Just a fun little video of in action photos I took yesterday on Giimoo’s retrieve.
After I was done hunting for the day I decided to take Llew out to try to get a few photos of him pointing our home property jumpy training birds. He found our house grouse quickly and we had a lot of action in a short period of time. I wasn’t able to get the photos I wanted to but I did grab this video of one of his contacts. It’s the same contact shown twice. First is in real time as recorded. The second viewing I zoom in on the bird and put an arrow to point it out.
Aadi & Giimoo retrieves from yesterday. Two long retrieves on long shots of winged birds. Nice job by the two youngest on the hunting string.
Here’s Giimoo’s retrieve from yesterday and one of her grouse points on her last contact of the hunt. She turned 8 months old yesterday and has been steadily progressing very nicely.
I was able I get both retrieves from today’s Christmas Eve hunts. Hasn’t been the friendliest weather between snow on trees, the ground and temps but today was a beautiful day to plow through the snow for the king.
Bone day is always a happy day. They become a little more frequent around the holidays. Here’s Llew enjoying one of the finer things in a dog’s life. 🍖🎄🐶
Birds were glued to the snowy balsams today. The only place they can run on the ground in this deep powder. If they weren’t running under them then they were 10-15’ up buried in them against the trunks. Namé was spot on and we were super lucky that two very clean shots presented today in the balsams and aspen.
A day of plowing today to prep for some plowing tomorrow morning. Hopefully we can get some time in the afternoon to play peek-a-boo with some snow roost grouse.
Crazy good week for shooting. Usually after I get a bird in the bag for a dog I “attempt” to get some dog work footage in hopes of getting a visual flush on camera. Near impossible to do in the thick Northwoods especially while carrying your gun through the tangled cover at the same time.
Yesterday, Ina’amii and I were working a cover that had a lot of birds in it and she was her usual stealthy accurate-self. I was filming her on this track series and the easiest way to try to film while holding a gun is to rest the gun on top of my left arm while holding the camera. As luck would have it I caught the tail end of an 80 yard tracking sequence and shooting a bird while filming it myself and the retrieve! At the time of the video I thought I got the bird flying on camera but given that camera was at chest level below the tangles and the bird got up 25+ yards away that didn’t happen.
That said, it’s exciting to get the dog work on camera through the shot while filming and shooting the same time. Probably almost as likely to happen again as the ruffed grouse Scottish double is shot earlier in the week.
Before anyone mentions it the Go Pro is a no-go. I’ve tried it many times many ways over the years. Not gonna stay on my head while beating the bush. Heck I can’t keep any hat on my head regularly as it is.
Ultimately leaving the gun at home and following the dogs gun-free will likely offer the best videos. I’m glad I got as much of this as I did on camera solo.
We all have bird hunts, especially ruffed grouse hunts where we come out of the woods full of memories but with an empty bag. I’m blessed to live and travel across the Northwoods so I feel more fortunate than many. The hunts that define grouse hunting to me are not the epic feelings that rush over you when your dog brings back that pointed bird you connected on. It’s the hunts that you and your dog journeyed through rough terrain working as a team. Putting forth all your effort for that moment you hope it all comes together but never does. It’s those hunts that remind us the it’s all about the dogs. While this morning there was nothing I would have like more than reward Namé with feathers in her mouth it just wasn’t meant to be. Tough cover, challenging shots, a poor shot or two sprinkled in there… I stood in front of this dog back at the truck after she gave it her all pointing 7/7 grouse and me missing 4 in the nasty of the alders. With a sincere look I told her, “I love you girl. Well done— well done.”
This morning we were hunting were Big Foot lives. Some dark eerie places deep in the cedar swamps.
Here’s a video of all five retrieves from yesterday’s memories. Ina’amii Scottish double, followed by Giimoo, Gichigami then Miikonaw with our night cap on the last flush of the day.
