Once Fall rolls around The Dogs and I find ourselves on The Saskatchewan Prairies,its a magical place and timeframe.The reason why we are there is to harvest Fall’s bounty of wildlife.Upland Birds namely Hungarian Partridge and Sharptail Grouse are pursued via Pointing Dogs and lots of walking.Waterfowl Hunting is a different story,as it involves the quarry coming to you.It’s different from upland bird hunting,at the same time just as rewarding.
Water is where the birds roost while the fields are where they feed, to be successful you need to spot where the birds are going and what they are doing.Once a shoot is spotted and lined up the tactics for either a field or water shoot are the pretty much the same.
The magic happens when the birds come in,if the stars align then the good times roll.Mother Nature can throw you a wildcard in the case of birds switching fields or another roost,you either adjust or it’s gameover.
You call and the Ducks respond,they either come into or begin to work your spread,circling overhead and dropping lower on each pass.The Labrador whines and you call again,this time to give the birds a little more confidence.Wings cupped they commit and you take em! The Lab goes out to retrieve,you admire the Dog’s enthusiasm and kick back and admire the view and your quarry,after allYou reaped the your rewards for doing it right.
