I asked two guys of they were ready and flushed the bird. They both promptly missed. I obliterated it on about a 65 yard shot with 6's. Bulleit made a great retrieve.

Another bird was shot at from another field and landed nearby. I got Bulleit in the area and he quickly found the bird and pointed. I stomped around finding nothing. Bulleit lost interest and left. Called him back, point. He finally went into the brush to get it. I never saw it, though it was about 18 inches away. He pushed it out to the neighboring field. Some of the larger group were waiting for the flush. Well the bird couldn't fly and Bulleit snagged out of a mid air jump. I quickly claimed the "I feed the dog rights" to that one.

Later we heard about the amazing GSP that snagged the bird alone. Lol...

All told we were in the fields about five hours and brought home three birds for the three of us. Should've limited out. Our shots just weren't on point today. Hopefully tomorrow is better.

Looks like a good day afield to me. Love watching a good bird dog work. It's amazing how sensitive their smell is and their instinct to stay steady and point.

Looks like a great day for all involved.

Good dog!

Good boy! Not you SEG!

Looks like a great day! Glad you can still find wild birds in Ohio.

Wild... ish. They're released birds by the State DNR. Though decent birds this year. Large body, tight sitting, hard flying, and seemingly bullet proof. Though I hear central and western Ohio does have a breeding wild population. They still release a bunch of birds.

quote:

Good boy! Not you SEG!

Tell me about it. Feel bad that we couldn't hold up our end of the job today. He'll get over it by tomorrow when we hit the fields again.

Nice to hear you had a good day afield. I hope to get out with my pointer soon. Dogs make it so much more enjoyable.

I've had a wildlife biologist tell me that if a released pheasant can survive 72 hours, he'll be every bit as wild and wary as a "wild-born" bird. Having hunted lots of wild birds and end of season "clean-up" at a few preserves, I tend to believe him.

Not much better than seeing a good bird dog work. Here's to many more excellent days.

Good morning all. Gearing up for a sunrise start. Been up since about 4am. Might as well go hunting.

I'll be out at Berlin Wildlife area of any Ohio members want to hook up. Can't miss me. I'm usually calling Bulleit back in quite frequently.

Heading out tomorrow morning! I had to keep today clear to help put down the antics rebelion

Any day outdoors is a good day. Nice looking GSP.

A lot of game has disappeared because of the lost of habitat. The farmers no longer let their fence rows have over growth and the grain fields are farmed more efficiently without any grain left for the wildlife.

Rough day today. Tired GSP don't listen very well. He went from hyper to disobedient nearly immediately. Generally I'll get about three hours of hunting out of him in between those two. All he wanted to do was run the roads between the fields. But inside the 7-8 foot tall shit you can see the road 30ft from you. So he'd hit it and be gone within seconds to the end of the field.

Ended up flushing a hen, which I've never seen at Berlin. I finally just let him hunt the roads and did my best to keep him within 100 yards.

Saw a rooster watching me from about 200 yards away. I finally got Bulleit into the area and he had to track for about 5 minutes before locating and flushing it from the woods. I, being the great shot that I am, missed with both barrels.

I don't get it. I'm a better shot than this. I've missed three easy birds. Been a very frustrating start to the season.

This happened today at the start of our hunt on opening day. It’s a Lab’s rear leg. I was the first to him after he fell. Very very sad. The poor thing was really in a lot of pain.

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Jesus Christ, that poor pup. There's a ton of ruts and holes where we were today. Bulleit stumbled a couple times. His legs were at the forefront of my mind.

Hope your pup recovers quickly. Awful way to start and finish the season.

When I lived in Iowa (many moons ago) > Pheasant Hunting was the BEST!
I really miss it.

Sorry to hear things didn't go better for you. I'm not sure when I'll get my first chance to go. I sure enjoy it when I can! Be safe.

Good job to you and the pooch.

Growing up in NW Iowa “the Mecca of” pheasant hunting was a ton of fun. Not so much anymore. You just don’t see the number of birds. I haven’t seen a partridge around there in years. I miss it.

From what I hear South Dakota isn’t as hot for pheasant hunting as it once was. Don’t know firsthand if it is true or not.